Got tired of hand washing cases

[clovishound]

Thought I would try something different. Ordered a small vibratory tumbler. Came in yesterday. Went out and bought a small bag of lizard litter, a colander, and a bottle of Nu Finish.

A small batch of .357 deprimed cases are getting the treatment as we speak. I'll let them run for an hour and see how it does. I'm hoping it will get the grunge in the slot at the base, and perhaps the staining around the mouth. Might take an abrasive polish for the staining, we'll see.

I've never been that concerned with having pretty cases, but I don't like the buildup in the slot. I doubt it really hurts anything, but a lot of stuff builds up in there over time. Getting that stuff out hand washing is time consuming.

[CT_Shooter]

Good for you, Clovishound.

For the first two years of handloading, I cleaned brass by hand, too. Then, nearly a year ago, I bought the very same items in your post and haven't regretted it for a minute. I clean 100 .357 cases at a time, or however many I shoot at the range in a trip. I don't decap them first, though. And, I only added a capful of NuFinish for the first three cleanings. So far, I haven't had to add more or change the lizard walnut shells, either. I use a kitty litter scoop to remove the cases from the tumbler, shaking it until the walnuts stop falling and then dump the cases into the colander which sits on top of a wastebasket and shake it a bit more. That does the trick. The brass looks as good as new in just a couple of hours.

[JEBar]

it won't take long for you to wonder why you didn't get one on day 1 .... we've been using the same RCBS Case Tumbler since the 70's .... no telling how many casings we've run through it or how many hours it has been run .... she ain't nowhere near a shiny as she once was but she's still going strong

[clovishound]

Well, check them an hour in. They are pretty clean. Not polished. As predicted the mouth discoloration is stubborn. Gonna let it run another half hour then I have to go to work. What do all of you use to clean stubborn discoloration? I think it will come off if I leave it running long enough, but don't particularly want to leave them running for hours on end. I might have to either use a media infused with a more aggressive abrasive, or just learn to live with it.

[CT_Shooter]

What do all of you use to clean stubborn discoloration?

I'd let it go for three or four hours if they were really dirty. After that, though, it will go more quickly. I have mine set up in the basement and let them tumble for about two hours; sometimes I forget and they go for longer. I don't use range pickups, just brass from purchased factory ammo, so they never get really dirty.

[Squatch]

1 cap of Nu finish 2 or 3 of mineral spirits. run 2,3,4 hours depending on how dirty. I've never run them longer than that and they are not just clean but polished better than new.

I read all the stuff from folks about washing brass and that you don't need to clean ect. I don't get it. Throw them in the tumbler and go mow the lawn. When you are done and have cooled off come back and check them. Hard work eh?

I normally take a couple out at a time and tap them to get any grit out of them. Then a quick wipe with a rag and I run an old barrel swap down the cases to wipe the inside. To me this makes sure of no wetness from the NF + MS and gives them some final luster. I'm now keeping all my cleaned brass in Ziplock containers with a note of their status.

I also tumble/vibrate then deprime/size. I then hit the primer pocket with a pocket brush. Then check length and deburr. After that it's expanding and loading. So far this has worked well for me.

[Rugerfanboy]

Any of you guys considered wet tumbling..?? I wet tumble cause I clean several thousands of casings at a time. I do it cause of the amount of time it take to clean them. I shoot allot, so I have to clean casings allot. Wet tumbling has filled this bill nicely. Instead of waiting for casings to get clean, I can spend that time hand loading.
http://www.harborfreight.com/dual-drum- ... 67632.html

[clovishound]

Did another load of cases today. This time it was .38 spcl with a few errant .357s in the mix. Always happy to find a few .357 cases I didn't know I had.

Put in a half a cupful of Nu Finish and ran them about 2 and half hours. They came out very nice. Very little discoloration around the mouth. A few of them still had some discoloration in the groove near the base. Fairly shiny, although not what I would call polished. I ran these without removing the spent primers. I found that it made getting all the media out of the cases far more difficult. I may decap them from now on. Will end up having to inspect the insides prior to loading to make sure the flash hole is clear.

[CT_Shooter]

Did another load of cases today. This time it was .38 spcl with a few errant .357s in the mix. Always happy to find a few .357 cases I didn't know I had.

Put in a half a cupful of Nu Finish and ran them about 2 and half hours. They came out very nice. Very little discoloration around the mouth. A few of them still had some discoloration in the groove near the base. Fairly shiny, although not what I would call polished. I ran these without removing the spent primers. I found that it made getting all the media out of the cases far more difficult. I may decap them from now on. Will end up having to inspect the insides prior to loading to make sure the flash hole is clear.

If that's not a typo, it sounds a like a lot of Nu Finish, CH. Did you mean half a capful and not half a cupful?

