Question for you wet tumblers.

[Buckshot Bear]

I use these in combination .....would NEVER go back to dry tumbling.

 

 

[Dusty Devil Dale]

2 hours ago, Tequila Shooter said:

 

Ok, I’ll say it….I disagree 

Lots of folks disagree on every aspect of hand loading --   and you are perfectly welcome to load rounds however you want to. 

 

I do a lot of things differently to others.  My truck license used to be UBUIBME. 

 

[Tequila Shooter]

1 hour ago, Dusty Devil Dale said:

Lots of folks disagree on every aspect of hand loading --   and you are perfectly welcome to load rounds however you want to. 

 

I do a lot of things differently to others.  My truck license used to be UBUIBME. 

 

 

Sounds good my friend!  That’s what makes the world go round

 

[Dusty Devil Dale]

Duplicate --deleted

[Kid Rich]

I've never had a problem cleaning nickel and brass cases together. I think it may have more to do with what you are using for detergent and additives than anything else. I wet tumble with Thumblers  "B" and stainless pins. I usually put in a little more than a half a gallon of brass.

kR

[Texas Maverick]

1 hour ago, Kid Rich said:

I've never had a problem cleaning nickel and brass cases together. I think it may have more to do with what you are using for detergent and additives than anything else. I wet tumble with Thumblers  "B" and stainless pins. I usually put in a little more than a half a gallon of brass.

kR

I agree, I tumble both brass and nickel together and have for a while without any issues. I use Wash n Wax for cleaning, Citric Acid for shine and the stainless chips instead of pins.

1-9mm case of citric acid and 1/4c of wash n wax per 5 quarts of hot water. Tumble for a couple of hours.

 

TM

[Bear Saint Paw]

3 hours ago, Texas Maverick said:

I agree, I tumble both brass and nickel together and have for a while without any issues. 

Tumble for a couple of hours.

 

TM

 

Same for me, a  little Lemon shine and a few drops of Dish soap.

[Springfield Slim SASS #24733]

Just a thought, but why bother removing the primers if you aren't going to use media? They won't get clean with just soap/water/brass.

  I use a FART and find that no more than 1/3 worth of brass works best, with water going over the brass and a bit of soap/Lemi-shine. But then I shoot BP, so I need the extra cleaning of the Lemi-shine.

[Yul Lose]

On 5/6/2023 at 9:12 AM, Dusty Devil Dale said:

(Others here will disagree)

 

FWIW, I do not deprime before wet tumbling with either ceramic or steel media.  Both media types are much harder than brass and when washed or rubbed together (as occurs when the media  cleans the cup), they will remove very small amounts of metal from the insides and bottom of the primer cup.  After a number of cleanings, the cups are going to loosen and deepen.  The change will be very slight, but the altered  dimensions will be slightly beyond their original specs. 

 

The slightly acid solutions used in tumbling (like Lemishine or Stratasheen) also don't do any favors to the inside of the precision-made primer cup.  

 

There really is no need to remove the deposits in the cup.  The presence of the primer body during firing prevents very much deposition, and depriming itself removes most of what little is there (take a look in the cup after depriming).   I have never had a case where primers could not be fully seated due to residue build-up.  However; loose or too- deep primer seating can cause ftf problems in guns with reduced hammer springs. 

---- And for me, the extra deprime step was always a PITB.  

 

Strato Sheen is an abrasive.

[BenW]

Ok guys, I have a question.  I use a FART rotary tumbler, and with brass cases I use Armor-All Wash-n-Wax and a bit of LemiShine.  Brass usually comes out looking beautiful and stays that way.  Today I tumbled a few hundred nickel cases, same as always but without the Lemi-shine, and the brass came out with a dull finish.  How can I get a nice bright shiny finish on my nickel brass?  Yeah, yeah, I know it'll work just fine, but hey, I want a little "bling" to go with the BANG!

[Yul Lose]

2 hours ago, BenW said:

Ok guys, I have a question.  I use a FART rotary tumbler, and with brass cases I use Armor-All Wash-n-Wax and a bit of LemiShine.  Brass usually comes out looking beautiful and stays that way.  Today I tumbled a few hundred nickel cases, same as always but without the Lemi-shine, and the brass came out with a dull finish.  How can I get a nice bright shiny finish on my nickel brass?  Yeah, yeah, I know it'll work just fine, but hey, I want a little "bling" to go with the BANG!

Strato Sheen.

[The Rainmaker, SASS #11631]

A scoop of Strat-O Sheen, dash of car wash and a small squirt of LemiShine in hot water filled 7/8 full and after a couple hours, I have jewelry.

[The Shoer 27979]

On 5/5/2023 at 8:51 AM, Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933 said:

There is also a FART wrench.  It works very well.

 

https://www.fgsengineering.com/product/fart-wrench-frankford-arsenal-rotary-tumbler-lid-wrench/

I know a couple people I would like to use that on, lol

 

Some times I use ceramic media sometimes I don't, I also use dawn dish soap and lime a shine, but am going to try the wash and wax car wash just to try it. Something else I have is one of those parts washers tanks from harbor freight that I use to clean my guns in(i only use black powder) and dump my clean brass in

On 5/5/2023 at 8:51 AM, Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933 said:

There is also a FART wrench.  It works very well.

