tumbling???

I have resisted ultra sonic and stainless pin brass cleaning because I have a relatively new Dillon vibratory tumbler, and I don't want my brass wet and don't want to have to figure out how to dry it. I do like the super clean cases! Is there a way I can keep using my tumbler and get better results than using walnut or corn cob media? I've heard of using rice but never tried cause it seems too soft. Could some type of ceramic balls, plastic, or metal media be used? Who here has tried anything new?

 

I have tried a few things but nothing seems any better than Walnut and time.... I have the wet tumbling system for a long time but rarely use it unless the brass is really nasty which it rarely is.... To use metal , ceramic etc a rotary tumbler is the way to go and if you're going that route just wet tumble...

 

Wet SS pins with Lemishine gets my brass like new.

 

Do you add any polish to your media? It will get the outside very shiny, but a lot of the carbon will remain inside the case dry tumbling.

 

Put in a squirt or two of Turtle Wax Compound in your media now and then. HB

 

Ive used the Dillon polish and I like the results. I was looking for another media to try. Walnut takes for ever.

 

I've read on other forums, of people using rice with no other wet addatives. Doesn't clog primer holes and supposidly cleans inside. Doesn't last as long as walnut but 10 lb bag is cheep.

I haven't tried it because what I use works fine for me.

 

I've been using rice in my vibrating tumbler for a LONG time and it works great. It's NOT too soft, for sure. Though, it depends on how dirty and/or oxidized the cases might be (like some ugly stuff one might pick up off the ground at a range). If it's muddy dirty, then it can still work but takes longer.

My .308 cases that I fire from a bench tend to be rather clean on the outside and the necks get cleaned up pretty good, though the inside retains some carbon coating (which is fine by me, as it act as a lubricant along with a very light residue the rice leaves as well).

When I want squeaky clean like new brass inside and out, the rotary tumbling with SS pins (or chips) is what I find works best and since I have a heat gun, I simply use it to heat up the brass that's laid out on a towel to the point they're much too hot to touch (takes only a few minutes) and they dry out pretty quickly.

Anyway, try the rice and see it works for you . . . just don't use long grain rice as it tends to get caught in the flash holes (best to use a medium grain white rice).

 

I've used rice. You get what you pay for. It didn't work as well as walnut shells and it gets stuck inside the cases.

 

Not sure why the resistance to wet SS tumbling. I shake the pins out of the cases with a media separator, then roll them around in a towel for 5 minutes, and lay them out to air dry for 24 hrs. G-t-g with super shiny brass.

If yer in a hurry, put them on a cookie sheet (with sides) at 175F in the oven for an hour.

Done.

 

Corn cob media with an occasional squirt of liquid Flitz polish works well for vibratory polishing in my experience for not real dirty brass. Cheap and works well.

I've used the SS pins for many thousands of real dull looking estate sale reloads that I pulled bullets from to resell the brass and bullets at gun shows years ago. Works great.

 

Well lets see garanddad I would have to buy a rotary tumbler, stainless media, some kind of cleaning solution, and a separator then I would have wet soapy brass that I would have to wash then dry. I would have the potential of have deformed case mouths and getting a pin stuck in a case and shooting it out of the gun and ruining a barrel. Now I understand the last two scenarios are remote but still something I would like to avoid. Then I have a tumbler that I paid $150 for that was made for and will last a life time that will be useless. I "like" the super clean brass, but know it is not necessary for accuracy. Some of the very best benchrest shooters tested and found that even cleaning primer pockets does nothing to improve groups. All that said if I were starting over without any equipment I would get an ultrasonic machine. I was looking for a way to make my machine work better, and thought someone on here might have figured it out. I will experiment.

 

I tried a lot of different methods over the years but found that nothing shines like a wet tumbler with pins. I also found they all shoot pretty much the same, clean or dirty primer pockets and case interiors never seemed to make much of a difference. I resisted the wet tumble method for years but found that drying and getting the pins out is a pretty simple operation in real life. I have to admit though it is a bit more time consuming than walnut. As far as the expense goes every month I go through more bullets and powder than what my tumbler cost.

Do let us know what you figure out however. I am not married to any one method and if you find something that cleans as well with less hassle I would give it a shot

 

I've found corn cob and car polish to be faster and last longer then walnut. I tried rice after reading about it on a pretty well respected guys post, but it didn't work great for me. Maybe with different cases it would work well, with 223, not so much.

 

I have a Lyman vibratory tumbler, a STM wet tumbler and a $80.00 sonic cleaner. This sonic cleaner is a generic copy of the Lyman sonic cleaner. I prefer the sonic cleaner because there is no dust or peened case mouths. I use dawn dishwashing soap and Lemi-Shine in this sonic cleaner, and the secret is to use hot tap water and get the unit up to operating temp for the best cleaning. (Mcdonald's coffee hot)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009BC4S0G/?tag=accuratescom-20

 

"garanddad" ??

Why?

 

Somebody please post some close up photos of all these damaged case mouths....I would like to see just one before I die!!!!!

Edit: please include which type or brand of pins you are using that is doing all this. Thanks. One more thing...as to drying, dip the cases in some denatured alcohol or acetone and they will flash dry very quickly without heat or otherwise BS'ing around.

 

Ultrasonic cleaning for me. I can get 100 pieces of brass cleaned and ready for priming in 60 minutes, including includes washing, rinsing, and drying, with minimal hand processing.

 

Brownells has a good 5 part series comparing various methods other than wet pin tumbling on their Youtube channel

https://www.youtube.com/user/brownellsinc/search?query=cleaning+brass

 

Without residue?