How To Prepare A Homemade Brass Cleaning Solutions! [4 Easy Ways]
To many gun nuts, reloading is more than just a hobby. Yes, it is fun, and yes, it keeps you occupied. But it also offers a solid way to save money that you would have to spend on buying new rounds of ammunition. However, before you can reload, you need a fair bit of investments.
Now compared to the price of reloading presses and whatnot, the cost of buying brass cleaning solutions to clean spent casings isn’t really much. Personally, I would always recommend using a proper cleaning solution to polish and clean brass if you can afford it. A homemade solution might not be the best choice here.
However, knowing how to prepare a homemade brass cleaning solution can get you out in a pinch. If you have a case of spent casings to clean and your cleaning solution runs out, you won’t have to leave your project for another day.
So, how do you prepare a homemade brass cleaning solution? And are they nearly as effective as an over-the-counter brass cleaner like the Hornady Ultrasonic? I will address these questions further in this article. So let’s get started.
Are Homemade Brass Cleaning Solutions Effective?
Before I go further, let’s address the elephant in the room. Is it worth using a homemade brass cleaning solution to clean spent brass? Well, the answer is a bit tricky.
The truth is a homemade brass cleaning solution works and will get rid of the tarnish, but manufactured solutions sold by reputed brands often have extra things to make them better. For instance, some solutions come with chemical polish that can improve the looks of the brass.
If you decide to go with a homemade brass cleaning solution, you will not get the extra benefits. But it will still do the job just fine. So if you run out of a proper cleaning solution, going the DIY route will not kill you. But most gun enthusiasts would probably prefer going with a top-tier brass cleaning solution from the market if given a choice.
DIY Brass Cleaning Solutions
With that out of the way, let’s talk about your options. Thankfully, cleaning brass is not that difficult, even without a solution designed specifically for that purpose. As it turns out, there are plenty of alternatives you can use to clean brass with things lying around in your house.
Here are four of my favorite recipes for preparing a homemade brass cleaner. You can go with whichever one is easiest for you to replicate.
1. White Vinegar and Flour
If you have some white vinegar and flour in your kitchen, you can use it to prepare an effective solution to clean brass. The prepared solution can quickly break down the black or green tarnish from the brass and give it a fresh, like-new finish.
Take the white vinegar into a small bowl and add the salt. Give it a minute to dissolve, and add a bit of flour to the mix. Then stir the solution until paste forms. After that, use an old toothbrush to apply the paste to the brass.
Let the paste rest for 10 minutes, and then rinse it off with warm water. Then use a microfiber cloth to wipe it dry.
2. Baking Soda and White Vinegar
Baking soda is another common kitchen product that is pretty good at cleaning brass. But you would also need some white vinegar for this method to work.
Take a small bowl and mix the three ingredients. You want to stir the bowl until the entire mixture is dissolved. After that, dip a microfiber cloth in the solution and apply it to the brass using a small circular motion.
Once the mixture sets on the brass for about 10 minutes, rinse it off using cool water. Then buff the brass with a soft cloth until it’s completely dry.
3. Tomato Sauce
If you have a bottle of ketchup in your house, you already have your homemade brass cleaning solution. Tomato contains an acidic chemical that can break down the tarnish from brass.
All you have to do is apply a bit of tomato sauce onto the brass and leave it on for an hour or so. After that, wipe it clean, and the brass should look as clean as new. The obvious downside here is that it is a lot slower acting than the other two methods that I talked about above.
4. Lemon Extract
By now, I have already talked about three hassle-free ways to clean your brass efficiently. But if, for some reason, none of the methods appealed to your sense of professionalism, let me kick things up a notch. The lemon extract method that I will talk about here requires a bit more setup, but it is entirely worth the trouble.
You need to start with the salt and flour, taking them in a small bowl. Then add the vinegar and stir it gently until it turns into a thick paste. Then use an old toothbrush to apply it to the brass and let it dry. Don’t rinse it off; it should start to flake after 10 or 15 minutes. At this point, use a soft microfiber cloth to rub off the dried paste.
Meanwhile, take a small bowl and add generous amounts of baking soda so that the bottom of the bowl gets filled. Take your fresh lemon and cut it into slices. Then dip the slices into the baking soda so that the entire cut side of the lemon gets coated in it.
Afterward, run the lemon slice over the brass, which should get rid of any leftover tarnish from the surface. Then you can rinse the brass under hot water and wipe it clean with a towel.
The best thing about this method is that it can work well not only for brass hardware but also for kitchen utensils. You can also use this as a polish for cleaning silverware, but it works best for brass, in my opinion.
Final Thoughts
Using a homemade brass cleaning solution can work out well, depending on your situation. And I’ll be honest, even though I prefer using an aftermarket cleaning solution for most of my brass cleaning needs, there are occasions when I had to resort to one of these DIY methods myself.
So don’t feel pressured into going out and buying a brass cleaning solution right away if you happen to run out suddenly. You can use any of the methods that I talked about to clean your brass without any major negative impacts.
I hope my guidelines on preparing homemade brass cleaning solutions and their efficacy could help you learn a thing or two. Good luck!
