Cleaning Fired Brass Cases

[Will]

What's your favorite procedure for cleaning fired brass cases in preparation for reloading; for both function and appearance? Thanks........Will

[Eric A. Savickas, 08663V]

Wash...dry...tumble...

[Gary Van Kauwenbergh, 101]

I carry a container of water mixed with some sort of solvent to the range, and throw my cartridges into it shortly after I shoot them. I also have a field decapping device.

When you get them home, if you used bees wax in your lube, soaking them in paint thinner will melt that off. I have a jug that I keep reusing. The dark sludge sinks to the bottom.

After a good rinse and dry, I put them in the brass polisher with corn cob media and Brasso.

[pastore]

After a good rinse and dry, I put them in the brass polisher with corn cob media and Brasso.
If you have already deprimed the cases, what do you do about the media in the primer hole ?

[Gary Van Kauwenbergh, 101]

I just dig it out. It's a pain, but I'd rather get as much residue off the brass as soon as I can. If anyone has a better way, I'm all ears!

[pastore]

If anyone has a better way, I'm all ears!
Don't deprime until you have tumbled the brass.

[Eric A. Savickas, 08663V]

If you wait to de-prime, you run the risk of breaking your de-capping pin. The media can still get stuck in the flash hole! (Experience)

[pastore]

Suit yourself?

[Eric A. Savickas, 08663V]

For sure, de-capping pins and rods are not expensive. It can be a pain if the rod in the sizer die gets bent, but suit yourself. A person could use a seperate de-capper set up; they are stronger, but if the hole is plugged up, it can be hard to center it for the hammer blow!

[Gary Van Kauwenbergh, 101]

A buddy of mine welded a decapper rod onto a set of pliers. That's what I bring to the range to decap before dropping the cartridge into the solvent. Yes, the corn cob can get stuck in the primer pocket, but I hate decapping a shinny piece of brass and seeing a dirty primer pocket.

[Eric A. Savickas, 08663V]

Youbetcha Gary, it only makes sense to de-cap first. The primer pockets get all jambed up after a while!

[Gary Van Kauwenbergh, 101]

Either way works. Six of one - a half dozen of the other, and hours worth of debating. Whatever works for you is what you should do.

Lord have mercy on me, I love this hobby!

[RaiderANV]

Will,

I'll assume your asking about Maynard cases since most of your posts are about Maynards and the search for one. Guessin' when you get ah Henry you can use all the above info.

With my Maynard cases I fill a gallon bucket with hot water and whatever dishwashing stuff the wife has on the back of the sink. I stir the water alot being careful NOT to hit the cases so as not to ding them.

I pour out the water and rinse a few times with hot water then leave them lay out on a towel to dry.

I've never tumbled my cases since I bought them new in 1995. My flash holes in the cases are nearly as small as when purchased. I've come to believe that the lil bit of carbon buildup on the cases keeps the fire from the caps from burning the holes out way bigger. Guessin' that's why the Space shuttle has the carbon heat tiles. :idea:

[Scott Kurki, 12475]

I use the same method as PJ mentioned (I got it from him) to improve on it slightly, bring a large mouth plastic bottle to the range and dump the cases in it as soon as possible. When I remember to do this I have found that the cases come out cleaner. PJ's method is just fine by itself though.

[Paul Lampman 263V]

Regardless of how you deal with the primer pocket, there is nothing better than a pocket brush/reamer to clean it out. Washing or tumbling does not get it bright.

[Will]

Will,

I'll assume your asking about Maynard cases since most of your posts are about Maynards and the search for one. Guessin' when you get ah Henry you can use all the above info.

With my Maynard cases I fill a gallon bucket with hot water and whatever dishwashing stuff the wife has on the back of the sink. I stir the water alot being careful NOT to hit the cases so as not to ding them.

I pour out the water and rinse a few times with hot water then leave them lay out on a towel to dry.

I've never tumbled my cases since I bought them new in 1995. My flash holes in the cases are nearly as small as when purchased. I've come to believe that the lil bit of carbon buildup on the cases keeps the fire from the caps from burning the holes out way bigger. Guessin' that's why the Space shuttle has the carbon heat tiles. :idea:


It was a general question but my interest is for the Maynard cases. I bought a Maynard and got a bag of reduced cases in need of a thorough cleaning. I wasn't sure of how to accomplish this but seems I have heard of vinegar to remove black powder fouling, so I soaked the cases overnight in 5% vinegar, followed by a soda water wash and then rince and dry. I steel wooled inside and out; they turned out very nice. Now, after firing, I just do the vinegar/soda wash and tumble; they come out great. Clear the flash hole with a blast of air and reload. I really like the way the vinegar disolves the BP fouling but I'll try the soapy water wash.

This is my first experience with a Maynard. I made the choice to buy a Maynard from reading what other owners were saying and I didn't go wrong. The Maynard +'s are many but the ease of cleaning may be the best. Thing is that now my shooting buddy wants one so I looking for another one. Thanks for all the advice and good wishes..................Will

[RangerFrog]

I use the same method as PJ mentioned (I got it from him) to improve on it slightly, bring a large mouth plastic bottle to the range and dump the cases in it as soon as possible. When I remember to do this I have found that the cases come out cleaner. PJ's method is just fine by itself though.

