Brass cleaners, Stainless Media, ultra sonic, or vibrator

[Taildrag15X]

I think the new Hornady with "Dual transducers" is like what I've used for over 20 years, an L&R which leaves nothing to be done to the primer pockets when I dump the brass out.

 

[1shot]

I'm thinking of going with the steel pin method and a lot of people recommend the Thumbler tumbler "B" model. RCBS also makes a rotary tumbler but the cost is triple of the Thumbler model. Is there that big of a difference??
Thanks in advance for your help,
Lloyd

 

[spclark]

Yeah & the advantage goes to the Thumbler or other similar products. Larger motor, more robust drum construction are the two main aspects.

I use an RCBS I bought used for doing moly when a vibratory proved to be less-than-ideal for coating bullets, then pressed the rotary into service when I began with stainless media year before last for cleaning. The RCBS drums aren't real sturdy & the flat bottoms don't seal well against the tumbler bodies unless you do something like gluing them in place with a suitable adhesive.

Were I starting out fresh I'd go with any recommended rotary BUT an RCBS for my money.

 

[SteveNC]

The pins are too small to round anything...is your tumbler really aggressive? Are you using a good amount of water with a little soap to cushion brass and remove grime?

 

[gmorganal]

SteveNC, you are welcome to your own opinions, but you are wrong about rounding of the case mouth. I'm following all the directions I received with my STM tumbler, and the longer you tumble the more damage is done to the case mouths. I tried only running my cases for an hour the last time and still had to re-chamfer the case mouths and clean out the primer pockets by hand.

 

[spclark]

I used to clean cases in corn media with a vibratory tumbler. Hardly - if ever - noticed "deformation" of sized & neck-trimmed brass.

Never really happy with the results either which is why I started using the wet SS pin method. At first I still used a vibrator tumbler as my RCBS rotary was dedicated to moly coating bullets & I was unwilling to buy more drums for it. Vibrating tumbler with the SS pins took a lot less time to get equal or better results than the corn media method but nothing like what was reported as possible by others.

So I ran the wax drum on my RCBS with just pins & solution the first time for about 8 hours to clean the pins & remove what wax I could.

First batch of dirty cases was run for four hours & upon getting to the sizing step I noticed the case mouths were a little more dinged up that they'd looked like before cleaning. As I routinely trim to length and / or chamfer necks after the first cleaning I didn't think it would be a problem.

I think the necks of cases will be "peened" even by other cases alone in rotary tumblers. In vibrators the corn media acts as a cushion and case to case impact may be less at the same time. I only run cases now for maybe an hour & the degree of neck damage is much less though when thin-walled necks are processed the evident damage is relatively greater. Since I very lightly chamfer cases before the last cleaning & reloading I don't mind seeing what little damage there is as my cases are far cleaner inside and out than I ever thought possible.

 

[Leaddog]

I've been using Stainless for quite awhile and am quite pleased with the results. Yes, there is some peening of the case mouths, but my .308 cases grow just enough that a quick clean up with the Giraud takes care of that. Never having to touch the primer pockets is a big time saver using this method. I use Lapua brass.

 

[thefitter]

If you start with new cases and clean after each firing with SS media it really only takes 30 minutes. I hear many people letting in it run for HOURS! Not sure why? I have never run more than 30 minutes and they are spotless. I also never seen any damage to my .308 Lapua case mouths. But I always clean, size and trim... so my last step is in the Giraud anyway.

 

[brian427cobra]

I use SS media to clean my brass, the lips do get peened but thats really not an issue for me, my Giraud Trimmer fixes that in less than 3 seconds per case, I also was curious about my brass getting worked hardened from SS media cleaning, a Rockwell Hardness Tester proved that no measureable hardening occurs from cleaning with SS Media, I had to start using a dry neck lube, graphite powder from the hardware store is a hell of a lot cheaper than what Redding\Imperial wants and does a great job.

 

[queen_stick]

I have had the beaten up case mouths using the STM system. The longer you tumble the more pronounced it becomes, so I am going to shorten the time I tumble and see if there is a happy medium for me. I have only done lots of around 50 cases so far, so I can't say what would be the case were a person doing hundreds at a tim.

I was doing 284 Shehane cases 60 at a time in a Viking rotary tumbler. I guess my concern would be the cumulative effect of multiple cleanings even if I cut down the time of individual cleanings. The brass is better than new clean when it comes out of the SS but I have had pretty good results, for accuracy purposes, just using a high power ultrasonic cleaner with hot water and dish detergent. My ultrasonic has heating elements that can make the water too hot to touch which I think makes a big difference and I no longer to need any harsh chemicals or vinegar to get them clean inside and out.

Noted!

gonna try that next time I clean some brass!

 

[people]

I use the steel pins.

Decap polish for one hour. Resize your brass then wash for one hour. Then do all of your brass work then polish for one more hour. I use hot water for all of my poilishing. Primer pockets come out clean.