Newbie in reloading, case cleaning

[Floralys]

Hi all!

I am just starting to get into reloading and as of now I am trying to figure out how to properly clean cases. At the moment I have a smart reloader nano dry tumbler. On yt videos after tumbling cases they come out clean and shiny. But in my case, popped cases came out not much cleaner than they were before tumbling.
Before tumbling I decap old primers, so I could see more clearly if there is a stuck media in the primer pocket/hole.
I used initially chicken corn as was recommended in my shooting club, they do clean ok I guess but it’s a bit of a pain to get chicken corn out of the 223 cases, they just get stuck inside and won’t come out easily due to small neck and coarse media.
So with combination of small screw driver and compressed air I have to go through every case cleaning out stock media.
Then I tried to use crushed walnut media (it’s more like a sand) for cleaning and since it’s fine, media doesn’t stuck in the cases but for some reason not cleaning very well, especially 308 cases. Both 223 and 308 primer pockets and necks were not cleaned very well, even though I ran tumbler for at least 4-5hrs for each batch.
I have seen some advertisement about additives for dry tumblers to make cases clean and in some way more polished. But not sure if these would work and in the club members told me that they won’t help and that I should switch to wet tumbling. But I would like to stick with dry tumbling for now.

Any advice on what media would clean cases better?
Or maybe I need to add something to the media?

Thank you.

 

[big ears]

Put a bit of autosol in the medium.

Also depends how long you are tumbling them for. Like you I use walnut as it doesn’t clog primer pocket as much. Usually I clean for two hours then resize and then give it another 2 hours to get the lube off and clean the pocket. Comes up reasonably clean but not sparkly

 

[charlieboy-shooter]

An alternative
Although possibly not the answer your after but I find 000 wire wool spun along the case from base to neck just after trimming polishes nicely and removes the outer burr from the trim and a brass pencil brush for the primer pocket does a nice job on the outside and its dark inside the cases so I don't wory about what they look inside.

Heathen, I know but was apparently good enough for Richard Lee.

 

[caorach]

An alternative
Although possibly not the answer your after but I find 000 wire wool spun along the case from base to neck just after trimming polishes nicely

If I clean at all that's what I do, spin them in an electric screwdriver thingme. However, mostly I've given up cleaning the cases as it takes up time that could be spent outside plus it seems to make sod all difference to anything.

 

[Riverwye]

Few turns with 000 wire wool to get the soot off the neck, achieves what i need to from a reload.

 

[ashray]

try coarse walnut shells <around an 1/8" diameter and with use they crush down >once they are filthy or down to sand granules then replace with new and bin the sand , if you want shiny case add polish of your choice.but shiny cases dont shoot any differently to dirty cases !

 

[south-nofolk-stalker]

Few turns with 000 wire wool to get the soot off the neck, achieves what i need to from a reload.

this is all I did for years before i got a tumbler works a treat

 

[kenbro]

I find that after a few firings my cases get fine sooty stuff inside that comes out (Or some of it does) if you tap the case mouth on a hardish surface.
So I’d say not cleaning cases is not the best idea.
Ken.

 

[Will the chippy]

Ultra sonic. 10mins with some citric acid and a dob of car wax. Shiny and clean inside and out.

 

[KimE]

I use hand dishwashing soap and hot water rinse and a new hotwater + a spoon of citric acid (used for baking) takes two minutes. Then I clean the primerpockets with a Qtip. To much cleaning are wear on your brass or silver if you have some.

 

[cjm1066]

Autosomal helps, but you are describing why I went to ultrasonic cleaning, it's so much easier. Take cases out rinse them and use a hair dryer with the cases in a colinder and they are dry in no time.

 

[Floralys]

Thank you all for suggestions! Very interesting read!
I tried cleaning cases with a wire wool but after 50th case it’s getting quite hard and it is indeed time consuming..
I will try to add autosol to the media to see if there will be a difference, but from what I can see online it’s mostly paste like substance, right? Or there is powder like substance to add to the media?

thanks!

 

[Floralys]

Ultra sonic. 10mins with some citric acid and a dob of car wax. Shiny and clean inside and out.

Nice, yes folks at the club did say that ultrasonic cleaner does wonder, but drying cases are a bit problematic, as others use oven for that, and my missus won’t let me do it lol.

 

[Bo Diddley]

and my missus won’t let me do it

Time to trade her in for a new 2024 model that allows the use of ovens & airfriers....

I use fine wire wool after the case has been trimmed and chamfered while it's still in the holder/cordless drill, only takes a second per case, I sometimes use an Ebay ultrasonic.

 

[Will the chippy]

Nice, yes folks at the club did say that ultrasonic cleaner does wonder, but drying cases are a bit problematic, as others use oven for that, and my missus won’t let me do it lol.

It's by far the quickest
But it doesn't get them quite as shiny as a wet or dry tumbler. A night stacked on the radiator will do fine. Clean and trim and size one night and loads the next.

 

[Bavarianbrit]

Has anyone tried soaking cases in coca cola?

 

[chriswjx]

I use hand dishwashing soap and hot water rinse and a new hotwater + a spoon of citric acid (used for baking) takes two minutes. Then I clean the primerpockets with a Qtip. To much cleaning are wear on your brass or silver if you have some.

Could I ask, is that into a sonic bath? Or just sit and soak?

 

[davelloyd91]

I use the media linked below in exactly the same tumbler as you. Just add a tiny bit of T cut in with it and run it for 5 mins before adding the brass to spread the T cut about. Run it for about 4 hours and they come out sparkling.

SAND BLASTING SHOT BLASTING TUMBLING POLISHING CORN COB GRIT MEDIA 10/14 2.5kg | eBay UK

It is also ideal for Vibratory finishing and tumbling finishing. Because corncob and corn cob blasting grit is considerably less aggressive than sand, it is often categorized as a "soft abrasive" (corncob and corn cob blasting grit has a 4.5 Mohs hardness).

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[DesG]

I got bored last week so I made myself a wet tumble polisher. This uses a drum with about a pound of small ss needles (1/4" long ish) in a small amount of wter and whatever chemical concoction you fancy. I use aerial washing powder and a teaspoon of citric acid.

I left some 38s in overnight a few days back and turned them to bronze. I'm now experimenting with different chemicals to see if I can turn brass to gold.

 

[Floralys]

I use the media linked below in exactly the same tumbler as you. Just add a tiny bit of T cut in with it and run it for 5 mins before adding the brass to spread the T cut about. Run it for about 4 hours and they come out sparkling.

SAND BLASTING SHOT BLASTING TUMBLING POLISHING CORN COB GRIT MEDIA 10/14 2.5kg | eBay UK

It is also ideal for Vibratory finishing and tumbling finishing. Because corncob and corn cob blasting grit is considerably less aggressive than sand, it is often categorized as a "soft abrasive" (corncob and corn cob blasting grit has a 4.5 Mohs hardness).

www.ebay.co.uk

View attachment 359826View attachment 359827

Nice!
Do you add T-cut metal polish to the media? Like this one below in the link?

https://www.halfords.com/motoring/car-cleaning/car-polish/t-cut-metal-polish-247861.html

Thank you!