Dave’s Ramblings

While tumbling cases in an abrasive media provides the best finish, extremely dirty cases can be decapped first (using a non-sizing die) and then washed in one of the following solutions. The final rinse in soapy water helps prevent tarnishing. All of these methods were approved by Frankford Arsenal and will not weaken your brass.

* A 5 percent solution of citric acid (available from your drugstore) and warm water for about 10 minutes. If your water is very hard increase the amount of citric acid. You can add some Dawn™ or Cascade™ dishwasher liquid soap (which does not contain ammonia–be careful some do), to the solution for extra grease cutting ability. Follow with a rinse in hot soapy water (Ivory™ works well) and allow to dry.
* A solution of 1 quart of white vinegar and 2 tablespoons of salt. Soak with some agitation for 15 to 20 minutes and follow with a rinse of soapy hot water and allow to dry.
* A solution of 1 quart of water, 1 cup white vinegar, 1/2 cup lemon juice, 1/4 cup laundry or dishwashing detergent, 1/8 cup salt. Soak with some agitation for 15 to 20 minutes and follow with a rinse of soapy hot water and allow to dry. This may leave brass with a slight pinkish cast which will disappear with a short tumble in media.
* Military arsenals use a heated 4 percent sulfuric acid dip with a little potassium dichromate added. The solution is heated until bubbles rise slowly without it boiling and the cases are dipped into it for 4 -5 minutes using a basket of copper screening or plastic. A final rinse using plain hot water is followed by hot water with Ivory™ soap in it and the cases are left to drain and dry. Because of the use of heated sulfuric acid this method is probably impractical for home use but is given here to show what can be safely used.

Cases which have been fired several times and which show signs of carbon build up internally can be rinsed in straight paint & varnish makers (P&VM) naphtha available at any paint store. Decap, soak for 5 - 10 minutes, drain, allow to air dry and then tumble as usual. Cases will be sparkling clean inside and out but not any shinier.

An interesting idea is to use an “air stone” and a small air pump from a fish aquarium tank to agitate the liquid cleaning solutions.

Thanks to Randy Wood for this tip.

Another case cleaning method is the use of an ultrasonic cleaning unit. These units are available from several online sources and the biggest problem is finding a reasonably priced unit with about a 2 liter capacity. While you can only clean small quantities of cases at a time this way they will be clean as new, inside and out. Once you’ve acquired the unit you’ll need to also acquire a glass beaker of sufficient size for your use and make a cover and beaker holder.

Cut a piece of Plexiglas to cover the tank and cut a hole the size of your beaker (use a fly cutter and a drill press or jigsaw it out). Make a collar for the beaker out of plastic foam that fits very snugly so the beaker can be raised or lowered. You want the beaker to not sit on the pan of the cleaner.

Fill the cleaner tank with water and by adjusting the level of water in the tank, the liquid in the beaker, and depth of the beaker in the water it can be “tuned” so that the liquid in the beaker appears to boil while the water in the tank is calm. This has a major effect on how long it takes to clean the cases.

For cleaning you can use either of these procedures but the second one leaves the cases the shiniest.
24 minutes - 50-50 Vinegar and water + 1 Drop Dish Soap per
8 ounces water Use cool water. Do not use hot water!!!
8 minutes - Baking Soda & water (1 grain BS per ounce of
water)
8 minutes - Hot Water
8 minutes - Distilled Water 24 minutes - 50-50 Vinegar and water + 1 Drop Dish Soap per
8 ounces water Use cool water. Do not use hot water!!!
6 minutes - Birchwood Casey Case Cleaner*
6 minutes - Hot Water
6 minutes - Distilled Water
* The Birchwood Casey case cleaner is listed as their “Brass Cartridge Case Cleaner # 33845″

This idea was originally presented on the 6 mm Benchrest site at http://www.6mmbr.com/ultrasonic.html by Jason Baney, and more info and test results are published there.

Many pet stores carry ground corncob media for small pet bedding. It is usually a little coarser than most normal tumbling media but it should still be perfect for tumbling cases (and not get stuck in flash holes). Prices at my local Petsmart were about 2/3 of the shooting stuff. For ground walnut shells many pet stores sell it in the same grit size as the shooting stuff as “lizard litter” or “bird cage litter.” The local price seems to be about a 30 percent cheaper than the shooting product.

You can also try your phone book’s yellow pages for an industrial abrasives dealer. While you’ll have to buy the corn cob or walnut media in 50 pound bags from them the price is usually about half (or less) of the price from firearms related sources, and it should keep you in clean tumbling media for the next several years. For an extra high polish add a small amount of non-ammonia containing automotive rubbing compound to the corn cob media and run your tumbler for a few minutes before adding the cases.

A word to the wise. If you share your home with furpeople keep your tumbling media covered or you may find some strange “cases” in it. Cats think its a dandy litter box filler.

Another case cleaning method that works well in rotary tumbler, like the 1-gallon Thumblers Tumblers, is to use the following media.

2 lb yellow or white corn meal
1 cup plain table salt
1/4 cup corn starch
5 or 6 pieces of scrap 2 x 2 or smaller wood cut into blocks

Add everything to the tumbler, close up the drum, and turn it on for a couple hours. Remove cases from tumbler, shake out the media from cases. You can blow them clean with an airgun or rinse them off if you like. The wooden blocks seems to knock the brass around and keeps media moving in and out of cases. They also seem to add a little extra friction to help polish and clean. Note that corn meal does not clog the flash holes, it’s dirt cheap, and lasts for hundreds of rounds!

