Numberous folks here have asked me what is in my home brew brass polish formula. Actually, I use it, but I didn't create it. A chemical engineer, whose name I have forgotten, posted on Shooters Talk created it and posted it there. I have been using it ever since and I am quite happy with it for two reasons. First, it cleans extremely well. Two, it is dirt cheap.

What you need are two things, available at your local supermarket or hardware store. The first is BonAmi powder cleanser. The second is Orange Citrus cleaner.

Pour the entire 14 oz container of Bon Ami into a large bottle with a screw cap lid. Add the Orange Citrus cleaner until it mixes into a thick liquid, about the same consistency as the Dillon case cleaner or liquid Turtle Wax. I don't have the exact amount of Orange Citrus to add handy, otherwise I would post it. I seem to remember using about 1 cup for 14 oz of BonAmi, but don't quote me on this.

Once you have it mixed, which takes a bit of effort, you are ready to add it to the walnut media, or corn media if that is what you use. You won't need much, 4 to 5 tablespoons or so will do it. I find I use the same amount as I would if I was using the Dillon case cleaner. I have the large Dillon case tumbler, so I have a lot of media in it.

This stuff has a very long shelf life, if you keep it in a closed and airtight bottle. I suspect it is close to indefinite. What you do need to do, however, is drop an old bullet in the jar you are keeping it in, as the BonAmi does settle and it is effort to mix up again unless you have the bullet in there to stir things up.

I use this exclusively now in my walnut media. It cleans faster than the Dillon stuff, costs next to nothing, and other than the mixing part of it, I have zero complaints.

This stuff has no ammonia in it, so it is better than cleaning in Brasso.

I also tumble in corn media after cleaning in walnut, but I use liquid Turtle Wax with the corn. It seems that the wax keeps the cases shinny longer once they are loaded and stored and they are so clean after cleaning in walnut with this stuff, that I don't need a second round of cleaning.

To keep both media clean, tear up strips of paper towels about one inch wide and toss them into the mix along with your cases. The paper seems to absorb all the grit and dirt while keeping the media clean. Once I discovered this trick, I quit buying media. I don't think I have any purchased media for close to 5 years now.

RobertD

I will definately give it a try.

Hot Core, I remember you posting that tip about Bon Ami for the H870 residue at least 5 years ago! I'll bet it does work well for case polishing, too.

Off topic, but I think the fouling problem with H870 was from the same excessive calcium carbonate content that caused the M16 jamming problem with ball powders in 'Nam in 1965. When the source of that problem was identified, they changed the Ball powder manufacturing process to rinse out the chalk water they used to neutralize the acids in the old deteriorated reclaimed powder and freshly made nitrocellulose they made the powder from. The WC860 and WC872 (likely of later manufacture) that I have don't produce any unusual fouling problems. H870 was WC870, an older surplus 20mm propellant. Back when we were discussing this ~5 years ago I suggested trying a vinegar wipeout for the hard H870 fouling. That should dissolve any calcium oxide or carbonate cementing the fouling together. Anybody try it? (It's getting to be a moot point since Hodgdon's supply of surplus WC870 ran out and it wasn't being made any more.)

Hey NotRicochet, You may be correct about the jamming M16s and the cause, I don't know. By the time I got there in `68, they(the M16s) were shooting just fine.

Also have no idea about the Vinegar for that purpose. Does right well when used to "blend-up" some Jalapenos for Chili and it also cuts some of the sweetness from the tomatoes.

I mentioned the Bon Ami/Bore Cleaner Paste in another Thread a month or so back. As well as I can remember, the fellow had lost his original accuracy in a 30-378Wby(???) using H870. He made some of the Paste, short stroked the throat and could feel the rough build-up disappear and then finished the barrel. His accuracy returned afterward.

Have you ever tried any of the Accurate Arms 8700? Just wondering how clean it burns. I don't currently own a rifle chambered for a cartridge that can use Powders that slow. Well, maybe with a 175gr bullet in a 7mmRemMag, but H1000 does so well there I'll probably not try anything else.

All the credit rightfully goes to Mr. Bruce Hodgdon.

You sure are blessed to be able to remember a post from 5 years ago. I do good to remember... uh, what was this post about???

I haven't yet tried any AA8700. I've got enough WC860 and WC872 to hold me for a while. I'm using up the 860 first, then I'll switch to the 872. When the surplus stuff runs out, if I can't get more at a reasonable price I'll have to find a substitute like 8700. I don't know where Accurate Arms is sourcing their 8700, but I'll bet it's another 20mm propellant, something like WC875. Could be WC872. Could be some similar spec propellant from another country, like Israel, China or Australia. It's way slower burning than H870 from the loading manual ballistics I've seen in .300 Weatherby and 7mm Rem Mag, on the order of 100-150 FPS lower velocities with the same bullets and charges. Some burning rate tables show it as being faster, though.

Update:

I dug up my notebook and this is the formula I used the last few times I made it.

I used one 14 oz can of Bon Ami and 6 oz of orange citrus cleaner.

Now the very last time I made it, I ran out of orange citrus and when I went to the hardware store to buy it, they were out as well.

So, I purchased 409 orange cleaner, which is about 4 times as expensive and the only orange citrus cleaner they had. However, that being said, it does clean very well.

