I got to share this.......no giggling or laughing PLEASE !!!

yooperchuck

I know others have done this but I got to share my experience. I put some of my .308 brass in a pillow case along with an air filter from the furnace. Clean unused one. One of those sorta thin spongey foam rubber ones. I didnt tie the brass up real tight in the pillow case. I already had a small/medium load in the washing machine. I set the brass on top of this. Didnt want just the pillowcase and brass banging around inside the washer. Although it did to some extent. But not to noisy. So I put normal soap in the washer and let it run. I believe the foam rubber kept the brass from colliding and banging too much. Hoping it would help scrub the brass. And to my suprise 80% of the primer holes were clean. The throats of the shells were clean. The next time I intend to let the brass soak in the soapy water. I figure I saved two steps in the reloading process. Did I do wrong? Oh, and the brass was so nice and shiney. I put the brass in strainers/collanders and set them over the heat registers on the floor to get them dry........

GroovyJack · Member Joined: May 21, 2005 Posts: 621 Location: Bama

Hah , I dont think you did anything wrong .. Brass for BP is cleaned with soapy water , and are air /light heat dried ..

Jack

Handloader

Don't leave them in the washer too long and don't dry too quickly. I did this once with 30-06 brass and, when dried, I had a bunch of 222 Remington brass. Shrinkage is a common problem with this proceedure.

Bushmaster

Amen on the shrinkage.... Cheers

Vince

AW, c'mon guys, you are pullin' my leg on this one aren't you. I cannot imagine water shrinking down 30.06 brass to 222 Remington.

I mean c'mon now, I could probably understand 30.06 coming down to maybe .243 or similar....and to change calibre brand as well....now that is a big ask.

Cheers, Vince

GroovyJack · Member Joined: May 21, 2005 Posts: 621 Location: Bama

Think they're referring to heat and drying Vinnie ..
Wash with dish soap and let air dry , myself ..

Jack

Bushmaster

GroovyJack · Member Joined: May 21, 2005 Posts: 621 Location: Bama

Actually I never had a shrinkage problem , I did do some .375 H&H brass , and it come out as .470 Cappy Nananana

Jack

Vince

The only cleaning of brass I do is to wash the sized and deprimed cases in a CRC product called Brakleen. This stuff is designed for cleaning and degreasing brakes and will not harm brass.

I put the cases into a wide-mouthed PET bottle with a few ozs of Brakleen and shake them for about 30 seconds then drain them, saving the liquid. This stuff is great for removing any grease or sizing lube. Best part is, it evaporates in seconds. I just lay my brass out on a cloth in the sun and it is bone dry in seconds....I then clean each individual primer pocket.

Wouldn't even like to think what body parts my missus would remove if she caught me "cooking" brass. wtf

Cheers, Vince

deserthunter

My son bought one of the "ultra-sonic" jewelry cleaners on e-bay for a couple of bucks. He uses a small amount of soap, very small, and leaves the brass in a few minutes. Everything, inside and out comes out sparkling. However, never use any polish, esp. if it has any "ammonia" in it's formula..... It will soften the brass and make it useless....

Just a thought, and yes, hasn't had a shrinkage problem.....Just jewelers wanting to mount the brass for wedding rings......

yooperchuck

My buddie told me if I leave the brass in the pillow case in the washer long enough I would have 7mm mags.... Very Happy

Thanks for the humor and additional comments on cleaning. I think the next time I do this I will put powdered soap in the pillowcase then put the case in the washing machine and swish them around a little....and let them soak. I know some of the soap will leech out but might be better then just dumping soap in the washing machine. And I will continue to clean brass when i have a small to medium load in the washer.........again thanks for all the info.........

sniper · Last edited by sniper on Wed Apr 12, 2006 5:53 pm; edited 1 time in total

No, I wouldn't laugh or even giggle, but is it O.K. if I smile broadly?? Kidding aside, it sounds like you have got a real workable solution.

Bushmaster

My wife used to shrink every thing that I owned when we first got together many years ago. Even my cases.

It doesn't matter how you clean your cases as long as it pleases you and gets the job done. However. Make sure that whatever method you use doesn't damage the brass (ammonia) and your marriage. Like placing the pillow case full of brass in the tumble drier. Very Happy

yooperchuck

Hey thanks again guys for the input...........buncha good people on this forum.

GSPKurt

Why not the dishwasher? Wouldn't that work better with the water shooting up and down on the brass? What could you put the brass in to hold it from bouncing around? Question