I don't reload enough to justify a tumbler, but hate that my hand-crafted ammunition has dark brass.

Is there a safe and easy way to brighten small lots of brass, say 20 at a time?

I read a post on another board about a fellows secret formula for cleaning brass then I realized he was basicaly describing what most hand cleaners like fast orange are made of. I have cleaned up lots of brass with hand cleaners like fast orange that contain a pumice type grit and it really works quite good.

You can buy a qt of isso case cleaning liquid and its very easy to clean brass with.Just let them dry out before loading.

Run a search for "Ice cream tumbler". Youll never go back to manual brass cleaning..

I did the search but am still not sure what you mean. Closest thing I saw to a case tumbler was a sponge bob square pants ice cream maker for $20. That can't be what you mean.
I'm interested in this because I would like to find a cheap alternative to tumbling - I'm a cheapskate.

There are plans for a home-built tumbler on this site.

Try some very fine steel wool and some elbow grease. That is way many of us had to do it in the "old days" before tumblers were ever invented.

Barstooler

Check out a good hardware store for "Nevr-Dull." It is a kapoc-like material in a tin. The stuff is impregnated with a cleaner. Tear off a bit and use it to wipe off the brass...works like a champ for small lots of brass. Leaves no noticeable residue, etc.

For heavily tarnished and dirty brass you can use a mixture of 1 quart white vinegar to which you add a tablespoon of salt. Soak and occasionally agitate the brass. It will be clean, if not quite polished, in about 30 minutes. Can't get any cheaper than that.

You can buy a Krazy Kloth, an impregnated cloth, in the kitchen utensils section of your supermarket. Wipe the brass with that, let it set a few seconds, then wipe with a paper towel. Really polishes it up. Some folks use that to clean the brass immediately after firing but if you're as cheap as you say, that would mean the cloth would gather lots of carbon over a couple of hundred round of shooting and you'd have to spend another $3.95.

When you get your brass reasonably clean, take a 35mm film can with a large shooting patch soaked with Kroil to the range with you. Wipe any carbon from the neck immediately after shooting. It comes off quite easily then and keeps the brass neat and clean.

It's still more convenient in the long haul and probably cheaper over time to invest in the tumblers from Midway. They were just on sale for well under $40. I've had mine for almost 20 years and it's still works just the way it did initially. Not much can be cheaper than that if you amortize it over that time.

I use a bit of white vinegar, a little truck wash and hot water. In say, a 2 gallon bucket, about a cup of vinegar,2 capfulls of truck wash and half fill with hot water.Stir occasionally.After an hour or so, tip out ,pick up shells and rinse with hot water.I then usually leave them on the hot water system for a day or so to dry out.
Cheapskate too!

Got a Lee case trimmer? If so you can chuck up the case in a drill and have a go at it with 0000 steel wool. If you want it to shine, use a bit of Flitz after the wool.

I'm cheap also, but only to a point. The problem with all these concoctions is they are time consuming and messy. If you reload small amounts of ammo you don't need a large tumbler. Look at Lymans website, or Midways. You can pick up a small tumbler for very little cost. It will do a professional job with ground corn cob, (really cheap), and a little brass polish. Don't forget the time and gas your going to waste running around to buy all this other crap. Gas is $2.00 a gallon. Do it right. You'll be happier with the result, and in all likelyhood you'll spend about the same or less. I've been handloading for over 30 years, and each and every time I've tried to shortcut something, I have always learned to regret it, and wound up doing it right. Bill T.

Belaw,

Read what the others have to say, but please do try just a pot of hot water with a cup or so of white vinegar and a squirt of dish soap. It won't polish them but they will get clean, most likely clean enough for you. Actually, it is kinda amazing the first time you do it.

I have a sidewinder tumbler that I use for stuff I want to be polished, but other than the vanity of having sparkly as opposed to clean brass I think the vinegar and soap wash works just as well from a practical point of view, and is much much faster too.

Dont forget about the hours you'll spend picking the media out of flash holes .
The original question was "alternatives to tumbling" not "how much do I need a tumbler".With respect to his original question I dont see how telling him to go buy a tumbler is going to help him.I guess this is the way a lot of forums posts get off topic.