Make that brass shine like newly minted money!
Vložit
- čas přidán 5. 09. 2024
- We are going to be using stainless tumbling media to clean some nasty brass. I will be sharing my recipe and tips on how I make my brass so shiny. This process will clean both inside and outside your cases and will even clean primer pockets if you de-prime first.
Pins can be bought here
www.brownells....
Tumbler can be sourced here
www.harborfrei...
Armor All Wash and Wax can be had here
www.amazon.com...
Here is a link for Lemishine
www.amazon.com...
Several comments from folks saying he's essentially wasting his time and it doesn't do anything to the performance etc..
Y'all that's not the point, maybe shiny brass brings this man happiness and dammit let him have it.
I for one love shiny things and especially some shiny brass and I'll be doing this method too.
Well done you earned a sub from me.
Why thank you sir for the sub. Truth told, the super shiny started when I was commercially reloading. It just kinda stuck. It's so simple to do and yes I really like shiny things lol
I agree! In addition, I like to shine mine up because it makes it easier to see any issues with the brass (cracks, creases, etc).
Thanks for the great video FHA. I have a Frankford Arsenal Rotary Tumbler Lite and SS pins I use for cleaning my brass. I've been using Dawn, Lemi
Shine and Hot water. I would fill the drum, depending on how many cases I had to do, usually from 1/3 to 1/2 full or so and tumble them for an hour. The majority would be very clean but a few would turn colors, especially the case head. I watched your video earlier today and I had about 1/3 of a drum of 40 S&W range brass I needed to clean. I figured it was about the same amount you were cleaning in both of your drums combined, so I added only 1/4 teaspoon of Lemi Shine and 4 Tablespoons of Armor All Wash and Wax and filled the drum up with HOT water. I let them tumble for about an hour and a half. They looked like they just came off the manufacturing line ready to ship. This is the cleanest and shiniest brass I have ever got to look like this, inside, outside and the primer pocket were all looking like brand new never fired brass. Thanks again for this great video.
Just a suggestion....invest in a universal decapping die before cleaning...this will allow the primer pockets to get cleaned as well
Yes I have one and sometimes I in fact de-cap before tumbling. You just have to make sure you check your flash holes afterwards. I don't know how it does it but somehow it will get two pins in the flash hole and they get stuck every so often. I have a little drill bit to push them out. Great suggestion!
Best $12 I ever spent in reloading was the universal decapping die.
Buy citric acid powder for canning. Cheap, no name brands needed. Deprime first. Separate pins- use a small magnet with paper over it, pick up pins, separate magnet from paper & pins fall off in a pile.
good advice. Thank you
Good video, just a couple things. Always decap your brass, water fills the primer pocket and makes it a mess when drying besides there is no other way to cut that hard carbon out. A universal decapping die from Lee is like 16 bucks and works on everything. I like the idea of the Armor All car wash, cheaper than Dawn, might work better. Instead of Lemi Shine just pick up a big bag of Citric acid off Amazon. I/3rd the cost of Lemi Shine and lasts forever, I just use a 45acp case full in each load in my Frankford Arsenal Small Wet Tumbler. IMHO it works better, smells great and I store my media wet and even after 3 months it still smells great. Now, your choice but I use Southern Shine Stainless Steel media instead of the pins. It doesn't get hung up in flash holes or bridge in the body of bottleneck cartridges. It's little pointy chips and with the sharp edges your brass comes out polished looking better than new. For anyone asking I used a vibority cleaner with corn cob for 40 years. I resisted wet tumbling believing it was messy, took a long time and was expensive. Because of the contaminated dust and for health reasons I switched to wet tumbling finding out those problems with wet tumbling couldn't be further from the truth.
I use them lee die sometimes. Honestly depends on how many I am doing. I really do not worry about proper pockets unless I am doing precision rifle stuff. I also have the RCPS case mate and should I need to get that carbon out, a simple press on the brush and it is gone. If I did not have that, I would more than likely recap prior to tumbling. Thank you for watching!
I have found the best recipe is Lemi-shine and a Cascade Platinum plus dishwasher pod. Brass comes out shiny and spot free after drying just like your glasses in the dishwasher.
I might have to try the cascade platinum. Thanks for the suggestion.
Some years back there was a big controversy in Precision Shooting magazine (that covered bench rest) about something they called "cold welding". That is when the brass was cleaned so well in the inside of the neck, and very clean non-oxidized jacketed bullets were loaded, and then those loaded rounds sat on a shelf for a couple of years, the bullet could at least partially weld itself to the neck leading to very high pressures when shooting.
