Drying brass

[gunfreak]

So I made the full switch to wet tumbling my brass and it works great. I struggled for a while on how to dry it, the wife didn't like the smell of it on the stove top. I ended up buying a dehydrator from Harbor Freight for $20 when I used the 20$ off coupon. I use three trays for making venison jerky and the 4th tray for the brass. You can really pile it in there. Just thought I'd share the idea.

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[Bon Sauvage]

What is your formula for your tumbling solution?

 

[xlsbob]

I dump my brass on an old towel and roll it around a little and then take the blow dryer to it. Five minutes or so and it's dry.

 

[fxdc]

Micro Wave?
Summer time , in the sun on a big tarp.
after the beach towel dry off.

 

[Mark W.]

I put my clean brass in the kitchen oven at 150 degrees for an hour during the summer and I put it on top of the pellet stove for an hour in the winter.

 

[Certaindeaf]

There's a big thread on it here that I'd link but under "properties".. anyway, no workie for me like that.
The dehydrator sounds nice.
I don't think I'd trust a five minute hair dryer job.

 

[Misternt]

I towel the brass down and then toss it onto a dehydrator. Works great for shiny brass with no spots.

 

[kilimanjaro]

If you can't set it out in the sun during the summer, a dehydrator is the only way to go, although the top of the wood stove is pretty nice. The oven uses too much energy to power up for only 10 minutes, waste of money.

 

[techiej]

I use a salad spinner to get most of the water off and then lay the brass single layer on an old towel in my reloading shed (detached/not heated) for a couple of days.

Even in the winter it has worked well for me.

 

[P7M13]

I bought a surplus Blue-M electric oven. I put the brass in there at 800°F for 10 minutes. It comes out dry and annealed. ;-)

 

[Arleyg]

Ogre, I knock out all the primers first so it will also clean the primer pockets. Then it is two three squirts of liquid soap, depending on how dirty the brass is. Then sprinkle in some Lemi-shine, 3/4 full of water and run it for 4 hours. Rinse until water is clear, then shake out the SS pins and rinse again in fresh water. Towel dry the outside, and then the brass goes in to an old food dehydrator over night. Then I put the clean and dry brass into ziplock bags. Arley




QUOTE="ogre, post: 1402015, member: 2487"]What is your formula for your tumbling solution?[/QUOTE]

 

[kilimanjaro]

Don't use too much LemiShine, it's acidic and will attack the brass, given half a chance.

If the brass is really dirty, just change the water halfway through your session. And don't worry if you have to let it run overnight, those rock tumbler motors are designed to run for weeks polishing stones.

 

[PiratePast40]

Was reading on another forum about adding Armoral wash & wax. Ran a few batches with it, in addition to a 45 cartridge of Lemi-shine and they came nice. Hopefully, the wax in the car wash will keep them from tarnishing over time and also act as lube for the press.

We have a pellet stove, so they sit on top of that on a cookie sheet for a couple of hours to dry. A few months ago, made the mistake of only letting brass sit on the pellet stove for an hour. I then put them in plastic jugs and other containers. About a week later, noticed condensation on the containers and all of them had water in them. Was able to dry all 6k pieces out in time before I would have needed to clean them again. Lesson learned - make sure the brass is completely dry before packing it up!

You can also use the oven. Let it come up to 165 and then shut it off. That works pretty good.

 

[Member 5605]

Armorall because it has caranuba wax.

Dry in oven (convection) 170* for 15 minutes.

 

[ageingstudent]

Was reading on another forum about adding Armoral wash & wax. Ran a few batches with it, in addition to a 45 cartridge of Lemi-shine and they came nice. Hopefully, the wax in the car wash will keep them from tarnishing over time and also act as lube for the press.

We have a pellet stove, so they sit on top of that on a cookie sheet for a couple of hours to dry. A few months ago, made the mistake of only letting brass sit on the pellet stove for an hour. I then put them in plastic jugs and other containers. About a week later, noticed condensation on the containers and all of them had water in them. Was able to dry all 6k pieces out in time before I would have needed to clean them again. Lesson learned - make sure the brass is completely dry before packing it up!

You can also use the oven. Let it come up to 165 and then shut it off. That works pretty good.

I just shake them in a towell and lay them out with a fan blowing air across them till mostly dry. Then they get polished in cob and walnut with some Cabela's polish for an hour. I use the lemishine sometimes, but usually the commercial cleaners like Hornady one shot work best. Just a couple ounces in a gallon of water will do it.

It's been so humid this winter and with the temp swings I've been getting condensation in my plastic brass drawers. I opened the drawers a bit and put a few dessicant packs in each and it's much better now.

 

[P7M13]

Was reading on another forum about adding Armoral wash & wax. Ran a few batches with it, in addition to a 45 cartridge of Lemi-shine and they came nice. Hopefully, the wax in the car wash will keep them from tarnishing over time and also act as lube for the press.

We have a pellet stove, so they sit on top of that on a cookie sheet for a couple of hours to dry. A few months ago, made the mistake of only letting brass sit on the pellet stove for an hour. I then put them in plastic jugs and other containers. About a week later, noticed condensation on the containers and all of them had water in them. Was able to dry all 6k pieces out in time before I would have needed to clean them again. Lesson learned - make sure the brass is completely dry before packing it up!

You can also use the oven. Let it come up to 165 and then shut it off. That works pretty good.

Does that work well?
The only problem I have is that my brass tarnishes after a day or so. I figure I'm using too much lemon.

 

[PiratePast40]

Does that work well?
The only problem I have is that my brass tarnishes after a day or so. I figure I'm using too much lemon.

This is the first time I've used the Armoral so not sure how long it'll last. I'm assuming the wax will keep them from tarnishing but will see as time goes on.

 

[ageingstudent]

Does that work well?
The only problem I have is that my brass tarnishes after a day or so. I figure I'm using too much lemon.

Too much lemon can make the brass look pinkish. Brass that is super clean with no polish or wax tends to tarnish quicker and can be difficult to size even in carbide dies. That's why I tumble dry with some flitz or Cabela's cartridge polish. It really makes the brass move in the dies smoothly.

This 9mm and .40 S&W brass got processed over a year ago. Still no tarnish. Some guys like nu finish. A couple drops and an hour in the vibratoy is all it takes. The polish and media last forever if you are just polishing clean brass from the wet rotary tumbler.

 

[UserNameInUse]

Before I learned of food dehydrators I was thinking I needed air to flow through the cases and this is what I ended up with. The goal was to get even air flow which it seems to have.

I was going to make a wood box with maybe a PC fan, but I had this boot dryer which I really only use when I ride in the rain. PVC or ABS fittings slip on perfectly.

I rarely tumble more than 100 cases at a time since I am using the smaller Harbor Freight rock tumbler but I have stacked another layer of 9mm with good results.

I've since raised the lower platform because it was slightly blocking the intake side of the fan and the upper platform was warmer.

A dehydrator is probably a better, and cheaper solution, but I this is really more a reflection of how much I enjoy this hobby.

Mark

 

[Happyguy]

I put them in a vibratory tumbler with corn cob and dry them that way. If you shake off most of the water it takes about 15 minutes and it puts a final shine on the brass. David