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how to clean brass


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now i no you can get a fancy vibrating bucket type thing full of grit to polish them up but i was thinking as im not doing mass amounts of shells if there's a solution that people have made from house holds goods like mixed vinegar with orange juice or cillit bang will anything like that do the trick

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Someone on here said that they placed some cases in a net bag and put them through a washing machine cycle. They stated that the cases were shining and no damage was done to them. I have'nt tried this myself, but may do so with some old cases.

 

i did have a bash at that steve i placed them in a sock but they didnt come out much better still had powder burn marks on the neck might work better with net or Muslim cloth

 

sonic cleaners are under £25 on ebay and work well, ok the brass doesn't come out polished and looking new but it does get the residue out and cleans the primer pockets acceptably.

 

 

il take a peek thanks ... :good::good:

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Hi pal, I use the washer. if you soak them in a bit of water with vinegar first they come up cleaner and put them in a cotten bag with a handful of polypropylene pellets(beans from a soft toy) As long as most of the crud is removed i am happy :)

I will get a tumbler one day I supose ;) lol

Tight Yorkshire ****** arnt I ;)

 

 

 

Well they smell nice if anything ;)

 

Just make sure the bag doesn't split he he.

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now i no you can get a fancy vibrating bucket type thing full of grit to polish them up but i was thinking as im not doing mass amounts of shells if there's a solution that people have made from house holds goods like mixed vinegar with orange juice or cillit bang will anything like that do the trick

I use a cheap sonic cleaner and James Sea Clean solution from maplins. Great results with a couple of cycles.

 

Reggiegun

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If its small amounts just buy a lee shell holder that goes in drill clamp them in it and hold some fine wire will in your other hand and give them a quick spin. I rounded the edges of the holder so the wire wool didn't snag. It won't clean right to the base bit it's close enough. I've got a tumbler but if its only a dozen or 20 I don't even bother just use wire wool.

Here it is. It's not a rolls Royce way to clean and trim but for small amounts why spend a fortune.

 

http://leeprecision.com/case-conditioning-tools/case-trimming-tools/

Edited by James19306
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If they are just loads for your own general use why clean them? I know it looks nicer and I usually do put them through the tumbler but don't get drawn into the idea that you have to. Nobody is going to see them except you in a muddy field on a wet night probably.

 

A lot of the case cleaning accessories are just the loading companies selling you on an idea. I know its nice to show people your nice shiny reloads but its just window dressing.

Edited by Vince Green
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If they are just loads for your own general use why clean them? I know it looks nicer and I usually do put them through the tumbler but don't get drawn into the idea that you have to. Nobody is going to see them except you in a muddy field on a wet night probably.

 

A lot of the case cleaning accessories are just the loading companies selling you on an idea. I know its nice to show people your nice shiny reloads but its just window dressing.

 

I always clean my brass, either through the tumbler with a few drops of Auto Glym resin shine. OR If im doing a few .204 rounds i put into a battery drill chuck. Take a old green scouring pad and just clean the top half of the case (because i also number how many firings my cases have had) concentrating on the neck. -- the .308 cartridge will not fit.

 

Having clean brass makes it easy to inspect cases for buring and its clear to see any split necks.

 

Just my 2 cents

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Mark you have been offered some very good advice and a few ideas I may try, be aware that repeated tumblings can work harden the necks to a degree. I agree with Vince and a couple others and just use a battery drill and some Scotch Brite pads/steel wool and they come out nicely. If you have extra time, spend it annealing the necks---more benefit to accuracy than shiny brass.

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Someone on here said that they placed some cases in a net bag and put them through a washing machine cycle. They stated that the cases were shining and no damage was done to them. I have'nt tried this myself, but may do so with some old cases.

 

That was me! I stuck cases into a thick hiking sock then placed it into the pocket of a pair of trousers-then put it on a normal 40 degree wash.You do need to stick the sock into a pocket to prevent the cases necks from being damaged,but yes-they do come out clean.

 

However,i tried the Cocacola method earlier.I left 20x 7.92 cases to soak for an hour and literally just rinsed them with clean water.

Im quite impressed!

CASES_zpsa4281805.jpg

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Someone on here said that they placed some cases in a net bag and put them through a washing machine cycle. They stated that the cases were shining and no damage was done to them. I have'nt tried this myself, but may do so with some old cases.

Think that was amazed who does it

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