Advice: Wet Tumbling - Pros & Cons

[Hells Comin]

Plug it into 480 volts and you won't need it short stroked. 

[Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283]

42 minutes ago, Rip Snorter said:

A few thoughts:  Clean brass is nicer and healthier to handle while reloading and in use. Sooner or later dirty brass will harm your dies.  It is easier to see bad cases if they are clean.  If the brass has to be stored out of use, dirty brass corrodes and gets nastier.  Never been a fan of jewelry bright, just clean.  Just a question of workmanlike operation.  Everyone has their own standards. 

 

 

Apparently you did not read what I said. My brass is clean as a whistle. It is stained, that is not the same as dirty. I have been reloading my stained Black Powder brass for years. It does not damage my dies because it is clean. You want to see dirty brass, here is dirty brass. A mix of 45 Colt and 44-40 that has been rinsed and air dried,  but not tumbled yet. Plenty of BP residue still on this stuff.

 

 

 

 

 

This is my water jug with just fired Black Powder brass in it. Soaking until I can get it home to rinse it.

 

 

 

 

 

Once I get the brass home I rinse it several times until the rinse water comes out clear. After air drying overnight it goes into the tumbler for a few hours.

 

 

 

 

 

The tumbler is filled with this stuff. It is the same as the ground walnut shells many reloaders use, but is much less expensive.

 

 

 

 

 

This brass is all clean. It is stained, but it is not dirty. Nothing comes off on my hands when I am reloading, there is no grit or loose particles left on the brass, or inside. Been doing this for a long, long time, the only disadvantage to this brass is it is not as easy to find in the grass as shiny stuff.

 

 

 

 

 

 

For comparison, here is some brand new, never loaded before 45 Colt brass being loaded with Black Powder. It will never be this shiny again, it will be stained. But it will be clean.

 

[Rip Snorter]

13 minutes ago, Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283 said:

 

 

Apparently you did not read what I said. My brass is clean as a whistle. It is stained, that is not the same as dirty. I have been reloading my stained Black Powder brass for years. It does not damage my dies because it is clean. You want to see dirty brass, here is dirty brass. A mix of 45 Colt and 44-40 that has been rinsed and air dried,  but not tumbled yet. Plenty of BP residue still on this stuff.

 

 

 

 

 

This is my water jug with just fired Black Powder brass in it. Soaking until I can get it home to rinse it.

 

 

 

 

 

Once I get the brass home I rinse it several times until the rinse water comes out clear. After air drying overnight it goes into the tumbler for a few hours.

 

 

 

 

 

The tumbler is filled with this stuff. It is the same as the ground walnut shells many reloaders use, but is much less expensive.

 

 

 

 

 

This brass is all clean. It is stained, but it is not dirty. Nothing comes off on my hands when I am reloading, there is no grit or loose particles left on the brass, or inside. Been doing this for a long, long time, the only disadvantage to this brass is it is not as easy to find in the grass as shiny stuff.

 

 

 

 

 

 

For comparison, here is some brand new, never loaded before 45 Colt brass being loaded with Black Powder. It will never be this shiny again, it will be stained. But it will be clean.

 

Sorry - I guess my lyin' eyes did it. If it is clean, it is clean.  I wouldn't care to process it it looking like that.  Might be clean, but not to my taste. 

[Snakebite]

1 hour ago, Hells Comin said:

Plug it into 480 volts and you won't need it short stroked. 

I don't advise doing that. It will turn your hair red.

[Buckshot Bear]

5 hours ago, Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283 said:

 

Once I get the brass home I rinse it several times until the rinse water comes out clear. After air drying overnight it goes into the tumbler for a few hours.

 

 

 

Your contaminating that whole space with that tumbler.

[Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283]

7 minutes ago, Buckshot Bear said:

Your contaminating that whole space with that tumbler.

 

Contaminating it with what? The brass has been well rinsed. There is no lead dust or lead styphnate from primers left. All you are seeing there is dust from the walnut shells. Easy enough to clean up with a wet rag.

