Case Cleaning

  • 3.6K Views
  • Last Post 11 January 2014
Revolverman posted this 26 December 2013

My 30 year old turbo tumbler is in the process of calling it quits.....What are the individual preferences out there?  The tumbler with corn cob media is all I've ever used but its far from perfect and I'm looking for something quicker/more efficient.  Thanks.

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Dale53 posted this 27 December 2013

I have the large Dillon vibratory tumbler and have been more than happy with it over the last 20 or 25 years. The big one IS large, however. If you are cramped for space you might want to look at the smaller one. Me, when this one dies, I'll pony up for another.

FWIW Dale53

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Vassal posted this 27 December 2013

I have gone sonic and I can't “go back".  Cabellas has a lyman sonic cleaner on sale right now. a little more work but they really do STAY NEW.

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Michael K posted this 27 December 2013

Through a chain of events last spring I have changed over to stainless steel media. Wish I would of done so much sooner.  The stuff works extremely well, cleans inside and out, including primer pockets. 

If you shoot BPCR with BP there is nothing quicker, easier, or more efficient. Shoot, decap, put in tumbler per directions, seperate from media, rinse, dry, reload, repeat.

http://www.stainlesstumblingmedia.com/>http://www.stainlesstumblingmedia.com/

Michael

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onondaga posted this 27 December 2013

I'd go with SS wet rotary tumbling if I could afford to change. All the results and reports I've seen are gleaming inside and out.

I'm not unhappy with what I have, My RCBS Vibratory case cleaner has a double top standard and one is a media strainer that works great. I use #11 Walnut grit from Harbor Frieght @ $25/25 pounds. I add 1 teasp. chrome polish every 10 loads and add one used drier sheet spray soaked with silicone spray and cut to 2x2” pieces fresh every cycle, that keeps dust to zero and keeps media very clean.  My brass polishes jewelry pretty in 4 hours.

The RCBS can be used with lemishine water detergent and salt solution for inside case cleaning of even range pickup nasty brass. It does not leak and works fine with mild liquid cleaners and no media for brass washing inside and out. 20 minutes gets brass very clean but unpolished. then rinse very well in a bucket  and dry with air or low oven. A regular polishing is done last.

Gary

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303PV posted this 27 December 2013

http://www.lavabossoli-lem.com/english/home/>http://www.lavabossoli-lem.com/english/home/       Interesting principle.

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Longone posted this 27 December 2013

I have a RCBS Sidewinder and a RCBS vibratory, the Sidewinder cleans the outside of cases very well but if you are looking for a polished outside you will need to dry them and then put them in a vibratory. I have never used the SS pins so I can't comment on that but to me the inside of the case is irrelevant. In the summer time after a trip in the Sidewinder the brass gets rinsed off and placed in a beer flat and put in the sun to dry, in the winter the brass is placed on a duct close to the furnace to dry then if I want a polished o/s they will go in the vibrator with some corn media and Nu-Finish car polish as needed.

Longone

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Garyshome posted this 05 January 2014

Frankford arsenal has cleaned many...many cases, and it's still working right now!

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CB posted this 05 January 2014

I hope this situation doesn't give my two Lyman tumblers any ideas of retirement. Both of mine are around 30 years old too (am I really that old?). If they die, I'll probably go with a rotary tumbler and SS pins. I've noticed that rifle cases get pretty dirty inside, and I'd like to address that somehow.

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Chargar posted this 06 January 2014

When I got started, nobody cleaned their cases other than a wipe off. A long time handloader was known by his dark brass. I went to vibrating tumbler with walnut shell media and I am on my second. It works good enough for me.

However, I just bought some 45 Colt cases from a guy and they came cleaned with stainless steel pins. I must say, they look like new unfired cases. Very tempting...but I probably won't make the jump.

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Ken Campbell Iowa posted this 06 January 2014

me being a cheap-butt farm boy, i went to menards and bought a sack of little stainless finishing nails.

oh oh, they have sharp points ...give a frosty finish . maybe they will eventually round off the tips ...

for copycats, get a size that wont stick in your primer pockets. also, double check for hidden needles before loading .. you could shoot walnut hulls down your barrel but not stainless shrapnel.

ken

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joeb33050 posted this 06 January 2014

I never had a tumbler, never polished cases, don't know why anyone does. I wipe each case as it comes out of the rifle, wash cases now and then in Ajax liquid and hot water, dry  and done. Wash pistol cases if they hit the ground = autoloaders.Works for me.

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Duane Mellenbruch posted this 06 January 2014

As a handgun shooter, my cases do hit the ground. I find that cleaning cases reduce the chance that I will introduce grit into the reloading process. A clean case is a little easier to see when picking up the fired cases as well. It serves my needs. Not everyones needs are the same.

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Carbine Dave posted this 11 January 2014

I use purple cleaner and boiling water, cleans all the crud out, thinking about getting a vibratory cleaner, used to use an old rock tumbler, worked o.k., but left dust on the cases and had to be rinsed. Also i have used 1 to 5 clr and water for real nasty cases, but wonder if this weakens the brass, i have not had any problems with this, but don't do it very often.

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CB posted this 11 January 2014

To get the dust down, try tearing a dryer fabric softener sheet into smaller pieces and toss them into the tumbler with the brass. They'll reduce the dust considerably. Car polish helps too. I use Nufinish, it seems to work as well as Dillon Case Polish, and it's considerably cheaper.

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Vassal posted this 11 January 2014

I was forced to resort to a formal case cleaning regime when my 6.5 BPC would build up carbon around the necks. It didn't come off easily and created neck tension problems after a couple of firings. As was stated, I went sonic and it works great for me. Nothing better than a big pile of 40SW once fired and freshly cleaned - They make ammo that appears as new. I stack it up and put it in boxes!

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offhand35 posted this 11 January 2014

I batch clean my handgun brass with Birchwood-Casey Liquid Brass Case Cleaner. It is a weak phosphoric acid that you dilute with water. Pour some over the brass in a 5 gal. bucket, swish it around a bit by hand (you don't want any open cuts here....!), pour the diluted cleaner back into a 5 gal jug, let cold water run into the bucket to rinse. Then I put several handfuls into a colander, shake and spread onto a large old towel or 2 around the wood stove for a day or so to dry. This is all done in the bath tub this time of year. Cleans out the tub pretty good, too.

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