Which Brass cleaning method do you prefer?

[tcpip95]

Looking to pickup a brass cleaning system. Which of these three do you prefer?

 

[LookinforDirt]

I voted rotary tumbler but if cleaning a low number of cases I’ll often grab a small ultrasonic cleaner we have. I don’t always use media in the rotary tumbler for brass that has few firings on it and limited build up. Makes the job quicker and less work.

 

[Snowwolfe]

Wet tumbler with stainless steel media pins.

 

[tdot]

Wet tumbler, but find the stainless chips vs the stainless pins. I find the do a comparable, if not slightly better job then the pins, but they do not get stuck in the flash hole and they don't ding the mouth of the brass if left running for too long. The only negative I've found is that they often have a small number of mild steel chips mixed in. Once they rust and look different, it takes a few uses to pick them out.

 

[Wrench]

Even the rotary without pins does pretty well. Once you hit em' wet, its hard to go back.

 

[SDHNTR]

Ultrasonic cleaner

 

[mbania]

Vibratory in my opinion is best for just a quick cleanup of the brass. My brass never gets bad/dirty enough to need ran in a wet tumbler. Now if i was processing dirty range brass a wet tumbler would be a must. You will get better results and in way less time than in a vibratory case cleaner.

 

[vonb]

Tumbler with dry media. I also have wet tumbler with stainless pins. This is only reserved for dirty range pickup brass. The stainless pins and water are a PITA to separate.

 

[7wssm]

I just wet tumble

 

[Carl Ross]

I've always done the vibratory tumbler, and upgraded to an xl unit so I can do 300 or so pieces of rifle brass at a time.

Of my precision rifle friends who have gone either wet route, many have switched back due to issues with getting the necks too clean. Enough that I've never wanted to bother.

 

[tcpip95]

Thank you for everyone's input. I ordered the RCBS vibratory tumbler, and crushed walnut shells as my media. Tumbler is arriving next week, so I'll be starting soon.

 

[Superprime]

The vibration tumbler is definitely the way to go... I've owned one for a couple of years now and I have no regrets.

 

[Mike D Texas]

If you want super clean brass nothing beats a wet stainless tumbler with Dawn liquid and a dash of Lemishine.

Vibratory takes longer, media gets stuck in the flash holes and it always feels dusty.

For a quick removal of carbon and resizing wax/lube, ultrasonic is the ticket.

I have all three and use the rotary wet stainless method 3 to 1 over the others.

Life’s too short to shoot ugly brass.


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[Gorp2007]

Thank you for everyone's input. I ordered the RCBS vibratory tumbler, and crushed walnut shells as my media. Tumbler is arriving next week, so I'll be starting soon.

I don’t know if it’s the right choice, but it’s the same way I do it. When it’s time for more walnut, you can buy the walnut lizard bedding at the pet store.

 

[packer58]

Thank you for everyone's input. I ordered the RCBS vibratory tumbler, and crushed walnut shells as my media. Tumbler is arriving next week, so I'll be starting soon.

You did not make a bad choice, that tumbler with the walnut will clean up all but the dirtiest brass.
Make sure you get a separator...separates media from brass after tumbling....and you'll be happy ...

 

[waveslayer]

For bulk I use sonic cleaner. For precision I use stainless steel media

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[tcpip95]

I don’t know if it’s the right choice, but it’s the same way I do it. When it’s time for more walnut, you can buy the walnut lizard bedding at the pet store.

I did a google search for pet bedding (birds, etc.) and in nearly every case the Frankford Arsenal 15 lb bag for $20 was the best deal, so that's what I bought.

 

[tcpip95]

You did not make a bad choice, that tumbler with the walnut will clean up all but the dirtiest brass.
Make sure you get a separator...separates media from brass after tumbling....and you'll be happy ...

The RCBS tumbler has a separator built into it, so I'm good there.

 

[tcpip95]

For bulk I use sonic cleaner. For precision I use stainless steel media

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I've got an ultrasonic parts cleaner that I use for my gun parts. I'm going to try an experiment with it to compare it to the vibratory tumbler.

 

[waveslayer]

I've got an ultrasonic parts cleaner that I use for my gun parts. I'm going to try an experiment with it to compare it to the vibratory tumbler.

I then have a brass dryer I picked up from Frankford Aresenal to dry the brass off

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