If you are a handloader then cleaning brass is very one of the main steps that you cannot avoid by any chance. If you won’t clean your brass casings periodically it will reduce their life and ultimately you need to replace them with the new one. I know tumblers can be a pretty expensive hobby so here we are with our guide to save your money which will teach you how to clean brass casings by hand. Along with this, you will also get the idea of “how to clean brass casings without tumbler” and “cleaning brass cases with vinegar“. It’s a beginner’s guide and you will be shown step by step process so that you understand everything and this will further improve your hand reloading efficiency. We have also featured different ingredients that you can use in order to clean the casing with your hands so make sure you read the full article.
What is the right way to clean brass cases?
Cleaning is one of the prime steps that you have to do without fail before using brass casing for the reloading process. If you won’t clean the brass casings then unnecessary residue such as stones and debris might enter the rifle which will slowly degrade the brass material. Reloaders who prefer fast cleaning and more automated process prefer to clean brass casings with a tumbler.
A tumbler is a compact machine that has a container-like top in which you have to place brass casings along with cleaning media. With the help of a tumbler, you can easily clean hundreds of brass casings in a matter of few hours. This machine carries the cleaning process with the help of vibrations.
These vibrations will continuously rotate the brass casings and as the result, all the debris will get washed away from the casing and after some time you will get perfectly clean casings. As the process doesn’t require any monitoring and you just have to set it up once, this process is very widely used. This is not the only method to clean the brass casing and obviously, there are cheaper and methods that you can use and we will discuss them in further sections.
When you can avoid a Tumbler ?
Tumbler just helps in automating the process otherwise it does the same work that we would be doing with our hands. The main advantage of a tumbler is speed and large quantity. You can clean huge quantities in less time.
Therefore if you have fewer brass casings then you can avoid a tumbler and also if you can give some time to cleaning the brass by yourself then also you can avoid the use of a tumbler.
Also, if you dont reload too often like once in a month then also hand-cleaning will be best for you. You can assume a tumbler is a just mixer and it just swirl things inside it otherwise the main component for cleaning brass casing will be that old school soap or chemical that will clean debris off.
Also, one obvious reason for avoiding tumblers is to save money. The price of a decent tumbler can easily go up to 150$ and you can easily save them if you decide to use your hands.
Advantages to Cleaning Brass Without a Tumbler
1.One major advantage of cleaning casings with your own hand is that you can inspect each and every casing personally. Examining each and every casing is the best you can do to ensure the cleaning and durability of the brass casings which will provide them with long life.
2.If you dont like noises then cleaning brass casing manually will be better because a tumbler will fill your workplace with noise. Whenever a tumbler is working it will create a buzz or wizzle sound which some reloaders find disturbing or distracting. With the help of items that can be found in your home, you can peacefully clean brass at your workplace.
3.Even after purchasing a cleaning solution by yourself the process of hand-cleaning would be cheaper than tumbler cleaning. The money that you will save after hand cleaning can be used to buy other essential reloading tools or you can invest in more brass casings.
cleaning brass cases with vinegar
Items Required
- Warm water
- Salt
- Vinegar
- Container to keep casings
- Soap
- Paper towel to dry casings
- Oven (optional)
Procedures
Cleaning
1.Place all the brass in the container and pour warm water till they get completely dipped inside. Make sure that the casings are completely dipped inside the water. Make sure water is lukewarm otherwise it would be difficult to dip hands. This is the first step of cleaning in which you have to clean the big debris and dirt from the casing. For this, place your hand inside the container and shuffle the casings. Once you do this, throw the water this old dirty water and fill the container with new fresh warm water and place the brass casings in that in order to perform further steps. The purpose of this first cleaning is to get visibly clean casings. Pour much hotter water this time.
Pouring Ingredients
2.Place one scoop of salt in the container. Table salt can be used for this step. Salt is a good furnishing agent. Also, salt helps in catalyzing the reason of other items such as vinegar, to provide a boost in the cleaning and deodorizing process. Make sure that the casings are completely dipped inside the solution.
3.Pup one scoop of soap in the container which will help in cleaning the brass from inside out. Soap will help in cleaning the debris and sand that is present on the casting. Soap will not destroy the surface. The mixture of soap in hot water melts the grease from the surface of brass casings. You can either use soap or simple green solution for cleaning the casings.
4.Place one cup of vinegar in the container and mix everything well.Vinegar is acidic in nature. As vinegar is acetic acid it can easily clean off mineral deposits, dirt, grease, and grime. Bacterias also will wash away from vinegar. Also, vinegar will provide the shining on the casting.
Agitation
5.Leave the solution for 10 mins and after which agitate it for the rest of 20 mins. As there is no harmful substance inside you can either do this process by barehand or by wearing gloves. Put your hands inside the container and then agitate the brass casings. Provide continuous water motion. Do this process carefully and make sure water doesn’t go out of the container while doing agitation. With the help of a pocket cleaner, clean the pocket primer. While doing this Take the whole container to the sink and scoop out each casing and clean thoroughly. Cleaning the internal area is very easy with the help of a pocket cleaner. With the help of a paper towel, extra water can be soaked from the casings.
