Comments on: Introduction to Reloading – Cleaning your Brass http://blog.sinclairintl.com/2009/11/18/introduction-to-reloading-%e2%80%93-cleaning-your-brass/ Sinclair International Precision Shooting Blog Mon, 02 Jan 2012 18:58:22 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Sam Early http://blog.sinclairintl.com/2009/11/18/introduction-to-reloading-%e2%80%93-cleaning-your-brass/comment-page-1/#comment-2173 Sam Early Wed, 21 Apr 2010 18:28:32 +0000 http://blog.sinclairintl.com/?p=501#comment-2173 Good articles Good articles

]]> By: Ron Carter http://blog.sinclairintl.com/2009/11/18/introduction-to-reloading-%e2%80%93-cleaning-your-brass/comment-page-1/#comment-1998 Ron Carter Wed, 24 Mar 2010 17:57:23 +0000 http://blog.sinclairintl.com/?p=501#comment-1998 The comment on washing the cases is good and I find that using a plastic bottle, old peanut type about 1/2 gallon with hot soapy water cleans well after tumbling in media. Just swish them around and then rinse several times with hot water to make sure no soap residue. Then I rinse them in rubbing alcohol as this absorbs any water left over and then set them out to dry, they dry faster after the alochol rinse as well. Can use the alcohol over several times. They come out like new. This procedure also works well to clean of Lee's sizing lube and would work for any water soluble lube. And thanks for the great articles. The comment on washing the cases is good and I find that using a plastic bottle, old peanut type about 1/2 gallon with hot soapy water cleans well after tumbling in media. Just swish them around and then rinse several times with hot water to make sure no soap residue. Then I rinse them in rubbing alcohol as this absorbs any water left over and then set them out to dry, they dry faster after the alochol rinse as well. Can use the alcohol over several times. They come out like new.
This procedure also works well to clean of Lee’s sizing lube and would work for any water soluble lube.
And thanks for the great articles.

]]> By: Frank Mead http://blog.sinclairintl.com/2009/11/18/introduction-to-reloading-%e2%80%93-cleaning-your-brass/comment-page-1/#comment-1451 Frank Mead Thu, 26 Nov 2009 03:56:57 +0000 http://blog.sinclairintl.com/?p=501#comment-1451 I recently wanted to demolyfy some moly coated bullets, so I puy some Play Sand in my tumbler and ran it for a couple of hours. The result was the sand did not do any serious harm to the moly coating, other than making the moly coating slightly glossy. So, I wondered what would happen if I ran some brass cases through the tumbler with the sand as media. I ran a batch of cases for an hour, tumbling in the sand. I then inspected the cases closely looking for ill effects from the sand. Amazingly, the cases appeared to be unharmed by the sand. The result was a slightly dull luster, but very clean brass with no sand granules trapped in flash holes. I cannot say that this is an appropriate replacement for conventional media, as I have not yet gained enough experience with this procedure. I don't yet know if this procedure will shorten the life of the brass. I am going to continue with this experiment throughout the life of this lot of brass. One thing learned was that if one is ever in dire need of cleaning media and none is available, Play Sand will do the job until you get proper media. I recently wanted to demolyfy some moly coated bullets, so I puy some Play Sand in my tumbler and ran it for a couple of hours. The result was the sand did not do any serious harm to the moly coating, other than making the moly coating slightly glossy. So, I wondered what would happen if I ran some brass cases through the tumbler with the sand as media. I ran a batch of cases for an hour, tumbling in the sand. I then inspected the cases closely looking for ill effects from the sand. Amazingly, the cases appeared to be unharmed by the sand. The result was a slightly dull luster, but very clean brass with no sand granules trapped in flash holes.

I cannot say that this is an appropriate replacement for conventional media, as I have not yet gained enough experience with this procedure. I don’t yet know if this procedure will shorten the life of the brass. I am going to continue with this experiment throughout the life of this lot of brass.

One thing learned was that if one is ever in dire need of cleaning media and none is available, Play Sand will do the job until you get proper media.

]]> By: Bob in Washington http://blog.sinclairintl.com/2009/11/18/introduction-to-reloading-%e2%80%93-cleaning-your-brass/comment-page-1/#comment-1444 Bob in Washington Tue, 24 Nov 2009 06:47:24 +0000 http://blog.sinclairintl.com/?p=501#comment-1444 Claudio, The vinegar and tumbling get them clean inside as well. I also shoot a 22-250. The walnut media is sometimes more difficult to shake out but they are definitely clean on the inside. I never get any carbon residue on my die expander ball since I have started using this procedure. Claudio,

The vinegar and tumbling get them clean inside as well. I also shoot a 22-250. The walnut media is sometimes more difficult to shake out but they are definitely clean on the inside. I never get any carbon residue on my die expander ball since I have started using this procedure.

