stainless steel media tumbling question.....

[Sniper338]

I just got a thumblers tumbler, the media and such... mixed in a drop or two of dish soap and lemshine... filled with water... put some dirty onve fired 40 cal range brass in it with primers still in there to clean the brass some before i ran it through my dies... brass came out looking great....

I then dried the brass, let it sit a few days came back today and resized, used hornady one shot case lube... knocked out primers yada yada... then i put all the brass back in the tumbler to clean the primer pockets and clean the case lube off....

well the case lube didnt come off... it filmed up like imperial sizing wax in the tumbler and left a thin coat of gunk on all the brass.... wth??

I was sonic cleaning the brass to get the case lube off.. that worked fine... i guess ill have to sonic clean then tumble it again to get that pretty shine and clean....??

 

[Catfur]

I just resize the brass before cleaning.

But if you want to get a waxy lube off you need to use more than a drop or two of dish soap. I use two tablespoons of dish soap.

 

[BenPerfected]

I suggest you add more cleaner (about a tablespoon+ of each) and fill about 1/2-3/4 full of water. Let it run for 4 hours....more can't hurt. It will look better than new

 

[BenPerfected]

I suggest you add more cleaner (about a tablespoon+ of each) and fill about 1/2-3/4 full of water. Let it run for 4 hours....more can't hurt. It will look better than new

 

[jtcoinflip]

I always deprime first then tumble, the primer pockets are so pretty afterward. i use 1/4 teaspoon lemishine and 1 tablespoon of ivory dish soap. I use the carbide dies for my pistol reloading so they don't need any lube.

 

[Juma]

Add a tsp of creme of tartar as well.

 

[jonbearman]

What does the crème of tartar do sir?

 

[NWnewguy]

I use carbide dies for straight walled cases and then you will save some time and heart ache not having to worry about lubing the cases. For rifle cases, I use the Lee universal decapper then tumble to get the primer pockets the first time.

 

[chuckbuster243]

If your using a oily or waxy lube. Rinse your brass with acetone, paint thinner etc first. It will cut the lube and let the media do its job. I can get buy without it using RCBS lube but not imperial wax. I have a small amount in the bottom of a ammo can and its lasted for a long time. Matt

 

[C Valentine]

I use the Lee case sizing lube. Washes right off (even in a bowl of hot water and dish soap) and haven't had a stuck case yet. I usually just neck size so I have only FL sized when preparing cases for a new barrel. I also de-prime before tumbling...heck of a lot easier than tumbling twice!

 

[chkunz]

I use one part Simple Green and seven parts water and that gets both lub and carbon inside the case. With this solution you do not even need the stainless steel pins.

 

[Bayou]

I would decap first, then tumble. I have a Thumler's as well. My recipe is 1/4 TSP Lemi-Shine and a couple of ounces of auto wash & wax which leaves a little wax coating to impede the return of tarnish.

After tumbling, I FL size. The rifle cases get lubed for sizing. I use either Imperial or Hornady Unique. Both are fantastic. The point being, however, is that so little lube is need for sizing (just an extremely thin film rubbed on with the fingers) that after sizing, a simple wipe with a paper towel effectively removes the very little lube on the case. Never a need to re-tumble, etc.

After that, it's trimmimg, if needed, priming, charging, and hopefully, a fun day out as the last step in the process.

Bayou

 

[Sniper338]

Lol i have carbide dies for ever other pistol caliber but the 357 sig... which i was using this 40 cal brass for...

I didnt want to run my good rifle brass through it all yet until i get it all figured out... glad i didnt!! I have some acetone.. ill have to try that on a few of these and see if it get this mess off...

simple gren sounds like a option too.... i thought last night while laying in bed i could mix some of that untrasonic brass cleaning solution in the tumbler water too see if that works... itworks in the sonic cleaner to get this stuff off... but its pricy to use a ton of it all the time... acetone would be cheaper by the gallon..

 

[Sniper338]

The reason i didnt de cap firat is it was range brass with dirt on it.... i had to clean it firat i wont run dirty brass through any die...

 

[chkunz]

I would decap first, then tumble. I have a Thumler's as well. My recipe is 1/4 TSP Lemi-Shine and a couple of ounces of auto wash & wax which leaves a little wax coating to impede the return of tarnish.

After tumbling, I FL size. The rifle cases get lubed for sizing. I use either Imperial or Hornady Unique. Both are fantastic. The point being, however, is that so little lube is need for sizing (just an extremely thin film rubbed on with the fingers) that after sizing, a simple wipe with a paper towel effectively removes the very little lube on the case. Never a need to re-tumble, etc.

After that, it's trimmimg, if needed, priming, charging, and hopefully, a fun day out as the last step in the process.

Bayou

I also deprime first like you do and use the same tumbler as you do. If I had only a few pistol cases I would simply wipe the lub off as you do. But with a large number of rifle cases I find that running them back thru the tumbler with the simple green solution is the easiest method. Also since I am full length sizing with a small base die for 308 or 223 brass for the semi auto I am using more lub that someone for pistol brass so your method may be better for a few pistol cases but not for a large number of rifle cases. I have found that the Simple Green works better for my application. It seems like everyone has their favorite cleaning process and there is a lot of variation in what folks use. I have spent a lot of time experimenting and always look for the simplest method that gets the job done. The OP needs a way to get the lub off and we have given him three good methods, for pistol cases use the carbide die and skip the lub, wipe it off by hand or use the 1 to 7 Simple Green and tumble.

 

[ARIZONA_F_CLASS]

I have tried the old standard of media and tumbling to get the brass shiny. But have only did it once because I didn't like it.

IS THIS THE GREATEST THING SINCE SLICED BREAD? I already have a large ultra sound that I haven't used in years. I like the idea that I can fully prep the brass, Put it in the cleaner with the stainless media and I'm done. Am I missing something or is it that easy?

Will the ultra sound get the brass as clean as a tumbler?

 

[Sniper338]

Agreed

 

[GrocMax]

I have tried the old standard of media and tumbling to get the brass shiny. But have only did it once because I didn't like it.

IS THIS THE GREATEST THING SINCE SLICED BREAD? I already have a large ultra sound that I haven't used in years. I like the idea that I can fully prep the brass, Put it in the cleaner with the stainless media and I'm done. Am I missing something or is it that easy?

Will the ultra sound get the brass as clean as a tumbler?

Highly recommend trimming and chamfering after tumbling with pins, it beats the snot out of the neck edges.

 

[sparky123321]

The SS pins do not have enough mass to damage your cases, especially in water. It's the other brass in the tumbler that's causing the damage you describe. Tumble fewer cases, use more pins, use more water and or slow down your tumbler.

 

[BenPerfected]

I like my tumbler but the factory hardware is weak. First upgraded one tub to SS wing-nuts and then got the a set set of the 1/4-20 brass thumb nuts. The brass are a little easier to work with.
Ben