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cleaning cases
- Thread starter fast freddy
- Start date
Re: cleaning cases
What works for me and gets cases is surprisingly clean is:
1. Wash with gasoline and let dry.
2. Wash thoroughly with detergent, rinse until clear and let dry.
What works for me and gets cases is surprisingly clean is:
1. Wash with gasoline and let dry.
2. Wash thoroughly with detergent, rinse until clear and let dry.
Re: cleaning cases
uh, I've never done the 'gasoline' thing, but there's quite a write-up here about Ultrasonic Cleaning.
Check it out, and it should help you decide which route to take.
uh, I've never done the 'gasoline' thing, but there's quite a write-up here about Ultrasonic Cleaning.
Check it out, and it should help you decide which route to take.
Re: cleaning cases
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Grumulkin</div><div class="ubbcode-body">What works for me and gets cases is surprisingly clean is:
1. Wash with gasoline and let dry.
2. Wash thoroughly with detergent, rinse until clear and let dry. </div></div>
Gasoline is very dangerous and expensive. Don't use it. Flash fires and gasoline vapors are very, very dangerous. If you ever see the resultant burns to a body from a gasoline "accident", it will change your mind for sure.
I have used the ultrasonic route(Crest, with no heat, proper cleaning solution). It does clean but for volume nothing beats the physical cleaning of walnut or corncob in a real tumbler.
Other than range pick-up brass, why clean at all?
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Grumulkin</div><div class="ubbcode-body">What works for me and gets cases is surprisingly clean is:
1. Wash with gasoline and let dry.
2. Wash thoroughly with detergent, rinse until clear and let dry. </div></div>
Gasoline is very dangerous and expensive. Don't use it. Flash fires and gasoline vapors are very, very dangerous. If you ever see the resultant burns to a body from a gasoline "accident", it will change your mind for sure.
I have used the ultrasonic route(Crest, with no heat, proper cleaning solution). It does clean but for volume nothing beats the physical cleaning of walnut or corncob in a real tumbler.
Other than range pick-up brass, why clean at all?
Re: cleaning cases
Drill, Lee cutter chucked up to hold the brass...old rag and some Flitz will get em shiny too.
Drill, Lee cutter chucked up to hold the brass...old rag and some Flitz will get em shiny too.
Re: cleaning cases
Clean and shiny are two different things.
IMHO, shiny only helps the ego, clean helps the dies and chamber.
IMHO, the primary functional purpose of cleaning brass is to eliminate the transfer of gunk from the cases to the dies and chamber. This gunk can cause abrasion, wear, and adversely affect the function and operation of the resizing die and firearm.
Simple works. A 3M Scotchbrite pad and some Dawn dish detergent will get off the majority of the crud. What won't transfer during the cleaning process will probably likewise not transfer during subsequent operations. Rinse, dry, and proceed with the reloading process.
This can be a tedious process, and getting/using a tumbler and case cleaning media should be high on your list of priorities.
Any cleaner which leaves a black or blue/green residue (of its own, not the carbon from the necks, etc.) is chemically attacking the brass. You don't want to do that, as it's relatively likely that there's ammonia at work somewhere in this process, and ammonia is considered harmful to cartridge casings, being accused of making them brittle.
Greg
Clean and shiny are two different things.
IMHO, shiny only helps the ego, clean helps the dies and chamber.
IMHO, the primary functional purpose of cleaning brass is to eliminate the transfer of gunk from the cases to the dies and chamber. This gunk can cause abrasion, wear, and adversely affect the function and operation of the resizing die and firearm.
Simple works. A 3M Scotchbrite pad and some Dawn dish detergent will get off the majority of the crud. What won't transfer during the cleaning process will probably likewise not transfer during subsequent operations. Rinse, dry, and proceed with the reloading process.
This can be a tedious process, and getting/using a tumbler and case cleaning media should be high on your list of priorities.
