Cleaning inside cases?

[Mr_Flintstone]

I clean my brass by tumbling in an old rock tumbler with plain uncooked (not instant) medium grain white rice, and a tiny flick of Mother’s Mag & Aluminum polish. It does a really good job of cleaning the outsides of my cases, but it leaves the insides of my fired brass pretty much uncleaned. I keep my flash holes clean, and I have some .38 special cases that have been reloaded 10+ times with no “obvious” effects to rice cleaning. Is it necessary or advisable to clean the inside the cases?

 

[Demi-human]

Only if you like them shiny on the inside too.

 

[MikeInOr]

I have never cleaned the inside of my cases or ever worried about if the insides are shiny or not.

 

[Blue68f100]

With the brass clean inside it's a lot easier to see you powder level. The best way would be to use the Wet SS pin systems, cleans inside and out. Will also clean the primer pockets if you deprime before cleaning.

Walnut media will clean better than rice or corncob.

 

[Mr_Flintstone]

With the brass clean inside it's a lot easier to see you powder level. The best way would be to use the Wet SS pin systems, cleans inside and out. Will also clean the primer pockets if you deprime before cleaning.

Walnut media will clean better than rice or corncob.

I’ve been considering wet tumbling, but I didn’t know what to do with the water at the end of the cycle. The reason I use rice is that it doesn’t produce any dust (or at least very little), so there’s less chance of lead exposure. My brass doesn’t have to be shiny and new. I don’t even usually tumble until the cases shine; just until they are clean.

 

[Targa]

I couldn't care less about the inside of the cases or the primer pockets. I tumble with walnut media with the spent primers still in the case, then off to the decapping/resizing die, expander die, powder charge, seating die and then a nice crimp, go shooting then repeat...

 

[Blue68f100]

I’ve been considering wet tumbling, but I didn’t know what to do with the water at the end of the cycle. The reason I use rice is that it doesn’t produce any dust (or at least very little), so there’s less chance of lead exposure. My brass doesn’t have to be shiny and new. I don’t even usually tumble until the cases shine; just until they are clean.

Most all municipalities modern sanitation system can handle the lead with no problems, preferred to go down the drain. I live in the country on a septic system so I just dump mine out on the side of my shop where my water faucet is located. Do all my rinsing there before I take it inside to my shop. Once inside I will separate the pins, then load the drier up for a hour. Then sort if needed, annealed if rifle brass.

 

[Eddy19]

I couldn't care less about the inside of the cases or the primer pockets. I tumble with walnut media with the spent primers still in the case, then off to the decapping/resizing die, expander die, powder charge, seating die and then a nice crimp, go shooting then repeat...

That's pretty much me too. Oh, I look into each when in the loading block just to see if anythings amiss but that's it.

 

[gonoles_1980]

I use walnut for the initial cleaning, then deprime and then tumble with corncob and Franklin polish. Outsides are nice and shiny, insides are clean enough. I check my powder levels with a flashlight when loading (one of my sanity checks). Never tried rice.

 

[cougar1717]

Pick up brass is tumbled to keep contaminants out of your sizing die. Sized brass is tumbled to keep contaminants out of your chamber. There is no need to polish the inside of a case. It will just get loaded again, fired again, and dirty again.

Brass is simply the gasket between you and tens of thousands of psi of gas pressure. This is only an opinion, but reloader's-pride-feel-good-shiny brass photos aside, I have never understood why someone would desire to work harden via SS pins the very gasket that needs to be pliable to repeatedly protect the shooter from tens of thousands of psi.

 

[tightgroup tiger]

I use an ultra sonic cleaner, Supposedly, if you use a citric acid like Lemi Shine, It will combine with the lead and make it so it's not harmful to your body or the environment.
I dump my water down my sink drain.
We have a member that works for a water/sewage company and he told us in another post that the sewer companies prefer us to use this method to deal with the lead in the water, because it make it easier for them to deal with it.
I don't remember who he was.

 

[Hooda Thunkit]

I reloaded for over 20 years without tumbling brass at all. I would usually just wipe it off and reload.

If it was unusually nasty, maybe muddy or whatever, I would wash it in hot soapy water (still do, come to that) and let it dry. Then reload.

The only reason I use a dry tumbler now, is that I received one in a 'lot' of equipment that I purchased from a guy quitting the hobby. I tumble the brass clean, but have no need of shiny.

I've got to admit, the shiny brass is certainly flashy, but for the most part I view it as a waste of my time.

 

[PWC]

I dry "vibrate" and use dryer anti-static sheets (used) cut into quarters. Yes, they do catch the dust from the walnut / corncob, and turn black with the primer dust but mostly the brass oxidization. Stays in the separator, just throw away.

You can just run the sheets alone to clean the media of dust.

No, I don't care about the inside of cases after dirt or sand is removed.

 

[FROGO207]

I just wiped my brass off with a rag for many years. Then I got a vibratory tumbler and used that for a lot of years too. I observed nothing of consequence build up inside or cause problems. About 8 years ago I started to wet tumble and the brass now looks like factory new. I also just dump the water down the drain. It is no different than dumping water down the drain of an old house that has lead sewage pipes in it. If you have a septic tank the lead will settle to the bottom where it will eventually be pumped out and be dumped into a municipal system and be processed like all other sewage. Far better than dust from a vibratory tumbler and disposing of the used media in the trash. The lead amounts are quite small anyway so not as much concern as other things one might deal with that are hazardous like the occasional broken CFL and it's mercury exposure. Just my thoughts about these things.

