Brass picked up in sand - need washing? How?

[judaspriest]

Hi,

With today's the ammo prices where they are, I started picking up brass at the local range. Trouble is, it flies too far back and into the dirt road behind the firing line. There, I pick it up mixed with a good dose of sand. Great brass, but my concern now is how to get all the sand/dust out - outside sand will scratch the ramp/chamber and the dirt inside the cases will end up blown into the barrel and will probably polish the rifling off very quickly...

Previously, I laughed at the idea of a tumbler (I couldn't care less about whether my brass is shiny or not), but now I am thinking of how to get the sand out (still don't care about the aesthetics though). I am thinking that perhaps washing it somehow would do the trick. I am thinking of throwing them in a bucket, adding some solution and stirring for awhile. Perhaps I should install some sort of a colander towards the bottom so that the brass wouldn't go to the bottom, but the relatively heavy dirt/sand would...

Have people tried this? Any tips? What sort of solution would you use - plain water or something else? Again, I don't care about the looks of the brass, just want to quickly get the sand/dirt out.

Thanks,

JP

 

[50 Shooter]

If it's just dirt/sand you could wash it in warm water with some simple green or regular dish soap.

 

[strat81]

Why not use a media separator? Unless the sand is "glued" to the case, in which case water should take it off.

 

[evan price]

I clean sandy or muddy brass with a cheapy $.99 plastic spaghetti colander and warm water in the sink. Just make sure you clean the sink (so the wife does not complain) and mark the colander some way so nobody uses it for cooking. Pour onto a big old towel, wipe it off, leave it on another dry towel for a little while with a fan blowing on it to dry, then I pop it in the tumbler.
One of the ranges I police is a dirt outdoor club range and it all gets gritty/muddy depending on the weather... mucky brass does not reload well.

 

[KI.W.]

Sandy brass.

I don´t like self loaders- / semiautomatics guns. I have revolvers, brake open without ejectors-and passive ejecktoring Mausers guns. Also one bolt lock pistol. Only my Remington 700 30-06 is stubid cases kicking bush feeding handicapped.

 

[Linear Thinker]

Ultrasonic cleaner is the only way to get the sand from the insides of the cases, tumbling can't get at it.
I ultra clean the brass after shooting it, and again after tumbling it.
LT

 

[layusn1]

Back in the old days, before I got my tumbler, I used to wash my brass in boiled water with two tablespoons of citric acid powder and a little bit of dishwashing soap. Just throw them all in a 5 gal bucket and swirl them around a few times. After about an hour, take em out and rinse them off. Put a couple tablespoons of baking soda in the water to kill the citric acid, wait about 30 minutes, take em out and rinse em again then set em out to dry. For some added oomph you could throw in some oxyclean with the citric acid...makes a cool chemical reaction too....lol If your gonna get the brass wet and have to let it dry anyway you may as well get it a little clean too...save some wear and tear on the tumbler while you are at it. That mix was very good at getting the brass clean...not super shiny but clean. You can get the citric acid at craft/hobby places in the soap/candle/candy making sections and it is really cheap...especially for how little you use.

 

[Walkalong]

Rinse them out with water. Let them soak if the dirt is dried hard in them. Then tumble if you have a tumbler. I use a SS strainer to hold the brass for the rinsing.

 

[The Bushmaster]

For pete sake...Why make it hard on yourself. Do like Walkalong said and dry them in an oven at about 150 to 200 degrees until they are dry or your wife yells at you for putting them in her oven...Which ever comes first...

 

[50 Shooter]

There's always the dishwasher! Just don't let the wife find out.

 

[Walkalong]

My wife would just S*** if I did that 50 Shooter.

 

[The Bushmaster]

Oh lordy me, 50 Shooter...You sure do find ways to get into trouble...

 

[50 Shooter]

Okay, to tell the truth I did get busted by the wife.

But I didn't run them through the entire cycle, I only used the dry cycle as I ran the brass through Iosso in the sink.

The dishwasher just seemed like a great idea, can't see why you couldn't run heavy brass like .50 BMG through the whole cycle. Lighter brass could possibly make it through if you stacked it in the part that holds the silverware.

 

[ReloaderFred]

All my brass has sand in it, since our range is built in the sand dunes of the coast. I made a wire mesh tray that fits inside a 9" x 12" cake pan. Put some brass in the wire tray and shake it around and back and forth. This will remove most of the sand from the brass, both inside and out. If the brass is wet, you have to let it dry first. I always tumble my brass and that removes any further granules of sand, but since you don't tumble, that may be problematic for you and washing may be the way to go.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[ROCKSHUND]

Heck Bushmaster, my wife actually understands why I "bake" my brass, and even hands me the stainless steel pan.

I considerately line it with aluminum foil first...

I have a huge plastic bowl dedicated to swirling that dirty brass around in soapy water. Followed by a real good rinse.

Then, it goes into the tumbler, and on to the size/ deprime die...

I've spent years educating the wife about my idiosyncracies...

Cheers, FNR...

 

[The Bushmaster]

And she still believes you? She must be "blonde" like my wife...

 

[Gaucho Gringo]

Hi All. For the past 30 some years I have always had an old dishwasher in the basement for washing car parts, greasy rags, fishing tackle, baseball hats and all the other things you don't want to run through your kitchen dishwasher. Actually I am on my 5th or 6th one but I always have got them for free. I guess when I start reloading I have another use for it.

 

[judaspriest]

Thanks all for the great tips!

JP

 

[wally]

I just throw them in the vibrating case cleaner (tumbler?) The sand and dirt ends up on the bottom and doesn't seem to rise with the cases or media as it shakes. Most of it also seems to stay in the vibrator's bin when I pour out the cases and media (hanging on the lip which I then dump in the trash by turing it full upside down.) Been doing this for 20+ years with lots of sandy or muddy cases. Never had a problem.

So get a vibrating case cleaner, corn cob media, some NuFInish car polish and save your wife's old dryer anti-static sheets to cut into small pieces to keep down the dust. I start with the media, cases, and three ~1"x2" drier sheet pieces then add a cap of NuFinsh 15-20 minutes later and let it run untill I like the shine I see as the cases float to the top.

--wally.