Dirty primer pockets and sonic cleaner

[jdyoung]

I use a Lyman Turbo sonic cleaner with the Turbo Sonic Case Cleaner that came with it. (Accept for the logo, the Lyman looks surprisingly like Harbor Freights Central Machinery Cleaner which is cheaper). When I ran out of the Lyman case cleaner, I used Simple Green Industrial Cleaner & Degreaser as I had a supply on hand. The Simple Green works great on the cases , doesn't have any nasty stuff in it, and smells good too. Primer pockets always come out clean. Because of the wet bath the cases go through, I bought a case dryer (it looks an awful lot like the dehydrator I use for makin' jerky.) Make sure the cases are dry, dry, dry before loading.

Case cleaning , including primer pockets is just another factor in the pursuit of accuracy. You can do it and check it off the list, or in the case of non ignition or inconsistent velocities etc, be left wondering if you should have done it. It's your choice.
I clean primer pockets 'cause I don't want the caked up residue being scraped between the flash hole and primer anvil on installation affecting ignition.

 

[budlight]

30 years ago before I knew better I was using a vibrator and media. I also bought the RCBS do everything power trimmer and primer pocket cleaner. Then I bought the Hornady sonic cleaner. All of that disappointing junk is long gone.

Just throw all that crap in the garbage! Well maybe keep the sonic cleaner for your wife's jewelry.

Friends don't tell friends to use any of that crap when there is such a better solution. Just buy a wet tumbler with stainless rods and your brass comes out looking brand new every time. It totally cleans the interior and primer pockets. I have the Thumblers Tumbler. For example I can do a couple of hundred 308 at a time or 300 223's using dish soap and lemon shine in about 3 hours, Winter i use a hot air food dehydrator and summer sun dry on a towel on the patio.

Interior cleaning is so important to get back to the original case volume.

 

[antelopedundee]

You haven't mentioned what cleaning compound your using.
Try citric acid.

Citric acid will work same as vinegar without the odor. Also not a bad idea to use it in your dish and clothes washers from time to time. You can best get it via eBay in I think 5 kilo quantities.

 

[misterc01]

I get the very distinct impression the utility of cleaning primer pockets goes to either extreme: always / never, and in between. Not finding anything that conclusively determined the answer, and knowing that when I remove the primers from my brass (to keep my main press clean) I use a separate press with dedicated universal decapping die to remove the primers, I always have to clean off a lot of scrunchy grunge and particulate matter left after depriming. I tumble and ultrasonic clean my brass, and there are always a few with a little residue that remains. So, I took two cleaned random pieces of fired .308 brass, with previously uniformed primer pockets, each with a little remaining residue. I then cleaned one to nice and shiny, and left the other as it was. I then measured the primer pocket depth of both to see if there was any difference around the perimeter where the primer would be seated. I used a Hornady Digital Caliper, zeroed it, and did a four-point measurement on the primer pocket depths of both cases. On the one with the cleaned shiny pocket, the measurement was consistent .125 - .1255 all around the perimeter. On the one with residue, it varied from .1255 to .1265. Then using a Lee auto Bench prime, I seated a primer in each case. Then I did a standard Hodgdon seating depth test (" It is best to use your finger to test every primed shell case. The ideal seating depth is just below flush") to see if they were seated properly. Using my calibrated finger to test them - they both were "below flush."

So I can say with certainty – based on my one–time, scientifically constructed and conducted test, we can all draw our own conclusions from the test results, and use whichever method we wish when it comes to primer pocket cleaning.

I personally will continue to clean mine based on the adage "every little bit helps" as far as accuracy is concerned.

 

[budlight]

You see that tumble and ultra sonics don't really completely clean. Really dumb to use these instruments. not just the primer pocket. how about the flash hole and the interior?

You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make them drink!

 

[aushunter1]

Citric acid will work same as vinegar without the odor.

Well I wouldnt say that, I have done the testing with about 10 different cleaners including vinegar & commercial cleaners & I just stopped wasting my money on commercial cleaners such as Lymans or Birchwood casey.

Vinegar I had to use up close to 50% to get the vinegar near the results of the small amount of citric.
Probably the the buggest difference at those levels was that vinegar still does not bring the same brightness as the citric.

I am not a chemist but vinegar is acetic acid where as obviously the other is a citric acid.
Whatever the difference I just know that citric works better for me so thats my go to cleaner.

By the way I am using citric acid crystals not a citric acid cleaner but I know a lot of guys do use Citranox but again its a commercial product & more expensive than the crystals.

 

[misterc01]

You see that tumble and ultra sonics don't really completely clean. Really dumb to use these instruments. not just the primer pocket. how about the flash hole and the interior?

