{"id":54788,"date":"2016-03-17T13:19:12","date_gmt":"2016-03-17T17:19:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gunsamerica.com\/blog\/?p=54788"},"modified":"2016-03-17T13:19:12","modified_gmt":"2023-08-19T13:04:10","slug":"reloading-brass-cleaning-and-preparation-to-load","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/reloading-brass-cleaning-and-preparation-to-load\/","title":{"rendered":"Reloading: Brass Cleaning and Preparation To Load"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The

The only real brass cleaning requirement is to get dirt and grit removed, but it doesn’t hurt to make it nice and shiny too.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

SERIES<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Part 1:<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/span>Want to Reload Your Own Ammo? Basic Questions to Consider<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Part 2:<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/span>The Reloading Process<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong>
Part 3:<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/b><\/span>The Gear You\u2019ll Need and What It\u2019ll Cost You<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Part 4:\u00a0Brass Cleaning and Preparation to Load<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Part 5:<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/span>Brass Resizing<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Part 6:\u00a0Trimming Cartridge Cases<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Part 7:\u00a0Repriming the Cartridge Case<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Part 8:\u00a0Powder, Propellants, and Pressure<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Part 9:<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/span>All About Primers<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Part 10:<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/span>Projectiles: Materials, Weights, and Styles<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Part 11:\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Seating and Crimping Bullets<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Part 12: To Crimp or not to Crimp<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Part 13: Final Inspection and Packaging Tips<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The most important step in brass cleaning and preparation is to hoard like those people who get their interventions filmed for TV. Every time you go to a range that allows, pick up the brass. 95% of it will be pristine, once-fired brass. If you shoot at a club, it\u2019s likely that a higher percentage will be reloaded, but as long as you inspect and load it to moderate, not maximum, power levels, it\u2019s good to grovel and fight for that too. Even if you\u2019re just thinking about taking up reloading, start your brass collection now – it\u2019s the most expensive component, so the more you get free, the better.<\/p>\n

In this episode, we\u2019re going to cover the ways you can turn that recycled range brass into ready-to-load cartridge cases. Ready?<\/p>\n

The Paint Bucket Method<\/h2>\n

When we discussed equipment needs, I mentioned that you don\u2019t \u201cneed\u201d brass cleaning equipment. It\u2019s really a want. You need to clean it enough to make it safe and reliable by getting the loose dirt and powder residue off, but making it shiny is what it sounds like \u2013 a cosmetic preference.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve got a plastic bucket with a lid, you can add water and a little bit of Tide and shake away to your hearts content. That\u2019ll be enough to get the loose grime off. Some people like to use various combinations of vinegar, dish soap, and Lemi-Shine with the washing method, so feel free to experiment. Just be sure to rinse your brass after using other cleaning additives.<\/p>\n

There are only two drawbacks to the shake and rinse method: the brass may not look pristine and you\u2019ll have to thoroughly dry it before proceeding to the next reloading step. Since it applies to a couple of cleaning methods discussed here, we\u2019ll address ways to dry brass in a section later in this article.<\/p>\n

The Tumbling Method<\/h2>\n

Dry tumbling can clean and polish your brass. The basic idea is that you fill a vibrating bowl or drum with cleaning \u201cmedia\u201d like crushed walnut shells or corn cob bits and throw your brass in with it. After a couple of hours of vibration, the friction rubs the dirt and stains off of the brass and it comes out pretty clean and shiny.<\/p>\n

On the plus side, tumbling is tried and true. It\u2019ll clean your brass perfectly well. You also won\u2019t need to worry about drying it as the whole process is dry.<\/p>\n

\"A

A vibrating tumbler will get your brass clean. The dryer sheets shown here help collect some of the dirt so the cleaning media lasts longer.<\/p><\/div>\n

On the down side, the dirt has to go somewhere and that somewhere is that it sticks to the cleaning media. That means you\u2019ll have to change out your media frequently. It\u2019s possible to wash and dry some types of cleaning media, but that topic is for another day.<\/p>\n

You will need to make sure all the bits of cleaning media are out of the cartridge cases before reloading. Some dry tumblers have a way to let the media drain out, leaving mostly brass. Or, you can use a separator that lets the cleaning media drain into a bucket.<\/p>\n

Pro Tip: Sort before you tumble!<\/h3>\n
\"You

You can buy ready to go cleaning media for brass or you can use bulk stuff like crushed walnut shells or corn cobs.<\/p><\/div>\n