]]> By: Claudio Ascari - ITALY http://blog.sinclairintl.com/2009/11/18/introduction-to-reloading-%e2%80%93-cleaning-your-brass/comment-page-1/#comment-1442 Claudio Ascari - ITALY Sun, 22 Nov 2009 19:04:37 +0000 http://blog.sinclairintl.com/?p=501#comment-1442 It's a great article about the case cleaning procedure. All these procedures are OK for cleaning the outside surface of the case and the neck. I use them. But tumbling only is not enough (in my opinion) for cleaning the internal surface of the small bottleneck cases, like the 222 R. I shot a lot of rounds of this cartridge with a Remington 700 BDL caliber 222R, with very good results (some time I have reach the first place in shooters competitions, with over 50 competitors), using my selected cases, resizing the neck only. Every 10 (then) resizing, I have to resize the case body (with a Redding body die). Always I found many carbon fragments coming out from the case (detached from the internal surface, due the case wall resized through the body die). In this situation, in order to have the case body allways cleaned inside, it would be mandatory to wash them with warm water and proper additive. But with the 222R case I don't use to wash them, because the carbon deposite do NOT influence the shot precision in my rifle (five shots stay normally in 1/4 of MOA). Which is your opinion about the cleaning of small bottle cases, like 222R, 22-250, 243W ?? Thanks for reply. Claudio Ascari It’s a great article about the case cleaning procedure.
All these procedures are OK for cleaning the outside surface of the case and the neck. I use them.
But tumbling only is not enough (in my opinion) for cleaning the internal surface of the small bottleneck cases, like the 222 R.
I shot a lot of rounds of this cartridge with a Remington 700 BDL caliber 222R, with very good results (some time I have reach the first place in shooters competitions, with over 50 competitors), using my selected cases, resizing the neck only.
Every 10 (then) resizing, I have to resize the case body (with a Redding body die).
Always I found many carbon fragments coming out from the case (detached from the internal surface, due the case wall resized through the body die).
In this situation, in order to have the case body allways cleaned inside, it would be mandatory to wash them with warm water and proper additive.
But with the 222R case I don’t use to wash them, because the carbon deposite do NOT influence the shot precision in my rifle (five shots stay normally in 1/4 of MOA).
Which is your opinion about the cleaning of small bottle cases, like 222R, 22-250, 243W ??

Thanks for reply.

Claudio Ascari

]]> By: Henry Wilson http://blog.sinclairintl.com/2009/11/18/introduction-to-reloading-%e2%80%93-cleaning-your-brass/comment-page-1/#comment-1440 Henry Wilson Sat, 21 Nov 2009 04:06:44 +0000 http://blog.sinclairintl.com/?p=501#comment-1440 I find that I get good results in my tumbler when using a mixture of walnut media and corn cob media. I also add some powdered mica and Flitz brass polish. The brass comes out nice and shiny and clean. Rather than changing the media to re-tumble to remove any polish residue, I just use a cloth rag and wipe them down. It may take a little longer, but it leaves a great finish on the brass. I find that cleaning de-primed brass doesn't do much for cleaning the primer pocket and you end up having to check each flash hole for stuck media, which I remove with the end of a paper clip. It's easier to leave the brass primed for tumbling, then using a primer pocket cleaning brush attached to a cordless power drill sitting on the bench to clean the primer pockets. I find that I get good results in my tumbler when using a mixture of walnut media and corn cob media. I also add some powdered mica and Flitz brass polish. The brass comes out nice and shiny and clean. Rather than changing the media to re-tumble to remove any polish residue, I just use a cloth rag and wipe them down. It may take a little longer, but it leaves a great finish on the brass.
I find that cleaning de-primed brass doesn’t do much for cleaning the primer pocket and you end up having to check each flash hole for stuck media, which I remove with the end of a paper clip. It’s easier to leave the brass primed for tumbling, then using a primer pocket cleaning brush attached to a cordless power drill sitting on the bench to clean the primer pockets.

]]> By: Bob in Washington http://blog.sinclairintl.com/2009/11/18/introduction-to-reloading-%e2%80%93-cleaning-your-brass/comment-page-1/#comment-1438 Bob in Washington Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:10:06 +0000 http://blog.sinclairintl.com/?p=501#comment-1438 I also keep my brass in lots of 50. When I return home with fired cases I use a universal decapping die. Then I soak my cases in Apple Cider Vinegar for 20 minutes. I strain the vinegar out using a funnel and a coffe filter. I reuse the vinegar several times and discard if it starts to show any signs of cloudiness that does not settle to the bottom of the bottle. Immediately after removing the cases from the vinegar I dump them into a pot of warm water. Then I use my hands to swish the cases around in the water thorouhgly rinsing any vinegar off of the cases. I stand the cases up to dry over night. Then I tumble my cases in Tumbler #1 with walnut media for approximately 2 hours. I remove the cases from the walnut media ensuring that I remove all of the media even from the flash holes. Then I put the cases into to tumbler #2 that has corn cob media with a polish solution. I polish my cases for about 1-2 hours. When I get a full box of cases prepared this way I then size the cases and mark the box as "POLISHED AND SIZED." Now my cases are ready to load. I believe that clean and polished cases are easier on my dies. My cases are always squeaky clean and I get lots of compliments on the appearance of my cases. I also keep my brass in lots of 50. When I return home with fired cases I use a universal decapping die. Then I soak my cases in Apple Cider Vinegar for 20 minutes. I strain the vinegar out using a funnel and a coffe filter. I reuse the vinegar several times and discard if it starts to show any signs of cloudiness that does not settle to the bottom of the bottle. Immediately after removing the cases from the vinegar I dump them into a pot of warm water. Then I use my hands to swish the cases around in the water thorouhgly rinsing any vinegar off of the cases. I stand the cases up to dry over night. Then I tumble my cases in Tumbler #1 with walnut media for approximately 2 hours. I remove the cases from the walnut media ensuring that I remove all of the media even from the flash holes. Then I put the cases into to tumbler #2 that has corn cob media with a polish solution. I polish my cases for about 1-2 hours. When I get a full box of cases prepared this way I then size the cases and mark the box as “POLISHED AND SIZED.” Now my cases are ready to load. I believe that clean and polished cases are easier on my dies. My cases are always squeaky clean and I get lots of compliments on the appearance of my cases.

