"Does anybody know of a wash that will work well but not damage the brass in any way? Somebody recommended soapy water with a touch of vinegar in it – and then a good rinse in water and baking soda to get rid of the vinegar (which I know is slightly acidic)?"
Soapy water alone does quite well for cleaning cases. I prefer real soap (hand soap shavings) rather than dish/clothes washing detergents.
The use of vinegar (or any other mild acid) is to remove surface tarnish but it cleans too. Soaps are base chemicals so mixing it in vinegar would be self defeating.
The recently posted alarms about mild acids such as vinegar harming case brass are wildly exagerated, IMHO. I've soaked hundreds of range cases over night in straight vinegar to remove tarnish; it did the job and that was all. I do an afterwards wash in soap or, more often, a baking soda solution and a good rinse. That's to prevent any residual acid drying and later causing a little corrosion, not from any direct harm by the vinegar itself.
Soapy water alone does quite well for cleaning cases. I prefer real soap (hand soap shavings) rather than dish/clothes washing detergents.
The use of vinegar (or any other mild acid) is to remove surface tarnish but it cleans too. Soaps are base chemicals so mixing it in vinegar would be self defeating.
The recently posted alarms about mild acids such as vinegar harming case brass are wildly exagerated, IMHO. I've soaked hundreds of range cases over night in straight vinegar to remove tarnish; it did the job and that was all. I do an afterwards wash in soap or, more often, a baking soda solution and a good rinse. That's to prevent any residual acid drying and later causing a little corrosion, not from any direct harm by the vinegar itself.
