Post brass cleaning?

[Gwwin]

I ultra sonic mine, rinse with distilled water. Dry outside with towel and inside with q tips. Right or wrong that's how I'm doing it.

 

[KTP]

For years I used the vibratory cleaner with corn cobs etc. Then moved to the tumbler with with water and stainless pins and solutions. The water no doubt cleans primer pockets and conditions the brass nicely but I've got to admit, I get very tired of draining, getting rods all out, drying etc etc…..
I may go back to the "old" way. It seemed to work for a long time…..

 

[Eric H]

The tumbler with pins is my current operation. After rinsing and wiping down the outsides I place them on narrow dowels that I have glued into drilled holes.

 

[C-130 Dude]

The tumbler with pins is my current operation. After rinsing and wiping down the outsides I place them on narrow dowels that I have glued into drilled holes.

I've been back and forth using a dry tumbler vs wet tumbler, with pins or without. It comes down to this: If it works and your happy, so be it.

Since I've got more time on my hands than good sense (per my wife), this is my toil:

1. Deprime (obviously)
2. Fill my wet tumbler with tap water, ss pins, a squirt of Dawn, and a scoop of Lemi Shine. Tumble for 30 minutes. Drain carefully (avoid dropping pins) and fill with clean water for rinse. Run for 5 mins.


3. Drain and hand tumble using my case tumbler. Remove all pins during tumble process. Take your time.

Those magnet pickups are great for retrieving pins. Highly recommended.


4. Place wet cases in case dryer. Set at 150F for 2hrs.


They always come out clean and shiny. Never had pins get hung up. Always inspect cases prior to further processing.

As I said, it takes a bit of time, but the results work for me.

Your milage may vary.

 

[MarkInPA]

My first step is to de-prime with a universal de-priming die. Then I toss them into my vibratory case cleaner with walnut hulls to clean the cases prior to resizing. My only goal is to have CLEAN cases to try and keep my sizing die clean and free of dirt. After sizing I MAY toss them into the vibratory case cleaner with corn cob and various other additives for the sole purpose of polishing and making them look pretty. I consider this optional. I'm not sure if this does any good for seating bullets though. I think it does some good to leave a little carbon on the case necks to add lubrication. This is also why I don't polish until after I resize. Leave a little lubrication for the expander ball. I'm not sure if I have any hard evidence that there is any truth to this. It's just my theory but, I do believe it is a good idea to get your cases clean before sizing to protect your sizing die. I also like de-priming in a separate step to keep the priming dust away from the sizing die. I've often thought it would be good to have a de-priming tool separate from the press to keep the priming dust away from the press too. I'm a big believer in keeping the dies and press clean.