Brass cleaning

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Brass cleaning

Post by juststarting » 05 Mar 2018, 2:47 pm

The other day I was working on brass prep... Usually, I'll throw everything in a wet tumbler, but this time... I looked at them and thought, hrmm, clean enough. Just wiped them with steel wool to get rid of excess carbon around the throat and that was that. However, they are not shiny :/

I thought if I talk about it, I'll feel better about it. Let the therapy begin, LOL
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Re: Brass cleaning

Post by Mongrel » 05 Mar 2018, 4:07 pm

Sorry, if it aint shiny it aint clean :P
Get to work brother lol
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Re: Brass cleaning

Post by sungazer » 05 Mar 2018, 4:31 pm

What would you like us to say. That it is ok not to have shiny clean brass that many top benchrest shooters don't worry about cleaning their brass that it wont affect accuracy at all. :violin: lazy git it doesn't take much to put them in the tumbler.

On a another note and not joking here I was priming some really nice and shiny brass yesterday actually I was really impressed how shiny it was. But in the case neck I noticed that at the rim it was clean then it looked like it was ceramic coated. i could see a what appeared to be a small layer on the brass deeper in the case was clean and shiny just the neck it looked very smooth and the pins had obviously don't some work on it. i tried to scratch this substance off but I couldn't really have any impact on it. I haven't loaded them yet so I am going to investigate further.
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Re: Brass cleaning

Post by Oldbloke » 05 Mar 2018, 4:37 pm

I've been reliably informed that they shoot better if you never clean them. :allegedly:

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Re: Brass cleaning

Post by Stix » 05 Mar 2018, 5:17 pm

We need a new section on this forum...maybe called something like "CA"...
Where AA is for "alcoholics anonymous", this can be CA for "compulsives anonymous"

I did just that the a couple of weeks ago...loaded brass without throwing through the wet tumbler...
I actually really struggled with it, & was so annoyed at myself for not leaving enough time to tumble...

Anyway, i sat up all night & loaded them...no gloves either...just a bit of handwashing...
Dear lord i felt so dirty & had no one to whom i could confess my sins...

Those beautiful little shiny gold coloured projectiles sitting up so clean & proud, & being held there with cases awash in my shame & neglect...it was truely woeful...

Anyway...by the time i got up the farm & threw a round in the chamber, most of my self turmoil had dissipated into that of excitement with only minor efforts required at spaced intervals of just trying to not dwell on the turmoil of the night before...

Next thing i know & ive got 5 rounds down the tube to check zero, & i realised i was looking at the said ammo box with some positive feeling...
Before i know it, i felt normal again, heart rate back to being out of drag race mode & the world started to turn again. albeit minus several furry little grey & red coloured critters, & it appeared the demonic spirit that had posessed my being had been exorcised ... :thumbsup:

Load em' up shoot em' boy...!!!

Im back in the reloading room tonight...wish me luck... :lol:
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Re: Brass cleaning

Post by brett1868 » 05 Mar 2018, 6:26 pm

Arghhhh....man you love to stir the kaka.

Everyone knows that clean brass is happy brass and happy brass shoots better. Shiny things make women moist and more and more ladies are taking up shooting so rocking up with shiny brass gives you an advantage :)
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Re: Brass cleaning

Post by Wm.Traynor » 05 Mar 2018, 7:21 pm

I can't recall when I got my SSAA Silver Medal for a 5 shot group under 1" at 100 yards but let's say it was 45 years ago. Speaking for myself, I had never heard of tumbling and that other stuff :unknown: ;) but I did it with a 303/25 built on a 98 Mauser. I probably did clean the cases but I have no idea what with :)
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Re: Brass cleaning

Post by juststarting » 05 Mar 2018, 7:41 pm

So basically, you missed out on the gold, because you didn't tumble? s**t, ok, maybe I'll clean them.
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Re: Brass cleaning

Post by Bent Arrow » 05 Mar 2018, 7:59 pm

Have tumbler, must clean.........
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Re: Brass cleaning

Post by Oldbloke » 05 Mar 2018, 11:45 pm

Some women like it dirty!
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Re: Brass cleaning

Post by Apollo » 05 Mar 2018, 11:54 pm

brett1868 wrote:Arghhhh....man you love to stir the kaka.

