Brass cleaning question

[cruzerlou]

Hey folks,
A while ago one of y'all told of just using a plastic one pound coffee jug and a mix of Dawn and something else, vinegar maybe to clean your brass before reloading.
If anyone remembers what the mix was please post it .
I'm getting ready to at least deprime and re size a bunch of brass, both rifle and pistol so it will be ready for reloading when I get all my componets togather.
I'll use this to clean the case lube off the brass and then before I start reloading I'll tumble it in my tumbler with crushed walnut shells.
If I don't get the case lube off of it and let it sit ,it really discolors the brass .
Thanks,
Lou

 

[toysoldier]

I'm a real scrounger, and when I pick up brass at the range, I put it in a plastic coffee "can" with warm water, dish detergent, and vinegar to clean it of grit. Lots of agitation, then it sits for a couple of hours before thorough rinsing. Depending on the composition of the brass, it will either brighten it or turn it a copper color. Then it goes in the tumbler. Brass that's been exposed to the elements long enough to turn almost black will shine up, but stay black. Still reloads OK.

 

[cruzerlou]

Thanks TS, I just want to get the case lube off of it so it will be ready to go into the tumbler when the time comes.
Lou

 

[Kevin]

Lou, someone here suggested to me one time, that a little amount of liquid car wax in with the tumbling media. I do this and it gets them really shiny.

 

[Jimbo357mag]

A little dish detergent, vinegar and lemon juice (citric acid) in water will clean brass cases very well. I use about a teaspoon of detergent a 1/4 cup of vinegar and a tablespoon of lemon juice in about 2 quarts of water. Agitate the shells once in a while and let soak 15 - 30 minutes. To dry them drain and put them on their sides in an aluminum pan in an oven at 250 degrees for about 45 minutes. This will not hurt your brass at all.

To polish and shine cases use a vibratory tumbler with either crushed walnut shells or crushed corn cob with some case polish.

 

[gramps]

here is a link to a page from castboolits.com. http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?83572-Citric-acid-brass-cleaner
Good luck, and fun.
gramps

 

[cruzerlou]

Thanks guys, yea I lucked into a five gallon bucket of Lake City match 7.62X51 once fired brass, but it's been sitting for years out in my garage so it's tarnished quite a bit and I know it rally doesn't make a difference, but I like my brass looking good ,plus when it's really clean it's easy to spot any cracks or bulges or other defects and I like my match stuff to look as good as it shoots .
Lou

 

[Rick Courtright]

Hi,

Lou, I don't use the vinegar, but warm water, a good shot of Dawn dishwashing liquid, and a quarter teaspoon of citric acid (from the food canning section at Ace Hardware if your supermarket doesn't carry it) in a plastic coffee "can" does a fine job for my brass. That's followed by a good rinse in a strainer, and a short while outside on a cookie sheet in the sun to dry--the brass dries much faster if deprimed before washing. We're just getting into the near 100 deg days, and a half hour is often much longer than required!

Rick C