Wet tumbling formula

[BlackdogGS]

I've had great success wet tumbling my brass with stainless pins, ArmorAll wash and wax and Lemi Shine. However the last time I did this was 2 years ago and I can't find my notes.

What it the correct formula? What run time? I'm using 12 pound drums. Thanks

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[AMT]

It has been said for the Frankford 7L, to use 1 table spoon dawn soap and 1/2 teaspoon (or less) Lemi Shine.

I used that mixture and they came out great after 2 hours of tumbling.

 

[Member 34319]

Ya, car wash stuff is expensive. Dish soap works perfectly. I used the lemishine for awhile, but after trying without it and just some good ole dish soap, I noticed no difference. I also tried Jet Dry to see if that helped, nope.

 

[DizzyJ]

A small squirt of dawn dish soap and just a very small (thimble full) of lemishine is all I used before I bought the Frankford premixed solution.

 

[thorborg]

Everybody has a formula, some tend to overcomplicate things. You can get pitch off your hands by buying sap remover or hand sanitizer.
Or, you can use butter.
For wet tumbled brass;
Dish soap really is all you need and a good water flush till it runs clean (I use convection oven to dry)

Lemishine has it's use, if you have hard water, Lemishine or similar will help prevent hard water spots, but not so much in the tumble. I found best used after the rinse water runs clean then add and swirl in the last fill of clean water just before dumping.

If you do not have, or have not experienced hard water, you won't know how crappy it can get; To you, your clothes, your pipes and valves, your brass. Thankfully, I no longer live in a hard water area.

As an aside, I finish the dried brass with a rouge and walnut polish which usually will remove any hard water or residual stains, albeit most will cry foul for being to anal.

 

[DizzyJ]

Everybody has a formula, some tend to overcomplicate things. You can get pitch off your hands by buying sap remover or hand sanitizer.
Or, you can use butter.
For wet tumbled brass;
Dish soap really is all you need and a good water flush till it runs clean (I use convection oven to dry)

Lemishine has it's use, if you have hard water, Lemishine or similar will help prevent hard water spots, but not so much in the tumble. I found best used after the rinse water runs clean then add and swirl in the last fill of clean water just before dumping.

If you do not have, or have not experienced hard water, you won't know how crappy it can get; To you, your clothes, your pipes and valves, your brass. Thankfully, I no longer live in a hard water area.

As an aside, I finish the dried brass with a rouge and walnut polish which usually will remove any hard water or residual stains, albeit most will cry foul for being to anal.

FOUL!!!!!!!!!

 

[thorborg]

FOUL!!!!!!!!!

See!!!

 

[Gonzales]

There are many formulas. And even another thread on this board. Here are a few tips.

1. Lemishine, less is more
2. Normal Dawn is fine for cleaning
3. Final rinse is important.
4. Brass is not a liquid.

Start with 1 tablespoon of Dawn, and a 40s&w shell casing full of Lemishine per 3 gallons of water.

**What not to do. Don't toss brass in, fill with water, then add cleaner. You will never know how much water you have in there, and the concentration of cleaning chemicals will constantly be changing.

Tumble for 2-4 hours. This will depend on if you used pins, how much brass you put in there, etc.

Final rinse. This is where the car wash comes in. Water needs to be at least lukewarm for the wax to do its work. 2 tablespoons per 5 gal bucket. Mix it in real good. Toss in brass, mix. I like to hit it with cold water till all the soap is gone.

If the brass is really dirty, you can add a touch more Dawn. If the brass comes out tarnished, reduce the Lemishine.

Folks will either use the car wash with carnuba wax, or tumble the brass to reintroduce a protectant / contaminant to the raw brass. Squeaky clean brass is hard to size, even with lube.

 

[ageingstudent]

Everybody has a formula, some tend to overcomplicate things. You can get pitch off your hands by buying sap remover or hand sanitizer.
Or, you can use butter.
For wet tumbled brass;
Dish soap really is all you need and a good water flush till it runs clean (I use convection oven to dry)

Lemishine has it's use, if you have hard water, Lemishine or similar will help prevent hard water spots, but not so much in the tumble. I found best used after the rinse water runs clean then add and swirl in the last fill of clean water just before dumping.

If you do not have, or have not experienced hard water, you won't know how crappy it can get; To you, your clothes, your pipes and valves, your brass. Thankfully, I no longer live in a hard water area.

As an aside, I finish the dried brass with a rouge and walnut polish which usually will remove any hard water or residual stains, albeit most will cry foul for being to anal.

I also like to do a dry polish after the wet cleaning it makes the brass super slick for the sizing die. It also feeds and ejects wonderfully in a finicky autoloader. Keeps the tarnish away also.

 

[Tilos]

I don't think using a car wash/wax product is expensive for what it adds to the tumbling process.

Using any car wash/wax product leaves a film that protects brass from any tarnishing.
Another reason for using a wash/wax product is that film works great as a case lube (for pistol cases) to reduce the effort needed to resize...try it
works for me,

 

[P7M13]

Meguires wash & wax (1/4 cup) 2 tbsp lemon juice from Dollar Tree. Tumble for 30m to 1h depending on brass quantity.
Rinse excessively. Towel dry, then 200°F for ~ 1 hr.

 

[eklarsen]

it is exactly this.... a little squirt of the one and a little shake of the other.

 

[BlackdogGS]

Results are great!

 

[conditor22]

I found that if I leave the brass soaking in lemishine or citric acid to long it will discolor the brass.
My DIY tumbler has a 2 gal capacity, I use 7# stainless pins, 1 teaspoon citric acid and 3 squirts of dawn dish soap.
I rinse well after tumbling then briefly soak the brass in a water/carwash&wax solution, rinse lightly, dry the outside on a towel then finish drying in a food dehydrator

 

[Mikej]

Shiny brass is happy brass!

 

[Member 5605]

Ya, car wash stuff is expensive. Dish soap works perfectly. I used the lemishine for awhile, but after trying without it and just some good ole dish soap, I noticed no difference. I also tried Jet Dry to see if that helped, nope.

But car wash leaves a thin wax layer and makes shine for a looooong time, it to mention pistol cases get a little free lube for the loading process.

½ a 9mm case of lemi/citric acid, 1.5oz soap .

 

[JadeFox]

Good squirt of dawn and about 1/4 tsp Lemi-shine. 2-4 hours tumbled. While I am removing the brass and doing a thorough rinse, I pre-heat the oven to 265. I rock wet brass back and forth in a folded towel to knock off a bunch of wet, then spread the brass on a cookie sheet, turn off the oven, put the brass on the cookie sheet in the oven and leave for about 2 hours. Left in the oven too long brass get discolored....but are still really clean. We tumble in Walnut first to just clean it off. Then re-size/de-prime; trim as needed and camfur and de-bur. Then into the wet tumble as described above. When dry, we prime brass and store until ready to load 'em up. The reason we wet tumble last is because the stainless pins get the primer pockets really clean. Also, it reduces handling the brass after it is clean.