Case prep is one of the most important parts of reloading short of powder charge. Without preparation and cleaning of the brass shooters are left with brass that begins to harden, becomes brittle, and will ‘gum up’ with carbon. Anyone who values consistency eschews carbon as it impacts the tolerances and capacity of a case. Sure, it’s possible to just reload fired brass as soon as it hits the ground, but it’s not a good idea.
Decades had gone by with standard case prep techniques. Historically, there aren’t many analogues that reference brass case cleaning. I’ve heard stories of grandparents cleaning brass with little more than clean oil on a rag, which presented a whole other host of issues. However, around the 1970s vibratory cleaners showed up on the market. These cleaners offered a reliable and consistent way to clean but shooters were presented with a lot of waste byproduct. More recently, wet tumblers have made their mark on the industry with stronger media that can be cleaned and reused.
Once brass is clean it needs to dry and water spots can lead to surface corrosion. Dryer like Hornady’s Digital Case Parts Dryer assist in drying nearly any brass and pistol parts.
What is a vibratory cleaner?
Vibratory cleaners are essentially a modified version of a vibrating rock tumbler, which gained popularity in the 1950s. It’s an upright container that houses media and brass with a motor located underneath. The vibration forced the media and brass to mix. Media used must be somewhat abrasive but will wear down over time. Corn cob husks, shells from nuts, and even porcelain are used. Vibratory tumblers are great for repurposing broken products into a cleaning media, as long as the media is softer than brass.
A dry tumbler is a great option for just cleaning your brass or performing a final polish. Having a clear top makes it easy to see when the process is complete.
There is a wide range of vibratory tumbler media available in various different materials. The size of the media also ranges from powder like to small shell pieces.
The bowls of these cleaners’ force media and brass to mix in an up and down circular motion. Brass falls to the bottom and is brought back up to the top while passing through the cleaning media. Essentially, it is scrubbed of contaminants. The media needs to be small enough to clean the case walls and primer pocket for efficient reuse.
What is a wet tumbler?
Wet tumblers are rock tumblers we are all familiar with. It’s a sealed drum that is rolled by a small motor. Inside the drum a media is stored and forced to mix with the brass. While they can be run with dry media like walnut shells, they are incredibly effective when used with stainless media and water. The solids and carbon are removed from inside and outside the case with the stainless media and dissolved into the water for easy removal. Shooters who fire cast projectiles sometimes notice some remnants of lead may be left on the case neck when improperly flared during loading. With stainless media even the harder impurities can be removed and left to sink to the bottom of the drum.
A wet tumbler, the authors preferred choice of brass prep, are a one stop shop of rotational cleaning. Depending on the cleanliness of the brass, setting it for a varied amount of time will allow you to work on reloading until it is done.
Wet tumblers benefit greatly from proprietary cleaners that assist in cleaning and polishing the brass together.
So, what is better?
I don’t think this is a choice of good, better, best. They each have benefits. Reloaders have been perfecting their brass cleaning techniques for decades and have come up with some definitive outcomes. While all brass can be cleaned efficiently with either method, the look and feel of the final product depends on the method used. What does that mean? Simply put, it depends.
Vibratory cleaners are not good at removing corrosion or debris in smaller, tighter spaces. The media is often too large or not big enough for areas like small primer pockets. This means there are extra steps required to clean these hard-to-reach places, which adds time. Additionally, the brass is still in its oxidized form. Darker brass in a vibratory cleaner, remains oxidized brass unless polishing media is added or a second process with new media and polish is added. Polishing with media that is darkened from carbon buildup is not effective and a second process is usually required.
One concern with any case prep is stuck cases. The case here was stuck inside another, larger case leading to a half-polished case showing a before and after.
Rotary tumblers have the benefit of using stronger and smaller media, usually stainless steel. Stainless media can reach in the small nooks and crannies to clean primer pockets just as well as a secondary process. Additionally, stainless media is harder than brass and can effectively scrape the corrosion off resulting in a nice and shiny piece of brass without the need of a separate polishing process.
Drawback:
Vibratory tumblers have a lot of drawbacks in addition to those discusses. One step processing is ineffective compared to alternatives, persistent corrosion can remain, and media becomes very dirty very quickly. Additionally, the media can lodge itself into the primer pockets or compact into a case making it very difficult to remove.
Wet tumblers, since they use stainless media, can cause significant damage to cases if left running for too long. Water mixed with corrosive salts, lead, and carbon are also hard to get rid of safely and not suitable for septic or standard sewage lines. Getting rid of the contaminated water properly can be a hassle. In addition, water that is left on a case after cleaning can lead to excessive corrosion and water spots making them look just as dirty as they were when fired. Additives and drying can fix this in part, but not completely.
Why not both?
I’m personally a fan of wet tumbling for general purpose cleaning. That fresh brass look is easy to achieve but lacks a lot of capabilities I wish I had. I can’t use a wet tumbler to remove the lubricant from the reloading process. I also can’t use a wet tumbler to lubricate brass for protection during long term storage.
Here is where having both options available becomes a benefit. When having a wet tumbler for quick cleaning of brass there’s a quick turnaround time to making the brass reloadable again. That doesn’t mean it’s well polished. A dry tumbler, with polishing compound, can smooth out the small scratches left by the stainless-steel pins and can also be used with or without media to lubricate the cases for reloading and resizing. Once loaded, the ammunition can be placed back into the vibratory tumbler to remove moisture, lubricants, and stuck on impurities like cat hair or dirt.
Putting it into practice:
Yes, I am a bit biased based on my personal experience. Wet tumbling with stainless pins has worked well for me and reduced the amount of work with very little learning curve. Dry tumblers have proven themselves to be a very effective polishing and cleaning tool after the ammunition has been completed.
Cost is a factor that played into my decision. The cost of stainless media, vinegar, and dawn dish soap was far less over time than constantly buying dry media and additives. Chemical compounds made specifically for these two cleaning methods would rise and fall in price during political issues, election season, or even COVID 19. When they were not available, the items I could substitute for were easy to find and readily available at the grocery store only for the wet tumbler. This made my long-proven stock of dry polishing and cleaning goods last significantly longer because the brass was already clean, and I didn’t need anywhere near as much.
What about for you?
Everyone is different and their needs are different. Budgeting in the world of reloading is justifiably difficult. It doesn’t matter if the only option is a dry tumbler with corn cob media or a wet tumbler with dawn dish soap; they will both do the job effectively. Understanding the drawbacks and additional steps required is necessary to make reloads that are long lasting and consistent. If you can, try a wet tumbler. If you have one, revisit the vibratory tumbler. No matter which it is, augmenting the current cleaning process may provide you with results you never thought achievable on your own.
NOTE FOR READERS:
Dry tumbling loaded ammunition as a standard practice is not advisable. Never put surplus ammunition in a vibratory cleaner. Never overload a vibratory cleaner with ammunition. Use extreme caution when putting ammunition in a vibratory cleaner where projectiles could unintentionally ignite or impact the primer of another case.
