Cleaning brass

[jeager361]

So after I tumble my brass with crushed walnut media, it seems like they have a dust film on them. I have never really worried about it with my pistol brass. I am just starting to venture into loading .223 and I am wondering if there is anything I need to do to clean off the dust before applying the case lube? Any trick/tips would be appreciated.

 

[trophyhunter]

Ask your wife to save the used dryer sheets for you, toss one in your tumbler each time you use it and that old dryer sheet works like a filter. You'll see what I mean after a cleaning session. All that dust and dirt gets trapped in the sheet and you can just throw it away.

 

[maverick18]

Ask your wife to save the used dryer sheets for you, toss one in your tumbler each time you use it and that old dryer sheet works like a filter. You'll see what I mean after a cleaning session. All that dust and dirt gets trapped in the sheet and you can just throw it away.

I never would have thought of that. I just thought the dust was something we had to deal with

 

[trophyhunter]

I never would have thought of that. I just thought the dust was something we had to deal with

That dust is not our friend, consider all the frangible lead material and residues left in a fired casing from spent primers and bullets then you have some idea of what that "dust" in your tumbler contains. Never mind handling bullets during the loading process on a press, it's those airborne residues from tumbler housings that pose the real threat to health and lead levels in the body.

Wear disposable gloves and a mask when you open your tumbler outside and empty it into your media separator. Wipe the remaining residues out of the tumbler bowl every time you use it and your brass should come out looking better and cleaning cycles wont take as long. I keep my separator and the catch bowl stored in a tote with a lid on it so it doesn't contaminate a more permanent surface in the loading room. The lead levels on those things are off the charts compared to any other operation of the reloading process.

 

[looney2ns]

I use the Lyman treated corn cob media and have zero issue's with dust.

 

[ckcollins2003]

I use the Lyman treated corn cob media and have zero issue's with dust.

Yeah, the corn cob doesn't leave much dust, but it will leave some. You'll really see it if you use a towel and wipe them down afterwards, at least at my house, but I also get dust from the fields.

So after I tumble my brass with crushed walnut media, it seems like they have a dust film on them. I have never really worried about it with my pistol brass. I am just starting to venture into loading .223 and I am wondering if there is anything I need to do to clean off the dust before applying the case lube? Any trick/tips would be appreciated.

Dryer sheets do help, but I've found with walnut media, you'll always have that little film of dust on them. The only way I've found to actually get all of it off is to take the cases one by one and wipe them down with a shop towel. It's probably not that big of a deal to most people, but I just want my reloads looking as good if not better than factory ammunition. At the range, people will notice and it's sad to say, but they will judge your capability on how well the ammunition looks. Take the time to do it right the first time, you won't be sorry.

 

[golfbrad]

I have the exact same issue when using walnut media, dryer sheet and Nu-Finish polish. My cases look awesome with this combination, far better than with the Lyman media, but they have a dust film. I use a new dryer sheet with each load, but still I have a film of dust on my pistol cases. So what I do is put them in a plastic colander (strainer) and give them a quick rinse of water using the sprayer on my sink. Then I dump back into a small bucket with a decent size towel, wrap them up and shake to get most of the water out of the cases. Spread them out on the towel for a day or so in the basement. They don't have any water drop marks or anything and look great, with no dust film. I also tumble a lot of cases over several days, so I store them in sandwich ziplock bags since I may not use them for quite a while.