Ultrasonic brass cleaning

[Odders]

1 tablespoon of citric acid and a squirt of washing up liquid for 100 (308) cases gives a sparkling shine and is kind to the brass too - vinegar/salt is quite harsh and corrosive. Rinse in warm water or a tiny bit of baking powder to be double sure.
20 minutes at 40degrees heat on my 2 litre machine which cost the princely sum of £30.00.
Lots of chat on YouTube about a US product called “Lemishine” - the above recipe is the same thing.
Don‘t waste your money on exotic cleaners and branded products.
Moderator goes in too...

Lemishine is citric acid, AKA vitamin C.
I add half a teaspoon to the water used for a 10lb brass load in my Frankford, stainless steel media, rotary tumbler.

OH & note that washing up liquid is thickened using...

...salt!

 

[WH308]

I use an ultrasonic cleaner for my brass, I use the case cleaner from Hornady. Very good results, not the cheapest stuff but a bottle has lasted me a couple of years so far and will do a couple more. I just rinse with cold water and stand them to dry on the aga overnight. I find it gets the inside cleaner than my old tumbler used to.

 

[Littlekilmory]

Vitamin C is ascorbic acid not citric acid...

 

[Cyres]

I use a James Ultrasonic bath. Couple of weeks ago I did 196 .204 in two batches. I have a plastic tray which will take 140 cases. Stand deprimed cases with mouth down and imerse in warm water mix of about 30 ml of white vinegar and a squirt of fairy. Deep enough to cover upright cases by 10 mm. Couple of 8 min cycles. Then lift whole tray out and plunge in two chages of tap water then dilstilled water. Remove remaining water with plunge in meths, drain and tip on metal baking tray and then on top of log burner for 10 mins to fully dry. When I chamfer neck mouth I give a twist in wire wool. Tray is good as all crude falls to bottom of bath and so easy to rinse and dry cases when they are vertical.

D

 

[Broadarrow]

Not ‘premixed’ but dilute to use:

where can I get this ?

 

[John_R]

where can I get this ?

Amazon, eBay, and others. Maplin too, but sadly they're no more.

 

[Blobby159]

is it possible to buy pre mixed use fluid ? I use my USC to lean the magazines on my CZ511 every few weeks in the bunny season....but has struggled with various mixtures of washing up liquid / vinegar / bicarb etc

I just knew I was doing something wrong with my very newly bought 6 litre U.S.C. unit. I got the cleaning mix more or less sorted with a light squidge of w.u.liquid (Fairy) and a few teaspoonfuls of concentrated lemon juice from a bottle of said bought at the super market. And it has a heater which, with hot tap water loaded in to begin with, I aim for a controlled 60*C.... But the NEUTRALISATION with something like a weak sol'n of baking powder (sodium bicarbonate) I totally missed and wondered for why, even with a rinsing under the cold tap and an additional spell in the U.S.D. with cold water surrounds I ended up with my 150 65Swede cases a funny weak gunmetal blue for the most part. Cleaned for sure, but a funny colour that I then removed with a couple of hours in my RCBS Case Tumbler and media.

I had that funny feeling something was not quite right, but just could not figure out what that "something" was. Now I know, and as I make my own bread, bi-carb availability is not a problem.

Thanks for that heads-up guys!!

One other thing though... My cleaning cycle is MUCH MUCH longer than is mentioned by most/all(?) of you responding on here with this topic. To get near total cleansing of the large primer pockets of that 150 6.5Swede brass I did last weekend took a total of somewhere near 50->60 minutes total, in 10 minute shifts. Anyone any smart ideas why this should be please?

This is much better than the 6 hours in the rotary (on its side) tumbler followed up with primer pocket cleaning using a dedicated rotating wire brush for each and every case, but is still much longer time-wise than anyone's mentioned timing I have so far seen on S.D. Not a big deal in the final analysis, but if I am again doing something wrong I should love to discover just WHAT it is so I can correct and be more efficient....

Thank again,


ATB ..... and shoot safely

 

[fizzbangwhallop]

Morning Blobby.....

Something doesn't sound quite right with that....

I did go down the route of trying a heaped teaspoon of citric acid crystals in each jar with just a drop of w’up liquid but I actually got worse results so I now only use a level teaspoon for a batch... so each jar would be doing 50-60 cases now (originally I only had one jar and that same mix would do the whole batch)

I’ve never used lemon juice or vinegar but food grade citric acid crystals are cheap as chips on fleabay..

Food Grade Citric Acid for sale | eBay

Find great deals on eBay for Food Grade Citric Acid. Shop with confidence.

www.ebay.co.uk

I carefully fill my tank from the rainwater butt the day/ 2 days before and let it stand to get the bubbles out.... by ‘carefully‘ I mean the less disturbance and least bubbles the better. I still run a couple of de-gaussing cycles to get the rest of any aeration out beforehand. Temperature is 30/31c for 8 minutes with possibly a second run at that.... bubbles lead to cavitation which cushions the ultrasonic vibrations reducing the cleaning effect.