I'm surprised that your results are so different from my own. I do get what I would call "polished", gleaming, like-new brass, and I haven't had any difficulty removing all of the media. I do decap immediately after cleaning, and I do give them a good whistle blow of air before they go into the die, but they're as clean "as a whistle" when I prime them. That's also when they get a final, thorough visual checkup while also running my fingers around the rim to feel for burrs or cracks.

I hope you begin to get results that are more in line with your expectations. Thanks for keeping us posted.

[clovishound]

Yep, that was a typo. Half a CAPful. Don't misunderstand me, I am happy with the results. They are much better looking than I have been getting by hand washing. I think the issue is they have been loaded and shot quite a few times without ever being tumbled. I think after I get them where they "should" be, a tumble every time, or every other time they are fired, and they will clean up to like new looks. I could tumble them for 4 - 6 hours now, and perhaps get them there, but it seems a waste of time, electricity and wear and tear on the equipment. I might just try doing that with the .357 cases tomorrow for the heck of it. It's either that, or use something with a mild abrasive. I would prefer not to go the abrasive route right now.

As to the media not all coming out, I am using a handheld colander. Some of the cases don't end up upside down for the media to completely "drain". I find that grabbing handfuls and and turning that handful over a few times helps a lot. Still doesn't get it all out. Maybe I will break down and get the commercial media separator at some point. I do prefer simple solutions, when practical.

[Rugerfanboy]

I do prefer simple solutions, when practical.

Yup, it's called wet tumbling.

[clovishound]

I do prefer simple solutions, when practical.

Yup, it's called wet tumbling.

I considered wet tumbling. It does have several advantages, as well as several disadvantages. One of the things I didn't like about hand washing was the whole rinsing and drying thing. That would not change with wet tumbling. In the end the economics and popularity of vibratory tumbling won out. I don't have so much invested in it, that I can't try something different down the road without too many regrets.

[Squatch]

I'm no expert but I think I can help. I just did a bunch of cases. Several loads. I've been experimenting. The reason the cases have wet media in them is because you didn't mix it 1st. Also the mineral spirits is important. It's a great mild solvent and gets the black off. It also thins the NF so it gets absorbed by the media. If my cases don't polish in a reasonable time then I need to add more wet mix.

I use lizard litter. Ground walnut shells. I fill my hopper about 2/3 full. I then take an old cat food can and add 1 cap Nu Finish and 2 caps mineral spirits and mix them with a popsickle stick. Then I pour this around the media. Close it up and run for 15 minutes with no brass in it to mix the solution with the media. This is important. It keeps the media from getting wet clumpy spots. I then take 2 dryer sheets and cut up into little squares and add them to the media. This cleans the media they say. Sure seems to. The black soot sticks to the sheets. Then add the cases and start tumbling. A couple of hours usually does the trick. Not just to clean but super polished.

I've found that if they aren't coming clean in a couple of hours then either run some more or I should have added solution to the batch. When I run several consecutive batches I'll add more solution at least every other batch. If I don't then it takes much longer to polish the last of the soot off. The MS evaporates away slowly.

The only batch that had clumps of media in the cases was the last one I ran the other day. I failed to pre run the mix in the media and just added it with the cases.

Every other batch I remove the dryer sheet pieces and replace. I run a max of about 2-300 44 mag cases or 100 45/70 at a time.

I takes longer but I sit down at the bench and wipe each one. I just pull a couple at a time out by hand and tap them out and place on a rag towel until the hopper is empty. This removes the stuff inside. Once the hopper is empty I sit down with another rag and a 44 bore mop on a pistol cleaning rod. I pick up each case and tap it on the table open side down. Run the mop inside and then wipe and drop the shiny case into a plastic container and repeat for all the ammo. I figure it's probably not necessary but they sure come out purdy and I have no issues with media left in the cases. I figure this also removes any residue from the solution that might later cause a problem. It takes a little time but not bad really and the results are ammo that looks as good as the Henry I'm putting them in.

I have run probably 3,000 cases through the media in my hopper and will probably replace it soon. I was thinking of putting some of the old stuff in a small can as campfire starter. Mineral spirits impregnated walnuts shells outta burn pretty well!

These pics are with the old camera earlier in the year when I was just getting started. The last round I did last week came out looking like the receiver on my BB. I'm getting better at it.

I know shiny cases aren't needed. But like so many things when you are done the finished product looks like you really accomplished something. I don't shoot so many rounds that I can't take the extra time.

Hope this helps.

[clovishound]

The media left in the cases is not clumps of wet media. It is just the case still partially full of dry media. The cases never turned over and emptied. I haven't had an issue with clumps of Nu Finish. When I did the first batch, I put the capful in, and then let it run for a bit. I did break up a couple of the larger clumps by hand, and they incorporated quickly. The last two batches, I just dumped the NF in, dumped in the cases and let them run. Did not see any clumps after a minute or two.

