Cleaning Brass

[Mac]

I have a new RCBS vibratory cleaner that seems to do a fairly good job but I'm wondering if the ultrasonic cleaners might do a better job.
Mac

[ColtSnakes]

Your tumbler should be cleaning it up to look like new. What are you using in it?

I use ground corncob I buy in bulk off of eBay. I use NuFinish car polish as a cleaner. Brass comes out nice and shiny.

[dickttx]

Yep, with walnut you should get very clean, with corn cob very shinny. Doesn't really make any difference how long it takes. Just turn it on and forget it. Someone suggested a timer switch, so you don't accidently leave it on all night, or weekend.

[Bisley]

Hello, Mac. Just wonderin, are you refering to inside case & primer pockets? I have heard the U.S. cleans these better, but don't know if it's worth the trouble. If that is your concern, you might look into the ceramic media sold for black powder shooters..this must be used wet and in a rotary tumbler. Probably way overkill for smokeless though..plus you have to dry them before loading. Good luck!

[morecolts]

i use to use a primer pocket brush to clean teh pockets. not anymore. my time is better used.

i just use crushed walnut shell media. it does a decent job -good enough for me. you can get different grits? in it. find someone small enough to work into the pocket.

corncob for polishing
walnut shell for cleaning

[hoosiermike]

I use walnut media then throw in a couple used dryer sheets. Cut them in narrow strips and just dump them in with the media and brass. It helps polish the brass and also seems to make the media last longer.

[Mac]

Thanks to everyone for the feedback and I plan to try some of the suggestions.

My first batch of shells from my new Colt .44 special are dirtier than any thing I've ever seen but I haven't tried them in the RCBS vibrator yet. I'll deal with the dirty shell issue under a separate posting.

My earlier experiences with a "Rotary Tumbler" were pretty poor, to say the least, and I still have a number of .45 Colt empties that have a reddish film on them from using the Tumbler and walnut shells with some sort of additive. Because of this experience, I purchased the RCBS with corn cob which I have used on the .45s. But, I still have the reddish film on the inside of the shells and the primer pockets are still pretty dirty. I plan to use a shotgun bore mop on a drill to clean the inside of the shells and use a wire brush cleaner on the primer pockets.

Just wondering if the Ultrasonic Cleaners might be more effective.

MAC

[dickttx]

Just asking, why do you want the inside clean? When you load them you can't see inside, and when you fire them they will look just like they do now.

[tmd17]

When I 1st started hand loading, I separated by head stamp, carefully cleaned all primer pockets, sized and de-burred flash holes, spent time measuring all areas of the cases to ensure that each case was within tolerance, cleaned with walnut then polished with corn cob. Then I would carefully load and inspect each round on a single stage press. After loading each round, I would again check dimension.

For paper punching range fodder, I now just throw a batch of mixed brass in the tumbler with some crushed walnut and a dryer sheet and then reload. I will visually inspect each round as in runs through the progressive press, and pull one out of every ten to check dimensions.

[Mac]

Just anal I guess. You should see my desk. And you know what they say about a clean desk. --- A sign of a Sick Mind!
Mac