]]> By: barrie magee http://blog.sinclairintl.com/2009/11/18/introduction-to-reloading-%e2%80%93-cleaning-your-brass/comment-page-1/#comment-1432 barrie magee Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:32:50 +0000 http://blog.sinclairintl.com/?p=501#comment-1432 just a note: something that many do not mention is an after tumbling step that I have adopted. I deprime before tumbling, and after tumbling my cases I wash them. A shot of Simple Green in a small bucket (depending on "batch" size), swish em around with some warm to hot water, a couple rinses with cool to cold water, then I set them out to dry. Typically spread on a towel in a breeze, sometimes i rack them up in re-used 50 count plastic pistol ammo racks (like those found with factory bought ammo, with the "webs" of plastic at the bottoms for support while packaged for retail purposes). Why you may ask? To remove the significant amount of tumbler dust that remains inside those cases. I have read on a barrel makers site that many "shot out" barrels have a layer of red embedded in the bore metal, and is the likely cause of the resulting condition. It seems that typically this "example" is from a moderately used firearm, lots of practice, then hunted with, that was the impression from the story anyway. I can only imagine the results if competition barrels were examined more in this fashion. I can tell you from my own personal experience that not cleaning enough of this red dust off has worn out my (only) 10 yr old RCBS 357 mag carbide resize die (have not found reference yet of someone else doing this). I had found that many resized cartridges were not fitting into several chambers, and a simple switch to a new die made the difference. May not be earthshaking news to old hands, but for the new loader, especially one maybe reloading a short mag or other "hot" caliber, may help them extend the life of their purchase just a few rounds more. And I feel a good tidbit for them to know about, to think more than just about the shiny outside of those lovingly crafted handloads! just a note: something that many do not mention is an after tumbling step that I have adopted. I deprime before tumbling, and after tumbling my cases I wash them. A shot of Simple Green in a small bucket (depending on “batch” size), swish em around with some warm to hot water, a couple rinses with cool to cold water, then I set them out to dry. Typically spread on a towel in a breeze, sometimes i rack them up in re-used 50 count plastic pistol ammo racks (like those found with factory bought ammo, with the “webs” of plastic at the bottoms for support while packaged for retail purposes). Why you may ask? To remove the significant amount of tumbler dust that remains inside those cases. I have read on a barrel makers site that many “shot out” barrels have a layer of red embedded in the bore metal, and is the likely cause of the resulting condition. It seems that typically this “example” is from a moderately used firearm, lots of practice, then hunted with, that was the impression from the story anyway. I can only imagine the results if competition barrels were examined more in this fashion. I can tell you from my own personal experience that not cleaning enough of this red dust off has worn out my (only) 10 yr old RCBS 357 mag carbide resize die (have not found reference yet of someone else doing this). I had found that many resized cartridges were not fitting into several chambers, and a simple switch to a new die made the difference. May not be earthshaking news to old hands, but for the new loader, especially one maybe reloading a short mag or other “hot” caliber, may help them extend the life of their purchase just a few rounds more. And I feel a good tidbit for them to know about, to think more than just about the shiny outside of those lovingly crafted handloads!

]]> By: Robert Weikart http://blog.sinclairintl.com/2009/11/18/introduction-to-reloading-%e2%80%93-cleaning-your-brass/comment-page-1/#comment-1431 Robert Weikart Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:14:21 +0000 http://blog.sinclairintl.com/?p=501#comment-1431 Great articles, keep them coming Great articles, keep them coming

]]> By: Dave Dodson http://blog.sinclairintl.com/2009/11/18/introduction-to-reloading-%e2%80%93-cleaning-your-brass/comment-page-1/#comment-1426 Dave Dodson Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:04:11 +0000 http://blog.sinclairintl.com/?p=501#comment-1426 The last step I use in my brass prep is to before reloading polish the inside of the case neck with a bronze bore brush chucked up into a drill. This will lend its self to a easier expender ball push over the case and more consistent neck tension on the bullet. The last step I use in my brass prep is to before reloading polish the inside of the case neck with a bronze bore brush chucked up into a drill.

This will lend its self to a easier expender ball push over the case and more consistent neck tension on the bullet.

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