Taking a tumble into brass cleaners

[deye243]

thanks

[Bills Shed]

does anyone know if Citric acid is as good as lemi shine

As a swager of projectiles I do lots of cleaning of old brass to make jackets. If you want to get into all the guts of cleaning brass with off the shelf products have a look at "Cast Boolits"(spelt just like that).

There are whole forums on the topic. All are relevant to what you want.

In short citric acid is lemon shine. Remember it is an acid in powder form. When finished you need to rinse the brass well. Citric acid, some dish washing liquid and a little salt + your stainless pin and you will have better than factory brass.

Bill

[balter]

As a swager of projectiles I do lots of cleaning of old brass to make jackets.

How long does it take you start to finish to make a bullet like that you reckon?

[Bills Shed]

As a swager of projectiles I do lots of cleaning of old brass to make jackets.

How long does it take you start to finish to make a bullet like that you reckon?

I make .224 projectiles out of .22LR cases. You do not make one projectile at a time but make batches of 500 or so. Each step only takes seconds. The cleaning probably takes the longest. I would estimate that each pill takes less than a minute to produce. The cleaning is a very important part of the whole process, as any crud left in the case will lead the poor accuracy.

Bill

[balter]

I would estimate that each pill takes less than a minute to produce.

Cool mate. Interesting to know.

[Josh Smith]

Don't you all have rock polishing tumblers down that way?

That's what I use.

Josh

[Yelp]

Don't you all have rock polishing tumblers down that way?

Standard media tumbler is what 99% of shooters are using here from what I see.

We have them though of course.

[deye243]

Don't you all have rock polishing tumblers down that way?

That's what I use.

Josh

yep but i aint gunna pay $430us for one that only handles 15lb to 17lb so i'm making one that will handle 40+lb

[Jack V]

If you want to go heavy duty tumbler without building too much an old electric concrete mixer works very well , with a large barrel stuck inside it and lay the barrel over to the right angle held by a chain .
If you could find a cheap second hand one that is.

[deye243]

yep i looked at that very idea but i want it inside as i don't have a shed

[Tonit]

C'mon, the wife won't mind an old cement mixer rumbling along in the spare room will she?

[Jack V]

Inside the house may be difficult .

[KWhorenet]

Would placing brass and pins in a sturdy zipped up bag and chucking the top loader washing machine do a good enough job at cleaning?

[Jack V]

Sounds very risky , if the bag split or came undone the washing machine may be damaged severely.

[KWhorenet]

Sounds very risky , if the bag split or came undone the washing machine may be damaged severely.

true, just a thought. I have a Lortone QT12 I bought while the exchange rate was on par so not too out of pocket for the long term.

[Lorgar]

Would placing brass and pins in a sturdy zipped up bag and chucking the top loader washing machine do a good enough job at cleaning?

You've got me thinking....

I dunno about a regular plastic bag, I suspect the pins pierce the bag like Jack suggested, but I think the idea has legs.

I can see it working in a hard container like a lunchbox or something, maybe tied inside a shirt to project the drum of you washer from the hard container.

I think I'll give it a whirl and see what happens...

[Oldbloke]

Have u seen this. Don't tell the Mrs. LOL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PF5B6DkxXH8

I was tempted to try the same idea but in a tumble dryer with a hand full of media, even saw dust or rice? But I was chicken & got a cheap ultrasonic cleaner on ebay.
I only do say 40 cases at a time so it does the job. I would like to hear the out come if anyone tries it

[KWhorenet]

Would placing brass and pins in a sturdy zipped up bag and chucking the top loader washing machine do a good enough job at cleaning?

You've got me thinking....

I dunno about a regular plastic bag, I suspect the pins pierce the bag like Jack suggested, but I think the idea has legs.

When I say zipped bag I envisaged heavy material with a real zip, not ziplock plastic .

Maybe made of denim or canvas with wide HD Velcro stitched on holding it closed or tied off with rope. Easily worked out.

[pracshooter]

Pins in a bag would be a complete waste of time. Cleaning takes place by a waterfall effect of brass and pins tumbling off the sides of the container and rubbing in the process. Pins are going to nothing inside a bag, except clunk a lot.

[KWhorenet]

Pins in a bag would be a complete waste of time. Cleaning takes place by a waterfall effect of brass and pins tumbling off the sides of the container and rubbing in the process. Pins are going to nothing inside a bag, except clunk a lot.

Fair points but 'clunk allot' ? I cant see that happening . The material bag I mentioned would be full of water in a washing machine, getting agitated as a top loader does.

[deye243]

yeh but since when does a front load washer run for 3 hours or more

[KWhorenet]

yeh but since when does a front load washer run for 3 hours or more

[deye243]

why so defensive , grow up a bit it was not a personal attack it is what's called constructive criticism



edit did someone deleted a post

edit 2 now i will apologise as you said a top loader not front but the comment still stands

[KWhorenet]

why so defensive , grow up a bit it was not a personal attack it is what's called constructive criticism



edit did someone deleted a post

I edited it before as it was as you put it.

When you start with "Since when does a.." I took that as a smart arse comment not constructive. I never mentioned using a front loader nor washing for 3 hours. My suggestion was for a simple clean not to polish brass all shiny. Some people don't want to drop hundreds on a cleaner.

[lowb]

Might clean the brass fine, do you want that fouling and other chemicals from shooting on your clothes though?

Just occurs to me might not be great for your skin?

[Oldbloke]

The final rinse would remove the last of the contaminants

[Jack V]

If you don't let your cases get real dirty then you don't need a tumbler . Washing them in CLR and warm water will get all the patina and grime off . Then rinse twice in quite hot water and dry in Sun or hair dryer or very low oven with the door left open . No heat guns either.

[lowb]

The final rinse would remove the last of the contaminants

Hmmm. It all washes away that easily you reckon?

Not saying you're wrong, just being cautious. You know how these kind of things in tiny doses turn out to be bad for you 20 years later...