washing brass with dawn and dishwasher detergent

[Guest superblackrifle]

well I am to poor to break down and get a tumbler. So i used an old tupperware container and put m,y brass in it with my detergents and rigorously shook for like 2 minutes and so much dirt came out the water was grey . I repeated til clear and let the brass air dry and the brass actually looks pretty good

[Westwindmike]

Add some lemon juice and vinegar to that Dawn and they will really sparkle!

[Guest HexHead]

I was talking to my gun store guy about this topic the other day. I asked what I should buy first to get started reloading and suggested maybe I should start with a tumbler. He said cleaning up the brass like that wasn't necessary, unless I wanted it to look "new".

[leroy]

I was talking to my gun store guy about this topic the other day. I asked what I should buy first to get started reloading and suggested maybe I should start with a tumbler. He said cleaning up the brass like that wasn't necessary, unless I wanted it to look "new".

Hex:_________

In my experience, the great help in tumbling brass for cleanup is that it helps keep the reloading dies from getting scratched up. The grit, residue, etc from once fired brass picked up off the ground aggrivates the brass and dies over time.. Grit will embed in the steel of the sizing dies over time and will scratch and aggravate the brass and finally ruin the dies. That being said, brass cleaning is a "nice to have" not a "gotta have". I started out just wiping the brass off and reloading it without tumbling it. I loaded a lot of ammo that way.

Now i use a tumbler regularly because it cleans the brass nicely and gets the grit off. When the tumbling medium gets dirty, i just toss it and start over. I like the looks of tumbled brass. Again, a tumbler is a "nice to have", not a "gotta have" for reloading.

Hope this heips.

Kind regards,

LEROY

[Guest canebreaker]

We dump the spent media into the flowerbeds.

I found a 10 lb. bag of corncob media, pet bedding at tractor supply for 5.00. It's a bit larger than regular media, but added to tumbler, it will work.

[Guest bang-flash]

That spent media has low traces of lead and other nasty stuff.

[Guest canebreaker]

Spent media in the flowerbed, I'm not worried about. But in the garden where veggies are grown, yes. Spent coffee and tea grounds release a poison too. It will rot and help the soil. Maybe the neighborhood cats will get a good dose of it while craping in the beds. Since local animal laws are laughed about and hardly enforced.

Years ago, a neighbor kept complaining about dogs trashing their trash container while sitting at curb over night for pick up. I got up at 4 am for a fishing trip. I sat in truck and watched 5 cats trash the container. Carrying trash everywhere.

I became the bad neighbor! I called animal control and had 2 live traps delivered and set up. Monday thru friday, the traps would be gone in the mornings and returned in the afternoon for 3 weeks. For a long while my cars stayed clean for weeks at a time.

Pretty much my feelings are: If it can't cook or find it's own meal, flush the toilet and sit down to talk for a spell. I don't need it around.

[MikeW]

http://www.tngunowners.com/forums/ammunition-reloading/28985-better-mouse-trap-ie-cleaning-brass.html