Case Cleaning

Discussions of powders, bullets and loading information.

Moderators: Kirk, Lucinda

TAA
Posts: 333
Joined: Thu Oct 16, 2008 9:22 am
Location: St. Paul, MN

Re: Case Cleaning

Post by TAA »

Matt,

Excellent....thanks!

Tom
Gamerancher
Posts: 199
Joined: Mon Sep 19, 2016 4:29 pm
Location: Central NSW Australia

Re: Case Cleaning

Post by Gamerancher »

I don't bother with the de-prime, into a jug of soapy water at the range regime that appears to be popular.
I wait till I get home to start de-priming and cleaning, it may be the same day or it may be a week later.
After de-priming, I throw the cases into a jug and cover them with white vinegar, I've found that doing so removes the bulk of the crud and left over lube from the cases in just a couple of minutes. The cases will bubble for a couple of minutes and when they stop doing that, I give the container a good shake and pour out the vinegar.
I then give them a quick rinse and throw them into the rotary tumbler with the stainless pins, a squirt of dish-soap and 1/2 a teaspoon of citric acid. An hour and a half later the cases come out spotless clean inside and out, primer pockets included.
The vinegar rinse seems to help a lot with the cleaning process. If I skip that step, it takes twice as long in the tumbler to achieve the same result, that is also when I see the peening of the case mouths that has been spoken about.
I have to say that when it comes to white vinegar, our Aussie stuff is twice the potency of the vinegar that I have used in the U.S.
When I'm here at home, I can clean cases, pour the vinegar back into it's bottle, let it sit for a month and the crud settles out.
I re-use it a number of times, just pouring off the clear vinegar until the sediment starts to come out of the bottle, I discard that each time.
Out in western NSW where it don't rain much.
Australia
User avatar
J.B.
Posts: 644
Joined: Tue Apr 20, 2004 10:31 pm
Location: Australia

Re: Case Cleaning

Post by J.B. »

Dan I believe it makes a good gargle too :shock: .. just dont swallow...and preferably dont use it until the crud settles. :wink:
..I'm guessing this Lemishine that gets spoken of often is a citric acid derivative or similar ? Was planning on picking some up when
Stateside this year.. but that didnt happen :cry:

J.B.
"an experimental weapon..with experimental ammunition ? ...Lets experiment "
martinibelgian
Posts: 1610
Joined: Thu Oct 26, 2006 1:20 pm

Re: Case Cleaning

Post by martinibelgian »

Just dissolve some citric acid in water, and you'll probably have 80% of what lemishine is. Beware, too much acid will tarnish cases, you don't need a lot of it.
User avatar
J.B.
Posts: 644
Joined: Tue Apr 20, 2004 10:31 pm
Location: Australia

Re: Case Cleaning

Post by J.B. »

[quote=martinibelgian post_id=325180 time=1613755211 user_id=3092]
Just dissolve some citric acid in water, and you'll probably have 80% of what lemishine is. Beware, too much acid will tarnish cases, you don't need a lot of it.
[/quote]

.. Thanks for that. I'll give it a go next time round and yes.. a few have commented that not much is required. One of my shooting buddies just drops his cases into a plastic sandwich bag after a detail and squeezes the air out on sealing. This seems to keep them 'inert' for up to a week or more.. although I'm usually cleaning them within 24-36 hrs after a match. Then its rinse in low ph detergent and or Birchwood Casey cleaner. I suspect this may have a mild acid base and leaves them pretty clean with a scrub. Then its the vibrator :shock: to get them shiny.

J.B.
"an experimental weapon..with experimental ammunition ? ...Lets experiment "
Clark Badgett
Posts: 60
Joined: Sat Apr 18, 2020 2:14 pm
Location: Indiana

Re: Case Cleaning

Post by Clark Badgett »

My first go around with my new FA tumber with 100 pcs of .45-70 that was rinsed and deprimed, some of them pretty tarnished. Results as follows.
1.5 hrs with full tumbler of water, 5lbs of those tiny SS pins and a squirt of Dawn and Lemi-shine. About a third of the primer pockets are clean and none of the insides are. Most of the tarnish was removed from the exterior, but a few stubborn spots are to be found.

On the second tumbling now with the same set-up except I reduced the water to 3/4 tumbler full.

These pins sure are messy.
semtav
Posts: 2876
Joined: Wed Feb 03, 2010 3:21 pm
Location: Montana

Re: Case Cleaning

Post by semtav »

I still prefer the Charlie Young method of cleaning !!
Pretty brass doesn't make it shoot any better.

tarnished brass.jpg
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
User avatar
Shadow 4
Posts: 456
Joined: Sun Aug 19, 2007 9:41 pm
Location: BIG SKY COUNTRY

Re: Case Cleaning

Post by Shadow 4 »

semtav wrote: Sat Mar 06, 2021 7:05 pm I still prefer the Charlie Young method of cleaning !!
Pretty brass doesn't make it shoot any better.
tarnished brass.jpg
:lol: :lol: :lol:
Yes, Charlie did say that, but Charlie's brass is still cleaner than those are, even after he's dropped it on the ground :lol: :lol: :lol:
You still may need a step or two to achieve "The Charlie Young tarnish" :roll: :lol: :lol:
Cowards rule the world these days.
Coward rules & coward customs
To succeed today, all you've got to know is how to blame & how to complain
Post Reply