cleaning 22lr cases?

[bigjoe]

Hello, just wondering what anyone is doing or using to clean the 22lr cases before sizing them?..I have been putting some in a plastic coffee can with hot water and dish soap and shake them up, and rinse them off...kinda slow though. I'am using a corbin set up I have had for about 20 years...bigJoe

[Hickory]

I clean my 22 cases this way.
First, I sort them by manufacture. After accumulating a batch (1000 or more).
I put them in an old pot and boil them on the stove for about 1/2 hr. This loosens up the residue inside the case. Next, I put them in the sink with dish soap & hot water and swish them around until I get tired of this step of the operation, about 10 minutes. Rince several times to rid 22 cases of soap. shake off excess water. Then they are placed in the oven on a cookie sheet at 300 degrees to dry, about one hour.

For me this does the trick for getting out the crud, and helps reduce the wear on the draw pin when removing the rim from the 22 case.

[Bert2368]

Has anyone tried an ultrasonic cleaner for this? I have been using one on my .22 hornet brass, you could eat off the brass after using it. Probably overkill, I know...

[deltaenterprizes]

I put mine in a pillow case and take them to the laundramat and wash them in the washing machine, then I bring them home and put them in the dryer. Make sure the pillow case it tied closed real good!

[lcclower]

Bert... Tell me about the ultrasonic cleaner, make and source?

[pjh421]

Bert,
If it protects your tooling from wear its not overkill. If I was swaging .22s that's what I'd use. Great idea! It probably wouldn't hurt to clean the dies like that once in a while too.

Paul

[Bert2368]

Decap with a Lee universal die.

The ultrasonic is a 2.5 litre heated model, just like the one Harbor Freight sells. I fill the tank with warm water about 3/4 to top, place in it a disposable plastic beer cup with about 40 hornet cases and enough cleaning solution to cover the brass. I run one long (480 second) cycle with universal products low foam cleaner, one cycle with 1/2 white vinegar/water, a short (180 second) cycle with a little baking soda and finish with a short plain water cycle. Finish with a blow off with compressed air. Dry in low oven if I'm in a hurry, or just let them sit if not. If the water is hard, I would use distilled water for the final rinse-

The cleaning solutions are good for several uses, I pitch it when I can't see the brass anymore. The brass comes out as clean inside and in the primer pockets as anywhere else, no picking media out of flash holes, no primer pocket brushing, no neck brushing, my dies and neck expander stay clean. Universal will send you a free sample of the low foam cleaner, I use it at 1 - 2% so it goes a long way.

[MIBULLETS]

Bert,

How do you get the free sample from Universal? Do they have a website?

Thanks,
Dan

[Bert2368]

http://www.ipcol.com/

Click on samples at top of page.

Micro 90 is great for cleaning Iron or brass moulds. LF2100 is what I use for the ultrasonic cleaner.
Both these products are NOT recomended for Aluminum, they have an Aluminum safe cleaner I have not tried yet.

[MIBULLETS]

Thanks Bert, I requested some.

[sagacious]

I boil the cases in plain for about 20 minutes, and then rinse.

Then I anneal the cases. This bakes-off some of the grime inside the cases, and loosens and helps break-down the abrasive primer residue still trapped in the case rims.

After that I soak the cases for 5 minutes in a large glass bowl filled with a solution of boiling-hot Birchwood-Casey Brass Cleaner concentrate. It's a re-usable "pickling" solution that removes the grime and powder/primer residue inside the case, as well as chemically reversing the tarnish and any corrosion-stains on the outside of the case. A bottle of this stuff lasts a long time. This leaves all the fired 22lr cases with a clean, bright but uniform matte finish inside and out.

Makes 'em look like new brass, and not old, fired 22lr cases. After drying, the fired cases are ready for de-rimming and drawing.

Hope this helps, good luck!

[Bullshop Junior]

I use a rock tumbler full of hot soapy water, and annealing them with the wood stove. I can do about 500 in a drum and my tumbler has two drums

[bigjoe]

Great! thanks guys this gives me a starting point...bigjoe

[Jim_Fleming]

This thread is yet another reason why I'm so daggoned glad I found this Board!

(just chipping in my subscription to this thread, just ignore me, lol!)

[plumber]

Thanks Bert, you cost me another trip to Harbor Freight!!
I'll let you guys know how it works out.

[303Guy]

Jim, not only is this an informative site but the folks here are cordial too! It is indeed a great site!

[plumber]

I tried the ultrasonic cleaner and the inside is as clean and shiney as the outside!!!

[swage86]

Does the ultrasonic cleaner get the primer residue out of the rim before the cases are straightened out?

I used a ultrasonic jewerly cleaner on my watch band of 15 years and in only a few minutes, it looked like new with all the crevices cleaned out. It was amazing!!

[MIBULLETS]

swage86, it does get the residue out before cases are drawn into jackets. I am loving it. It will save my drawing punch from wearing out so soon!

Federal cases don't seem to work as good for me. The priming mixture must be quite different.

[swage86]

swage86, it does get the residue out before cases are drawn into jackets. I am loving it. It will save my drawing punch from wearing out so soon!

Federal cases don't seem to work as good for me. The priming mixture must be quite different.

I checked out Harbour Freight and that unit is only $59. Just unbelievable!! Awhile back I was looking at ultrasonic cleaners at the industrial supply and they were at least a couple of hundred. I think this may work better to clean BPCR cases than the Thumlers Tumbler & ceramic media or at least it's alot cheaper. It's probably alot quieter. It sure pays to check Harbour Freight out first.

Back when I was doing rimfire jackets, I wore out alot of punches, actually they didn't seem to last very long at all. I wish I knew about Casenit as I would have tried to case harden the punches. I would have loved something that would get out the rim residue. People getting into it now are fortunate they have so much available to them including equipment and info on boards like this. I had only 2 sources. Corbin's book and Corbin himself.