Odd finish on brass after switching tumbler media

[6Creed73]

I've used stainless pins for a long time with great results, but was tired of finding pins stuck in flash holes, so I switched to stainless chips.

Did the first batch with the chips and the brass has this strange finish on it. Definitely going back to pins, but curious if anyone has seen this before. Unfortunately, it was a large batch, so now I have a butt load of sparkly brass.

Even without the odd finish, I don't like the chips at all, they are a pita separating them, they are tiny and stick to everything. Good riddance.

 

[Preacher]

Go right ahead and shoot them, it will more than likely iron out the scratch's...

 

[6Creed73]

Go right ahead and shoot them, it will more than likely iron out the scratch's...

I'm definitely going to shoot them, they just look terrible. Like you said, hopefully shooting them and tumbling with pins will fix the finish.

 

[6BRA]

Spin them on 0000 steel wool.

 

[Rick300]

When you get a new supply of chips you should run them in the tumbler with soap and water for several hours. They smooth out over time

 

[fkimble@charter.net]

Also running them for too long will do strange things. They are probably about broke in. Try them again but inspect every so often to get an idea of how long they need to run.

Frank

 

[NorCalMikie]

They have been peened!! Throw them back in the tumbler with "untreated" corn cobb ONLY. They will get polished. So, SS "pins" arn't so bad after all.
The extra time it takes to pick the pins out of the flash holes is just another opportunity for you to inspect your brass before it gets resized, primed and reloaded.
Better to find any problems NOW than when you start priming or charging.

 

[6Creed73]

They have been peened!! Throw them back in the tumbler with "untreated" corn cobb ONLY. They will get polished. So, SS "pins" arn't so bad after all.
The extra time it takes to pick the pins out of the flash holes is just another opportunity for you to inspect your brass before it gets resized, primed and reloaded.
Better to find any problems NOW than when you start priming or charging.

Agreed, pins aren't as bad I thought. I guess the old saying is right...you don't know what you've got until it's gone

 

[natdscott]

The other saying is: "Quit worrying about what the outside of your case looks like."

 

[6Creed73]

The other saying is: "Quit worrying about what the outside of your case looks like."

Nothing wrong with wanting your brass to look good. I'll tell you what...I won't judge you for wanting shitty looking brass if you don't judge me for wanting shiny brass

 

[Hoot]

I've use chips for several years now and have never had my brass come out looking like that. Prior to that I used pins. Both worked well but the chips worked in a shorter amount of time.

It's looks as if you dry tumbled them without the soapy water in the drum.

Hoot

 

[6Creed73]

I've use chips for several years now and have never had my brass come out looking like that. Prior to that I used pins. Both worked well but the chips worked in a shorter amount of time.

It's looks as if you dry tumbled them without the soapy water in the drum.

Hoot

I wet tumbled them with a little bit of dawn. It could be what another member mentioned...the chips may get worn down with more use and won't be as sharp.

These are also much smaller than I expected them to be, so maybe I got a bad batch of chips. Ill try to post a pic of the chips when I get home.

 

[6Creed73]

I wet tumbled them with a little bit of dawn. It could be what another member mentioned...the chips may get worn down with more use and won't be as sharp.

These are also much smaller than I expected them to be, so maybe I got a bad batch of chips. Ill try to post a pic of the chips when I get home.

Here is a pic of the chips and a few pins for comparison. As you can see, they are quite small and very sharp. I think it's the sharpness that's peening them. Not sure if this is normal for stainless chips since I've never used them before.

 

[M-61]

Above is lots of reasons why I've always used vibratory with some kind of media.

 

[marchboom]

Damaged brass (peening, damaged necks, pins stuck in the necks and primer pockets, finish like on the OP's brass) is not what I want when cleaning. Go back to regular walnut media and be satisfied with that. No more damaged brass or the chance of pins, chips stuck in the brass.

 

[SBfan]

I tried the chips and was disappointed in the results. While they did clean the brass very well they also left the finish with very small pits from their sharp edges. I then tried mixing the chips 50/50 with SS pins. The results were better but the chips still produced the pitting. So ... I went back to the SS pins and the brass turns out clean, shiny and smooth. Clean, shiny and smooth doesn't make my groups smaller but the brass does look better ....... gotta keep a positive thought about this.

 

[Mark611]

Yep! I used to dry tumble with pins, it works, but the powder left behind from the media is why I stopped dry tumbling, it added to the cleaning of my brass, I only wet tumble now and you can clean your brass without removing all of the carbon from your neck {ETC} and still get the results you want with the outside of the cases completely clean, Looking like new again, I just use Dawn dish soap and the SS pins for a certain amount of tumbling time to get the results I'm looking for. Dry tumbling if the powder IMO is not removed or cleaned out of the cases, has a flash point, meaning all things have a flash point, powder like corn cob or walnut media at some point will flash or Ingnite or burn, which can cause false information in your data if your CHRONING your reloads? JMO.

 

[Longtrain]

I used pins for a while, PITA when they stuck in my 6mm necks. Switched to chips for a number of years. I cut a Home Depot bucket in half and sit my bullet colander in it, place it into my utility sink, drain off most of the wash water, holding back brass and chips. Then dump the cases and chips into the colander, fill with water, manual agitation, chips drop to the bucket, cases are clean and empty of chips.

 

[6Creed73]

I tried the chips and was disappointed in the results. While they did clean the brass very well they also left the finish with very small pits from their sharp edges. I then tried mixing the chips 50/50 with SS pins. The results were better but the chips still produced the pitting. So ... I went back to the SS pins and the brass turns out clean, shiny and smooth. Clean, shiny and smooth doesn't make my groups smaller but the brass does look better ....... gotta keep a positive thought about this.

I'm going back to SS pins as well. I can deal with a few pins getting stuck in necks/flash holes. As another member mentioned, it gives me an opportunity to carefully inspect my cases anyway. In hindsight, there was not a good enough reason to try the chips when the pins were working very well.

 

[natdscott]

Nothing wrong with wanting your brass to look good. I'll tell you what...I won't judge you for wanting shitty looking brass if you don't judge me for wanting shiny brass

I really like the " " part.