 

https://www.fgsengineering.com/product/fart-wrench-frankford-arsenal-rotary-tumbler-lid-wrench/

I know a couple people I would like to use that on, lol

 

Some times I use ceramic media sometimes I don't, I also use dawn dish soap and lime a shine, but am going to try the wash and wax car wash just to try it. Something else I have is one of those parts washers tanks from harbor freight that I use to clean my guns in(i only use black powder) and dump my clean brass in

[Jeb Stuart #65654]

On 5/4/2023 at 9:56 AM, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

What media are you using?

I wet tumble every cartridge I load from .32 S&W to .45-90 using ceramic. 

How large is your ceramic?  

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

48 minutes ago, Jeb Stuart #65654 said:

How large is your ceramic?  

Smallest that Dave Mauer sells. 

About 3/16-1/4" long with angled ends.

Been using it for 15 yrs now.

[The Shoer 27979]

1 hour ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

Smallest that Dave Mauer sells. 

About 3/16-1/4" long with angled ends.

Been using it for 15 yrs now.

Hey Lumpy did you do something with your hair you look different  now

[Jeb Stuart #65654]

3 hours ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

Smallest that Dave Mauer sells. 

About 3/16-1/4" long with angled ends.

Been using it for 15 yrs now.

Thanks

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

4 hours ago, The Shoer 27979 said:

Hey Lumpy did you do something with your hair you look different  now

Yup, straightened it. 

[The Rainmaker, SASS #11631]

In reference to the Dawn, I will say that I was using the Dawn Platinum spray and giving a couple sprays as the soap additive and noticed I was getting a lot of case splits, even my newer Starlines. Stopped using the Dawn (on a Wire recommendation) and went to the car wash and wax and I do believe the case splitting is down. FWIW

[Dusty Devil Dale]

On 5/8/2023 at 11:05 AM, Yul Lose said:

Strato Sheen is an abrasive.

Youre right, Yul.  It is sold mainly as an abrasive additive for jewelry dry tumbling.   But I noticed that it stings a bit if you get the granules in an open wound or get a bit of the dust in your eyes, so I put 1/2 tsp in a quart jug of distilled water and left it overnight.  PH after 12 hours came out 4.8 -- about like half-dilute vinegar. 

 

I note that the abrasive itself, cutting at the brass of the primer pockets, might not be a real good thing either, if you're looking for a snug primer fit.  

    

 

[The Rainmaker, SASS #11631]

I would think USING the brass during firing would eventually loosen the primer pockets as well. They ain't gonna last forever...

[Dusty Devil Dale]

2 hours ago, The Rainmaker, SASS #11631 said:

I would think USING the brass during firing would eventually loosen the primer pockets as well. They ain't gonna last forever...

No doubt you are correct.  I just like to stretch my brass through as many cycles as possible (and I dislike depriming).

[The Surgeon]

I de-prime before I wet tumble because I usually just air dry my brass on a towel overnight and I sometimes don't load it for months after. I tried doing it without removing the primers a couple times and I had to throw a few pieces of brass away because the primers corroded into the pocket and the resizing die punched a hole through the primer but didn't remove it.  If I threw my brass on a baking sheet in the oven that might not happen... but then I might not have to worry about reloading anymore because my wife would probably kill me. 

[Dusty Devil Dale]

1 hour ago, The Surgeon said:

I de-prime before I wet tumble because I usually just air dry my brass on a towel overnight and I sometimes don't load it for months after. I tried doing it without removing the primers a couple times and I had to throw a few pieces of brass away because the primers corroded into the pocket and the resizing die punched a hole through the primer but didn't remove it.  If I threw my brass on a baking sheet in the oven that might not happen... but then I might not have to worry about reloading anymore because my wife would probably kill me. 

Moisture is a problem in lots of locations, to be sure.  In Fresno, CA, our days during most seasons are warm enough to dry cases thoroughly in the sun in an hour or so.  In the winter, I just lay them out on a cookie sheet in front of the fireplace or go over them lightly with a heat gun.  But I thoroughly tumble the water out of them first in a separator.  

[Griff]

Wet tumbled some cases today.  Approximately 170 cases of 45 Colt, previously loaded with BP.  (Goex "Cartridge").   I decapped then tumbled them in the F.A. tumbler with pins, Dawn, and enough water to fill the tumbler about halfway.   Before:

After:

Off to the reloading bench tomorrow!  After I finish casting more of my BP bullets and get them sized & lubed.   Saturday it's off to the range for our monthly!  

[Texas Maverick]

21 hours ago, The Surgeon said:

If I threw my brass on a baking sheet in the oven that might not happen... but then I might not have to worry about reloading anymore because my wife would probably kill me. 

you have to wait until she is gone from the home for a couple of hours. I have to wait until she is gone so I can bake my dehumidifiers from the gun and ammo safes. What she doesn't know won't kill me. LOL

 

TM

[Eyesa Horg]

I'm lucky I guess! I got to use the oven to heat a barrel for bluing! I use an old dehydrator for drying brass.

