Cleaning your brass

[6.5x300 WBY]

I like the way you clean your cases after being tumbled to get the abrasive dust off and out of the inside of the case. Some skip the cleaning step and probably don't realize that they are pushing this abrasive dust though the bore every time it is fired, and also in the dies if not cleaned and rinsed before sizing. This cant be good for the dies or the bore of your expensive barrel.

J E CUSTOM

Hmm I guess that was indirectly directed at me cause I dont and never did that after tumbling. Just check PP and shake /blow off any dust and good to go. Did it this way for what 30 years and not 1 problem with any rifle or handgun. All shoot lights out and havent noticed any loss of accuracy that suddenly materialized. BFR 454 , DW 445 supermag, TC encore in. 41 GNR and 445 supermag. 338 win , 7mm RM. 45 acp , 2 x 10mm, 380, 9mm,
But interesting non the less. There maybe some merit to it but if nothing has happened to me or any gun I ever loaded for I am ok.
And my loading dies are el primo too. No issues.

 

[6.5x300 WBY]

It's always interesting to hear what others do. Good stuff. And if I ever have an issue I have something to look Into now.

 

[basinman]

I have always used a vibratory machine with corn cobb media and a very little bit of Brasso. If you run it overnight they are clean, bright and shiny the next morning. My Lyman brass processor takes care of cleaning the primer pockets.

 

[J E Custom]

Hmm I guess that was indirectly directed at me cause I dont and never did that after tumbling. Just check PP and shake /blow off any dust and good to go. Did it this way for what 30 years and not 1 problem with any rifle or handgun. All shoot lights out and havent noticed any loss of accuracy that suddenly materialized. BFR 454 , DW 445 supermag, TC encore in. 41 GNR and 445 supermag. 338 win , 7mm RM. 45 acp , 2 x 10mm, 380, 9mm,
But interesting non the less. There maybe some merit to it but if nothing has happened to me or any gun I ever loaded for I am ok.
And my loading dies are el primo too. No issues.

Nope !
Not pointed at anyone. Just wanted to bring up the fact that It is an abrasive and needs to be removed from the inside and outside of the case. At one time I tried the corncob media with the red rouge in it and had a terrible time removing it from inside the case. I use the red rouge to polish my custom knives and know how abrasive it is, so I went back to the green and it was easier to remove.

I hear guys use Brasso and the like and that's fine as long as they clean/remove it before loading.
We clean to remove carbon and other foreign by products of powder residue that can damage a high quality barrel, so it just makes sense to me to clean the cases thoroughly.

Just a tip

J E CUSTOM

 

[6.5x300 WBY]

Good tip I'll keep that in mind incase something ever comes up and have an unknown reason for loss of accuracy.. but so far so good. Always good to have more info. Thx

 

[Tulsa Reiner]

That's a very informative video, Jerry. Thanks. I think I'll be moving on to a tumbler from my 35 year old
vibratory cleaner.

 

[FEENIX]

I don't use any of the above, I use a drill and a scotch brite pad, fast,easy and clean

Old school stuff. I still do it once in a while. I actually find it relaxing and have a better appreciation of what you're trying to accomplish. I am still stuck with the media vib tumbler (walnut and Turbo Brite brass polish additive from Lyman). I am never in a hurry so it works fine for me. It is also in my garage so noise is never an issue.

 

[CaptnC]

I'm using the pet store walnut with an additive I got off Amazon. It had good reviews so I tried it.

It seems to work a lot better than just walnut by itself. With the additive 90%of the cases will be clean (can induced filth) in a few hours.

I plug my vibrating tumbler in outside so noise is no issue at all.

 

[Tulsa Reiner]

CaptnC: does the Flitz leave any residue that needs to be cleaned off? (especially inside the case?)

 

[hunter0528]

I used the vibrator tumbler for years and for handguns worked very good. I get my media Walnut from a sand blasting company, one of the courser grades. But when I started with the rifles they did not come out a great. I had an OLD ultrasonic cleaner from the Jewelry store I worked in and started using that. I first de-prime (not resize) all my cases and use the ultrasonic cleaner. I remove them and shake the water out then use the tumbler with clean walnut and a little Dillon polish. This dries the cases and really brings out the shine.

Thourghly enjoyed the Video. Very informative.

 

[CaptnC]

CaptnC: does the Flitz leave any residue that needs to be cleaned off? (especially inside the case?)

No sir it does not.

 

[Paper boy]

I have done it this way for years, works very well.

 

[SammySTW]

Not only does a can on a gas gun make the brass very dirty, it also makes everything in the magazine very dirty. I have seen them much worse than this picture shows, this is just what I have at the moment

 

[co_nucleus]

In the video w the rock tumbler he mentions Lemishine and dish soap. I started using that cleaning mix with pistol brass, hot tap water in a plastic jug and shake by hand. 10 to 15 minutes of shaking and rinsing with hot water until suds are gone, dump on an old towel to dry. The brass looks much the same has the rock tumbler. No media to clean out of primer pockets.

After getting good results, I started using the same process on AR brass - 223 and 6.5 Grendel, no steel media, and it looks the same as the last pictures in the video. I don't have/use a supressor so maybe less hard grit on the brass. Maybe tumbler would help more for that situation.