How do you get pretty brass?

[DRNewcomb]

To get that outstanding shine on brass cases try 1/3 walnut hulls with rouge and 2/3 corn cobb media.
Range brass requires about 4 hours in the tumbler & repeat brass about 2 hours.

Dave, do you use a rotary or vibratory tumbler with this combination?

 

[CatShooter]

I use walnut media and recharge it with car way every 6th load through. Mine comes out pretty clean. With Walnut, you need to control the dust.

That being said, I had a 30 minute call with Redding last week and he was telling me that brass that is "too clean" can lead to getting stuck cases when resizing. I have been reloading for 15 years and never heard of that. Something about allowing the brass to begin to tarnish will give better lubricity (even when using imperial sizing wax). Redding implied that sticking .1% (1 in 1,000) was a rather high rate. I personally thought it was low, but maybe I have been doing it all wrong.

That is pure dumb... I am surprised at Redding.

Do you know the name of the person that said that?

I'm not surprised. More and more, people staffing the "Customer Service" phones aren't selected for their expertise, merely their ability to answer the phone.

I could write a book of "Dumb Answers" I've received lately from companies that are supposed to be "leaders in their industry".

I think Redding has been slipping for a few years. I have had to return the last two dies to them for the most primitive, crude workmanship that wouldn't have ever been shipped by Lee

The first was a body die that had been cut with a chipped reamer and left a series of gouges in the case shoulder - the second was a body die that was soooooooo rough inside that it scraped brass off of the body and left yellow flakes on the press ram

 

[Bradsb]

I recently overheard a mule deer buck talking to a score target and the buck said he preferred to be shot with polished ammo but the score target said it didn't matter to him either way..

 

[jo191145]

I recently overheard a mule deer buck talking to a score target and the buck said he preferred to be shot with polished ammo but the score target said it didn't matter to him either way..

;D ;D ;D

Hmnnn Score targets are smarter than deer. Who woulda thunk.

 

[CatShooter]

I recently overheard a mule deer buck talking to a score target and the buck said he preferred to be shot with polished ammo but the score target said it didn't matter to him either way..

;D ;D ;D

Hmnnn Score targets are smarter than deer. Who woulda thunk.

A pet rock is smarter than deer!!

 

[WyleWD]

I've used my K&M shell holder in my cordless drill to spin the cases and use Nevr-Dull. I'll then use a microfiber cloth to finish polishing them. Thing is, after a few days, the cases start to tarnish again. But they were shiny for a little while. ;D

Pretty much the same way that I do it except that I use Brasso or other brass polish on a rag wipe the case through it, then polish it on another rag. Can do 3 per minute that way vs let that that vibrator run several hours and have media stuck in the cases & flash holes. WD

 

[Bogusname]

Two hours in a ss tumbler. Another thirty minutes in fresh corn tumbler. When you take them out of the ss tumbler you will say " damn these are clean". Then after the additional corn polish you will just be speechless. Not that it matters a lot , but having clean brass is nice. Just like having a nice accurate rifle.

 

[dickn52]

Pretty brass has a primer in the pocket, powder in the case and a bullet seated correctly on top of it all. At that time that piece of brass is as pretty as it will ever be. ;D

 

[amlevin]

Pretty brass has a primer in the pocket, powder in the case and a bullet seated correctly on top of it all. At that time that piece of brass is as pretty as it will ever be. ;D

For some maybe. But for those who have to have hand rubbed laquer finishes in multiple colors on their rifles, along with polished aluminum rests, milled aluminum ammo trays, etc, Dull Brass just doesn't cut it.

 

[TominSWNY]

I have a small base die that is cracked. Redding wanted to know why I was using it.

 

[CarolinaBrass]

Stainless media is the first guess, but other people do massive hours (like 10+) in a vibratory with corn and get good results...I have used Metal Polish from Turtle Wax back when I first started messing with my own brass, and NuFinish and Arsenal... for me the best way to clean brass to mirror finishes is stainless and handle them with cotton Good Luck!

 

[CarolinaBrass]

I use walnut media and recharge it with car way every 6th load through. Mine comes out pretty clean. With Walnut, you need to control the dust.

That being said, I had a 30 minute call with Redding last week and he was telling me that brass that is "too clean" can lead to getting stuck cases when resizing. I have been reloading for 15 years and never heard of that. Something about allowing the brass to begin to tarnish will give better lubricity (even when using imperial sizing wax). Redding implied that sticking .1% (1 in 1,000) was a rather high rate. I personally thought it was low, but maybe I have been doing it all wrong.

I haven't tried imperial but use one shot liquid and have never stuck a case with it... however with my homemade lanolyn it was like butter but very messy cleanup so went back to one shot... either way I don't think there a such thing as too clean a piece of brass to run through your dies

 

[dabibbee]

DRNewcomb,

I use a vibratory tumbler. Sorry, been really busy to get back to this post.

Best of Luck

Dave

 

[dabibbee]

WyleWD,

I do not have media stuck in the case because I remove 5 or 6 cases at a time while the tumbler is running and hold the cases against the center stem to remove the media. Any media stuck in a flash hole is removed by the depriming stem. It's just never been a problem for me. However your way sounds very workable also.

Best of Luck,

Dave

 

[Juma]

This was interesting. Will try it sometime but still very very happy with SSM. Trick is to only do 100 223 cases at a go for about an hour i.e. dont overload the cases to brass. Tip picked up from this Forum.

http://forum.accurateshooter.com/index.php?topic=3796774.0

 

[butchlambert]

The only thing I have found to really clean the inside of cases is SS media. I would be more concerned with that. I wipe them down between targets during a match. Some powders and loads leave a lot of residue inside the case. That is why I would want them clean inside to start a match.

 

[fredhorace77]

Tag

 

[savagedasher]

To get that outstanding shine on brass cases try 1/3 walnut hulls with rouge and 2/3 corn cobb media.
Range brass requires about 4 hours in the tumbler & repeat brass about 2 hours. Other shooters notice
the outstanding jewelry that you created and reflects the absolute perfection that we are propelling
into the heavens. LOL

Nice shiny brass is part of my brass prep and takes no extra time to perform. Just need to remember to
shut it off after the right amount of time.

Best Regards,

Dave

You got my vote

 

[Jason Boersma]

I use a liquid metal polish in with my corn cob media and the brass comes out very shiny.

 

[Shaggy357]

Three runs in the ultrasonic cleaner and about 2 hours in fine cob with a dab of Dillon blue polish make mine shine like new...on the outside. If not coming out shiny, I run in plain cob for another hour....

Tried the jewelers rouge and walnut...result for me was scratched dies....worked fine, IF I then polished each case clean by hand, and I had to a couple of times...ughhh. I do too many cases to spend time having to wipe each one clean...there may be a secret method to using the rouge, I have not seen it.

Absolute shiniest brass I have seen came out of my pocket after a weekend hunting. It is surprising how much stuff in your pants pockets get rubbed when you walk....