You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make them drink!
[/QUOTE
Not what I said - try reading it again - I presented a primer pocket cleaning test regarding whether they needed cleaning or not. As for tumbling, ultrasonic cleaning and cleaning cases in general - there are about as many opinions as there are elbows on this forum. We are all free to clean/not clean as we wish, using whatever works for us.
BTW - there are articles that show ultrasonics can actually get the inside of a case TOO clean making it hard to seat the bullet, so dry neck lube is warranted. .

 

[antelopedundee]

Well I wouldnt say that, I have done the testing with about 10 different cleaners including vinegar & commercial cleaners & I just stopped wasting my money on commercial cleaners such as Lymans or Birchwood casey.

Vinegar I had to use up close to 50% to get the vinegar near the results of the small amount of citric.
Probably the the buggest difference at those levels was that vinegar still does not bring the same brightness as the citric.

I am not a chemist but vinegar is acetic acid where as obviously the other is a citric acid.
Whatever the difference I just know that citric works better for me so thats my go to cleaner.

By the way I am using citric acid crystals not a citric acid cleaner but I know a lot of guys do use Citranox but again its a commercial product & more expensive than the crystals.

Citric acid contains 3 carboxyl groups compared to 1 for acetic acid. The acidity of the 1st one is a bit stronger than acetic acid and the 2nd group about the same acidity as acetic acid. So the citric is a somewhat of a stronger acid than is vinegar. the brightness difference that you see reflects that.

 

[Barrelnut]

Well I wouldnt say that, I have done the testing with about 10 different cleaners including vinegar & commercial cleaners & I just stopped wasting my money on commercial cleaners such as Lymans or Birchwood casey.

Vinegar I had to use up close to 50% to get the vinegar near the results of the small amount of citric.
Probably the the buggest difference at those levels was that vinegar still does not bring the same brightness as the citric.

I am not a chemist but vinegar is acetic acid where as obviously the other is a citric acid.
Whatever the difference I just know that citric works better for me so thats my go to cleaner.

By the way I am using citric acid crystals not a citric acid cleaner but I know a lot of guys do use Citranox but again its a commercial product & more expensive than the crystals.

How much citric acid crystals to water are you using. I'm interested in trying it. Thanks.

 

[aushunter1]

How much citric acid crystals to water are you using. I'm interested in trying it. Thanks.

My cleaner is tiny, it only holds 300ml of liquid with the basket & brass brining it up to the max level, it also does not have a heating element so I start out with hot tap water.

So for 300ml of hot water to 6 grams of CA crystals, then a few drops of dish water.
Try that but just multiplying to your capacity of the machine.

 

[antelopedundee]

My cleaner is tiny, it only holds 300ml of liquid with the basket & brass brining it up to the max level, it also does not have a heating element so I start out with hot tap water.

So for 300ml of hot water to 6 grams of CA crystals, then a few drops of dish water.
Try that but just multiplying to your capacity of the machine.

Those little cups that yogurt comes in make great little weigh pans for weighing out stuff like citric acid. 6 grams is about 92 grains.

 

[leo williams]

Sharp Shoot R products are what you want to try. "Brass Monkey Brass Cartridge Cleaner" is great. One teaspoon full with very hot water gets them clean. I use both the hot water and a sonic cleaner. You will not be disappointed.

If you want the shine, a teaspoon of "Brass Monkey Case Polish" in your media will give you what you want. And you can reuse that batch about 40+ times before refreshing it. If you wish, I can send you what you need. Email me at lycominggc@aol,com.

 

[Huntz]

Sir, I pose these questions to you:
How many revolvers have you shot?
You have never ever had a cylinder not index correctly?
I have personally witnessed a revolvers cylinder lock up so completely that the handgun needed the attention of a gunsmith, and he could neither index, nor remove the cylinder.
Ultimately it was sent back to the manufacturer and even then the weapon needed to be scrapped.
All this was attributed to a primer that was not seated correctly and the owner of this revolver forcing the cylinder to index
after feeling resistance. The caliber, in this case, was .454 Casull, and yes indeed they were carelessly assembled reloads.
After looking at his reloads you could see that they indicated primers that were incorrectly seated, and this was truly a disaster that could have been prevented.
You would not know about erratic ignition unless you
1) you were chronograhing your load when it happened!
2) examined your primer pockets after discharging around that just felt different than the rest?
All of what I have stated, I have seen take place as an NRA certified RSO however I appreciate your input on this matter.
Thank You very much for taking the time to reply!
That is the beauty of this web site, and that is that everyone has a free voice and is entitled to his/her opinion.

I doubt that that could happen from a dirty primer pocket.You can lock up the cylinder from not having the bullet crimped properly and it pushed forward and presses the cartridge back against the frame.Sorry I have been shooting revolvers too long in competition to buy that story.Huntz