The only cleaning I do is one pass of a brush inside the neck, and a little 0000 steel wool to get the carbon off the neck and shoulder on the outside, and that is it. I don't care if my brass is not shiny.
I have seen that in rifle rounds. Luckily mine don't make it that long before I shoot them. There are many old timers that use powdered graphite inside their necks for that exact purpose. I don't feel it so much an issue with the cast stuff though.
I'm using the stainless steel wet first 3hrs, then spin in out as lon as it takes, then I use the corn cob to dry 30min dry. Thanks for the cleaner recipe!!! I'm shooting 5.56, .308, and 9mm...
No problem thank you for watching!
Great job. I also switched to pins. I got my pins on eBay. I am currently using Dawn and will try using wash-n-wax. I will also try hot water to see if it makes any difference. I did get a larger rock tumbler (a used Thumler's model B) so I can do larger batches. I only tumble for a few hours. Fill half full of brass, water to cover the brass, plus the Dawn and Lemon shine. One time I used too much lemon shine and the brass had a pink color. To separate the pins and brass, I use my Dillon media separator. After each use, I make sure to dry and wipe a little WD-40 on the metal handle/bar of the separator to ensure no rust. I rinse the brass and pins outside using a water hose while slowly turning the drum on the media separator. Then dump the wet brass unto a beach towel with a small strong magnet. I grab the corners of the towel and work the towel like you would a bowling ball as the first step in drying the brass. The magnet picks up any missed pins. I use to spread them out and lay them out in the sun on a dry towel to dry but you can still get water spots. I know some place the brass on a tray and use the kitchen oven. I do not think my wife would like that. I have used dry media (Corn cob or walnut) after wet tumbling to dry the brass (sort of half-n-half approach to cleaning the brass) however some of the corn cob or walnut tends to stick inside the brass. I found a fruit drier at a garage sale and now use that to dry the brass. Pins do so much better job of cleaning the brass especially the insides.
Lemishine will make them pink for sure if you use too much. I think you will like the amorall.
I dry tumble my brass, but then I'm not fussed about getting my brass super clean. I may switch to wet tumbling someday. Good video.
Thank you for watching. yeah Wet tumbling changed my world for brass prep.
Great job! You covered the process very well. Keep up the good work!
I appreciate it.
I use the same method with all the same ingredients. You can achieve this level of clean and shine in just a matter of a couple to a few hours my friend. No need to let it go overnight. I shoot with a suppresor and puck up old dirty range brass so my stuff is dirty dirty.....Another tip I have is use a lee or dedicated decapping die. Deprime your brass first that way your primer pockets come out as clean as the case.
I sometimes punch the primers out first. Depends on mood at the time. I Only tumble overnight because it's convenient. I get up early in the morning and I will rinse the brass while the coffee is brewing.
@@fha9507 You got it covered. Keep your powder dry and stay well
I use the Lyman wet tumbler with ss pins.
3/4 full of Luke warm water,half a tbs 4×dawn soap with a tbs of lemon shine. Tumble for 2 and 1/2 hours, rinse with warm water Frankfort tumbler for ss pin removal, place in a 6 tray hornady dryer at 140 degrees for 1 hour 10 minutes. Perfect every time. 200-9mm, 100-556 or just dump multiple cals in at same time less then 4 hour's per batch.
Lyman I do not believe had that tumbler yet if my memory serves me correct. I would love to have one but ole Harbor freight is still spinning. when she gives up the ghost I will get the lyman maybe. I started this process when a few of the guys on cast boolits forum guys started way over a decade ago I think maybe 2009?
I'll have to check using that simple green
It works well too.
Nice man, i love your process. Now get you a BIGGER tumbler to enjoy MORE clean brass!! Stay safe
I actually made a huge one years ago when I was doing it commercially. It is made out of 8" Schedule 40 PVC, and an old dryer motor. I can do thousands at a time.
@@fha9507 Amazing! I need one
I gave up on corn cob many years ago and went to walnut shell and I am cheap so I use the pet bedding as my source. I found adding santoprene pellets from injection molding(New feed stock) it shines the brass more and faster. I have also played with washing walnut & santoprene media mix with some reasonable results. I have not tried the SS media or wet tumbling except for the chemical cleaner that I can not remember who makes at the moment but you just soak the brass in it and it comes out super clean. I will say that I REALLY like the wet tumble concept since there is zero dust.
