Wet tumble steel pins dirty issues- anyone else have this problem?

[Catfishmoon]

Slightly off topic...
I also use Dawn (or equivalent) and Lemi-shine but in an a 4 gallon ultrasonic tank. I am moving towards cleaning all of my dirty brass just once or twice a year as quickly and easily as possible, without the focus I used to have on needing exceptionally shiny brass.
Recently I cleaned about 4000 - 5000 9mm rounds in an afternoon, about 400 - 500 at a time; hot water, Dawn and Lemi-shine for 20 minutes in the tank... Drain and change the water, refill with dirty brass and repeat. I then place the brass on large screens outdoor (I pick a warm day) rolling occasionally for 24 hours to dry...Done, that's it.
The brass comes out very clean, but not as shinny as possible.
I decap / resize prior to cleaning, so less chance of water remaining in the cases and the brass dries quickly in the recent warm weather...
I noticed Jerry Miculek cleaning brass in a cement mixer, think I would try it if I owned a mixer in order to to it all in one load...
On topic; I don't think I would buy new stainless pins, there must be homemade cleaning solution or buy a pint of alcohol based solvent to remove the grime from the pins at a cheaper cost.

 

[Certaindeaf]

BRASS JUICE CASE WASH

No Stainless Steel Media Required Designed for use with sonic cleaner and rotary tumblers Removes fouling, tarnish and oxidation from brass cases Cleans cases inside and out including primer pockets Made in the USA Brass Juice Case Wash is formulated to remove carbon buildup, tarnish and...

www.thereloadingstation.com

I stopped using pins all together, theyre such a huge pain. Just hot water and a splash of brass juice gets em bright and shiny.

I use a stirring stick called a "spoon".

 

[RVTECH]

Dawn & lemon juice only.

 

[PiratePast40]

Sounds like you might also be dealing with hard water. Lemi-Shine rinse agent is actually a water softener so should help. Actually, most rinst agents are water softeners so brand shouldn't matter.

Might see if an emulsifier like carburator cleaner will clean the pins. Not sure I'd trust it with the rubber lining on the tumbler though.

 

[dangerranger60]

I don't know if this will help or not, But range brass that I pick up after sitting in the snow have a oily feel and have to be tumbled twice to get it off.
I don't know if this is just a local thing, but brass I pickup off the same range that has not been snowed on does not have this. DR

 

[Local Loader]

I don't know if this will help or not, But range brass that I pick up after sitting in the snow have a oily feel and have to be tumbled twice to get it off.
I don't know if this is just a local thing, but brass I pickup off the same range that has not been snowed on does not have this. DR

Snow grabs all the pollution that's in the air and deposits it on the ground, any brass on the ground gets covered in it. It's why they tell you not to eat snow anymore.

 

[P7M13]

OMG.....WTF? I just looked (on EBay). The price on that stuff has certainly gone up since my last purchase at Wally World. I guess I'll also need to "stock up"?

Holy crap, that's expensive!
Tip: 1lb of citric acid, ~$6 @ Winco in the canning section.

Snow grabs all the pollution that's in the air and deposits it on the ground, any brass on the ground gets covered in it. It's why they tell you not to eat snow anymore.

Same for rain....
And, if it isn't yellow or pink, up in the mountains, I'll eat snow.

 

[HighlandLofts]

I have bought and sold over two and a half tons of range brass and wet tumbled all of it. Some of it was pretty nasty.



The key is hot tap water.



A 1/2 teaspoon of Lemishine Booster



A cap full of ArmorAll Wash n Wax



A small squirt of the blue Dawn dish soap



I let it run for an hour.



Drain it and add warm water to the drum.



Flip the drum a few times and drain.



Fill it up again and flip & drain until the water is clean.



Fill it back up with hot tap water and add a cap full of ArmorAll Wash n Wax and let it run for fifteen minutes.



Drain & dry.



The hot water breaks up the crud and the dawn dish soap suspends the crude in the water.



Cold water just doesn't do it.



I made dryer racks to dry my brass. I get an accurate count and

the cases get 100% dry.



   

 

[9mm guy]

This is fantastic! I was going to ask people for their wet tumble cleaning recipes. If other people could post your recipes/formulas, I would be even more grateful. I'll compare & figure out my own. Thanks again everyone!

 

[DizzyJ]

Fill it back up with hot tap water and add a cup full of ArmorAll Wash n Wax and let it run for fifteen minutes.

Drain & dry.


View attachment 1414780 View attachment 1414781 View attachment 1414782 View attachment 1414783

Hopefully you meant a CAP full of armor all.

 

[HighlandLofts]

When using Lemishine Booster you might have to adjust how much you use according to your water PH.
We have city water and my mixture and amount of Lemishine works great for me.
My brother is on a well and he needs to cut the amount of Lemishine in half to get good results.
To much Lemishine and the brass will come out a dull color.
If you deprime before tumbling your primer pockets will be nice and clean as well.
Dry tumbling will never get all of the crud off of your brass like wet tumbling does.
I dry tumbled a load of brass for two hours in walnut media.
I then retumbled the clean brass in the wet tumbler.
The water was black as black coild be and the brass came out 100% clean.

