Ultrasonic cleaner

[Jeryray]

I have been de-capping,dry tumbling with crushed walnut my nickel and brass 9mm rounds.

Then I use Ultrasonic cleaner for 1 hour with one shot 10-1 additive.

While they seem clean, the brass spent cases are cleaner inside.

The Nickel not so much.

I tried to dry tumble the brass and they got dull.

Also should I rinse my brass after the ultrasonic cleaner?

TIA

 

[Shadow9mm]

I would always rinse, I rinse when I wet tumble. If you want your brass Shiney, and to stay Shiney I add nu finish liquid car polish/wax to my dry media.

 

[Jeryray]

Thanks, I have some dillon polish I could use.

I am looking for a cleaner inside the case, brass seems to clean up better than the nickel.

 

[Shadow9mm]

Never tried ultra sonic. Tried vibratory with corn cob, walnut, and wet tumbling. Wet tumbling gives me brass that looks factory new.

 

[Unclenick]

Jeyray,

A number of people have reported issues with mixing nickel and brass cases together in the cleaning solutions due to some kind of galvanic reaction occurring. You might try washing them separately to see if that makes a difference.

 

[Jeryray]

I do clean them separately.

What media do you suggest when wet tumbling?

 

[Shadow9mm]

Typically you use stainless steel pins when wet tumbling. However you can just use the soap/cleaner but it will take a good bit longer in my experience and the results are not as good as with pins, but it will be much better than dry.

 

[Nodak1858]

Before I got a wet tumbler I did try the ultrasonic route. It did clean them but took a few cycles and came out dull. I used a heater Lyman unit with a bit of dish soap, I would rinse after that. But once I went to wet tumbling I only use the ultrasonic one now for the wife's jewelry, or smaller grimy gun parts.

 

[Unclenick]

Jeyray,

I second the pins. They're the only thing I've seen get the primer pockets cleaned out really well. Not that it's necessary to have perfect primer pockets, but it is a good indication of how well they clean overall.

As to what you use with them, most people use a mix of soap and some kind of citric acid (usually Lemishine). I've done it with just citric acid. That acid does gradually reduce the brass, but not enough to shorten lifespan. I've had two expert opinions that this is bad to do because of dezincification, two that it is just fine to do, and a fifth one that is pretty neutral on the subject. My own experiments have revealed no problem, as the copper seems to dissolve at the same rate as the zinc in that particular acid, leaving the brass yellow. However, cleaning just in detergent with the stainless pins also seems to work well, and if you want to take the more conservative route, that would be it. It can take a little longer, though. Also, note that you will be flushing lead compound residue down the drain with that approach, while the citric acid solution dissolves those compounds and puts them into a much less toxic form. You could always add it afterward, I suppose, to clean up the cleaner before flushing it.

 

[Phyvo]

i use one to clean my brass using citric acid and concentrated dish washing liquid. id use lemishine but whoever sells it here rapes us on its pricing too. we get raped on everything to do with firearms. for instance, lyman ultrasonic cleaner here is like $300 odd, i got one from our local auto spares store, exact same item but priced at $110. ive also cleaned surface rust of some parts not firearms related. works well. once cleaned i run everything in baking soda to neutralise the citric acid.

 

[Unclenick]

Don't waste money on Lemishine. It is probably the most expensive form of citric acid you can find except for GMO-free grades. Five years ago, citric acid was $25 for 10 lbs postage paid. Today it has about doubled in price due to shortages from increasing use, especially in Europe, where vegan foods have gained popularity and which often use citric acid to enhance flavor. The best price I can find is currently at Amazon where 5 lbs can be had with free shipping for Prime members for $23 and 10 lbs for $40.

To mix your own equivalent to the Hornady One-Shot that you dilute with water 1:40, the citric acid is obtained as above. You can also buy 500 ml of diethanolamine at Amazon for $28, which should make about 19 gallons of concentrate. You mix 30 ounces of citric acid with 69½ ounces by weight or 67 fluid ounces by volume of distilled water. Get the citric acid all dissolved (it takes a while as this is near saturation of the solution). You then stir in ½ ounce (12.9 ml) of diethanolamine. At the 10 lb citric acid price, and $1 for a gallon of distilled water, it costs about $9.25 per gallon to make the concentrate. Compared to retail pricing of $85/gallon to get it in the Hornady brand, it's a healthy savings.

 

[Jeryray]

Thanks for all the suggestions.

I am now de capping, tumble with crushed walnut, then using the commercial UV cleaner for 1 hour. Most come out clean. Some Nickel that has been re-loaded like 10 times is more stubborn than the brass.