Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Cleaning brass

How can I clean primed brass?? I recently bought some primed rifle brass and the cases are kinda sticky (old case lube). Is there a way to get this off without damaging the primer?

If they are sticky I would try a rag with lacquer thinner or acetone. I bet it would just take a wipe or two with a rag damp with solvent.

I thought about that, but I didn't look forward to doing that to 200+ cases

Put them in your case tumbler for an hour or so.

Not sure that I would tumble primed brass.

It's fine. I've done it when I bought primed brass at a discount, but the cases were a bit greasy. Primers don't just fall apart in a tumbler, or they would fall apart during shipping, or when packing the ammo in the field.

Make sure the flash holes are clear when you load the brass.

I would not tumble them. It don’t think it would affect the primer itself but I would be concerned about the tumbling media clogging the flash holes.

I agree. I tumble a lot of brass and every flash hole gets checked because many are clogged. With primed brass there is no way to know.

I have done it many times. A flake or piece of the media might get hung up in the hole, and would disappear instantly when the cartridge was discharged. Unless you are shooting for extreme accuracy, you will never know the difference.

First check if your brass will chamber in your rifle. If it doesn’t you will have to resize anyway , resize and deprime , don’t save the primers

I bought these:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00V6H1IW0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Plug the mouth with them and tumble. They keep the media out of the flash holes.

The ones linked work for .22 to 7mm, they aren't quite snug enough in .30 to suit me, but there are larger ones available.

Rag with a shot of acetone or something similar, cordless drill, Lee lock stud.

That's what I would do in OP's particular situation anyway.

Don't use acetone, it evaporates too fast. Use MEK.
GEORGE

His problem won't be with the acetone drying too fast but rather his towel or rag with solvent on it getting dirty or sticky after a few cases.

The reason I mentioned lacquer thinner is because it’s not as volatile as acetone and won’t evaporate as fast. For whatever reason lacquer thinner and acetone don’t evaporate nearly as quickly from a paper towel as they do a cotton rag. Paper towels and one of the above solvents will clean off the 200 pieces of whatever the sticky stuff is in less time than it took all of us to post on this thread.......

I thought all the same things: Primer pocket gets clogged, Primed gets contaminated with oil from the media, Laborious task of doing each by hand ... I do like the Amazon plug idea. I can use the plugs for other things too.
I can't chamber them in the rifle yet because the rifle isn't built, but I'll check the base OD against the reamer measurements.

In that case, the "tacky" might go away before you need the cases..

Based on the Barsness "Pursuit of Perfection article....

Why not deprime them? If they are old enough to tarnish, I wouldn’t trust those primers anyway???

While not my idea of fun, wiping off 200 cases by hand isn't that bad. Sit down in front of the TV tuned to the Trump/Biden debate with a rag and alcohol and "get'r done." You'll be done in 30 minutes, and will have something to show for your time.

You can deprime them and reuse the primers. I've used a decapper on small rifle primers and re-used the primers and never had a failure. The decapping pin will push in the center of the anvil so it does not bend the petals. Besides, these are not the days to be throwing rifle primers away.

If I watched TV I could do that, but I get my news and entertainment via radio (Sirius) so I can work an listen at the same time.
I got time , I'll get it done.

I had some once that was tacky from case lube or something and packed away and I soaked them in a strong vinegar and water mix for a few hours. Then rinsed in very hot water.

I would spray a folded towel with brake cleaner and roll them around on it. Another idea would be to load them as is and then tumble them for 20 or 30 minutes. Dry tumble of course!

I tried the Amazon plugs and tumbled them. It took several hours to get the crud off of them and 19 out of 80 plugs came out. Looks like I will get to experiment and see if the media damaged any primers after all!! Now I just need to get the barrel on the rifle.

Deprime them, I wouldn’t trust old primers.

This...I have 2-300 primers I have labeled “recycled” that I have punched out of primed cartridges. I don’t plan on using them unless things run low, but may just have to test them out for curiosity sake.

I would load them and then tumble the cases clean.

for what its worth....

I've been doing so for 20 plus years and have never experienced an issue...

For quick and real shine-y cleaning, I pour a small amount of acetone in the media...

and even that has never affected the primers, of unloaded but primed brass...

Spray some Gun Scrubber - or brake cleaner on a hand towel. You only want to get it moist - not dipping wet. Take about 10 cases and lay them flat on the towel. Now roll the cases on the towel using the palm of your hand. You can do 200 cases in less than 45 minutes this way. The chemical will evaporate so reapply as needed.

GB