This stuff goes a long long ways, so you don't need gallons of it. However, when you buy just one can of Bon Ami, you get several years worth of cleaner.

Just remember to toss in a an old bullet, as it sure helps when you have to mix it up and it has been sitting on the shelf for a couple of weeks.

RobertD

With the lot of pulldown WC860 I've been using, I've been seeing Chrony velocities comparable to, or slightly above, handbook velocities for H870 for the same loads. I haven't yet loaded any of my WC872. It seems that most of the handbook loads for H870 (in the "standard magnums") have been limited by case capacity or how much they were willing to compress it, not by high peak pressures. H870's spherical and both WC860 and WC872 are somewhat flattened spheroids, which will stack a little more densely, so you can put more in the case. In my .300 Weatherby, freebored, I've been using full capacity loads of WC860 compressed fairly tightly, and haven't seen any signs of high pressure with a load under a 200 grain Speer spitzer that's a full 5 grains more than the highest recommended H870 charge I've seen in a manual. (The highest recommended book load I've seen being 95 grains.) The velocity of that load is right at 3050 FPS from a 24" barrel. I ran a 30 round string of those over the Chrony, with an extreme spread of 17 FPS, and it'll shoot sub-1" groups consistently.

In the original specifications, the three powders are very close in burning rate, WC860 the fastest, WC870 (H870) in the middle, and WC872 the slowest, the relative burning rates being 83, 82 and 81 respectively. Lot to lot variation and changes in powder characteristics in storage could easily make more difference than that.

I wouldn't just jam in the maximum load I've been using if I changed to another lot of WC860, and certainly won't when I go to the WC872.

In my 7mm Rem Mag M70 with a 26" barrel, 80 grains of THIS WC860 under a 175 grain Hornady SP (max load for H870 in my older Hornady loading manual) gave the same velocity reported by Hornady, 2960 FPS average, with no pressure signs in cool weather. I think the temp was in the mid-30s Fahrenheit when I worked that up. When I shot those same loads in hot summer weather (mid-80s), the bolt was definitely sticky to open. So I've got to back that load down. The powder's just a little faster than H870.

do you guys got any ideas on a homebrew brass tumbler, seems like someone was using an old ice cream machine once

One of my buddies rigged one with an electric motor driving a horizontal roller and a free-spinning roller a few inches away on a horizontal frame. He puts the cases and media in a can, seals the lid and sets it on the rollers so it turns. Don't really need much more detail than that to build one that'll work.

Two tips if you are going to home made your tumbler, following NotRicochet concept:
- Can rotation speed must be lower than 60 rpm. It is neccessary a pulley train to reduce rpm from an standard electric motor.
-Interior of the can must have hexagonal shape or have some deflectors to provide beating among cases and media.
Both details increase cleaning efficiency and reduce tumbling time.
RCBS Sidewinder is an example of a rotatory type tumbler.
Forster offers three models Tru Squared tumblers. They also work in the same way and have an hexagonal can, easier to home made than the RCBS can which is injected plastic.
Any doubt to homebrew your tumbler, do not hesitate to ask.

BA Shooter

Isn't Bon Ami simply a fine abraisive? Silica sand or something? It's been a long time since I looked at a can of it.

My point being, I'm sure it's some sort of abrasive and would probably clean the cases about as good with or without the citrus stuff. The problem with abrasives is...well...they are abrasive and they don't know when to stop. There are probably lots of things we can slosh together that will clean cases but not all of them are great ideas.

Coin collecters "usually" stay away from cleaning or polishing our coins. Once in a while we do ,however, and many of us use Tooth paste or if necessary Bon Ami just to make them look pretty. Yes they are mild abrasives and can be easily removed from coins.If the residue remains on the brass it might serve to be a mild lapping compound for the loading dies and chamber.Having lapped a fair number of chambers with an agressive lapping compound and it taking a lot of effort and a long time to get the needed result,I fail to recognize a danger from residual Bon Ami unless the cases are grossly coated. I guess if I were going to use the cases in a great shooting competition rifle I would nix the Bon Ami,however; hunting rifle why not? roger

PS Hot Core. I've just got the citrus cleaner-degreaser, Bon Ami and a fresh load of washed white rice in my vibratory mill. Thanks for the tip.I don't have any great shooting competition rifles. roger

Hey Roger, The credit for that tip goes to RobertD who started this thread.

Robert D ,Hot Core, whoever,
I just got through running the mixture of Orange cleaner degreaser Bon Ami through what I thought was a clean 8m/mx57 rifle barrel. I was shocked. What came out of that barrel was really something.That barrel hasn't looked that clean in thirtyfive years or MORE.My hat's off to you. I think that 5 year old posting paid off for me. You think we'll hear from any of the nay sayers? Roger

hey

can anyone post a pic of the bon ami and the citrus cleaner? wanna make sure i get the right stuff.

thanks
lojack

BonAmi is a trademarked name, so if it says BonAmi on the label, you got the right stuff.

I found mine in the cleanser section. It came in a cylindrical can, just like Comet cleanser. My can was gold or yellow with some red on it. I don't remember the other colors. Since I used the entire can, I didn't save the empty.

The Orange Citrus cleaner is generic, although the last time I made this I used the 409 brand. So, I am sure I paid about 10x more for the 409 name on the label.

RobertD