Case cleaning

[mcbammer]

How  do  these  sonic  case  cleaners  compare  to  the  media  tumblers?  what  kind of  process  does  the  brass  go  thru  during  a  sonic  cleaning.

[tomtomz]

Simple Green diluted.cleans them up nicely.

[mcbammer]

Simple Green diluted.cleans them up nicely.

Is  that  with  or  without  a  sonic  cleaner?

[YRUpunting?]

If you do small batch reloading and don't care about shiny brass the sonic cleaner will probably work well for you, oh and they are dust free.  You will have to tumble the brass to get them shiny though after they dry.

My understanding how they work is the ultra sonic waves create tiny bubbles that act as scrubbers that move the solution into the tiny crevices, scratches, etc. 

My tumbler is in the garage so I don't care about the dust or noise.  Dump the brass in and go do something else.  Let it run three hours, nice and clean and shiny.  There are several Youtube videos with sonic cleaners being used.  You have to be interactive with them, move the brass in and out and typically they require several cycles to get the brass clean.

Unless you bake the brass to dry I don't think the sonic cleaner will be any faster.  Actually it will take a lot longer if you have to leave the brass to dry overnight or out in the sun for a few hours.

But I do think they will work great for some people, just depends on your situation.

[Grumpybear]

I like em. I've never used a tumbler so my opinion is somewhat biased, but dump em in, turn it on, maybe 3 or 4 cycles, rinse and let dry.
 
The only down side is they are not real shiny but they do shin up some.
 
The good side is, if you deprime first, they are clean all over, clean enuff to eat on if you rinse em first.
 
Grumpy

[mcbammer]

The  residue  in  the  primer  pockets  take  extra  effort   to get clean  .  Sounds  like  the  ultra- sonic  would  solve  that  problem. Thanks  for  your  helpful  veiws.

[YRUpunting?]

The  residue  in  the  primer  pockets  take  extra  effort   to get clean  .  Sounds  like  the  ultra- sonic  would  solve  that  problem. Thanks  for  your  helpful  veiws.

Get the Lee universal depriming die (about $10) and deprime before tumbling.  The primer pockets won't be as clean as the sonic cleaner but you won't have to do anything else with them.

Even if you decide to go sonic, get the  Lee universal depriming die anyway.  That way you can deprime before you clean, there's no point in sizing and then cleaning.

[quickdtoo]

I've been using a Harbor Freight ultrasonic cleaner($70) for my brass for a year or two now and am real happy with the results, I'm not a high volume shooter, so this method won't be for you if you are, but cleaning small batches that will fit in the beaker work excellent, 20 7mm-08 fit with room to spare.  I deprime with a Lee universal decapper, then place the cases inside a Kimax beaker as described in the 6mmBr article. Add just enough Birchwood/Casey case cleaner mix to cover the cases, then run them in the machine for 3 minutes, rinse good, then run them in water for 8 minutes. While it's running, preheat your over to 200º, rinse again and make sure all the water is dumped out of each case, lay them on a paper towel on a cookie sheet and place in the oven, turn the heat off, they'll be dry in less the 30 minutes. These are once fired Federal 7mm-08, the results speak for themselves. The cases in the 6mmBr article are 4x fired, so they took a lot longer to clean.

http://www.6mmbr.com/ultrasonic.html

[mcbammer]

Quick

The  inside  looks  as  shiny  as  the  outside . I never  got  results  like  that  with  my  tumbler.  Like  you  I  am  a  small  batch  at the  time  reloader.  So  that  looks  like  the  way  to  go. 

[tomtomz]

Simple Green diluted.cleans them up nicely.

Is  that  with  or  without  a  sonic  cleaner?

Either. I bought the Harbor Freight cleaner and it works well, though I have a much
 simpler method and defer to the previous poster's excellent process.

[JustaShooter]

Can't remember where I saw it (might have been on accurateshooter.com), but I read an article where the guy was saying the sonic cleaner got the cases too clean.  The inside of the necks were so clean he noticed it was harder than usual to seat the bullets.  He solved it by lubing the inside of the necks with graphite I think - seems like I remember he just ran a pencil lead around the inside of the neck. 

Any of you ever experience that or felt like you needed to lube the case necks?

Just a Shooter

[cybin]

I met a guy at the shooting range last summer who said that he uses his sonic cleaner to clean his pistols in--just removed the grips and puts it in the cleaner---seems to me that you would have take it apart and oil everything if you did that.
 
cybin

[quickdtoo]

Just a note on the cleaning solution to save $$, I reuse it, just pour into a canning jar and seal, let it sit a day or three until the dirt settles, then pour the clear solution out for reuse, discard the dirty bit in the bottom. 

Tim

[LaOtto222]

I just bought 5 pounds of SS rods for cleaning in a wet tumbler. I have not used it yet to tell if it is any good or not. They are said to clean inside as well as the primer pockets. Only time will tell. I am in the process of cleaning the inside of my tumbler. It was filthy dirty from 30+ years of tumbling dry media.

Good Luck and Good Shooting

[Swampman]

Nothing beats Lemi-Shine, warm water, and a little dishwashing liquid.  Google Lemi-Shine brass cleaning.

[Ranger99]

which one?
the original, the rinse, or the machine cleaner?

[FPH]

Wisk and a bit of cream of tartar......makes them look new.

[Swampman]

which one?
the original, the rinse, or the machine cleaner?

The original....I believe I got mine at Walmart.

[mcbammer]

Thanks  for  all  the  replies  . Good  to  get  caught  up on  the  latest &  greatest  technolgy  .

[Swampman]

Do not soak in Lemi-Shine very long. you cases will become copper colored.  15 minutes is enough.  I dry them in the warm sun.