Tumbling with SS pins

[IRY]

Lyman Rotary Case/Media Separator New Model

use with water in the bucket.

 

[RVTECH]

If i did a lot more than I do at one time I would get one of these.

 

[DizzyJ]

Lyman Rotary Case/Media Separator New Model

use with water in the bucket.

I've got the Frankford model with the 3 1/2 Gal bucket. And yes, you must have water coming into contact with the cage.

 

[galvweld]

Bad experience. Cleaning agents are not all the same. Used lemon scented ammonia. First batch and only batch came out with dull finish. May try to run through vibrating media to restore shine. Fortunate to have an abundance of brass. Also, bought some powdered citric acid, food grade, at Walmart. Less than $4.00. "Fresh Fruit" Cabelas offers dissolved citric acid 32 ounces for $15.00.

 

[jordanka16]

Bad experience. Cleaning agents are not all the same. Used lemon scented ammonia. First batch and only batch came out with dull finish. May try to run through vibrating media to restore shine. Fortunate to have an abundance of brass. Also, bought some powdered citric acid, food grade, at Walmart. Less than $4.00. "Fresh Fruit" Cabelas offers dissolved citric acid 32 ounces for $15.00.

Ammonia makes brass brittle, so unfortunately that brass is probably ruined.

 

[galvweld]

Thanks. Life lessons sometimes are real expensive. GOOD news! Brass was given to me. Now it is headed to recycler.

 

[jordanka16]

Thanks. Life lessons sometimes are real expensive. GOOD news! Brass was given to me. Now it is headed to recycler.

Good use for it. At least it was free, and hopefully it wasn't rare brass or anything. I always experiment on 9mm brass in case something goes wrong.

 

[Camelfilter]

Bad experience. Cleaning agents are not all the same. Used lemon scented ammonia. First batch and only batch came out with dull finish. May try to run through vibrating media to restore shine. Fortunate to have an abundance of brass. Also, bought some powdered citric acid, food grade, at Walmart. Less than $4.00. "Fresh Fruit" Cabelas offers dissolved citric acid 32 ounces for $15.00.

In a wet tumbler you really can not go wrong $ wise using lemishine (4$ Walmart) and dawn dish soap...

The dawn I use is Dawn "ultra advanced platinum". Likely just a marketing scheme, but it's what Costco had last time we needed more Dawn-a year and a half after the last jug...

A little goes a long way.

 

[Gonzales]

Here is something that I found that works. Use Dawn and lemishine to clean the brass, then during one of the final rinses, add a small amount of the Meguiars wash/wax and warm water, to give the brass a nice coat of wax.

I found that the wax would grab onto the dirt in the cleaning solution, and stick it to the brass during tumbling / cleaning. After the brass was dry, if you wipe it down with a cloth, the cloth would turn black.

 

[DizzyJ]

Here is something that I found that works. Use Dawn and lemishine to clean the brass, then during one of the final rinses, add a small amount of the Meguiars wash/wax and warm water, to give the brass a nice coat of wax.

I found that the wax would grab onto the dirt in the cleaning solution, and stick it to the brass during tumbling / cleaning. After the brass was dry, if you wiped it down with a cloth, the cloth would turn black.

Interesting. I'll have to keep that in mind!

 

[jordanka16]

Does wax on the inside of the cases ever cause issues with powder sticking to it? I've always left my brass dry after, if I handle it a lot it tarnishes but I just live with it.

 

[DizzyJ]

Does wax on the inside of the cases ever cause issues with powder sticking to it? I've always left my brass dry after, if I handle it a lot it tarnishes but I just live with it.

That's a good question. I also wonder if it'll cause an issue with "build up" over time in the chamber, etc.

Perhaps the guys with thousands of rounds through their chambers after cleaning their brass this way (with wax) can shed some light on the subject.

 

[Gonzales]

It's beyond a thin layer. Also folks have dry tumbled with things like nu finish for years without a problem.

Plus dirty brass sizes easier than stupid clean (squeaky clean) brass. Carbon acts as a lube? So does walnut dust?

The very very think layer of wax not only protects the brass from corrosion, but it seems to it make sizing easier.

 

[Crohnos01]

Here is something that I found that works. Use Dawn and lemishine to clean the brass, then during one of the final rinses, add a small amount of the Meguiars wash/wax and warm water, to give the brass a nice coat of wax.

I found that the wax would grab onto the dirt in the cleaning solution, and stick it to the brass during tumbling / cleaning. After the brass was dry, if you wipe it down with a cloth, the cloth would turn black.

I found the same thing when I tried wax. I haven't tried doing it as part of the rinse cycle so I may have to give that a shot. Just curious, do you run the SS pins with the wax or seperate them out first?

 

[RVTECH]

The nice thing is with my excepionally fine Central Oregon well water I can tumble with Dawn & lemon juice to a fine lusture, dry and store in ammo box trays and not get any darkening or spotting of my brass.

 

[Crohnos01]

The nice thing is with my excepionally fine Central Oregon well water I can tumble with Dawn & lemon juice to a fine lusture, dry and store in ammo box trays and not get any darkening or spotting of my brass.

Show off!

 

[CLT65]

Does wax on the inside of the cases ever cause issues with powder sticking to it? I've always left my brass dry after, if I handle it a lot it tarnishes but I just live with it.

I do exactly what Gonzales describes in post 149. The wax coating from the final rinse is so thin you can't see it. Before I used the wax I found that the brass was so clean it was grabbing and galling on the expander in the expander die. That microscopic coating of wax solved that problem.

I can't imagine that that wax could cause any kind of problem with the gun. At least I haven't experienced any trouble.

 

[Gonzales]

You will want to remove all the pins you can before adding the wax soap. It causes them to kind of float? And then they escape down the drain!

 

[jordanka16]

I am going to buy some wax and try this, thanks guys!

 

[UserNameInUse]

These two 9mm cases have been sitting on a shelf in my den for a year and a half. The left one was pulled after wet tumbling in Dawn and Lemi-Shine. The remaining brass was then tumbled in media with Nu-Finish in it.

The no wax one is a little bit darker. But I am concerned that wax inside the case may increase the chance of bullet setback. Or maybe it acts like glue and lessens the chance, I don't know.

In any case, I don't store clean brass that long so I haven't been bothering with the extra step.

Of course YMMV!