[The Surgeon]

2 minutes ago, Eyesa Horg said:

I'm lucky I guess! I got to use the oven to heat a barrel for bluing! I use an old dehydrator for drying brass.

I have a dehydrator for making deer jerky.. never thought to use it for brass.

[Eyesa Horg]

8 minutes ago, The Surgeon said:

I have a dehydrator for making deer jerky.. never thought to use it for brass.

I bought mine for venison jerky. Holds a couple hundred brass at a time and I run it for about an hour and a half. Works excellent!

[Roger Ball]

Cowpokes, I'll continue this thread with a request for some help on what might correct an issue I've been having- in short, my brass are coming out tarnished in a rainbow-like manner. Actually, they come out perfectly bright and shiny, and then eventually gain the rainbow sheen.

 

Tumbler- FART

Hot tap water

Soap- I've used, separately, the little sample packet of Frankford soap, Armor-All Wash-n-Wax, and blue Dawn (worst results, imo). The quanitity was around a tablespoon of soap each time.

I can't remember if I've used Lemishine each time or not. I think I have. But only a dash or so each time.

I've done with and without the SS pins included with the FART.

No nickel cases.

I've increased the number of rinses afterward to probably 5 or 6, thinking maybe soap residue was causing the problem.

I've air-dried each time, although not in the best of conditions (cloudy, indoors, etc). This is my other guess as to what may be the problem.

 

"You're in California; it's no surprise they come out rainbow." There, I said it for you...

 

Thanks in advance.

[Griff]

Roger, I'm simply hazarding a guess, but I'll thinking you aren't getting all the soap residue off your brass.  After tumbling, I take the drum outside and in the sun, I take one end off, run the garden hose in, and turn on the water until all the soap suds are out of my tumbler,  I then tilt it over, let all the water run out, (seems like it's always dark, like soot filled).  I do this two, maybe three times until the water is clear, then take the tumbler to my separator, pour in the brass & pins and spin until the pins are in the bottom of the bucket, take the brass inside, spread a couple of layers of paper towels on a cookie sheet, and set in oven at 170º for an hour or so.  Let cool, and put in storage containers until ready to load.  I doubt that I'm coming anywhere close to using that much soap.  

 

[The Shoer 27979]

20 hours ago, Roger Ball said:

Cowpokes, I'll continue this thread with a request for some help on what might correct an issue I've been having- in short, my brass are coming out tarnished in a rainbow-like manner. Actually, they come out perfectly bright and shiny, and then eventually gain the rainbow sheen.

 

Tumbler- FART

Hot tap water

Soap- I've used, separately, the little sample packet of Frankford soap, Armor-All Wash-n-Wax, and blue Dawn (worst results, imo). The quanitity was around a tablespoon of soap each time.

I can't remember if I've used Lemishine each time or not. I think I have. But only a dash or so each time.

I've done with and without the SS pins included with the FART.

No nickel cases.

I've increased the number of rinses afterward to probably 5 or 6, thinking maybe soap residue was causing the problem.

I've air-dried each time, although not in the best of conditions (cloudy, indoors, etc). This is my other guess as to what may be the problem.

 

"You're in California; it's no surprise they come out rainbow." There, I said it for you...

 

Thanks in advance.

You are putting to much dawn soap in, you only need a couple drops

[Roger Ball]

Gents, thanks for the replies. I did a little experimenting today re-tumbling the brass from the picture. I tumbled just in a mixture of water and Lemishine. They again came out super shiny, and I left them to dry immediately in the sun. The water still caused significant blemishes/spotting on the cases when dry, even though there was no soap in the mixture.

 

I again redid them, but then lightly dried them in a beach towel to remove beaded water. Bingo; they are now perfect when dried.

 

So I think it was a combination of too much soap and improper drying. Thanks again for the input!

[The Shoer 27979]

On 5/27/2023 at 5:47 PM, Roger Ball said:

Gents, thanks for the replies. I did a little experimenting today re-tumbling the brass from the picture. I tumbled just in a mixture of water and Lemishine. They again came out super shiny, and I left them to dry immediately in the sun. The water still caused significant blemishes/spotting on the cases when dry, even though there was no soap in the mixture.

 

I again redid them, but then lightly dried them in a beach towel to remove beaded water. Bingo; they are now perfect when dried.

 

So I think it was a combination of too much soap and improper drying. Thanks again for the input!

It could be you have hard water which will cause spotting 

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

On 5/27/2023 at 7:47 PM, Roger Ball said:

Gents, thanks for the replies. I did a little experimenting today re-tumbling the brass from the picture. I tumbled just in a mixture of water and Lemishine. They again came out super shiny, and I left them to dry immediately in the sun. The water still caused significant blemishes/spotting on the cases when dry, even though there was no soap in the mixture.

 

I again redid them, but then lightly dried them in a beach towel to remove beaded water. Bingo; they are now perfect when dried.

 

So I think it was a combination of too much soap and improper drying. Thanks again for the input!

No hot water.

Rinse the case twice. Lay out on an old bath towel and roll them around a bit with your hands. 

Have a fan run'n and let them sit overnight.