Any cleaner which leaves a black or blue/green residue (of its own, not the carbon from the necks, etc.) is chemically attacking the brass. You don't want to do that, as it's relatively likely that there's ammonia at work somewhere in this process, and ammonia is considered harmful to cartridge casings, being accused of making them brittle.
Greg
Re: cleaning cases
Greg is right on with this. for CLEAN, DAWN dishwashing detergent is really hard to beat. A 5 gallon bucket from Lowe's or Home Depot and an old pillow case from your wife's rag bag and your all set. Just be sure to rinse the cases well to get all the saop off. I would let them dry either in the sun for most of a day or over a couple of days in the house. I always let them lay an additional day or two after sizing and depriming. The primers can hold a lot of moisture in the primer pocket for a couple of days.
Greg is right on with this. for CLEAN, DAWN dishwashing detergent is really hard to beat. A 5 gallon bucket from Lowe's or Home Depot and an old pillow case from your wife's rag bag and your all set. Just be sure to rinse the cases well to get all the saop off. I would let them dry either in the sun for most of a day or over a couple of days in the house. I always let them lay an additional day or two after sizing and depriming. The primers can hold a lot of moisture in the primer pocket for a couple of days.
Re: cleaning cases
I do alot of black powder ctg shooting. When I get home from the range,I deprime the cases with a Lee depriming tool. Then I use one of those plastic coffee cans filled with the HOTTEST water my hands can take. I add dish soap and scrub the cases inside and out with a proper fitting bore brush. When all the cases are cleaned that way I dump them into a pot of boiling water to rinse.Couple minuts thats all thats needed. Dunp the pot and dry them with a towel. Then i use my air hose to blow the primer pockets dry. Then there good to reload again. This will work for smokeless also, but you should get a tumbler. It's alot easier than all that scubing in hot water.
I do alot of black powder ctg shooting. When I get home from the range,I deprime the cases with a Lee depriming tool. Then I use one of those plastic coffee cans filled with the HOTTEST water my hands can take. I add dish soap and scrub the cases inside and out with a proper fitting bore brush. When all the cases are cleaned that way I dump them into a pot of boiling water to rinse.Couple minuts thats all thats needed. Dunp the pot and dry them with a towel. Then i use my air hose to blow the primer pockets dry. Then there good to reload again. This will work for smokeless also, but you should get a tumbler. It's alot easier than all that scubing in hot water.
Re: cleaning cases
Ammonia is bad, vinegar is good, and vinegar and Dawn are even better.
I start up my tumbler with just the media, then use a hand spray to dampen the medium with a solution containing Dawn and vinegar. Once it's run long enough to get absorbed, I dump in the brass; sooner would run the chance of the medium still being in expansion mode and jam packing itself into the case interiors.
The damp media works a lot faster and a lot more effectively, and there's no dust.
Greg
Ammonia is bad, vinegar is good, and vinegar and Dawn are even better.
I start up my tumbler with just the media, then use a hand spray to dampen the medium with a solution containing Dawn and vinegar. Once it's run long enough to get absorbed, I dump in the brass; sooner would run the chance of the medium still being in expansion mode and jam packing itself into the case interiors.
The damp media works a lot faster and a lot more effectively, and there's no dust.
Greg
Re: cleaning cases
If I just have 20 or so to load up I typically just brush out the necks, pour some rubbing alcohol onto a rag or paper towel and wipe down the outsides. Seems to work for me and it beats firing up the tumbler for such a small number of cases.
If I just have 20 or so to load up I typically just brush out the necks, pour some rubbing alcohol onto a rag or paper towel and wipe down the outsides. Seems to work for me and it beats firing up the tumbler for such a small number of cases.
Re: cleaning cases
This is what I did before I got a tumbler: I'd go over the cases with 0000 steel wool and then wipe 'em down with rubbing alcohol.
Worked great, never had a problem and best of all... it's dirt cheap.
This is what I did before I got a tumbler: I'd go over the cases with 0000 steel wool and then wipe 'em down with rubbing alcohol.
Worked great, never had a problem and best of all... it's dirt cheap.