An excellent bore polishing paste that works as well as JB’s can be made from equal parts of BonAmi™, paste wax (like Johnson & Johnson or Butchers), and light oil. The BonAmi is the “doesn’t scratch” product. Regular abrasive cleansers may be too harsh for use in a bore.

Another old standby is to use a hand type automobile rubbing compound and a larger than normal sized bore brush (say, one size larger–.25 in a .22 bore, .33 in a .30, etc.).

For both of these methods you will need a rod that allows the tip to rotate as it passes through the bore.

To use either of these solutions strip the action and clamp horizontally in padded vise jaws. Clean the barrel normally. Then, run the rod through the bore from the breach end, attach the oversized brush and coat with the compound. The pull it back through the bore to the chamber (don’t allow it to clear the chamber, to help keep “stuff” out of the action) and repeat this 25 or 30 times. Then with the brush outside the muzzle remove the brush and then pull the rod out of the barrel. Then attach a proper sized jag and a clean patch to the rod and from the breach work the patch back and forth several times. Repeat this with clean patches until the patch comes out clean.

Thoroughly flush the chamber and action with solvent to remove any grit, and then reclean the bore and chamber with normal bore cleaner. Your bore will be noticeable cleaner and smoother.

I recently tested some MAAS Metal Polishing Creme made by MAAS International. While not designed as a bore paste it did a very nice job on smoothing out several barrels and left them very clean and shiny. First clean the barrel normally with both regular bore cleaner and a copper remover. Then coat a patch with the MAAS and using a tight fitting jag work it through the bore using a series of short strokes. Repeat several times with a new patch and polish and then final clean with bore cleaner to remove any residue. It is not as aggressive as JB or the above homemade stuff so it may not work as well on a really rough bore. The MAAS Polishing Creme is available at some Walmart, Home Depots, Walgreens, ACE, Tru-Serv, others in a 2 ounce size for about $4 and on line at www.maasinc.com in a 4 ounce size for about $12.

Liquid Solution
For really stubborn lead removal try a 50/50 mix of 3% Hydrogen Peroxide (the common drug store variety) and white vinegar. Plug the bore, fill it up using a dropper or syringe and let it stand for 2 to 3 minutes. (Do not let it stand for too long.) You may get some foaming so protect the barrel’s external finish as this solution is not kind to bluing. Drain and wipe out the black muck that used to be lead and then immediately clean well with bore cleaner.

Thanks to Joe Sledge for this recipe.

Note
While most people have used this solution without a problem there have been reports of this solution pitting some mild steel barrels. The factors involved in this seem to be the type of steel, the presence of rust in the barrel, and excessively long soak times leading to chemical changes in the solution. I strongly recommend not letting this solution soak more than 2 to 3 minutes.

Pure turpentine has reportedly also been used as a lead remover.

Lead Removal Cloth
Lead deposits on the face of revolver cylinders and similar places can be removed with a lead wiping cloth prepared as follows.

Mix the following ingredients

500 gr - 400 grit or finer aluminum oxide powder
450 gr - kerosene or #2 fuel oil
4 gr - lemon oil (for a more pleasant smell)
5 gr - ammonium chloride

Evenly saturate a soft thick cotton cloth or flannel with the solution and allow to dry. (There is no reason it won’t work wet though.)

Carefully remove any very heavy lead deposits with a scraper and then wipe the remainder with the cloth to remove.

Notes: The active ingredient in commercial liquid lead remover products is Ammonium Oleate (CAS 544-60-5). It is however difficult to get. Most of the formulas are basically ammonium oleate, ethanol, and some petroleum distillates as a carrier.

Keep in mind that no matter what lubricant you use, you should use
the minimum amount of lube possible. You want it lubricated and not an oil field.

Synthetic Automotive Oils
Synthetic automotive oils (such as Quaker State High Performance Synthetic) work well as general lubricants and because of their detergent capabilities they will help to remove “crud.” (Synthetic oils handle low temperatures better than regular oils.) Just remember, as with any lubricant, not to over lube things. Valvoline Semi-Synthetic Power Steering Fluid has also been used with great success by many folks as their normal lubricant.

Air Conditioning Refrigerant Oil
Air conditioning refrigerant oil, available at most auto dealers and auto stores, is highly penetrative and makes an excellent lube and a rust preventative. It works at high temperatures and very low ones (won’t freeze even when mixed with Freon) and should be just the ticket for Alaskan use.

Slick Stuff
This very “oily”, (i.e. slick, greasy) lubricant appears to adhere very well to metal, with little or no creep. Thus it does not appear to drain from slides and parts during extended storage. From the formula it appears that it might not be suitable at very low temperatures.

2 parts Dexron II or III automatic transmission fluid
1 Part Mobil-1 Synthetic Oil, 30 weight, or 10W-30
1 Part STP Oil Treatment (the stuff for “old” cars w/ over 30,000 mi.)

Thanks to John Nichols for this tip

Amsoil
Another excellent home brew lube is Amsoil Synthetic ATF with some lanolin added to make it even slicker. A synthetic grease from MS Moly called Arctic Grade 67 also makes a great lube especially for cold weather. It is a totally synthetic moly grease with the consistency of chocolate mousse. It does not run, weep or smell (very important for the SAF (spousal acceptance factor)). It is reported to work fine at -30 degrees.

Thanks to Roger Rothschild for this tip.

Slippery Stuff
Try 80 percent Marvel Mystery Oil mixed with 20 percent Slick 50 .