As you’ve found, the primer pockets can be a bit stubborn to get completely clean so I just run a primer pocket reamer through any by hand after they‘ve been bi-carbed, rinsed and dried to finish them off.

cheers
Fizz

 

[Blobby159]

So if I am reading you correctly 'Fizz' you (and others I have read) put the cases to be cleaned inside of separate glass containers (jars) in the body of the US Tank, that correct? Are these containing jars immersed in water in the tank then ? I am assuming this is so.

I hadn't given a thought about the dissolved gases in the tap water I used having a negative impact on the cleaning process, but again, that makes PERFECT sense once explained .. Thank you!!..

I am a real Novice Numpty at this UltraSonic cleansing game aren't I, but learning as I go along thanks to the great, helpful people like you here on the S.D. 'Fizz'.

So I ALSO need to get me some distilled/de-ionised water too do I, and buy some Ascorbic Acid (Vit. C) Powder from a local chemist/health food shop or online on eBay etc.. Already use that in my bread making so no probs there.

Anyone who may have other personal experience based hints for me here?, your advice would be very gratefully and graciously accepted I can assure you...


ATB ..... and shoot safely

 

[Kgreg]

CItric acid and a dash of fairy liquid for me, I’ve not tried a ultrasonic cleaner, just a pair of marigolds and a 10 min swill round in a tub, then a good rinse with more fairy liquid, I’m pleased with the results.

 

[Blobby159]

Nickel coated brass will certainly clean up waaaay betterer than straight naked brass though 'Kgreg'... Good choice!


ATB ..... and shoot safely

 

[fizzbangwhallop]

Yep, I fill the tank then dip each jar in the tank to get the same level across the tank and both jars.... then it’s just a level teaspoon of the food grade citric acid I linked to above and a drop of Fairy in each jar. Using the jars contains all the crap from the cases and keeps the tank clean.

Rainwater is good for me as I’m in a hard water area...you could just use boiled water as an alternative?

I haven’t a clue as to how effective Ascorbic acid is...or how much youd need to have the same effect as the citric acid crystals.

cheers

fizz

 

[Blobby159]

Thank you 'Fizzy'... Your sensible advice here really appreciated I can tell you!!


ATB ..... and shoot safely

 

[Miki]

CItric acid and a dash of fairy liquid for me, I’ve not tried a ultrasonic cleaner, just a pair of marigolds and a 10 min swill round in a tub, then a good rinse with more fairy liquid, I’m pleased with the results.

Your cases look nice and clean on the outside ....

 

[Kgreg]

Your cases look nice and clean on the outside ....

View attachment 151625

Thanks, as I say I’m happy with the results, on the field that is. I’m mainly seeking to get rid of any resizing lubricant before it gets in the gun nothing else. I read an interesting article called the perils of ultrasonic cleaning, whereby the author described a loss of accuracy due to “squeaky clean” brass necks scratching bullet heads on insertion to cases requiring the the use of a lubricant to rectify the situation. Put me off a bit thought what I was gaining on the swings I’d be loosing on the roundabouts. I wonder if that’s other people’s experience, I might have a rethink.

 

[MAH]

Has anyone tried using ultrasonic cleaning tanks

I've had one (Hilsonic HS50) since the 80's and used to remove lube and other debris after decap/sizing.

Here's the thing!

I've used it typically once a month for an hour or so for more than 30yrs.
Then recently, (Feb 2020), I noticed it had become less effective than it was, so I Google “Hilsonic” to see if any Q&A were posted.

To my surprise the firm was just ½ and hour away (on the Wirral).
I called and spoke to Darren, he was delighted to hear my story and he suggested I call in so they can take a look.
He explained that Mark, one the technicians who made this model back in the early days, was still there.
Needles to say I made an appointment and turned up.
Being reunited with this old product generated a lot of interest in the workshop, old and young alike.
It was soon on the test bed with leads and gismos attached. (Akin to A&E).
Minutes later, the problem was diagnosed. (A capacitor across the output to the coil on the bath had failed, thus draining some of the power and reducing the effectiveness of the coil).
Mark resolved it in a flash and it was back to normal.
To everyone’s surprise, the inspection sticker on the inside was dated 17/8/74. That’s over 45 years ago!
By today’s standards, in our disposable society, it had already had a decent life in the 8 years or so before I got it S/H in the early 80’s.
45 years service and then repaired so quick is really brilliant.

Back home, back working again!
Fantastic.

Buying British really pays off.
Building quality products helps everyone to Reduce, Re-use, Up-cycle, and Recycle.

If you want a US bath, you know who I recommend.
M.

 

[Pilky1303]

Interesting post, as someone who is new to re loading this is useful, cheers

 

[flytie]

Lemishine is citric acid, AKA vitamin C.
I add half a teaspoon to the water used for a 10lb brass load in my Frankford, stainless steel media, rotary tumbler.

OH & note that washing up liquid is thickened using...

...salt!

Ascorbic acid is vitamin C.

S.

 

[JTO]

I find that the quicker you deprime and get them in the cleaner after firing, the fewer 8-minute sessions are necessary. Once all the primer pockets are clean, I take them out and rinse in boiling water 1 or 2 times.

 

[User00044]

Similar to JTO , decap, quick neck brush and into the US. I use the Lyman additive, quite economic. Then rinse under the hot tap and allow to dry .
Might not be particularly shiny , but since it makes no difference to accuracy whatsoever, who cares .