Rinsing
Once you have done this process, place the brass casings in a strainer and remove the dirty water through the strainer straight into the sink. Pour cold water over the casings. Make sure that casings are completely cleaned with cold water and it reaches every corner of the casings including the inside part. Since you just used soap you might saw the bubbly water for a long time. Therefore, continuously pour the water till you get bubble-less water after gentle agitation. This will indicate that all the soap is removed and now you can dry the casings. Also, pick up each casing and bring it near the running tap to thoroughly clean them. Now you can use a paper towel to clean each casing and carefully remove the remaining dirt.
Drying
You can either use an oven or a natural process for drying :-
Oven
Set the oven on preheat between 170° and 200°.Wait for 10 mins till it gets preheated. Take a cookie tray or any other oven-friendly tray and place all the brass casings in order. Make sure that brass casings are in one layer and they are not overlapping and separate from one another. Once the casings are completely dry you can take them out. The process might take 1 hour or more depending on your oven.
Sun Drying
Find a spot in your home that gets ample sunlight throughout the day. Place a matt or a long cloth. Place brass casing on the matt in such a way that they dont touch each other and also they dont overlap each other. This process of drying can take 1 day or 2 days depending upon the intensity of sunlight.
Cleaning rifle brass with Lemi Shine
Items Required
- Warm water
- Lemi shine
- Container to keep casings
- Dish Soap
- Paper towel to dry casings
- Oven (optional)
Procedures
These are some simple steps that you can follow and end the end of which you will learn how to clean brass casings by hand with lemi shine properly:-
1.Wash the brass casings thoroughly with hot water in order to remove visible dirt from them.
2.Take the container and pour 1/4 teaspoon quantity of lemi shine liquid in it.
3.Add one tablespoon of dish soap to the container.
4.Pour hot water till half of the container.
5.pour all the brass casings in the container and shake till you see the bubbling water. This will indicate that the soap is mixed properly.
6.Leave this setup as it is for 24 hours and meanwhile shake the solution at regular intervals.
7.Next day remove the casings and put them in a strainer and pour cold water in it to remove soap.
8.Then you can either use an oven or you can use sunlight to dry the casings.
9.If you have a tumbler then you can place the freshly cleaned casings in the tumbler along with plain untreated walnut for more shining.
Should you clean brass casings by hand?
In this section, we will look at some of the instances where cleaning casings by hand will be beneficial for you :-
1.If you are new to the field of reloading then I would suggest you go with hand cleaning as I am assuming you have less budget in the beginning. Beginner handloaders also dont have the right knowledge of buying a tumbler so you can start with hand cleaning and as you gain experience and resources you can invest in a good tumbler.
2.If you have less space then also handloading is a great choice for you as it doesn’t need much space and most of the work you can do in the sink.
3.If you do handloading occasionally like once a month then it’s not a good thought to invest in a tumbler and hand cleaning will be a good option. Later according to your preference you can buy one tumbler.
4.If you dont clean many brass casings at one time then also you can choose hand cleaning because one of the main reasons why people buy a tumbler is that it can clean hundreds of casings at one time. As you increase the number of casings then you can later purchase a tumbler.
Best Cleaning Solution For Brass Casings
- Concentrated all-purpose cleaner/degreaser/deodorizer is biodegradable and nontoxic, nonabrasive and nonflammable, offers a safer alternative to hazardous chemicals and solvents
- Does not contain petroleum distillates
- Authorized by USDA for the use in federal inspected meat and poultry plants
- Formula has a mild 9. 3 to 9. 5 pH and pleasant sassafras scent
Best Primer Pocket Cleaner
- Double ended design cleans both large and small primer pockets
- Insures that primers can be fully seated for better accuracy and safety
- Made in USA
Lemi Shine Dish Detergent Booster
- Safe, powerful, and effective
- EPA Safer Choice Certified to be safer for human health and the environment
- Phosphate-free, chlorine-free, non-toxic, biodegradable, no artificial fillers or dyes
- Septic system friendly
- Eliminates odors from internal components
- Cleans deodorizes and optimizes
- Made with powerful citric extracts
How to get shiny brass cases ?
Conclusion
Finally, you have got your clean shining fresh brass casings with you and we have also reached the end of our article with the title “how to clean brass casings by hand”.Hand cleaning has its own pros and cons so it’s up to you which process to choose. If you have any doubt you can leave a comment down below and if you are a beginner when do check our best reloading ammo books. Thanks for visiting leanoutdoor.com.
You got my attention when you said that the life of your brass casings would be reduced if you won’t clean them periodically. As you said, cleaning them could save you money from replacements. This is something that I will share with my father as he is looking for some brass casings for his rifle. He mentioned that he would like to save money in the long run with replacements now that he has retired and his income has become limited. Thanks for sharing this.
Glad it helped 🙂