Cleaning Brass

16 April 2007, 08:06

steve box

Cleaning Brass

I got a 35 gallon drum full of 308 brass gave to me....YeHaaa. Its military and its old and dirty. It is taking 5 to 8 hours to clean this stuff in my Lyman 1200 tumbler and thats using a few ounces of Dillon Brass Polish per load. I want to sell this stuff on Ebay but I have to get it clean first. Do any of you folks know a way I can cut down on my tumbler run time?

Iknowmyspellingsucks!

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17 April 2007, 01:40

lawndart

Ultrasonic cleaner.

The commercial guys also use larger tumblers with detergent and a dash of phosphoric acid. they use three cycles.

With your present equipment, there is no fast way. Just enjoy the process; It will be a long one.

LD

17 April 2007, 04:26

Rusty

I've used this formula offered by bob338

quote:
The formula given in an old NRA Handloading book is one quart of white vinegar and two tablespoons of salt. About 20 minutes worth agitating occasionally cleans them quite well. They require a thorough rinsing. I use this particularly for tarnished brass. If you want a high polish they need to be tumbled in media afterwords. 15 minuts or so not only dries them but polishes them up nicely. The solution is reuseable and lasts forever.

Rusty
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19 April 2007, 12:36

lawndart

Bye the bye,

Some of that brass has probably been through a machine gun. You won't be wanting to re-use those particular cases.

A case gage will save you a lot of heartache. If the headspace has been increased .010" or more over nominal, it is a good bet that the case has been through an M-60 or an M-240.

Have good fun with it all.

LD

19 April 2007, 20:27

steve box

You are so right, however dies are made for 308 and 3006 that have been fired in military fast guns to put them back in specs. Midway has them.