Anyone use old school brass cleaning

[Camo]

I reloaded cartridges for years without a tumbler. I washed the brass, mostly just hot water and soap. Even now I rarely clean rifle brass, not washed, not tumbled. I just wipe the neck after shooting and stick it back in the box to reload. Of course, my rifles are bolt guns. The brass rarely touches the ground.

I didn't have a tumbler until one came in a lot of stuff I traded for.

Decades ago nobody had a tumbler. Reloaders were easy to spot, with the brown cartridges. I don't think tumblers became popular until into the early 1990s.

There's an awful lot of time and typing about the part of reloading that makes the least difference.

I’ve reloaded without cleaning brass before. I just prefer clean brass so it’s worth this minimal effort to me.

 

[turkeyrun]

I bought my first tumbler in 1983. Clean brass shows splits, making inspection easier.
I clean 400 - 500 pieces at a time. Using a mixture of 2/3 walnut, 1/3 corn cob and squirter of Nu-Finish polish.

 

[magna19]

I do the same, but with crushed walnut that I buy in bulk at the per store. They sell it as reptile bedding.

SSSUHSH!!!!! Dont tell nobody about the reptile bedding.

 

[okjoek]

One nice thing about shiny brass is it make spent brass easier to find on the ground

 

[Broncos]

I use Westley wheel cleaner and corn cob media Seems to do the job

 

[Broncos]

Corn cob media with Westley’s Wheel Cleaner or Flitz works well

 

[Rustygun]

I use crushed walnut from harbor freight, a squirt of Nu-finish, or Lewis metal polish, and tumble 300-400 rounds of 9mm at a time. All outdoor range pick up brass and some is pretty nasty. I set a timer for 2 hours but usually after about 1 hour the brass is pretty darn clean.
This process works well for me. I have arrived at the conclusion that super shiny brass does not make my guns run better or me a better shooter. Remembering that the goal here is to fill the inside with burnt carbon soot and quickly throw them on the ground.

 

[Camo]

I tumble with media as well, just referring to the really dirty stuff. I chemically clean, rinse and dry first.

 

[crapsguy]

I tumble with media as well, just referring to the really dirty stuff. I chemically clean, rinse and dry first.

I use a teaspoon of lemisheen and a tablespoon of oxyclean in a qt or so or water
don't dilly-dally - shake it a bit every few minutes and in about 5 or so you have clean brass --- very quick and non abrasive and cleans mostly inside and out - rinse it and dump it into an old t-shirt and shake to remove most of the water then let it dry - all done

 

[mr ed]

I just use corn cob and auto polish with a used dryer sheet. Do you tumble/vibrate that formula or just let it sit?

put in 2 liter pop bottle half full, pour in a couple hundred cases, cap and shake, Rinse well. Been using the recipe over 50 years.