Low cost options for cleaning brass

A tough mesh bag and the washing machine . Use the gentle cycle and do it when the wife is gone. I wash my cases when I do a small load of shop rags and old towels I use for gun cleaning. Then run them through the dryer with the rags and towels , leave them in the mesh bag.....makes getting them out easier.
Gary
 
If you want inexpensive polish, pop down to the garden center and buy some diatomaceous earth. This is used as a mechanical (non-toxic) insecticide by organic gardeners. The microscopic diatom skeletons (looks like flour) scratch the waxy coating on insect bodies and they lose their water and dry out and die. It is used in toothpaste as a polish and in cereal filler. I think the bag I got even said it was food grade. Anyhow, 5 lb minimum will last you a lifetime. Mix it into a slurry with mineral spirits or water to add to your tumbler. Let it run outdoors with the lid off for half an hour to dry out the water or mineral spirits. It is mainly present to carry the mix into the pores of your media.
 
There can't be anything much cheaper with so little work as a vibratory cleaner. Walnut media and some mineral spirits for 2 hours and you're done.

I've had mine, a Thumblers Tumbler for 40 years. When it dies I'll buy another.
 
Soap and water does not get inside clean enough for inspection, but that is what I do now! I paper clip inspect the brass on every piece.
 
if you want to go super cheap wipe the outside of the case with a rag and the take a bore brush for a spin in the neck and call it done. A lot of the the BR shooters do one hole groups at 200 yards with that method
 
I clean by hand at the moment, by hand with dawn soap and hot water. I then try and scape the primer pocket clean
I also have a coffee can with some rice in it, I was trying out( not working to well) thx for the advice
 
gwpercle said:
A tough mesh bag and the washing machine . Use the gentle cycle and do it when the wife is gone. I wash my cases when I do a small load of shop rags and old towels I use for gun cleaning. Then run them through the dryer with the rags and towels , leave them in the mesh bag.....makes getting them out easier.
Gary
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That could be the most expensive method.

-TL

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk
 
After depriming I soak the brass in water with a little LemiShine (doesn't take much. I use 1/4 teaspoon per 1 pt of water) and a small squirt of Dawn. I let it soak over nite. Then dry the outsides with a towel and then let them dry via the sun. Then into a tumbler with finely crushed walnut media with NuFinish for 90 mins. Cases look almost like new.

The difference in cost between just clean and clean and looking great is very, very small. Not worth losing sleep over. Go for clean and looking good...you will be glad you did.
 
hounddawg said:
if you want to go super cheap wipe the outside of the case with a rag and the take a bore brush for a spin in the neck and call it done. A lot of the the BR shooters do one hole groups at 200 yards with that method
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I did this for 12 years of reloading before I got a tumbler, except only occasionally used a brush.

The OP said "What are some good low cost options for equipment to clean brass?" and if he meant equipment, then a Harbor Freight rock tumbler and some walnut pet litter is prolly the least expensive, or if he meant method a bucket of water, some vinegar or citric acid, a couple drops of dish soap is as good as any for cleaning brass.

I like to leave a very light film of wax on my tumbled bullets because it retards tarnish, even when I wet tumbled
 
I like to leave a very light film of wax on my tumbled bullets because it retards tarnish, even when I wet tumbled
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That's why I like using the Armor All car was that has wax in it. It leaves just enough wax to hinder tarnish but it doesn't interfere with the load.
 
Funny thing!

Until benchrest shooters started using rock tumblers in the 1970's
and then vibratory cleaners about 10 years later,
folks successfully reloaded match grade ammo for 8 decades without tumbling.


But today, we think it is absolutely vital and critical that you tumble,
and you're exceedingly stupid if you don't own a tumbler.
So many reloaders today cannot even conceive of a time we didn't use them.
 
I use a sonic cleaner, but my brother uses all the socks that are missing the pair by putting about 20-25 pieces per sock in the washing machine using only hot water and dish soap with a little vinegar. He normally puts in about 10 socks filled with shop towels, soaks them for about 20 minutes than turns the washer on .
 
Watched a youtube where they used Simple Green. I tried it and it worked pretty good. I would say that method should do well until you get a tumbler. One word of caution, even though it is Simple Green and stated as none toxic, I read an article that you should not get it on your bare skin. Put the brass in the solution of hot water and a table spoon of Simple Green and stir with a sick or wooden spoon for a couple of minutes. Left in the solution too long and it will tarnish brass. (over night, etc.)
 
craddleshooter said:
Watched a youtube where they used Simple Green. I tried it and it worked pretty good. I would say that method should do well until you get a tumbler. One word of caution, even though it is Simple Green and stated as none toxic, I read an article that you should not get it on your bare skin. Put the brass in the solution of hot water and a table spoon of Simple Green and stir with a sick or wooden spoon for a couple of minutes. Left in the solution too long and it will tarnish brass. (over night, etc.)
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Do you think Simple Green smells ...funky ? To me has an off putting odor.
Gary
 
That's why I like using the Armor All car was that has wax in it. It leaves just enough wax to hinder tarnish but it doesn't interfere with the load.
Doyle is offline
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I managed to remember this last week when I was in a parts store. I have not has a chance to try it yet but the price was decent compared to dish detergent
 
Hello firing lane
Would a 5 gallon home depot bucket with lid, work as a containment vassal for ss pin tumbling,
Im thinking the set up would would like a baby cement machine, would it work?
 
To the O.P.: Lots of ways to do it cheap.....for 35 years I just wiped them off, leaving the tarnish and loaded them.

Then I sprung for a Lyman 2500, cheap 20/40 corncob from Zorro, and a capfull of Dillon polish......bling outside, dark inside.

Then a Thumbers wet tumbler with stainless steel media, lemishine, and Dawn dishwashing liquid.

My how spoiled I've become....

No the wet Thumblers method is not cheap, but it's a one time expense. I don't even remember the hit 3 years ago, but I'll enjoy the reward for many yearsT to come.

Xandi asked, "So will ss pins with water clean both the inside and the out side of a case?" Yessssssir! See below:

I have this funky 7 station press with room for a dedicated powder cop station no matter what I load.....only I've never liked powder cops.....too easy to ignore them unless they beep......and I hate beeping stuff on my tools. So I made a prototype mirror station, and that wouldn't be worth 2 cents if the cases didn't reflect light.

But they do....thanks to stainless steel media wet tumbling. No more squibs or double charges.
IMG_2840.jpg


The following short, one-handed, & very shaky video of a .308 (7.62 LC) case is a better demonstration of the concept!
No, this is not trick photography, and its not a shallow .45, that's the inside of a .308.

*****Click on "vimeo" if you'd like to see it bigger.*****
----------Once there you can even make it full screen if you want.
https://vimeo.com/281564743
 
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5 min in $30 sonic cleaner from harbor freight. 10 min tumble in $30 frankford arsenal tumbler with rice. Works everytime and brass looks new.
 
I'm surprised only two other people suggested Sonic Cleaner. I got the Harbour Freight one two years ago and it works great. I've been reloading for over 20 years, never bought or used a tumbler of any kind and I probably never will. Sonic Cleaners clean better, faster, and quieter.
 
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