Cleaning brass - inside case still dirty??

I have seen the stainless pins in a Thumlers Tumbler, his media is the pins, one gallon water 2 tablespoons dishwashing liquid and two tablespoons cream of tarter. This brass looks better than new including the primer pocket and flash hole. There is a dealer for the tumbler on this site an maybe he will dial in. Gonna get me one as soon as I find a buyer for all the media and Lyman viberator I have know. Gettin to much stuff in loading room.
Geno
 
Hornady and Lyman also tout their ultrasonic cleaners for cleaning gun parts. Will it get the carbon off an AR bolt or bolt carrier?
 
i just a an ultrasonic cleaner at harbor freight it works great for brass and small parts 69 bucks and yes it will take the carbon off your parts
 
If anyone out there don't like there Thumlers Tumbler Mdl B I would be a buyer, also Harbor freight has theres on sale 39. and change for the tumbler but didn't catch how much on the ultra sonic.
Gene
 
Try Birchwood Casey case cleaner. It is inexpensive, you dilute the solution per the directions and it goes a long way.
 
I love how the ultrasonics clean the inside and especially the primer pockets. Not that hard to use I can get about 100 308s in the Lyman. I have not been able to get that media/tumbler polish though. Oh, yes buy the parts cleaner and through your dies in occassionaly, simple.
 
I use STM..it works

P1000050.jpg

P1000049.jpg
 
+1 on the stainless steel media.
Been using this method for a couple of months now.
Very impressive on my 45ACP brass, and most of my rifle brass.
Not quite as easy to clean 223 brass thou. Still does a great job on the 223, but once in a great while a piece of SS will be stuck in the primer pocket.

With this method, I don't see how you could get the brass any cleaner.
 
I will have to agree with Mikecr and Kevin Thomas that the carbon fouled inside does not hurt a thing..Without anything to back it up, I have a hunch that the carbon layer inside the case has a positive affect on burn rate over the "shiny" reflective inside of a new case...Much like a new cast iron frying pan vs a "seasoned" one....My SDs and ES seem to be always lower in "seasoned" cases...I am not sure why though, it may or could be because of other reasons such as a better case to chamber fit....

My theory is only based on about a thousand rounds a year for the 10 or so years that I have had the chrony, even though I have been loading for over 40 years..It would be nice to know if anybody else has done a study or tests on this subject.

One thing I might add that I always mechanically clean the primer pocket and brush out the loose carbon inside the case. The interior neck is then worked over real well with the brush before final neck tension adjustment.

Randy
 
Another convert to the STM (stainless) method of cleaning. It is by far the best method I've come across.

I have tumbled 9mm, 45ACP, 5.56, 7.62, 300 Win Mag, 30-06 and 338 Lapua and out of well in excess of 3000 cases cleaned just in the last 30 days or so I have found pins stuck in the flash holes of exactly two cases - one 5.56 and today one 9mm. In the grand scheme of things this is a non-issue for me, and certainly is far better than corn/walnut media where the problem of media getting stuck in the flash holes was much more prevalent.
 
cega said:
Another convert to the STM (stainless) method of cleaning. It is by far the best method I've come across.

I have tumbled 9mm, 45ACP, 5.56, 7.62, 300 Win Mag, 30-06 and 338 Lapua and out of well in excess of 3000 cases cleaned just in the last 30 days or so I have found pins stuck in the flash holes of exactly two cases - one 5.56 and today one 9mm. In the grand scheme of things this is a non-issue for me, and certainly is far better than corn/walnut media where the problem of media getting stuck in the flash holes was much more prevalent.
Click to expand...

I clean cases before removing the primers. The decapping pin removes any cleaning media in the flash hole. However, I've never used those SS pins. I doubt those pins would punch out well decapping a primer. More'n likely something would get damaged
I have an old A-R12 Thumler's Tumbler over 40 years old. Since I'm a bit on the frugal side, I can't see spending near $200 (Model B tumbler) plus another $50 for SS pins. Since the Model B is what they recommend using.
If I want my cases to look extra good, I mix citric acid powder with water & soak my cases in it for 15 minutes or so.
Citric acid does not etch copper or brass. It's considered passive. It's also very inexpensive. I've also read it makes brass more resistant to oxidizing, but I never had a problem with brass oxidizing before anyway.
 
I didn't and haven't read all the replies to the original question, and maybe someone has already brought up this solution. If not, one of the best cleaning systems I have really ever seen is Stainless Steel Media. I started using this system about a year ago, utilizing Thumler's Tumbler, a teaspoon of dawn, and a 1/2 teaspoon of Lemi Shine. It cleans everything, outside, inside, primer pockets, all looking better than new factory brass.

This past spring I found a bunch of PPU 5.56 brass that had been under the ice, snow, dirt, and mud for who knows how long, and looking at it I knew that it would be the true test for the SSM to be able to clean it up. I brought it home threw it into the tumbler for about 4 hours, and here's a couple of pics to show before and after results .


Before3_zpscad4f306.jpg










After4_zpse445b86a.jpg



I did take a couple of minutes to finally look thru some of the replies, and see now that the SSM was covered pretty thoroughly. Anyway, hope the pics might have given a better idea of the effectiveness of the system...

Thank,

DD
 
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