Brass Case Cleaning

[Local Boy]

Just wondering how other folks clean their brass?

I'm a newbie and don't know my brass from a hole in the ground when it comes to reloading.

So far the only ammo I've reloaded has been .38 Special and .45 ACP.

Currently I'm using a Lyman vibrating tumbler with Lyman Turbo Tumbler Media with a rouge polish called Tufnut. I'm only using the Tufnut because it it came with the used reloading press that I purchased.

The media cleans and polishes the cases but leaves a red residue.

I've done a lot of online research but what I'm really interested in is finding out what other KCA members use to clean their brass casings?

Hopefully, I should loading 30-40 Krag ammo soon!!!

[butlersrangers]

I don't normally clean or polish my Brass.

If I Full-Length Resize cases, I will put them in my Lyman vibrating tumbler with walnut shell medium, for a few hours, to clean lubricant off of the cases.

Ammo that I shoot in bolt guns is usually just Neck-Sized. I put a little case lube on the necks, prior to neck-sizing, and wipe it off with an old towel, before priming. For Neck-Sizing .30-40 cases, I use a Lee Collet Die in 7.5X55mm Swiss and don't bother with any lube.

Sometimes, I clean the inside of rifle case necks with a small bristle brush and mica dust. I have an old 'Bonanza' plastic 'doodad' screwed to my Press Stand. It holds several diameters of upright brushes in a hopper of mica.

I clean Primer pockets with a RCBS hand tool.

I think shiny Brass may draw enemy fire! ;)

[psteinmayer]

A word of advice about Tufnut: I used to use it in a tumbler polisher... and found that it left a permanent reddish discoloration on my RP brass that remains to this day, and I stopped using it 8 years ago! I purchased a Cabela's branded vibratory cleaner and I use a mixture of the Cabelas corncob and the Lyman's corncob. Works great!!! I do have to sometimes poke a piece of media out of the flash hole, but that doesn't bother me that much.

[Kerz]

The following is my std practice for all rifle brass:
1. Vibratory cleaned with walnut pieces. Sometimes adding a dose brass polish.
2. Brush the inside of case necks with mica. (Lyman prep station)
3. Full length resize the case. I use Imperial Wax.
4. Back to the vibratory cleaner for a few minutes to remove lube.
5. Cases are trimmed as needed. I usually run all cases thru a trimmer. Rather than measuring each to determine if trimming is needed.
6. Flash holes inspected for any walnut hull pieces. Ice pick to remove as needed.
7. Primer pockets cleaned and inside/outside case mouth chamfering done using a Lyman prep station. https://ads.midwayusa.com/product/211733/lyman-case-prep-xpress-case-prep-center?utm_medium=shopping&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=Reloading+-+Metallic+Reloading+Equipment+(Not+Presses)&utm_content=211733&cm_mmc=pf_ci_google-_-Reloading+-+Metallic+Reloading+Equipment+(Not+Presses)-_-Lyman-_-211733&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIhs2k2ezs3gIVGZ7ACh3l-QmYEAQYASABEgIft_D_BwE

[butlersrangers]

FWIW - I like patina, even on my cartridge cases, (but, not verdigris).

I think polishing cases brite!!! may make it harder to spot some potential problems & clues, like case 'stretch marks'.

[psteinmayer]

1. I decap with a LEE decapping die.
2. I use a brass end brush in a Dremel to clean the primer pockets (works great!).
3. I clean in my Vibratory tumbler.
4. I poke any pieces of media from the flash holes.
5. I lube with Hornady One Shot (no need to clean after, I just wipe dry after sizing).
6. I size.
7. I trim, chamfer, and then wipe the cases.
8. I then load em up!!!

[butlersrangers]

..... and then you shoots em' :D ... and then the crazy process starts all over again, (annealing occasionally)!!!

[Local Boy]

Thanks for the advice guys!

I think I'm going to start using corn cob/walnut for my case cleaning media with no manufacture additives. Some folks said they add mineral spirits and used dryer softening sheets to keep the dust down. Other people, like Kerz, use a little added polish to brighten things up.

One interesting source said that the rouge, used in the Layman Tufnut media, may cause undue wear of the rifle bore! Supposedly caused by the amount of polish that remains on the inside of the case when reloading and then shot through the barrel. Besides the added mess of the Tufnut I think I'm going to shelve it for now.

Kind of off topic, but am I correct in assuming that most folks use a single stage press to load their 30-40 ammo? I thought I could use my progressive press... pull down the handle a couple of times... out pops a bullet. But I'm guessing that a single stage would inherently produce more accurate rounds?

BTW: Interesting comment from one source suggested that they had problems with cases sticking in the dies because the cases were too smooth and shiny. The commentators thought that perhaps the carbon, on the outside of their pistol cases, acted as a lubricant. I think maybe they forgot to use lube or carbide dies? :-?

[Culpeper]

I think I am using that tufnut stuff also. Looks like reddish Grape-Nuts. I have not discerned any red hue to the outsides of the cases that a shop cloth or old T-shirt can't get off. It does leave red residue inside the cases. I figure most of my rifles have been rode hard and put up wet, in a fashion, that a little rouge is not going to effect any damage on the bore. It'll get burned out on firing anyay. I take a pistol rod and a few patches and dry swab the brass if I feel a little nervous about it.

I have a single stage press. The most brass I have ever done at one sitting was a hundred and fifty AAC Blackout cases the other day. Lost track of the amout of 30-40 in one session. That was enough for one afternoon.

Memo to all: Wear steel toed shoes if you have a seventy pound press that you set up and take down when you use it. ::)

[Capt. Frank]

I do not like running dirty cases through my resizing/decapping die. So I tumble them with corn cob, and metal polish for an hour, after lubing and resizing, I tumble them again, for about two hours. This cleans some of the carbon from the primer pockets, making the primer pocket cleaning go faster. After trimming to length, I de-burr inside and outside of the neck, and clean the primer pockets.