Stainless Steel Case Prep Tip of the Day

[DaveB]

We have a supply of 9 and 223 brass that need cleanup and flash hole picking of media gets old. So I got a Frankfordf SS setup. All is well except I like my brass to have back-up functionality as signalling mirrors. When you FL size carbonized brass the lube stops the pins from polishing. The brass is clean but gray-ish in color.

Did some small lot testing and have two solutions:

1. Dump cases (I did 700 .223) into some kind of container with a lid. Put 1/4 teaspoon of Dawn in container, fill container with water tighten lid and shake like mad. I found this produces a fair sweat so you can get the kids to help as a form of exercise. After 5 minutes of shaking drain, rinse, rinse, rinse, SS tumble.

2. Dump cases into tumbler. 1/4 teaspoon dawn. 6 prays of this purple stuff, fill to top, secure and tumble. For some brass I do both based in how dirty the brass is.



I also tumbled for an hour just water and the purple stuff to clean the pins and container.

My Brass is back to standard

 

[Deer Assassin]

cool

i just use corn cob it works ok

 

[TiminTN]

I bought the Frankfort Arsenal kit myself, and used it till I found the case mouth damage to be excessive. I will reserve its use on handgun brass.
I use a Hornady sonic cleaner for rifle cases now. They are not near as bright, but no peening to the case mouth.

 

[DaveB]

Have not seen that (peening) but will check more closely.

Did 200 6.8 starlines and nothing amiss there. The pins I got are tiny ones-they can get stuck crosswise in a 223 case.

Agreed the 9's clean up like brand new.

Also am pretty sure max 223 case count is less than 600. One with 800 the water was dirty-thick as cheap gravy.

 

[Hardwoodmaterials]

I have never seen the brass turn grey except in pics. I wonder if the water has anything to do with it. I use cheap car wash and a pinch of Lemishine and they always come out bright and shiny in an hour or two. I have seen very slight peening in the case mouth. What I have seen is tiny and gets trimmed out if I need to trim the case or is so slight it is only in the chamfer edge of the case mouth and not in the case neck that actually touches the bullet.

 

[DaveB]

The greyish look is ( i read this someplace) due to the zinc in the brass. Thats all I remember.

However, I never get that grey look when the brass I tumble has no FL sizing lube (its why the pistol brass comes out better than new). I did get it few weeks back with some 223 and had to corn cob tumble and pick out the flash hole. This was no 100 piece batch either.....nope not 200.....stop at 475. So I started looking for solutions and the easiest is to clean the brass with dawn and hot tap water then rinse and SS tumble. The purple stuff is great at cleaning oil off the garage floor and getting any missed FL lube cleaned up.