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Cleaning Brass with a Liquid Cleaner |
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| Article Written by: Dave Daniels | |||||||||
Everyone talks about vibratory cleaners and discusses
the benefits of crushed walnut shells vice corncob as
the preferred cleaning media. But how many folks use a
liquid cleaner in a tumbler to clean their cases? I
was recently introduced to the Thumlers Model B rotating
barrel tumbler, (Cabelas
$128 vs list of approx $186) initially made for
rock polishing. It is a good sized drum w/a rubber liner
and a lid on the end held on w/six washers and wing
nuts. Also has a rubber gasket. No leaks with the
liquid.I had tried the liquid cleaner in my Thumler’s UltraVibe 18 vibratory tumbler but it did not do the job. The cases did not tumble, and they did not vibrate. I think that the vibrator type machines MUST be used with a dry media for the vibrating and rotating action to occur. When I brought “my” liquid cleaning method to an on-line forum, someone wrote: “When I started reloading I bought the RCBS tumbler that is specifically designed for using liquid because I THOUGHT it would be easier and cleaner than traditional media tumbling. In practice, the rinsing and drying made the whole process take longer, was messier, and did not do as good a job as the media tumbler.” This is true and shows that the liquid brass cleaning process is not for everyone. So, read on and find out if there is any benefit for you. Although I am writing about “my process” I have to give credit to another loader, Mike P. from NH, who showed me his Thumler (without the b) rotating barrel tumblers and told me of his cleaning mixture. His brass was so sparkling that you could not tell that it was OLD. There is some benefit to using a liquid cleaner to clean your brass. However, there is quite a bit more to the process than one encounters using a vibratory cleaner with dry media. There is a commercial liquid cleaner that is easy to use made by IOSSO which has been written about elsewhere. I tried this process, but it is critical to stay with the chemicals or they will severely etch, and may weaken, your brass. Since I am prone to jump from one task to another, I could not use this product. So, that said, my current liquid brass cleaning process seems to be much less critical. Cleaning with liquid is a multi-step process. First, place the cases (all of the same caliber
ONLY or smaller cases will nest inside the larger ones)
into the drum, add water to cover, and the secret
cleaner (revealed later) in the tumbler (Thumlers
Model B tumbler; $128 from Cabelas), so the barrel
is about one-half full. I didn’t want to overload the
motor so limited the content to approx 200 .45 ACP
cases. Fasten the end cap (six wing nuts) and
place the drum onto the rollers and turn on the unit.
The inside of the case is much cleaner than with the
dry media process, which means less grit to go down the
barrel and wear the leade ahead of the chamber.
Well, that’s the whole deal. Simple and inexpensive
for ingredients, but expensive for the one-time cost of
the tumbler. The process does take more time. OTOH, my
cases really shine. Oh, and another benefit is that I
have no toxic dust to ingest lead from as I separate the
cases from the dry media. You will, of course, have to
dispose of the used liquid cleaner in a safe manner. |
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| Article Written by: Dave Daniels |
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