Everyone knows that clean brass is happy brass and happy brass shoots better. Shiny things make women moist and more and more ladies are taking up shooting so rocking up with shiny brass gives you an advantage :)


You do know Brett that Shiny Brass is Slippery... not that good for a chamber that shoots better when the brass doesn't slide but Ladies might like it Slippery..... :unknown: :unknown:
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Re: Brass cleaning

Post by wanneroo » 06 Mar 2018, 2:21 am

A lot of my brass gets battered in semi auto rifles and some has even come from being fired in machine guns, so cleaning the brass I see as a way to help return everything back to zero and it allows me to notice potential issues forming or present issues that means the brass goes into the recycle bin. Split case necks, split case shoulders, potential case separation, etc.

Also it keeps excess garbage out of your dies.
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Re: Brass cleaning

Post by Gamerancher » 06 Mar 2018, 7:49 am

"Also it keeps excess garbage out of your dies"

Amen to that brother. That and ease of inspection are the main reasons for me. I also shoot black-powder, so case fouling is something that I have to deal with. Actually it takes a lot more effort to clean the cases than it does to clean the barrel.

Benchresters who shoot and reload the same cases all day are very careful to keep their brass clean. They don't eject it out onto the concrete or dirt. They treat it with the respect it deserves. Any carbon on the neck is easily cleaned off with a quick twist between your fingers. They also don't use black-powder. :lol:
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Re: Brass cleaning

Post by fenderstrat » 06 Mar 2018, 9:01 am

I have used a product called the "Krazy Kloth" (got them from spotlight) to clean cases, and it cleans them really well, leaves them shiny too. A bit slow though, so I only use it when I need to clean a few cases.
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Re: Brass cleaning

Post by juststarting » 06 Mar 2018, 1:54 pm

Good to know I'm not the only crazy :)
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Re: Brass cleaning

Post by brett1868 » 06 Mar 2018, 3:50 pm

juststarting wrote:Good to know I'm not the only crazy :)


Nope....just my kind of crazy :)
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Re: Brass cleaning

Post by Rod_outbak » 07 Mar 2018, 6:53 am

About the only reason I tend to clean brass (wet tumble), is to pick up any imminent case failures.

Some of my 7mm-08 brass is re-sized Federal .308win brass that I had previously fired.
The factory loads were Federal Vital-Shok 130gn HP projectiles.
I have been told (by 2 different retailers so far) that this Federal brass had a lot of failures after the first(factory) firing.
I hadnt seen this in mine, but after about the 5th reload of this brass, I've had at least 4 cases that are about to fail, and I just wouldnt have seen the flaws if I hadnt cleaned them.
Not that I'm unhappy with the life of the brass (they were purchased in bricks of 500 rounds for $1.17/Rnd about 4 years ago.), but I have batches of Lapua brass is on it's 10th reloading without any failing.
[I'm going to make my own version of a brass annealling machine some time later this year, as this will likely extend the life of some of this brass.]

While most of the calibres I reload are pretty good on brass, I do have a few that knock the brass around a fair bit (.303 Brit SMLE, .30-30, etc), and as the eyesight gets more dodgey with age, I find the cleaned brass a lot easier to pick up terminal flaws.

When I first started reloading over 30 years back, cleaning cases seemed to be like fitting UV strip lights under your Mazda; farking useless, and all for show.
As I got older and came to realise that the Phukup Fairy likes to mess with my life on a frequent basis, I find that cleaning brass seems to be another small way of staying alive for a few more birthdays...

I suspect that reloading encourages you to develop an OCD.
[Which makes you wonder why shrinks try to 'treat' people with it, as if it's a curse? Why dont they just encourage the person to take up shooting/reloading??]
I'm comfortable with that...

Cheers,

Rod.
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