I may try the MS. I would not be surprised if it helped with both removing some residue as well as aiding in the media "cutting" through the grime.

[clovishound]

I ran the .357 cases for a couple more hours. Still had some stubborn discoloration on a few. A swipe with some 0000 steel wool will take care of that. We'll see if it starts to build back up.

Loaded up the last few Xtreme HPs I had on hand to try some Universal I picked up recently. I have another box of the HPs coming in tomorrow.


Those Xtremes do make some nice looking rounds.

[Rugerfanboy]

I do prefer simple solutions, when practical.

Yup, it's called wet tumbling.

I considered wet tumbling. It does have several advantages, as well as several disadvantages. One of the things I didn't like about hand washing was the whole rinsing and drying thing. That would not change with wet tumbling. In the end the economics and popularity of vibratory tumbling won out. I don't have so much invested in it, that I can't try something different down the road without too many regrets.

Here's my take on wet tumbling. I wet tumble cause I shoot allot, hence the reason why I have a progressive press. It takes allot of time to clean brass with vibratory tumblers. So, I research wet tumbling and at the time, only commercial wet tumblers were available and they cost allot of money. So, I found some guys online building some wet tumblers and thought, hey, I can do that, but for whole lot cheaper. Fast forward past the build. I deprime my brass cause clean primer pockets, along with uniform primer pockets and uniform flash holes, are more accurate. For target shooting, yes you can get by with dirty primer pockets and so-so clean brass. I for one, have a high degree of QC instilled in myself from being former military. I want my brass clean cause I inspect each and every piece of brass that goes threw my firearms. I will not take a chance of a bad piece of brass getting reloaded and put in one of my firearms when I could of prevented it. I do not shoot and then clean every piece of brass that I was just shooting. I wait for when I have several thousand pieces of that particular caliber to be cleaned. So, wet tumbling has filled that void for me. My process of wet tumbling 2500 cases of 38 special, consist of pouring the brass inside of the drum, put in one gallon of water, 15 lbs of stainless steel pins and a 45acp piece of brass full of a product called Lemishine and a teaspoon of dawn dish washing soap. I wet tumble those cases for two hours. When the two hours are up, I pour the brass and SS pins into a RCBS media separator. Since I'm wet tumbling 2500 cases of 38 special, it takes three baskets loads to get the SS pins and the brass separated. At this point, I do not rinse the brass off with fresh water cause I've found it's not needed. I have 50,000 plus pieces of brass on hand and I have mastered wet tumbling (not a business, just a high volume shooter). Anyways, after the brass and the SS pins are separated, I take the brass and run them threw a beach towel, which only purpose is to get the water off the outside of the brass cause if you don't, it will leave water spots on the outside of the brass. After that, I have two brass dryers that I use to dry the 2500 pieces of brass. Which I let run for about 45 minutes to an hour. After that, I spend about two hours inspecting these casings for defects. That puts me out to five hours, which in time, I have 2500 pieces of 38 special brass ready to reload.

For less than $300 dollars, these are all the items you'd need to clean and dry your brass. All you would need is water and electricity. If you don't want to buy the dryer, you could put the brass inside of the stove on a cookie sheet and set the temp to 150 degree's. In about 30 minutes to an hours, your brass is ready to be inspected and then to be hand loaded. I've included some pictures of my clean brass. A vibratory tumbler will not clean brass like a wet tumbler will. Since I've switched over to wet tumbling, I have found several pieces of brass that I would have missed in dry tumbling. Wet tumbling is just one of my processes that I use to build premium and accurate ammunition. Case prep and high quality dies is a few more.

Platinum Series Rotary Tumbler (Stainless Steel Media Tumbler) $198.06
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Double Action Rotary Sifter On Sale: $19.68
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Platinum Series Brass Dryer $55.09
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Lemi Shine Detergent Booster, 12 oz $4.13
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Dawn Original Dishwashing Liquid, 56 fl oz $3.93
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[Rugerfanboy]

My home built wet tumbler.

[clovishound]

If I had that many cases to clean, I would have to use something a little different.

As it is, this seems to be pretty easy to fit in the time schedule. It only takes a couple minutes on either end to load up, and then unload/sift the cases. The couple hours tumbling, I'm doing something else. I can only do several hundred cases at a time, but that works well for me.

[JEBar]

interesting setup .... your casings most certainly come out exceptionally clean

[Travlin]

I inherited an ultrasonic cleaner from my late friend. I put in a little Lemi Shine and run the cases about 20 minutes after de-priming them . I made a basket from hardware cloth to rinse them with water. While still in the basket, I use a heat gun to dry the cases while shaking them around. I have the big orange Lyman vibratory cleaner and lots of walnut shell media and Nu-finish. I like the ultrasonic better.