If you clean your brass with a tumbler, sorting it first can save you a ton of headache. Here\u2019s the gotcha. If you throw a bunch of pistol brass of varying calibers into a tumbler, the smaller ones, like .32, .380 and 9mm will get stuck inside the larger ones like .40 and .45. Sometimes, you can even end up with a three-way, even though that\u2019s illegal in some states. The vibration of the tumbler works the cleaning media in between these nested cases so they end up as tightly bonded as those nut jobs on The View.<\/p>\n

Before tumbling, I dump a pile of range pick up brass onto a towel or old sheet on the floor. By hand, I grab all the rifle cartridges and throw them into one bucket. Rifle cartridges generally don\u2019t have the nesting problem, so you can tumble them all together and sort them once they\u2019re clean.<\/p>\n

Then I filter off (again by hand, and there\u2019s a reason for this) the rimmed cartridges like .44 Special, .44 Magnum, .38 Special, .357 Magnum and .45 Colt. I throw the .44s and .45s in one bucket as they can be tumbled together. The .38s and .357s can also be cleaned together. Both are easier to separate into their proper calibers once clean.<\/p>\n

Last I have a pile of .45, .40, 9mm, .380 ACP, .32 ACP, .357 Sig and probably some .22LR that got in there. Here\u2019s where the technology of plastic comes into play. Get yourself a set of Shell Sorter trays from Brownells<\/a>.\u00a0These have sized slots in the bottom that let certain calibers fall through to the next tray. Between the set of three, you\u2019ll easily separate a mountain of pistol brass into .45, .40 \/ .357 Sig, and 9mm in no time. The smaller stuff falls through all so you can grab .32s by hand and throw away the rimfire stuff and cigarette butts. An optional metal plate helps you separate .380 ACP from 9mm. Oh, the reason I hand pick the rimmed cartridges like .44 and .38 Special out? They get caught in the right sorting tray, but you have to pick them out of the slots. It\u2019s easier to deal with them first as they\u2019re easy to spot in the pile.<\/p>\n

Ultrasonic Cleaning<\/h2>\n

Like jewelry cleaners, ultrasonic cleaners use water and detergent. Sound waves vibrate the solution, with your brass inside, theoretically breaking loose the dirt and grime and releasing it into the water.<\/p>\n

While most ultrasonic cleaners are fairly small, the cleaning cycle is fast, usually minutes, so you can move through a lot of brass quickly. It\u2019s also easy to dump dirty water and replace it with fresh after a couple of loads. You won\u2019t need to worry about making sure cleaning media is removed from your cases as there is none.<\/p>\n

\"Since

Since the cycle time is fast, even a small ultrasonic cleaner like this one can handle a lot of brass quickly.<\/p><\/div>\n

On the down side, brass doesn\u2019t get as clean with this method. It\u2019ll be perfectly safe and usable, but I\u2019ve never gotten as good a result as with friction-oriented cleaning methods like tumbling. You\u2019ll also have to dry the brass.<\/p>\n

Wet Tumbling<\/h2>\n
\"A

A Lyman Cyclone Rotary Tumbler.<\/p><\/div>\n

I think the Mac Daddy method of professional brass cleaning is wet tumbling. Rather than a vibrating bowl, a wet tumbler uses a rotary motion like those old rock tumbling machines from way back. You fill a drum with water, cleaning solution, your brass, and stainless steel pins and place it on the rotary tumbling motor. This spins the drum for a couple of hours, forcing the steel pins and detergent to scrub the living crap out of your brass.<\/p>\n

\"Wet

Wet tumblers use stainless steel pins for cleaning media – it lasts forever if you don’t lose them.<\/p><\/div>\n

Your brass will get really, really clean \u2013 like factory new. The capacity of rotary wet tumblers can go to 1,000 .223 cases per load, so it\u2019s efficient for larger volumes. The tiny steel pins will get inside the cases and even clean out primer pockets and flash holes if you deprime the cases first. Since you\u2019re using fresh water and soap for each load, the dirt doesn\u2019t accumulate or stick to the stainless pin media as with dry tumbling methods. Finally, the pins last forever provided you don\u2019t lose them so you\u2019re not constantly buying new cleaning media.<\/p>\n

On the negative side, you need to sift the pins from the cartridges and dry the brass. You can use a media separator like the ones for dry tumbling to do this. You can also remove the steel pins from the pile of brass using a large release magnet. Since the brass is not magnetic, only the steel pins are drawn out.<\/p>\n

If you want to see it in action, check out this short video from the folks at Midsouth Shooters Supply:<\/p>\n