Wet Tumble Discovery

[Rancho Roy]

Wet Tumble Discovery....Did a bunch of black powder shooting yesterday. I usually clean my brass in a wet tumbler with a dash of Dawn dish detergent, Lemshine and stainless steel pins. I was in a hurry and had no Dawn or Lemshine available, but I did have Hornady "One Shot" Sonic Cleaning Solution. I put a couple table spoons full with about three cups of water and I forgot to add the pins. After two hours of tumbling the brass came out way better than anything else I ever used! Amazing how clean the inside was. And no PITA separating the pins from the brass! My new GO TO for brass cleaning!

[Diamond Jake]

Good to know.  Did you do any pre-soak, such as putting the brass into a container of water right after shooting?

[TN Mongo, SASS #61450]

Many of us have been skipping the pins for years.

[Buckshot Dobbs]

So by skipping the pins do the insides still get clean? Primer pockets? 

[Frontier Lone Rider]

I bought three sizes of the ss pins for tumbling my black powder brass.  Separating those pins from the brass was a real hassle.  I had to check inside of each piece to ensure some pins were not hiding inside the brass.

 

I now just use Dawn & lemon Shine for tumbling, then rinse with water and Turtle Wax.  The brass appears to be as clean and a lot less work.

[Texas Jack Black]

On 11/4/2023 at 6:02 AM, Rancho Roy said:

Wet Tumble Discovery....Did a bunch of black powder shooting yesterday. I usually clean my brass in a wet tumbler with a dash of Dawn dish detergent, Lemshine and stainless steel pins. I was in a hurry and had no Dawn or Lemshine available, but I did have Hornady "One Shot" Sonic Cleaning Solution. I put a couple table spoons full with about three cups of water and I forgot to add the pins. After two hours of tumbling the brass came out way better than anything else I ever used! Amazing how clean the inside was. And no PITA separating the pins from the brass! My new GO TO for brass cleaning!

 Good to know.

 

Thank You

[Buckshot Sheridan]

Separating the pins from the brass is really easy use one of the rotary separators filled with water. The pins pour right out when submerged. 

[Silver Creek Jack]

15 hours ago, Buckshot Sheridan said:

Separating the pins from the brass is really easy use one of the rotary separators filled with water. The pins pour right out when submerged. 

This!!!

[Frontier Lone Rider]

17 hours ago, Buckshot Sheridan said:

Separating the pins from the brass is really easy use one of the rotary separators filled with water. The pins pour right out when submerged. 

 

I used a rotary separator and have the big magnet to help in reclaiming the pins.  There were still some of the smallest pins inside of the case.

[Griff]

I tried the Hornady Sonic cleaner on a batch of .32-40 & .30-30 brass today.  Smokeless rounds and deprimed before tumbling.  I gotta say, looks better than new brass!

  

I'd say the primer pockets look as good as the outside!  Thanks for the idea!

[Griff]

I just finished a mix batch of .45 caliber brass, 45ACP, 45 Colt & C45S with some cut down nickel 45 Colt brass mixed in.  Using the Hornady One Shot sonic cleaner solution doesn't discolor either the brass or nickel cases.  

[wyliefoxEsquire]

FYI,

YMMV, it is difficult to compare your "solution" to others.  The water quality (hardness) is a BIG factor.

I am not surprised that many shooters get great results with different "solutions" from other shooters.

[Buckshot Sheridan]

57 minutes ago, wyliefoxEsquire said:

FYI,

YMMV, it is difficult to compare your "solution" to others.  The water quality (hardness) is a BIG factor.

I am not surprised that many shooters get great results with different "solutions" from other shooters.

Absolutely. AZ water is so hard it could almost serve as tumbling media. 

[German Jim]

Looks good but that Hornady stuff seems kind of expensive.

[The Coconino Pistolero, SASS # 72432]

Here is the MSDS with the ingredients for the Hornady cleaner.  Better living through chemistry.

 

https://static.hornady.media/site/hornady/files/resources/OneShot_Sonic_Clean_Gun_Parts_Formula.pdf

[Sam Sackett]

Pretty toxic stuff. Think I’ll stay with my current solution. 
 

Sam Sackett 

[Von Dutch, SASS # 7995]

On 11/8/2023 at 6:21 PM, wyliefoxEsquire said:

FYI,

YMMV, it is difficult to compare your "solution" to others.  The water quality (hardness) is a BIG factor.

I am not surprised that many shooters get great results with different "solutions" from other shooters.

Thats why I use distilled water and I always have, its a cheap insurance, on the bottle of Hornady One Shot it says to use distilled water for best results.  V.D.

[Rye Miles #13621]

I never got into the wet tumbler thing, I still use corn cob and Dillion case cleaner. I’m shooting smokeless.

[Frontier Lone Rider]

19 minutes ago, Rye Miles #13621 said:

I never got into the wet tumbler thing, I still use corn cob and Dillion case cleaner. I’m shooting smokeless.

Live dangerously, come on over to the holy black.  That smokeless stuff is just a passing fad.

 

I use lizard bedding mixed with corn cob for the smokeless brass, but am trying the wet tumbling to get a better result with the black powder brass.

 

I ordered some of the Hornady Solution from Bud's Gun Shop just to give it a try.

[Griff]

On 11/12/2023 at 10:29 AM, Sam Sackett said:

Pretty toxic stuff. Think I’ll stay with my current solution. 
 

