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Brass cleaning
Hiline345
Member Posts: 31 ✭✭
I just put some new media ( tuffnut)
in the brass cleaner and it has left the inside of the cases with a red dust inside,i have always cleaned it out with rice or older media in the past but this time it is realy bad. Would you worry about it if it didnt come out completly clean ? Ive reloaded a lot of years and this seems to be the worst ever.
in the brass cleaner and it has left the inside of the cases with a red dust inside,i have always cleaned it out with rice or older media in the past but this time it is realy bad. Would you worry about it if it didnt come out completly clean ? Ive reloaded a lot of years and this seems to be the worst ever.
Comments
First they get tumbled in coarse walnut with Iosso polish and a small amount of auto rubbing compound.
Then they go in another tumbler with plain corncob.
Then reload.
Then back in plain corncob for an hr or two.
I like mine pretty.
CP
Thanks mrbruce I think I am going to try that unless someone can come up with a reason not to.
quote:cpermd Posted - 09/25/2009 : 10:39:42 AM
I am kind of * about my brass.
First they get tumbled in coarse walnut with Iosso polish and a small amount of auto rubbing compound.
Then they go in another tumbler with plain corncob.
Then reload.
Then back in plain corncob for an hr or two.
I like mine pretty.
CP
I also like shiny brass makes people wonder if you bought or reloaded it. The Dillon polish is really a awesome product and it really works fast.
I normally use Lyman Media but I had some untreated corn or walnut not sure what it is I bought it some ten plus years ago and never really used it. So I used it with the Dillon stuff and in a matter of minutes that stuff was beautiful.
Now at this point, it rather depends. I use Lee sizing lube which is water based, truly dries, and doesn't contaminate powder or primers once dry. I USUALLY will put the brass back in the tumbler long enough to remove the lube- might take 30 minutes or so. Sometimes though I just load as it sits. For high power rifle rounds I will definitely clean off the lube. For light power plinkers though- for instance cast bullets and reduced loads- I often don't bother.
Rarely do I tumble long enough to get it shiny. I've used several brands of media (as well as rice), several brands of polish, and I've found it just takes too long to get it shiny. I'm the impatient sort. Clean is good enough.
Now all that said- the point is that your brass doesn't have to be shiny, and if you plan on hand polishing each case with something from a hardware store, I think you are very quickly going to learn to live with grungy looking brass. It is a pain in the rear. I'd avoid any products with ammonia in them (of which I think Brasso is one).
What you might do is buy some coffee pot cleaner. It contains a very mild acid that might lightly etch the brass over a LONG time but won't weaken it otherwise. One bottle of it to a gallon of water makes a very good brass cleaner. The resulting brass will be a slightly orange color (yellow-orange) and it should be rinsed off, but it will be clean with a minimum of effort and fairly shiny. I have used this method for bulk cleaning pistol brass and it works just fine, and the solution is reusable- the dirt will settle and can be poured off. Leave your cases soak about 5-10 min.
I know the Dillon stuff says that it doesn't have any ammonia. I am wondering if that effects the brass in any way.
The ammonia crap is just another old wives tale. I've used Brasso mixed in my corn cob media for years and I've never had a problem with it.
Smitty
quote:Originally posted by Hiline345
I know the Dillon stuff says that it doesn't have any ammonia. I am wondering if that effects the brass in any way.
The ammonia crap is just another old wives tale. I've used Brasso mixed in my corn cob media for years and I've never had a problem with it.
Smitty
I did some web search and found that ammonia eats away at the brass I have also read in a thread that one guy used it and it worked great but his second time he used the media it left the brass looking bad. I am not looking to making really shiny brass but I I just want to get my brass clean but if they do come out shiny I wont through them away.
rudyj
I usually just tumble mine in walnut media for a couple of hours then reload them. CPERMD I would be wary of tumbling loaded ammo. As it tumbles the powder gets finer and changes the characteristic's on the way it burns and could lead to dangerous pressures. Just another opinion.
rudyj
Sorry Rudy.
You are incorrect.
There have been hundreds of studies disproving this.
I was present for some of them at the remington plant here in Lonoke.
WG
rudyj