I was doing it this way too, Scott, but in a discussion with the same PJ we both know and respect(?) mentioned that my cases were not getting sufficiently clean... they still had a sort of black sticky stuff composed of unburned powder, lube and who-knows-what! At his suggestion, I added a good shot of clear vinegar to the cleaning mix and voila' problem solved. Green Will, using this technique, I don't have to leave them soaking overnight... I feel like they get as clean as necessary by the time I get them home from the range. No soda, either... just rinse thoroughly in clear water and air dry, :P

Froggie

[FlinchJerk]

step 1.) after the shooting, put brass in a tight lidded container filled with water & dish detergent.
step 2., with Henry & Spencer) de-cap--de-pime in loading press
step 3.) put cases in a pan with clean water on the stove top and low-heat boil off the fouling, grease, dirt particles, etc.
step 4.) air dry, say on a junk towel
step 5.) tumble in commercial "vibratorium" (mine is a Lyman) with ground corn cob medium.
step 4.) using a dental pick, punch out cob fragments from touch hole of Maynards, primer pockets of cf cases.....

Works for me....

Dean Nelson
1st MD Infantry, CSA, N-SSA

[Gary Van Kauwenbergh, 101]

Paul,

I have an RCBS scraping tool, but that's it. What kind of brush do you use or recommend?

[mwmoore10261]

I clean my brass the same way Pat does by putting the cases as soon as I can into some dishwasing liquid. I bought an inexpensive ultrasonic cleaner on eBay and after the cases have soaked I put them in the ultrasonic cleaner with Birchwood Casey cartridge case cleaner and ultrasonically clean them for 5 minutes. This cleans the outside and inside of the cases. After rinsing and drying, my Maynard cases are ready to be reloaded. The ultrasonic cleaner may also work for cleaning the media out of the primer pocket, I don't have any experience with trying this. The cases may not be bright as with tumbling but you don't usually ding the necks of the cartridges and have to retrue them. Hope you find your Maynard soon as the brass prices keep escalating.
Michael Moore, 10261, St Mary's Light Infantry

[Will]

Michael; I did buy a Maynard of the N-SSA BB. It has a Hoyt relined barrel, a Whitacre inserted flash hole and a trigger job; I don't know by who, but it's a very nice trigger pull. Also got a 6 hole mould and 150+ used (reduced) cases in need of a good cleaning. The gun wasn't quiet what I had visioned it would be, from the pictures and owners description but it will work, at least for now. Now my shooting buddy is wanting one, so I'm still in the market for a 2nd model carbine. Thanks again for all the good advise and well wishes from those who responded........................Will

[Paul Lampman 263V]

Gary
RCBS (and others probably) make a nice handle/wire brush that screws in like a cleaning jag. I use white vinegar as soon as I get home, flush out with water from the garden hose and let dry in a loading block. After tumbling I decap and inspect the primer pockets. They don't generally need cleaning every time.

One note: I use to just use hot soapy water but after a while started getting split cases. Investigation showed that the soapy water was not getting the built up crud out of the cases and the crud was eating the brass. Vinegar neutralizes everything in the case. Splits stopped. Word of advice, only leave the cases in the vinegar until you see the bubbles stop. Otherwise if you forget them, you could have blacken brass.

[Jim_Burgess_2078V]

While vinegar (acidic) and products containing ammonia (Brasso) will restore brass to a bright and shiney condition, I have heard they will also weaken brass over time. Repeated firing and resizing will eventually take its toll on brass cases no matter what we do. Case splits and ruptures are bound to occur sooner or later but I prefer not to hasten the process with harsh chemicals. My procedure is as follows: 1. Deprime cases (this facilitates drying after step 2); 2. Soak and shake cases in a solution of water and baking soda (The sooner this is done after firing the better the results. The baking soda nuetralizes the acids in the black powder fouling.); 3. Dry cases on a towel (sunlight expedites this); 4. Toss cases in tumbler for a couple of hours (using walnut media from Midway which is relatively small grained and will not get lodged in primer pockets); 5. Brush the inside of cases with nylon brissle brush to remove any residual carbon buildup; 6. Primer pockets are routinely cleaned with an RCBS primer pocket wire brush to minimize any chance of a high primer, a potential hazard in a tubular magazine. The cases are then ready for reloading. They may not sparkle but they are clean.
- Jim Burgess, 15th Conn. Vol. Inf.

[J Weber 4114V]

I use a RCBS primer cleaning brush in a cordless drill. Just takes a second and it will usually remove any thing in left stuck in the flash hole.This does not seem to wear out the pockets.

If your tumbling media is getting a bit slow try using a tablespoon or so of paint thinner in it.

Pet supply stores have a lizard bedding that is made of ground walnut shells. Works fine and is cheaper that the gun shop stuff. They also have the corn cob stuff but all that I have seen is ground much coarser that what I use