 

[HighlandLofts]

Hopefully you meant a CAP full of armor all.





Fixed it. A cap full not a cup.

 

[washagonian]

OP - what a hassle. I don't envy you having to troubleshoot something that used to work for you.

Here's another vote for the following possibilities / strategies that have already been suggested:

• Something may have eroded the integrity of your tumbler's rubber lining. It might be toast and not recoverable. That's why the new pins have gotten yucky like the old pins. You might need a new tumbler drum.
• Reduce chemicals. I checked out Guntap. Their recommendation of 2 scoops (2 tablespoons, about 30cc's) per 1 gallon of water seems excessive. (But again, manufacturers always recommend to use more than is needed so you'll be buying more of their stuff. Remember the old toothpaste ads - who needs that much toothpaste for one brushing? LOL)
• 
  • I have a 17 pound tumbler - use 5 lb pins, 1 gallon of water (8 lbs), 4 lb of brass.
  • I use 4 cc's (less than 1 teaspoon) of Lemi-Shine and 8 cc's (less than 2 teaspoons) of Dawn per load and my brass is "JUST SO PRETTY" when it's done, even dirty range brass.
  • The chemicals do NOT clean the brass. It's the pins and tumbling action that clean the brass. The detergent suspends the dirt in the water to keep it from redepositing on the brass or the pins, and the citric acid (Lemi-Shine) keeps the water from leaving water deposits on the brass.
    • Too much detergent will FOAM and PREVENT the water from being able to hold as much dirt. Also, foaming will take up the "air space" in the drum and further prevent the effectiveness of the tumbling action.
    • Too much citric acid will actually DULL the brass.
    • As is the case with most everything in life: "Less is more"

Good luck and hope you find a permanent solution.

Cheers.

 

[DizzyJ]

OP - what a hassle. I don't envy you having to troubleshoot something that used to work for you.

Here's another vote for the following possibilities / strategies that have already been suggested:

• Something may have eroded the integrity of your tumbler's rubber lining. It might be toast and not recoverable. That's why the new pins have gotten yucky like the old pins. You might need a new tumbler drum.
• Reduce chemicals. I checked out Guntap. Their recommendation of 2 scoops (2 tablespoons, about 30cc's) per 1 gallon of water seems excessive. (But again, manufacturers always recommend to use more than is needed so you'll be buying more of their stuff. Remember the old toothpaste ads - who needs that much toothpaste for one brushing? LOL)
• View attachment 1414826
  • I have a 17 pound tumbler - use 5 lb pins, 1 gallon of water (8 lbs), 4 lb of brass.
  • I use 4 cc's (less than 1 teaspoon) of Lemi-Shine and 8 cc's (less than 2 teaspoons) of Dawn per load and my brass is "JUST SO PRETTY" when it's done, even dirty range brass.
  • The chemicals do NOT clean the brass. It's the pins and tumbling action that clean the brass. The detergent suspends the dirt in the water to keep it from redepositing on the brass or the pins, and the citric acid (Lemi-Shine) keeps the water from leaving water deposits on the brass.
    • Too much detergent will FOAM and PREVENT the water from being able to hold as much dirt. Also, foaming will take up the "air space" in the drum and further prevent the effectiveness of the tumbling action.
    • Too much citric acid will actually DULL the brass.
    • As is the case with most everything in life: "Less is more"

Good luck and hope you find a permanent solution.

Cheers.

Your post just gave me an idea!

 

[washagonian]

Your post just gave me an idea!

Pray tell .........

 

[ageingstudent]

Pray tell .........

Inquiring minds want to know now. Me included

 

[DizzyJ]

Inquiring minds want to know now. Me included

Pray tell .........

Toothpaste is an abrasive and polishing compound. Wonder what would happen if you threw a small dab of THAT into your wet tumbler or even vibratory tumbler?

Hmmmm

 

[washagonian]

Toothpaste is an abrasive and polishing compound. Wonder what would happen if you threw a small dab of THAT into your wet tumbler or even vibratory tumbler?

Hmmmm

Interesting! (I know you're kidding. At least, I hope you're kidding. )

I think all that toothpaste would do in a wet tumbler is keep the primer pockets from getting cavities.

Toothpaste in a dry tumbler would be like scooping out clumped-together cat litter.

But, your mileage may vary.

 

[DizzyJ]

Interesting! (I know you're kidding. At least, I hope you're kidding. )

I think all that toothpaste would do in a wet tumbler is keep the primer pockets from getting cavities.

Toothpaste in a dry tumbler would be like scooping out clumped-together cat litter.

But, your mileage may vary.

Primer pockets already have cavities.

And I'm genuinely interested.

 

[po18guy]

Maybe try cleaning solvent/mineral spirits and a sieve.