Thoughts on cleaning methods and tumbling media-

[Tom Kat]

For many years I cleaned brass with corn cob media. It works pretty good.

A few years back I got a cheap wet tumbler and some SS pins. They work really good on bottleneck cases. But its kind of a mess to deal with and I dont have a great set up for it.

I have recently went to walnut hulls. They work pretty good, especially if you put some Nufinish in with your brass.

What are you using?

[Jim White]

I have all three. They all work but for over all cleanliness, the wet tumbling i superior but it is more intrusive to work with.

[skipper]

I use a wet tumbler with SS media that works great. Bill K sent me some thick, on the bias cut SS media that doesn't get stuck in my case necks. I add a couple of tablespoons of Lemi-Shine to the tub for a highly polished look. The brass comes out shining like new inside and out. Since then I quit using the vibratory dry media tumbler. I can't stand picking walnut shell out of primer pockets.

[Tom Kat]

Funny you say that Skipper...I was picking walnut shell out of my primer pockets last night...I used canned air and blew them out from the neck end. Still a PIA part of the process.

[Bill K]

Those small diameter SS beads from Sleeping Giant Brass co can not be beat for cleaning brass and they don't stick in the primer pocket/hole like the larger one's can. And if you want you can add a little polisher, like Skipper mentions to brighten the even more.

[Rick in Oregon]

Everyone has what they consider to be the hot setup for cleaning their fired brass, myself included.

Pretty simple and basic for me, nothing really new or exotic. I've been using Lyman tumbling media now since 1979 in my vibratory dry tumbler. My tumbled (vibe'd) brass looks like new when done. One thing I've learned over the years is to tumble with the primers still in the case to avoid packing the flash hole and primer pocket with the stuff. When de-capping, any media in the flash hole is punched out, and as virtually every case gets the primer pocket uniformed every time (brass moves upon the pressure of ignition), a nice clean primer pocket is the result. No mess, no liquid, no cleanup.

So is the brass pictured below new or fired and cleaned?



This 9mm brass looks pretty clean to me....



We all have our methods, and as long as the shooter is satisfied with his/her results, it's all good. I do enjoy hearing the methods employed by others though, so feel encouraged to post up any new, old, or unusual brass cleaning methods you might use. We all learn from these exchanges, and we're never too old to learn something new or interesting. Old dogs, new tricks?

[jsh]

I have too much CC media to quit now, bought 100 lbs years ago for like $10. It was clean a d dust free.
I use Nufinish and the a cap full or two of mineral spirits. Put the lid on tight an walk away. I usually don’t clean brass unless I have several lots of several k to do. Last batch take the lid off and the mineral spirits will volatile off.

Folks tell me it won’t work, blah blah on killing primers, 30+ years with zero issues.
Oh and I deprime after cleaning, not running a dirt case into a die.

[Rick in Oregon]

Oh and I deprime after cleaning, not running a dirt case into a die.

Yup, me too as stated in my post above.

[Tom Kat]

I learned something I never considered....depriming after cleaning. A good idea, and it wont interfere with my walnut hull method. I wish i had a better set up for wet tumbling...that really cleans cases up

[skipper]

I think my cleaning method gets 'em pretty clean.

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[skipper]

This is the media I was telling you about. Bill K sent me some, thanks Bill.

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Yes I decap before I wet tumble. I have a decapping die that doesn't size the case, but then I don't run dirty primers through my wet tumbler. As said by another "to each, his or her own."

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[Tom Kat]

very shiny. I have never seen that type of media

[Jim White]

In my experience with corn cob & walnut media; corn cob really polishes them up nicely, walnut not as shinny but it's still clean. Wet clean, cleans inside and out including the primer pockets making the brass look like virgin brass.

[skipper]

very shiny. I have never seen that type of media

Bill K sent me that media. I was having a fit with 9mm cases and the traditional SS pin media getting stuck inside the case. This media doesn't get stuck anywhere in any caliber I have run through it. It comes from Sleeping Giant Brass Co. It shows to still be in stock.

[Tom Kat]

Thanks. Do you use a magnet to collect it ? Thats what I have been doing with my ss pins