I want shiny brass. Stainless steel tumbler
- Thread starter kev77
- Start date
I live in FLA. Using a squirrel cage I seperate the brass from the ss pins. I drain the water out of the pail and give the brass a good spin this removes most of the water from both out and inside the case. Then place the brass on a towel in the driveway and let Mr Sun do the work. Doesn't take long in FLA.
I am glad that I found this post. I use to reload a lot but moved out of the country for a few years to Brazil and they do not allow guns so of course I had to drop out of it. Anyway, I am just getting back into it a and should pick up my custom rifle next week. I was also about to order a new vibrator cleaner but now I have decided to order a wet tumbler. Midway has a good sale right now on Frankford tumblers so I think I will order one. Thanks again for all of the help.
Joe R said:
DaveMarine1
Silver $$ Contributor
As stated before, 2 tbl spoons Dawn soap and 1/4 tsp of Lemi shine will do 100 .308 cases wonderfully. I have some never dull brass polish and when they come out of the SS thimbler tumbler and dry, you can polish one and not even see a difference between the two.
The Dawn, Lemi Shine and SST work good for me. Inside and out of cases and also the primer pocket. 4 hrs for 100 prices seems to be great.
The Dawn, Lemi Shine and SST work good for me. Inside and out of cases and also the primer pocket. 4 hrs for 100 prices seems to be great.
Someone mentioned using dishwasher rinse agent to prevent waterspouts. Has anyone ever tried using white vinegar for this? I read somewhere that vinegar is a good substitute for rinse agent.
Too much lemishine will turn cases pink. My procedure is run tumbler for 30 min and let soak overnight, then run for around 1hr. I wash with ground water and my final step is soak with alcohol. Too much rotating makes necks have a hard rim to trim. I fill a 45ACP case with lemishine and that is enough for the job. Hope this helps.
Here is my routine.
1. Add my brass, fill tumbler(Thumlers high speed) up with cold water about 1" from the top, add 1.5-2 tbs of dawn, and 1/4 tbs of lemi shine.
2. Tumble for 3 or so hours ( I have little kids so sometimes so I don't use an exact time frame but some where between 3-5 hour).
3. Place tumbler under faucet and let warm water run into the tumbler until almost all of the soap bubbles are gone, then I will swirl the brass and pins around with my hand to get the rest of the soap out. Then pour as much of the water out as possible.
4. I fill half of a RCBS media separator with water and pour the brass and pins into the basket, give it a couple of turns to separate the pins. Then take the basket out and put it in the empty half of the media separator.
5. Pour the brass onto a towel and fold the towel over the brass and roll the brass back and forth with my hands. ( this gets just about all the water off of the outside of the case.)
6. Place the brass neck down on a baby bottle drying rack like this, and let dry.
http://www.amazon.com/Boon-Grass-Countertop-Drying-Green/dp/B0032G9E0G/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1427499358&sr=8-3&keywords=baby+bottle+drying+rack
May seem like a bunch of steps but it goes pretty quickly and my brass looks better than it did when it was new. The drying rack with hold about 200-300 cases depending on size of case.
.
1. Add my brass, fill tumbler(Thumlers high speed) up with cold water about 1" from the top, add 1.5-2 tbs of dawn, and 1/4 tbs of lemi shine.
2. Tumble for 3 or so hours ( I have little kids so sometimes so I don't use an exact time frame but some where between 3-5 hour).
3. Place tumbler under faucet and let warm water run into the tumbler until almost all of the soap bubbles are gone, then I will swirl the brass and pins around with my hand to get the rest of the soap out. Then pour as much of the water out as possible.
4. I fill half of a RCBS media separator with water and pour the brass and pins into the basket, give it a couple of turns to separate the pins. Then take the basket out and put it in the empty half of the media separator.
5. Pour the brass onto a towel and fold the towel over the brass and roll the brass back and forth with my hands. ( this gets just about all the water off of the outside of the case.)
6. Place the brass neck down on a baby bottle drying rack like this, and let dry.
http://www.amazon.com/Boon-Grass-Countertop-Drying-Green/dp/B0032G9E0G/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1427499358&sr=8-3&keywords=baby+bottle+drying+rack
May seem like a bunch of steps but it goes pretty quickly and my brass looks better than it did when it was new. The drying rack with hold about 200-300 cases depending on size of case.
.
Joe R
Gold $$ Contributor
Xhuntress,
Like Pres100, I also use only hot water and I've had no issues whatsoever. IMO it maybe that as a woman, you may have small hands and not as strong as most guys, therefore it is difficult for you to tighten the lids properly. There is nothing wrong with the FART.
Kindest regards,
Joe
I just followed the instructions and never had a problem. Biggest thing is washing the pins every couple of loads by running an empty load with simple green (as instructed). I've been using Method dish soap, mostly because I stole a bottle from my wife. It uses sodium lauryl Sulfate as the primary ingredient.
For drying I have a cheap food dehydrator on an analog outlet timer. 135 degrees and come back in ~2 hours. Don't bother towel drying, occasionally I'll get bad spots when the pins are really dirty.
Recently I switched to using a bullets.com ultrasonic cleaner. I shoot mostly precision loads inside 300 yards and am looking for smallest groups possible. I still need to do more testing but it seems like the brass needs more work after STM thumbing. Chamfer to remove peening and inside neck cleanup/lube. I've had better luck leaving the necks a little dirty on 20 minute ultrasonic wash.
For drying I have a cheap food dehydrator on an analog outlet timer. 135 degrees and come back in ~2 hours. Don't bother towel drying, occasionally I'll get bad spots when the pins are really dirty.
Recently I switched to using a bullets.com ultrasonic cleaner. I shoot mostly precision loads inside 300 yards and am looking for smallest groups possible. I still need to do more testing but it seems like the brass needs more work after STM thumbing. Chamfer to remove peening and inside neck cleanup/lube. I've had better luck leaving the necks a little dirty on 20 minute ultrasonic wash.
Sorry to resurrect an old thread. Has anyone tried Lemishine in an ultrasonic cleaner?
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