Cleaning cases with Oxy

[rusty1911a]

Even though I use carbide dies and know I could just run the cases through the sizer without a lot of preparation before I do, I still prefer to wash them before the sizing operation. For years I used Dawn dish detergent and it worked fairly well-I thought. That is until I stumbled upon OxyClean. Now this is a pre-cleaning miracle product. I put about 150 45 acp cases into an empty coffee can, add about 1/2 teaspoon of OxyClean, enough super hot water to cover the cases about 1" in depth and then use a 3" paint brush to whip the cases around as though I'm mixing paint. The action of the brass being whipped around against each other in the hot water/OxyClean mix makes them clean and shine almost as if they had been tumbled. Leave the cases in the solution longer, repeat the whipping action until the cases are so bright you run for your sunglasses....heee.....heee. An additional benefit of this pre-cleaning is that your tumble media will last a lot longer before needing cleaning/discarding.

Oh, by the way, be sure to rinse the Oxy off with HOT water after the cleaning.

[Old Grumpy]

Seems to me you are doing double cleaning where only one cleaning should do. If the cases come out of the OxyClean as bright as you say, why tumble them? Seems kind of redundant to me. However many of the things I do seem "odd" to others. To each their own!

[rusty1911a]

Originally Posted by Old Grumpy

Seems to me you are doing double cleaning where only one cleaning should do. If the cases come out of the OxyClean as bright as you say, why tumble them? Seems kind of redundant to me. However many of the things I do seem "odd" to others. To each their own!

No where in my post does it say I tumble them after cleaning in Oxy. You're correct, it would be redundant, in most instances, to tumble because they come out exceptionally clean for the most part. If you want a "like new" look then sure, go ahead and tumble.

[Old Grumpy]

Originally Posted by rusty1911a

No where in my post does it say I tumble them after cleaning in Oxy.

"An additional benefit of this pre-cleaning is that your tumble media will last a lot longer before needing cleaning/discarding."

I'm sorry, I misunderstood the last line of your original post. I guess it was the "pre-cleaning" reference combined with the part about the media lasting longer.

Like you, I like to have my brass as clean as possible before running it through the dies.

[Jackhammer]

Does it clean the inside of the brass?

[Rifter]

Originally Posted by Jackhammer

Does it clean the inside of the brass?

Of course. They are submerged in the solution.

[rusty1911a]

Originally Posted by Jackhammer

Does it clean the inside of the brass?

The inside of the cases are cleaned somewhat but not nearly as well as the outside. But yes, by soaking 'em in the solution you will get a lot of crud out of the inside of the cases. The hotter the solution the better. You'll see how dark the solution turns and most of that is from the inside unless your brass is ultra dirty on the outside. Have fun.....

[Rifter]

Originally Posted by rusty1911a

Even though I use carbide dies and know I could just run the cases through the sizer without a lot of preparation before I do, I still prefer to wash them before the sizing operation. For years I used Dawn dish detergent and it worked fairly well-I thought. That is until I stumbled upon OxyClean. Now this is a pre-cleaning miracle product. I put about 150 45 acp cases into an empty coffee can, add about 1/2 teaspoon of OxyClean, enough super hot water to cover the cases about 1" in depth and then use a 3" paint brush to whip the cases around as though I'm mixing paint. The action of the brass being whipped around against each other in the hot water/OxyClean mix makes them clean and shine almost as if they had been tumbled. Leave the cases in the solution longer, repeat the whipping action until the cases are so bright you run for your sunglasses....heee.....heee. An additional benefit of this pre-cleaning is that your tumble media will last a lot longer before needing cleaning/discarding.

Make sure you thoroughly rinse those cases in hot water with a couple of tablespoons of baking soda in it to neutralize the stuff in the detergent that makes the cases shiny. Its also a good idea to do a final rinse in warm distilled water, then cook 'em in the oven for an hour at 200 degrees to evaporate all the water.

[rusty1911a]

Originally Posted by Rifter

Make sure you thoroughly rinse those cases in hot water with a couple of tablespoons of baking soda in it to neutralize the stuff in the detergent that makes the cases shiny. Its also a good idea to do a final rinse in warm distilled water, then cook 'em in the oven for an hour at 200 degrees to evaporate all the water.

Ooops, forgot to mention the obvious, rinse all detergent off, my bad. Took it for granted people would know to do that. I've been using this cleaning method for quite a while now and I've never found it necessary to go through the baking soda-distilled water routine. My tap water is quite pure and after a thorough rinsing with plain old HOT tap water and about an hour of baking in the 'ol hot Cal. sun they turn out great. Never had a bad load yet after thousands of rounds. Cooking in the oven is completely unnecessary because after an hour or so in the sun they get deprimed anyhoo. If they still need more drying, back out in the sun they go. "Electricity is necessarily going up", as I heard someone say a while back. So save, save, save......By the way Rifter, thanks much for your service to us.

[Nick A]

OxyClean uses sodium perchlorate as its detergent ingredient. Totally safe for brass.
Rinses in clear water (in fact, it turns to harmless hydrogen peroxide in solution).
Be sure to dry all residue, or it turns white upon drying.

OxyClean didn't invent the use of sodium perchlorate and related compounds for cleaning.
Industry has used it for decades, including food prep and other uses where sanitation is imperative.
Used for copper, brass, stainless steel, and other metallic surfaces.
Safe for all of them.



Heed the warning by my friend Rifter: DRY THAT BRASS THOROUGHLY.

[nogoodnamesleft]

Originally Posted by Nick A

OxyClean uses sodium perchlorate as its detergent ingredient.

According to the OxyClean MSDS, OxyClean does not contain sodium perclorate (NaClO4), rather sodium carbonate peroxyhydrate (2NaCO3 + 3H2O2). Different animal.