Sam Sackett 

This is the product that I use:

ONE SHOT^® SONIC CLEAN^™ CARTRIDGE CASE SOLUTION

Non-toxic and uniquely formulated to clean brass cases. Quickly removes most tarnish, oxidation and carbon buildup. Designed specifically for the Hornady^® Lock-N-Load^® Sonic Cleaners.^™

32 fl oz. Item #043355

1 Gallon Item #043356

 

At 40 parts water to one part solution, MSDS is at:  chrome-extension://oemmndcbldboiebfnladdacbdfmadadm/https://feeds.brownells.com/userdocs/MSDS/100-031-842_LNL_SONIC_BRASS_SOLUTION_1QT.pdf

[Sam Sackett]

Do you use that in a rotary tumbler?  
 

Sam Sackett 

[Griff]

1 minute ago, Sam Sackett said:

Do you use that in a rotary tumbler?  
 

Sam Sackett 

Yes.  

[PrairieDogPete]

On 11/4/2023 at 5:02 AM, Rancho Roy said:

Wet Tumble Discovery....Did a bunch of black powder shooting yesterday. I usually clean my brass in a wet tumbler with a dash of Dawn dish detergent, Lemshine and stainless steel pins. I was in a hurry and had no Dawn or Lemshine available, but I did have Hornady "One Shot" Sonic Cleaning Solution. I put a couple table spoons full with about three cups of water and I forgot to add the pins. After two hours of tumbling the brass came out way better than anything else I ever used! Amazing how clean the inside was. And no PITA separating the pins from the brass! My new GO TO for brass cleaning!

Thank you for the suggestion. I just got a wet tumbler and a jug of this cartridge case cleaner and ran it for 2 hours.... the cases look brand new after shooting APP and just rinsing after shoots. definitely my new go to. 

[Go West]

My latest dry tumbling additions are paint thinner and Nufinish car polish. An hour or so works great and you don't need to dry, rinse or deprime. Corn cob and walnut media are used depending on my inclination.

[Rye Miles #13621]

On 11/13/2023 at 7:20 AM, Frontier Lone Rider said:

Live dangerously, come on over to the holy black.  That smokeless stuff is just a passing fad.

 

I use lizard bedding mixed with corn cob for the smokeless brass, but am trying the wet tumbling to get a better result with the black powder brass.

 

I ordered some of the Hornady Solution from Bud's Gun Shop just to give it a try.

I shot black for 8 years, got tired of all the cleaning etc. I'm comfortable with my .38 smokeless loads thank you!

[Oak Ridge Regulator]

I have used the simple green “purple solution” for metals for a couple of years now in both a sonic and wet tumble method, about a 3 to one mix does a really nice job and it’s pretty cheap, my water is very hard but the solution doesn’t seem to care. On a side note about distilled water just because it say’s distilled doesn’t mean it is, I was using some this summer to do ph test on plant soils and found out the hard way the label was a lie, ph of the water in the jug ran 5.3 and it reacted strongly with the potash test strips so if you get funky results with your cleaning solution it may be your distilled water

[Texas Lizard]

On 11/4/2023 at 12:48 PM, Buckshot Dobbs said:

So by skipping the pins do the insides still get clean? Primer pockets? 

If you were Irish...We have little elves that do the cleaning for us....While going around they grab one and clean it for you....

 

Texas Lizard

[Dusty Devil Dale]

On 11/8/2023 at 2:16 PM, Griff said:

I tried the Hornady Sonic cleaner on a batch of .32-40 & .30-30 brass today.  Smokeless rounds and deprimed before tumbling.  I gotta say, looks better than new brass!

  

I'd say the primer pockets look as good as the outside!  Thanks for the idea!

One advantage is that without ss pins, the primer pockets are not getting abraded and loosened.  I have always deprimed after wet tumbling for that concern.  Steel on brass has to be removing a small amount of brass with each cycle.  

[Blind Squirrel]

I ran a test of using the Hornady cleaning solution in my wet tumbler (using no pins) against dry cleaning using walnut media and some Nu Finish in my vibratory cleaner. Both ran for 6+ hours. Wet tumbled on the left and dry cleaned on the right. While the slightly tarnished shell on the left is most likely more authentic, I think I am going to stick to the dry method. I want it to be as easy as possible for the brass pickers to see my shells.

 

Edited December 7, 2023 by Blind Squirrel

[Eyesa Horg]

That's the same results I got! But so much invested in wet now, I'm going to stick with it for a while at least! My lead level actually went up since going wet, I presume from the depriving of all our old brass! I used to soak in Simple Green, dry, and the dry tumble for 1 1/2 hours and nice shiny brass. Although the wet gets the inside cleaner for what that's worth.

[Griff]

On 11/29/2023 at 12:32 AM, Dusty Devil Dale said:

One advantage is that without ss pins, the primer pockets are not getting abraded and loosened.  I have always deprimed after wet tumbling for that concern.  Steel on brass has to be removing a small amount of brass with each cycle.  

But... but... but.... a person might need a reason to turn over their brass inventory after a few dozen years.... 

[watab kid]

wpw , that worked great , i would never have guessed , im thinking to adjust my cleaning regiment 

[Randy Saint Eagle, SASS # 64903]

Thinking about trying wet tumbling, is depriving necessary? I don’t want to have to add that extra step, prefer to deprive with my 650 as I load.

 

Thanks

Randy

[Too Tall Bob]

13 minutes ago, Randy Saint Eagle, SASS # 64903 said:

Thinking about trying wet tumbling, is depriving necessary? I don’t want to have to add that extra step, prefer to deprive with my 650 as I load.

 

Thanks

Randy

I don’t know about depriving the brass of anything but not necessary to deprime - some do - some don’t

[Randy Saint Eagle, SASS # 64903]

13 minutes ago, Too Tall Bob said:

I don’t know about depriving the brass of anything but not necessary to deprime - some do - some don’t

Thanks (I hate autocorrect)

Randy