brass cleaning frequency

[gary55]

I didn't feel right hijacking the recently posted thread about rock tumblers so I created a new one. I hope it's cool, I try not to ask too many question but rather read read read and learn. I already had a HF cheapo tumbler for ball milling pyro compositions prior to reloading and at my pace don't have a need for a bigger/better one.
I don't really care what my brass looks like. I will clean only so sizing is not affected. If brass never touches the ground and is only dirtied by my hands, will it ever "NEED" cleaning?

 

[spife7980]

No, I shot brass for years when I neck sized only and never cleaned a single piece. I only clean now so that I dont run the risk of scratching up my pretty full length dies.

 

[gary55]

If the die is made of steel and the case is brass I think the case should fear the scratch more. I don't see me cleaning much brass unless someone else comes along and changes my way of thinking.

 

[RampedRaptor]

I went from having to have shiny "bling bling" brass to now never cleaning a single piece for my precision rifle. I matured as a reloader and learned a lot of lessons along the way

 

[Milo 2.5]

I tumble or clean brass every firing, always tumble before sizing, then another quick one to remove lube.

 

[spife7980]

If the die is made of steel and the case is brass I think the case should fear the scratch more. I don't see me cleaning much brass unless someone else comes along and changes my way of thinking.

Its not the brass I worry about, my mags scratch the brass up more than enough themselves lol. Its the carbon or sand or any other contaminant getting shoved up in them; anything is possible so I err on the side of caution with my expensive dies even though they are hardened steel.

But if you dont see a need then press on as you are.

 

[gary55]

Its not the brass I worry about, my mags scratch the brass up more than enough themselves lol. Its the carbon or sand or any other contaminant getting shoved up in them; anything is possible so I err on the side of caution with my expensive dies even though they are hardened steel.

But if you dont see a need then press on as you are.

I'm sure you can tell I'm not experienced enough yet to get the expensive dies. I may be more concerned in the future but for now, as long as they aren't gritty from a dive in the dirt/mud I'm more concerned with getting my experience loading and getting trigger time.

 

[Juggerxxx]

I was religious about cleaning but not anymore. I only wash the lube off after resizing. I put great value on the Carbon buildup inside the necks.

 

[black5.3]

I tumble or clean brass every firing, always tumble before sizing, then another quick one to remove lube.

Me as well... all my brass gets tumbled in walnut media after firing and then in a mixture of walnut and corn cob after sizing to remove lube.

 

[roggom]

Yeah, since I use imperial sizing wax, I tumble after sizing to remove the lube. Thats every reloading session. I anneal after 5 reloads.

 

[demolitionman]

I seem to tumble in corn media only in the winter time when I'm getting cabin fever. During the spring summer and fall I do not tumble brass. I run a nylon case neck brush 3 times in and out the neck, tap the case lightly upside down, blow the inside out with compressed air (with air drier inline), wipe down with an old shirt, spray some one shot on them, size them, then wipe them off with tshirt again. Done.

I wish I could just stop cleaning primer pockets! I Hate cleaning primer pockets but with absolutely no proof to myself I for some reason think it helps accuracy.....

 

[Nodakplowboy]

I tumble and anneal after every firing. The brass always lands in grass dirt or gravel, tumbling cleans it up. Also give it 20-30 minutes to get sizing lube off. Been using weed free Hard red spring wheat for a media, brass gets clean without the corn cob additive coating. And no punching corn cob out of flash holes, just a kernel every now and then. The nylon brush in the necks is a good idea, may try it with a battery drill.

I used to give new brass a one time only pass in the necks with a spinning stainless brush. It left a nice burnished finish and removed all the factory tooling marks. Should start doing that again.

Couldn't tell you if any of this improves my reloads, just the way I do things.

 

[Steel head]

I only clean my brass before I anneal it and run it through a body die. About every 5 loading.

 

[DynamicAccuracy]

I tumble after sizing everytime. Just part of my regime and gives me a chance to work on other stuff while it tumbles.

 

[Deleted member 10043]

Never clean other than the outside of the brass with a rag.

 

[Milo 2.5]

Never clean other than the outside of the brass with a rag.

What's the logic behind this?

 

[Steel head]

No, I shot brass for years when I neck sized only and never cleaned a single piece. I only clean now so that I dont run the risk of scratching up my pretty full length dies.

I mostly neck size.
I only clean them before I anneal them.

 

[lash]

Every time in walnut shell for about 30 minutes. My brass almost always ends up in the dirt, mud or puddles. In Florida, that means sand. I could care less how shiny it is, but I do care about running sand into my full-length dies. One, I don't want to have to replace the dies more than once or so in my life. Two, a good lengthwise scratch in brass could affect brass life very quickly to my way of thinking. Since I reload 100-200 pieces of brass each time, wiping each one off to accomplish the same thing would be much more time consuming and still would not get sand out from the inside of the cases.

So a quick tumble while I'm doing other things is the most efficient use of my time and is most effective for my purposes.

 

[Greg Langelius *]

I clean before reloading. I also hand wipe each loaded round with an alcohol dampened cloth before boxing.

Probably nobody is as committed to keeping reloading as simple as possible as I; but skimping on cleaning the brass is not one of my economies.

Dies get grit inside them, and that grit can become embedded, creating scored cases. I don't mind replacing a die or two, but some folks might.

Greg

 

[samnev]

I tumble or clean brass every firing, always tumble before sizing, then another quick one to remove lube.

I follow the same exact procedure as above.

 

[Deleted member 10043]

What's the logic behind this?

Because my dirty brass shoots just as good as my clean brass, which means it is fired clean once. For that matter, my dirty rifle shoots better than my clean riflle

EDIT forgot I clean the inside of the neck with lubed nylon bore brush chucked to a cordless drill. Just a quick pass inside the neck. I also use a Lee Chuck to grab the brass to clean off the outside with a rag.

 

[Milo 2.5]

Because my dirty brass shoots just as good as my clean brass, which means it is fired clean once. For that matter, my dirty rifle shoots better than my clean riflle

EDIT forgot I clean the inside of the neck with lubed nylon bore brush chucked to a cordless drill. Just a quick pass inside the neck. I also use a Lee Chuck to grab the brass to clean off the outside with a rag.

If it works, no reason to change.

 

[demolitionman]

Because my dirty brass shoots just as good as my clean brass, which means it is fired clean once. For that matter, my dirty rifle shoots better than my clean riflle

EDIT forgot I clean the inside of the neck with lubed nylon bore brush chucked to a cordless drill. Just a quick pass inside the neck. I also use a Lee Chuck to grab the brass to clean off the outside with a rag.

I prep brass with a hand drill using chamfering tool but i never thought to try a nylon case neck brush on a hand drill! Thanks for that....