Is it odd that cleaning brass was this much fun?

AzDak42

Handloader
Jan 26, 2012
541
0
Maybe some of you are going to think I've bonked my melon and suffered some brain damage, but I spent the weekend prepping some 5 year old brass and I can't get over how grand it was to finish with a ton of reloads and a mountain of shiny brass to work through.

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This stuff was seriously disgusting. It came from a long range class back in 2007 where we were rained on every day for a week. Most of the cases had mud and crud in abundance.

- Started with a quick wash/soak in the laundry tub to get the worst of the grime off.
- Followed up with a 10 minute trip through Hornady's 2L sonic clearer loaded with their case cleaning solution.
- After a quick roll through a towel to get most the moisture out, they got a 45 minute trip around a lyman tumbler packed with corn cob and flitz polish.

The end result was stunning. Perfect, shiny brass that just made me want to reload. I put up 100 rounds of 150g .308 SPs, 100 rounds of 168g .308 AMAX and still had almost 400 cases just waiting to get reloaded.
 
How does that hornady machine work? Takes me a while with my tumbler to polish everything off mine and I'm obsessed with clean shiny brass.
 
nvbroncrider":3cd207xx said:
How does that hornady machine work? Takes me a while with my tumbler to polish everything off mine and I'm obsessed with clean shiny brass.

Amazing. Best reloading widget I've bought in quite awhile.

It's a great cleaner. The cases are spot/tarnish free. The inside of the case necks are perfect, the primer pocket gunk is cut way back/loosened up. Really nice 'pampered' brass, comes out shiny and in very good shape. "Well used" brass, comes out extremely clean, but not so shiny. Aside from cosmetics, I'm positive that just using the sonic cleaner leaves you with a top notch ready to load piece of brass.

But... I really like that high luster, shine. What I've found is that after being cleaned for 10 minutes in the sonic, the brass polishes really well and very quickly. After 15 minutes it's great. After 30 minutes it's brilliant, and after 45 it's dang near a mirror. Even with all the futzing with it, it's still a lot faster than what it took just using the 1200.

I think I have some rounds I loaded up using just the 1200 for 2-3 hours. Side by side, it's nothing like the sonic/corn cob route. Maybe I can get some comparison pics for you.
 
Thanks I've been considering one. Cause I hate running my tumbler. Even with fresh media it takes a while and I hate having to knock all the shells out. Normally I throw a batch in over night before I size and deprime.
 
Jake,
I use the Lyman sonic cleaner and it does a bang up job! If I go witha double cycle(10 minutes) I don't even have to touch the primer pockets. Combining it with a run through the polisher turns any brass into like new.
Scott
 
That is right spanky looking brass. Maybe I need to get an ultrasonic cleaner or your address either one would be fine. :p


Bill
 
I am probably going to pick up a kit from Stainless Tumbling Media http://www.stainlesstumblingmedia.com/ so hopefully I can get some of the skanky range pickup brass (.45 ACP, mostly, some 5.56mm) nice and shiny. We're men. Bright shiny things fascinate us. That's why they put chrome on new trucks.
 
nvbroncrider":1itta0k8 said:
Heck with Chrome just the rumble of a diesel works for me.

Man, I couldn't have said that any better myself Jake!
 
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