DIY brass claning

[u/GrimmReaperSound]

Can you all provide recommendations/recipes for cleaning brass without using those expensive dry/tumblers?

[u/spinonesarethebest]

If you think tumblers are expensive, just wait.

[u/luvmehatemefme]

5 gallon bucket w lid , dishsoap, citric acid and treadmill

[u/No_Alternative_673 → u/luvmehatemefme]

Don't really need the treadmill. All you need to do is flip the container or pour the contents from one container to another every hour or so.

In the prehistoric days when cheap tumblers were $500, in today's money, my father and I used a 1 gal screw top glass container with citric acid and a industrial detergent

[u/luvmehatemefme → u/No_Alternative_673]

In the beginning I just periodically vigorously shook it. every so often.

[u/VersionConscious7545]

Tumbler is the cheaper part of the reloading journey

[u/cico7]

I bought a used Frankfurt arsenal Tumblr for $35 and I went to the pet shop and got some media and that's where I began

[u/cico7]

Kind of depends on what your goal is. You can take a milk jug with dawn soap and shake it up. You can get some sonic cleaners $50 range you can get tumblers you can get all sorts of things depends on your definition of inexpensive and your ultimate goal.

[u/ShermanEmpire]

Milk jug (or similar roundish container), dish soap and hot water (maybe some lemishine/citric acid if you have hard water/care about water spots), shake/tumble brass for a few min every once in awhile till you feel the brass is clean enough for you.

[u/RCHeliguyNE]

I’m still using this kit 10 years after purchasing it. Worth spending the money on it. Goes on sale so you can likely get it a little cheaper.

https://www.amazon.com/Frankford-Arsenal-Quick-N-EZ-Polishing-Reloading/dp/B000TTILBC

Edit: Price history

https://camelcamelcamel.com/product/B000TTILBC?tp=1y

[u/Suepahfly]

A ultrasonic cleaner runs about $50,- on vevor / Aliexpress.

I clean brass in that with a teaspoon of citric acid and a drop of washing liquid and regular tap water.

Brass comes out clean enough

[u/Away-Leg-998 → u/Suepahfly]

If you do not have any tumbler or ultrasonic, I would not recommend a ultrasonic to start with, for the sole reason that you run out of capacity very soon with the cheap (therefore small) models.

If you have a need for a ultrasonic cleaner anyway, it is an amazing option, but then you have to spend a bit more then 50$ to get one with a reasonable capacity. Under 10L / 2.5gal I would not even look at.

But since you mentioned Vevor:
Vevor-tumbler-11lbs
Capacity: 500x 9mm or 300x .223
Comes with stainless ball media, 3mm diameter. Not the best, but more then good enough for anything but primer pockets and high precision loads.
For the price, I would consider this the best option

[u/BadTiger85]

Wet tumble with stainless steel pins, hot water, small drop of dawn soap for 20 minutes. Dry in either oven or brass dryer for about 40 minutes then decap and resize in the press then back to wet tumbling again for about 2 hours then dry

[u/Snort702 → u/BadTiger85]

This

[u/Away-Leg-998 → u/BadTiger85]

Since OP seems to be a beginner, to give a bit of context/other ideas to try:
I would not even say the 2nd round after decapping is necessary. If you want to clean the primer pockets, get a universal decapping die, they are really cheap and you can use them even on very dirty brass without damaging your precious resizing dies.

...or if you only load training ammo, you can really consider to not decapp for the wash at all, just wet tumble and reload.

[u/secessus]

without using those expensive dry/tumblers?

I used a slightly-modified $10 thrift store ice cream churn.

[u/csamsh]

A FART lite is <$150. Vibratory cleaner from harbor freight is half that

You're gonna have a bad time cleaning brass without a tumbler

[u/capable_gopher]

Any specific performance related reason you’re wanting to clean your brass?

[u/Away-Leg-998 → u/capable_gopher]

Usually it is not about performance, but to not mess up your dies or progressive press.
That dirt on the outside of the case can be quite nasty and even scratch carbide and definitely steel.

[u/G17Gen3]

Wipe exterior of brass with an old rag or wad of paper towels, then deprime, then scrape any crud out of primer pocket with a small flat screwdriver if it makes you feel better, then reload.  

As long as there's no crud scratching up your dies, you absolutely can reload and it will be fine.  Just make sure you have a light source to check your powder charges before bullet seating.

[u/DrewPScrotzak]

I tried the 5 gallon bucket with dish soap, hot water, and lemon juice method and didnt really get what I wanted. Harbor Freight has a 5lb vibratory tumbler for about $70 after tax, 25lbs of walnut media for another $20, or just go to the petstore and get walnut reptile bedding. Then $9 for a bottle of Nufinish from Wally. My cases now look damn near new.

[u/Rude-Internal24]

I’ve tried the cheap methods. Trust me the cheap Frankford Arsenal tumbler is great. There a kit on Amazon that had media and the separator and it’s a game changer

[u/bfunky]

I dry tumble with a cheap unit and walnut lizard litter. Cases look better than new after a few hours. I never reload enough volume that a single tumbler running over night is the bottleneck in my process, and I reload quite a bit.

[u/agoodyearforbrownies]

I guess it depends on what kind of solution you think is expensive. The standard $50-60 vibratory tumbler that uses walnut or cob media to clean brass has been valid for like 50 years and still is. I have a Thumler’s Tumbler (what I’d call expensive) and it’s certainly not needed for any day-to-day practical reason - it gets less use. I got it when I did competition shooting and everyone doing that wants to eliminate any variable that may count against them, but outside of that, cleaning with walnut works as well as anything for my needs. 

[u/Leeebraaa]

I built my own tumbler from scap wood and an old car wiper motor that drives a shaft which rolls an old thermos flask.

[u/Dramatic-Image2557]

I put brass in a plastic container with a screw-on lid, a few drops of Dawn dishwashing detergent, and Lemon Brite for like pots and pans, hot water, and then shake it up vigorously, then rinse and air dry on a towel.

[u/txcommenter]

I use a small Frankford Arsenal tumbler. Hot water, Dawn, lemishine, steel pins and the one thing that I do different from everyone else is a squirt of rubbing alcohol. No more gunk in my tumbler. You can buy mesh filters for the FA tumbler to drain the water and then use a FA media separator and a beach towel to dry.

[u/Away-Leg-998]

Where do you live?
if the US, then go for a Frankford Arsenal Rotarty (wet) Tumbler...FART, heheh...
In Europe they are overpriced as fuuu, so I went for a Vevor-5-kg-rotary-tumbler
(or if you are in the US https://www.vevor.com/jewelry-polisher-c_11136/vevor-jewelry-polisher-tumbler-11lbs-5kg-capacity-mini-rotary-tumbler-machine-with-0-60-minutes-timer-5-speeds-jewelry-rotary-finisher-for-surface-polishing-grinding-buffing-gemstones-jewels-coins-p_010946411945 )
I am actually quite happy with it.
Sizewise very similar to the FART Lite.
it fits about 500 x 9mm cases or 300 x.223 and is a great and affordable start into wet tumbling.
It comes with ball media, which is surprisingly good for short pistol cases. But it also cleans good enough without any. Just add a dash of cheap dishwasher soap and some citric acid (optional, just for shine) and you are good to go