When I was tumbling dry media I did the same with pet bedding. much cheaper.
also using 'lizard bedding' crushed walnut shell single stage tumbling for years (80K+ rounds loaded and shot) after trying wet and walnut/cob two stage tumbling. I do not do it in kitchen where lead and mercury from spent cases/primers can cross contaminate surfaces, do it in garage with at least good air filter running. Dry tumbling is more efficient overall in my opinion, you tumble, separate, spray case lube and mix, load, shoot, repeat. No need to have best looking brass at the range.
@@eugene4817 I totally agree, shiny brass is totally not needed. I have shot competitively with brass that was in no way shiny but free from residue. It went bang just like the shiny stuff LOL. I also agree, no way would I clean brass in my kitchen or with ANYTHING that was ever going to be used in the kitchen again. I recently moved and am setting up my reloading area yet again. I am thinking about building a cart to roll outside when in use with my tumblers and separator on it. Similar with my bullet casting.
I have friends who swear by using rice for media but have never tried it myself.
i put brasso in my walnut and get good results , must let it mix uniformly before letting it set or it tends to clump..my lyman tumbler handles the walnut way better then the dillon , so i use walnut in the lyman and corncob in the dillon. dillon tumbles faster then the lyman too. i also use flitz in the media with good results
I don't need to clean my brass, just shine it so I can see it to retrieve it after its fired. To do that all I need to do is shine the outside of the cases and a dry tumbler or even fast drying rubbing alcohol works just fine for that. I do not need to wet tumble my brass to clean it.
Yes it's totally aesthetics. As long as it chambers you are good to go. I just like the shine.
Nice. I've used SS pins, but hadn't thought of using Wash~n~wax. Your reasoning seems very sound. Looking forward to more of your videos. Subbed.
Awesome! Thank you!
been wet tumbling my brass for years now, will never go to those loud corn haul and Walnut shell vibrators (they don't tumble so still don't get why they call them tumblers)!! I use Chemical Guy's fabric cleaner in mine, normally used for detailing cars, just a little bit go's a long way brass comes out looking polished, should always deprime before tumbling, but you do you.. have a blessed day guy
I will look into that cleaner. Thanks for the tip
I wouldn`t recommend using carwash soap that contains wax. The wax left behind inside the cases could cause bullet setback during firing. And you`re using way to much soap as well.
Just use a 1/2 teaspoon of DAWN dish soap for your tiny drums. If you feel you must use the LemmeShine, a 1/8th teaspoon is way more than enough for those tiny drums you are using.
I run a couple of the large Frankford Arsenal wet tumblers, i only use a teaspoon of DAWN, 1/8 teaspoon of LemmeShine, my brass is just as shiny as yours are. The pins are doing all the work.
haven't experienced any setback. I do like the wax though as it keeps the brass from tarnishing. I appreciate the feedback.
I find the carwash wax works best. Never had a setback problem in the ten years I have been wet tumbling, and the wax that is left behind eliminates the welding problem. Blue Coral from WallyWorld is a good choice. I have hard water well also and it does take a little more LemmeShine to work, All about the ph level. If you use cold water instead of hot the ph will be even higher.
1/2 teaspoon dawn and 1/2 teaspoon of lemie shine 12pounds of brass 1 and hours running dump and rinse lay out on a towel in the sun for an hour.
Great video and great looking brass
Thank you much
Been enjoying the videos. Very informative and refreshing to see, as a lot of videos have been deleted from CZcams over the past few years. I think you might consider posting over at the Reloaders Network, these would be a great fit.
thanks for the heads up. I may just do that. appreciate the comment
You make good content. A lot of people have a lot of different opinions on wet tumbling; I'm surprised there aren't more comments yet. A lot of the time I'll throw my sorted range brass into the single-drum tumbler without pins, just a dash of dawn and lemishine, and only run for an hour or so. It doesn't come out anywhere near as bright, but goes into a yard sale dehydrator from there. Using the pins makes a huge difference on primer pockets and internals of the brass, and running longer does a better job of breaking up any dirt clods. Anyway, there's a lot of methods, thanks for sharing yours in such detail.
@@harmungus I appreciate you watching. Just trying to get the word out there. Casters and relaters have so much knowledge combined, Just trying to help those that are trying to learn. New one uploading as I type.
