The UK's Finest Independent Forum for Shooters and Gun Owners. Est 2010.

Hi - I have an ultrasonic cleaner and was wondering what tips anyone has for cleaning brass with it please ?
It is an ebay special, however good enough for the job.

I am not that bothered about super shiney brass, but I want them clean at least.
I have tried some home made methods, but end up scaling the brass.

Black powder cases I tend to struggle with the most...

Any help is appreciated

first thing i did was get some plastic jugs to fill up and place in tap water filled ultrasonic bath. makes everything simpler to move and use. plus increases the size of the bath.

but tbh the best thing i did for cleaning cases was swap to wet tumbling

bradaz11 wrote:first thing i did was get some plastic jugs to fill up and place in tap water filled ultrasonic bath. makes everything simpler to move and use. plus increases the size of the bath.

but tbh the best thing i did for cleaning cases was swap to wet tumbling

Hi thanks for the response.
Wet tumbling, can you point me in the direction of what kit I need please ?

I have never had mutch success with ultrasonic baths for cleaning brass. I use a tumbler with media . Works for me.

I use warm water, a drop of good old "stardrops" or any washing up liquid.

I don't need shiny gleaming brass, the above method works for me just fine.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/DIY-too ... 36083.html

I have one like this, there's some different sizes, but this is about the size I have. other bits are;

fairy liquid
citric acid crystals off ebay £5
pins - https://www.1967spud.com/shop/stm-tumblers/pins/
and a media separator
magnet pickup tool probably

pins in tumbler, brass in, fill 3/4 with water, squirt of fairy liquid, 1/4 tsp of citric acid. run for 20 mins. drain, separate, rinse, dry
done

Hi thanks all - is there a special method for black powder cases ?

bradaz11 wrote: but tbh the best thing i did for cleaning cases was swap to wet tumbling

Same here (even with a commercial.ultrasonic bath). Some folks do get satisfactory results though.

For black power cases I start my cleaning at the range, cases are dropped into a plastic bottle with a measure of Vanish, give the whole thing a good shake and by the time you're home the fouling will be softened and better removed by ultrasonic cleaning. I do tumble them from time to time to polish to keep them looking good and easy to inspect for issues but generally the ultrasonic and Seagreen cleaner is sufficient.

Bradaz11, did you buy it from Aliexpress? They're in a sale at the mo......$49, but $98 to ship to uk.

Or Ebay, £125 shipped from China. Does it look as though it'll last more than 5 minutes?

Pete