 

[lordpaxman]

I’ve been considering wet tumbling, but I didn’t know what to do with the water at the end of the cycle. The reason I use rice is that it doesn’t produce any dust (or at least very little), so there’s less chance of lead exposure. My brass doesn’t have to be shiny and new. I don’t even usually tumble until the cases shine; just until they are clean.

Find a suitable place outside to dump it. It is extremely dirty, almost like black ink. I used my vibrator for quite a few years but wasn’t quite satisfied. The neat thing about the larger tumblers like the FART is it’ll hold a lot of cases, so yes you do have to put up with liquids and drying, but you can do about a 1000 9mm in 3 hours or less. And no dust. You can see inside the cases to check for powder very easily. I don’t de-prime first but if that’s your thing, have at it! Good luck!

 

[Demi-human]

I’ve been considering wet tumbling, but I didn’t know what to do with the water at the end of the cycle. The reason I use rice is that it doesn’t produce any dust (or at least very little), so there’s less chance of lead exposure. My brass doesn’t have to be shiny and new. I don’t even usually tumble until the cases shine; just until they are clean.

I wet tumble and like it! Much less time cleaning and drying compared to vibratory tumbling. The cases come out cleaner as well.
I love the shine and like knowing my ammunition is sparkly clean inside too...

The shine may not matter, but the reduced dust is nice. It may not be condoned, but I just flush my water like any other wash water in the house. If I was a huge range or something, probably not a great idea.

Four hundred cases can be done in twenty minutes, ready for the oven, spotless in and out.

 

[jmorris]

I run a nylon brush down the neck of the cases for my benchrest rifles. Wet tumble some other stuff and just reload the others that have been shown to make no improvements for the task at hand by any additional work.

 

[Steve S.]

I have never seen the need to clean the inside of a shell casing before reloading but shiny inside would be pretty - I am just too lazy to go to the effort - no ROI!

 

[rfwobbly]

I used to be a dry tumble type guy, but since getting a Frankfort Arsenal Rotary Tumbler (FART) my Dillon vibratory tumblers just sit.

I'm using 1 tablespoon of LemiShine, 1/2 cup of ArmorAll Wash & Wax, and HOT water. 500-700 pistol cases per load. And tumbling for ~45 only minutes. I rinse 4-5 times with tap water outdoors. Bring it all indoors where it gets slung in a Berry rotary separator. Then dried with a 1200 Watt hair dryer. Brass is spotless inside and out.
.

 

[PWC]

Question for the wet tumblers......how often do you have to add more pins to replace lost pins that stick in cases while rinsing?

 

[Demi-human]

I have a 52N magnet I stick in the drain when I pour. I’m sure I’ve lost some, but how many pins is in a pound compared to one or two at a time.
My machine is a third full with ten pounds of pins.

With the Hornady separator to rinse the pins out and an additional magnet to sweep the dry brass with, I find no errant pins.

Very powerful magnets are pretty cheap. Each of these two by one by half inch magnets will pick up fourty eight pounds. They will find a pin on the floor...

 

[Prowler53]

Question for the wet tumblers......how often do you have to add more pins to replace lost pins that stick in cases while rinsing?

I may lose a pin or so but that's about it. I bought 5 lbs of pins over a year ago and I only use maybe 1.5 lbs when cleaning. I'm still using the initial 1.5 lbs I started with. I dump everything into a bucket and let water run into the bucket until it overflows. Let it continue to run until water looks clean. Dump most of that water out of the bucket and hand pick the brass while shaking them under the water. All my pins remain at the bottom of the bucket. Every now and then I get a pin that never came out of the brass, but I usually find them laying in the towel that I throw my brass onto. I just shake them dry in the towel and let them sit overnight.

 

[PWC]

Using the overflow method makes a lot of sense.

 

[Tilos]

I may lose a pin or so but that's about it. I bought 5 lbs of pins over a year ago and I only use maybe 1.5 lbs when cleaning. I'm still using the initial 1.5 lbs I started with. I dump everything into a bucket and let water run into the bucket until it overflows. Let it continue to run until water looks clean. Dump most of that water out of the bucket and hand pick the brass while shaking them under the water. All my pins remain at the bottom of the bucket. Every now and then I get a pin that never came out of the brass, but I usually find them laying in the towel that I throw my brass onto. I just shake them dry in the towel and let them sit overnight.

Put a paint strainer bag in that bucket and never loose another pin...

https://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-5-gal-Elastic-Top-Strainers-2-Pack-11573-36WF/202061360
$4 for 2
A couple of $1 store buckets(4), a wire waste basket for a separator and you have a brass cleaning/separating line.

 

[FROGO207]

I just use my Dillon media separator. I fill the tub about 3/4 full of water and rotate the basket slowly and rock it back and forth some for a couple or three minutes. The pins will fall out of the brass/basket into the tub. I dump the tub into a 5 gallon bucket that has a metal funnel shaped screen on top I made to catch the pins. Then dump the bucket. Clean water in the tub and repeat. Do it a third time and all the brass is cleaned of pins and soap. In 4 years I have yet to find any pins in the brass after removing them from the basket. Have not lost any pins that I can detect either. YMMV