brass cleaning

[Drew66]

Hi, sorry to trouble you all again with more questions, but here goes. How do you clean up brass cases? I have now fired all of my new .357 reloaded rounds, and the cases have black powder marks on the exterior. I do not have any cleaning equipment as I am just starting out, and would like your thought on cleaning by hand, and how to do it. Many thanks for your help, best wishes Andrew.

[Ranch Dog]

The easiest and least expensive way I do it is with mineral spirits on a rag. It will remove all the residue and dissipates very quickly. Despite having the brass vibrator/polisher, I often use this method to clean small amounts of cases as I'm working on a load. I do not worry about the interior of the case, just the exterior, I want it clean before I run it back through the sizing die.

[joec]

Now I'm going to assume here you aren't shooting black powder on this and would follow Ranch Dogs method. Now if it is black powder which I shoot a lot of in my 45 Colt loads what I do is pretty straight forward really. I do have a Lee Universal Decapping die and Lee Hand press that I take with me to our shoots but not necessary to remove them really. Between stages I decap and have a bottle filled with dawn dish soap and water and throw the brass in there. Now when I get home I rinse and drop in 50/50 vinegar water solution leaving it 5 to 10 minutes. I then rinse them completely off at and let them either air dry or if in a rush in the oven set low in a pan. Once dry you can reload or store in my case I tumble them. They come out looking like new brass.

[Arktikos]

The easiest and least expensive way I do it is with mineral spirits on a rag. It will remove all the residue and dissipates very quickly. Despite having the brass vibrator/polisher, I often use this method to clean small amounts of cases as I'm working on a load. I do not worry about the interior of the case, just the exterior, I want it clean before I run it back through the sizing die.

Hanging around here I just can't help but learn something new!

Sent from my Milestone X2 using Tapatalk 2

[akuser47]

I use a lyman turbo tumbler I got tired of rubbing down my cases to get them clean. Getting started into reloading sure does hurt the waller at first but ends up paying you back in funds and results in the end. Just ask santa for a what you need I have also seen peaople use large rock polishing machines with walnut and cob media to clean brass so if you could get a decent size tumbler or vibratory cleaner from santa you may be happy until you find somthing else you want more than really need LoL. The never ending saga of our hobbies. My ol lady gets really upsetby how much money I have in guns and ammo and supplies and tools and my motorcycle and fishing gear. it never ends

[pricedo]

I clean my cases when I trim them with the Lee stud & cutter on the electric drill.
I use steel wool for the most stubborn discoloring.
I find that case lube is an excellent case cleaner.
The dust that comes out of those vibrator type cleaners is one of the worst sources of lead poisoning if the media isn't changed periodically and is allowed to get really contaminated.
I have one of those RCBS multi station case prep units and clean the inside of the cases with a rotating copper cleaning brush BEFORE running them through the sizing die.
Sizing cleaned cases (inside & out) prevents premature die wear.

[akuser47]

I clean my cases when I trim them with the Lee stud & cutter on the electric drill.
I use steel wool for the most stubborn discoloring.
I find that case lube is an excellent case cleaner.
The dust that comes out of those vibrator type cleaners is one of the worst sources of lead poisoning if the media isn't changed periodically and is allowed to get really contaminated.
I have one of those RCBS multi station case prep units and clean the inside of the cases with a rotating copper cleaning brush BEFORE running them through the sizing die.
Sizing cleaned cases (inside & out) prevents premature die wear.

this is true I always use fabric softener sheets in mine to help cut the grim biuld up I change my media often though but yes dont vibrate in an inclosed area. I fully agree to that I always seperate my brass and media outside to be safe.

[Ranch Dog]

Sizing cleaned cases (inside & out) prevents premature die wear.

Very good point that pricedo mentioned and something that I didn't cover with my original response in that you stated you where working with 357 Mag cartridges which are a straight walled case. You need to insure the inside of the case is clean with bottle-necked or tapered cases as some type of expander will be making contact with the shape of the case under a lot of pressure. Debris on the inside of the case will create wear. There are a lot of different, simple setups but a bore brush on a short rod works just as well. With the 357 Mag, nothing touches the inside of the case except for a pin pushing the primer out.

[deaddoc4444]

I use the tumbler/vibrator method mostly . I tumble cases then put them through the sizer and then tumble them again . I LIKE clean brass. I also cut up a laundry / dryer sheet/or sheets ( if I have a lot of brass in one load) into strips and put it in with the media . That helps clean the brass and I throw away the strips when I take the brass out and that has absorbed most all of the impurities and harmful stuff and keeps the media clean also. I use the dryer sheets in ALL my brass cleaning now .
With black powder loads I decap and dump into a mix of water and dish washing soap ( as mentioned above ) Long ago I was told to use vinegar in the mix > DO NOT USE VINEGAR > Vinegar will clean the brass but it also eats the brass and discolors it greatly . It WILL weaken the brass. After soaking and drying the brass I tumble it like usual .

[44WCF]

i use a product called Iosso brass cleaner, it is a concentrated liquid you dilute with water. i keep a tupperware container of it under my bench. when i have a batch that needs cleaning i just dump them in, shake the container for about a minute, scoop out the cases and rinse under warm water, then set them out to dry. i use the cleaner in my container several times before i replace the cleaner, i think a quart jug costs $8-10 and lasts me awhile. Birchwood Casey also makes a similar product, i have a bottle of theirs sitting on my bench now and will give it a try when the Iosso runs out.