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wet media questions


sagebrush

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i've always used dry media to clean brass. picked up an rcbs tumbler thought i would give it a try. the tumbler holds about 2 gallons of fluid. i added 1 tablespoon lemmi shine as recommended on this forum, about 400 30-06 brass and filled with water. ran tumbler a couple hours and brass came out nice and shinney. my question is after i size and deprime ( use hornady one shot ) i ran again in the tumbler with lemmi shine the brass again came out nice, but the tumbler was coated on the inside walls with the hornady one shot. i tried wiping it out with no success. the next run of brass (with one shot) i used lemmi shine and added some dawn dishsoap, thinking the soap would keep the one shot residue in suspension. the soap did keep the one shot in suspension, it went out with the water when dumped. the problem is the brass is clean but much darker (like brass that has aged) and i would like it to look bright and shinney. any one else had this problem? could run load of gravel with soap after cleaning brass i guess

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I had a load of Black Powder brass come out looking like Black Chrome plated once.  Figured out that I did not clean the media good enough after cleaning real dirty brass.  Just ran it through again with Dawn and Lime-shine.  looked new again.  What media are you using ?  Stainless pins or ceramic pellets?  I have tried both and I like the Stainless better myself.  I deprime with a Lee universal deprimer first.  Then tumble, size with Imperial Wax, then vibrate in corn cob and Lyman Turbo-Brite Polish.  I have to check the flash holes in the brass because the steel pins may stick in them once in a while.  Just use a small punch to clear the flash hole.  I don't tumble my brass every time just when they start to look bad.  I deprime and size then vibrate every time I reload them. I run large cases like 30-06 and 45-70 100 at a time because my Thumbler Tumbler only holds 1 gallon of water.  I use distilled water because there is a lot of minerals in our local water.  Cut down on the water spots.  😊😊😊

 Steve

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sagebrush here is what I do to my own cases:

Punch out primers with universal decapper die  (die body never touches the dirty cases)

Wet tumble in HOT water, SS media, Dawn dish soap, & 1/2 tbsp of citric acid powder (main ingredient of brass polish, available at organic food shops)

dry cases       food dehydrator works great

lube cases and resize      I use Lee sizing lube mixed in water (something like 10:1  water:lube) out of a spray bottle then hit them with a hair dryer until dry

remove lube  (I wet tumble again in just hot water and Dawn dish soap.  My case lube is water soluble.)

dry cases. 

trim, chamfer, deburr, ream primer pockets

dry tumble in ground walnut lizard bedding with one capful of Nu Finish car polish

When they come out of the final dry tumble you would swear they were brand new.

 

That is the cleaning process the cases you got from me went through if they were clean and shiny when you got them.  (I can't remember)

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3 hours ago, Steve crawford said:

I had a load of Black Powder brass come out looking like Black Chrome plated once.  Figured out that I did not clean the media good enough after cleaning real dirty brass.  Just ran it through again with Dawn and Lime-shine.  looked new again.  What media are you using ?  Stainless pins or ceramic pellets?  I have tried both and I like the Stainless better myself.  I deprime with a Lee universal deprimer first.  Then tumble, size with Imperial Wax, then vibrate in corn cob and Lyman Turbo-Brite Polish.  I have to check the flash holes in the brass because the steel pins may stick in them once in a while.  Just use a small punch to clear the flash hole.  I don't tumble my brass every time just when they start to look bad.  I deprime and size then vibrate every time I reload them. I run large cases like 30-06 and 45-70 100 at a time because my Thumbler Tumbler only holds 1 gallon of water.  I use distilled water because there is a lot of minerals in our local water.  Cut down on the water spots.  😊😊😊

 Steve

thanks steve, i didn't use any media just water and lemmi shine. i may have to go back to dry media after resizing

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1 hour ago, dpete said:

sagebrush here is what I do to my own cases:

Punch out primers with universal decapper die  (die body never touches the dirty cases)

Wet tumble in HOT water, SS media, Dawn dish soap, & 1/2 tbsp of citric acid powder (main ingredient of brass polish, available at organic food shops)

dry cases       food dehydrator works great

lube cases and resize      I use Lee sizing lube mixed in water (something like 10:1  water:lube) out of a spray bottle then hit them with a hair dryer until dry

remove lube  (I wet tumble again in just hot water and Dawn dish soap.  My case lube is water soluble.)

dry cases. 

trim, chamfer, deburr, ream primer pockets

dry tumble in ground walnut lizard bedding with one capful of Nu Finish car polish

When they come out of the final dry tumble you would swear they were brand new.

 

That is the cleaning process the cases you got from me went through if they were clean and shiny when you got them.  (I can't remember)

thanks dpete, the cases weren't cleaned up when i got them. couple hours in water and lemmi-shine, water came out that greenish brass look, brass looked like new. will try the water soluble size lube. maybe try a little more dawn, i did use hot water. i want to say depete the 30-06 brass you sent me,i had to throw only two pieces out both had split necks. was exellent box of brass. thanks for info

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17 hours ago, Albroswift said:

I like to just de-prime with a universal, wet tumble, dry, size, and either go into a vibratory tumbler to remove the sizing wax (Imperial), or don't do anything if I use one shot. 

one shot is supposed to be wax also. may have to stick with dry media after sizing. thanks for letting me know

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17 hours ago, dpete said:

When they come out of the final dry tumble you would swear they were brand new.

 

That is the cleaning process the cases you got from me went through if they were clean and shiny when you got them.  (I can't remember)

All the brass I have gotten from you looked brand new!

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