I just started wet tumbling a few months back using dawn wash soap. The problem I encountered was that the cases are very dry afterward so when I run them through my H LNL the cases want to stick. This shakes my shell plate spilling powder. It also messes up any feeling I had with the press. Before I could feel it something wasn't quite right. Does using the armorall car soap eliminate the sticking in the dies.
Yes it does. And that is why I use it. I use the Dillon and experienced the exact same thing you are describing before moving to the wash and wax.
Now I know why, overnight, I tumble 2 hours maximum, and they look good.
I just de-prime trim and place in ultra sonic cleaner
I have been using this method, with the same equipment for over a year now, with the greatest pleasure for end results. I use the liquid form of Lemi-Shine, with a small amount of Sal-Suds biodegradable soap concentrate, and hot filtered well water. I despise the Frankford Arsenal tumbler for it is cumbersome, flimsy, and not worthy of a screen strainer for ease of use. After discovering this years ago, for the Harb. Frght. $56 dual drum tumbler, wish I would have never used my dry cob type tumblers. I have a second choice for soap, Dawn. I and friends using this system have found that the water quality, heated or not, sopa type makes a huge difference in time and end results. If I'm not in any hurry, simply pour the cleaned, rinsed tumbled brass into a towel-lined cardboard flat box for drying, and placed it in the sun if possible. I do not see how anybody can regret spending a mere $56 for this Fantastic end result of your looks better than new brass.
Very cool. Where are you getting the liquid lemishine?
@@fha9507 Amazon
@@fha9507 Amazon
Armorall wash and wax , hmmm. Got to give it a try. Does it leave any residue in the dies??
You aren't concerned that the wash and wax will have a negative chemical effect on powder after a long time?
Not a bit. For years people have been using all kinds of wax to ensure consistent seating pressure on precision long range applications. Being it is dry, I see no reason for concern. I have been doing this for probably 10 years and have not had issue one. Some of my rounds loaded that long ago still shoot like the day I loaded them.
Good job. Too bad the initial cost for reloading is so high.
Very true. But if you don't try to buy it all at once it isn't so bad and more than pays for itself over time.
Please keep putting out new versions of the basics for all the new reloaders. YT has taken down so many videos down that helped me get started a few years ago. But please do away with the incredibly loud and annoying intro sound effects. Probably lost a little hearing just now with very mild volume settings on my earphones....
So Sorry about that I thought I normalized that. Appreciate the feedback
I have seen people with a dry Tumblr you sanding it instead of the corn cob ground up and it seems to come out nice and shiny and don't feel the damn use cases in it
Hot water citric acid dawn dish detergent 30 min done
Austrentic stainless ,300 grades ,unmagnetic! Martensatic stainless ,400 grades ,magnetic!
That is good to know thank you
That was WAY more than a half cup of media....
LOL yeah 1/2 or there abouts
Lemi-shine is a waste of money for tumbling
Citric Acid would work as well. It's just what I have in the cabinet.
good video , but you guys are dwelling to much on this mirror finish on your brass , doesn't make your brass last any longer , doesn't make it more accurate, i tumble for 45 minutes or so, just to clean before sizing, resize run again for 30 minutes or so and load up ( fine crushed walnut shell media) do this on a regular basis and your brass never gets that grungy , taking all that extra time mixing solutions and stuff wet to me just takes to much time away from loading and range time
appreciate you watching
The compound that makes up a primer contains a mixture of mercury fulmonate, barium nitrate, lead styphnate, antimony sulfide and other chemicals. So that black stuff left on your fingertips when you finish working with a batch of brass at your press is not just simply carbon left behind from burnt smokeless gunpowder, there are several other chemicals in there as well. When I reload, i like to be able to handle my brass with bare hands and not worry about toxic chemicals getting on my hands and all over my reloading equipment. I enjoy the mirror shine of my brass, but more importantly, i like working with a clean and professional setup without the health hazard accociated with priming compounds. Brass with a sparkling shine isn't just for asthetics, it meakes it easier to pick out any flaws or damage when inspecting cases. My goal for reloading is to create better than factory loads at a cheaper cost. Clean brass is just part of the process.
And it doesn't take up extra time if you are efficient with the time you have. My tumbler can run for a few hours while i am reloading with a different batch or caliber.
Most people who reload do it because they enjoy it. I wouldn’t want to spend all that time reloading only to have a finished product that looked dirty.
nice job! those look better than new.
Thanks! It really does a fantastic job.