[Buckshot Bear]

9 minutes ago, Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283 said:

 

Contaminating it with what? The brass has been well rinsed. There is no lead dust or lead styphnate from primers left. All you are seeing there is dust from the walnut shells. Easy enough to clean up with a wet rag.

 

Buy one of the below lead tests and wipe inside your cases and outside as a test before putting them in your tumbler and see if your correct.

 

 

[Springfield Slim SASS #24733]

I like my wet tumbler because it cleans the inside ,making it that much easier to see if I have a proper powder charge or not. This is going to be even more important when I run out of Trailboss and have to use a less bulky powder, making me look further inside to check the charge.

  Plus, I don't understand how a vibratory tumbler doesn't get the brass shiny clean on the outside. I used a vibratory for 15 years before I used a wet tumbler, and they were always shiny on the outside. I put a bit of auto paint swirl remover and it worked great, sometimes still do that after wet tumbling if I am not going to use that brass for a while.

[Buckshot Bear]

4 minutes ago, Springfield Slim SASS #24733 said:

I like my wet tumbler because it cleans the inside ,making it that much easier to see if I have a proper powder charge or not. This is going to be even more important when I run out of Trailboss and have to use a less bulky powder, making me look further inside to check the charge.

  Plus, I don't understand how a vibratory tumbler doesn't get the brass shiny clean on the outside. I used a vibratory for 15 years before I used a wet tumbler, and they were always shiny on the outside. I put a bit of auto paint swirl remover and it worked great, sometimes still do that after wet tumbling if I am not going to use that brass for a while.

 

That's what I have found as a great added bonus

[The Rainmaker, SASS #11631]

Been wet tumbling for a bit now...WOW! What a difference.

Hot water, couple scoops of Strat-O-Sheen, small squirt of Lemishine and maybe a little dish detergent and Let er run a couple hours. Nice shiny brass inside and out, just needs to be dried.

[DeaconKC]

11 hours ago, El CupAJoe said:

Does the car wax people are recommending negate the need for case lube in resizing or do you still need something like an imperial wax, Hornady one shot etc? For .357 and 38 special I almost always go straight from my range bag into my carbide sizer and never clean.  But I'm getting ready to load 350 legend and don't have a carbide die for it so I'm going to have to clean and lube, I was wondering if wet tumbling with the wax negates the lube step.

I tried it both ways and even with the "wax" it is much easier to run with a quick spritz of OneShot. Without carbide dies I would definitely use a lube.

[Buckshot Bear]

3 minutes ago, DeaconKC said:

I tried it both ways and even with the "wax" it is much easier to run with a quick spritz of OneShot. Without carbide dies I would definitely use a lube.

 

So sold on One Shot Deacon, its been great for my wrist, elbow and shoulder using it with my 650.

[Captain Bill Burt]

I bought a Rebel 17, which was delivered Sunday. Lemi shine is coming tomorrow and Armorall wash and wax Thursday. I’ll run Saturday’s cases through and see how it goes.

[Krazy Kajun]

17 minutes ago, Captain Bill Burt said:

I bought a Rebel 17, which was delivered Sunday. Lemi shine is coming tomorrow and Armorall wash and wax Thursday. I’ll run Saturday’s cases through and see how it goes.

And you won’t need any stainless steel pins or other solid additives either. I just use a little Dawn and a very little Lemi shine and that’s it. Brass is clean and very shiny. 
 

Kajun

[Buckshot Bear]

22 minutes ago, Captain Bill Burt said:

I bought a Rebel 17, which was delivered Sunday. Lemi shine is coming tomorrow and Armorall wash and wax Thursday. I’ll run Saturday’s cases through and see how it goes.

 

I've tumbled with and without SS pins, I like the pins.

[Captain Bill Burt]

So, 2.5 hours with a heaping teaspoon of Lemi Shine and a heaping teaspoon of Armorall Wash and Wax.