How to get shiny brass out of stainless media tumbler?

[Bigeclipse]

All,

I recently got a rotary tumbler and it works great. The weird thing is, when the brass firsts comes out it is really shiny but as it dries in my dryer (food dehydrator) I start to get these kind of clouds of swirls making them look less shiny. I am using the frankford arsenal cleaning solution as an FYI. Any tips or tricks? Thanks!

 

[cohunt]

How long do you let it run, what size is your drum and how much solution do you mix with the water

I use the fart, and their blue liquid solution (4 cap fulls per drum) and have never had an issue, I rinse well with hot water and air dry on a towel-- I only run mine for 45 min to an hour unless cleaning old heavily tarnished range pick up brass

 

[Bigeclipse]

How long do you let it run, what size is your drum and how much solution do you mix with the water

I use the fart, and their blue liquid solution (4 cap fulls per drum) and have never had an issue, I rinse well with hot water and air dry on a towel-- I only run mine for 45 min to an hour unless cleaning old heavily tarnished range pick up brass

I have the smaller Frankford arsenal drum and use 1 cap full according to the directions but maybe it is not enough. I do use tap water but we have pretty clean tap water but thought that could be the culprit. I run for about 45 min as well.

 

[cohunt]

I have the platinum series one (4 capfulls) -- i too use tap water but out water here is neither hard nor soft. I use hot water in the drum and hot water rinse.

Maybe try a 2nd cap full to see if it helps? If not, then you may need different water. Or try air dry to see if its an issue with your dehydrator

 

[P7M13]

Whats the temp of your dehydrator.
Do you rinse the brass?
I didn't know the unit came in different sizes.
In a full load (e.g. 200 7-08 & 200 6.5 Swede), I'll use 1/2 cup of Meguires car wash/wax, 1/2 oz lemon juice & 1 Tbsp Dawn dish soap.
The drain water will be black. After draining, rinse the brass & pins in a 5 gal bucket of fresh water, separate, towel dry the brass then warm at 175°F for 40 minutes . Bright & shiny when I pull it out.
ETA, I have forgotten the brass in the oven. Four hours later, still just as shiny.

 

[Dr. Vette]

In my experience, discoloration is from too much soap, too much Lemishine, or not enough rinsing of the brass.
You could also use compressed air to dry them after you rinse.

I suspect the dehydrator is amplifying any staining you're getting, and if you air dried them you would not notice it so much.

 

[338 dude]

I have the Frankford arsenal Rotary Tumblr I just use a dash of lemi shine and a small squirt of dawn the water is hot as it comes out of my tap I rinse

twice with hot water as well but the secret to shiny brass is polishing in a vibratory Tumblr afterward with walnut hull media and a small squirt of white diamond metal polish

 

[Bigeclipse]

I have the Frankford arsenal Rotary Tumblr I just use a dash of lemi shine and a small squirt of dawn the water is hot as it comes out of my tap I rinse View attachment 222119twice with hot water as well but the secret to shiny brass is polishing in a vibratory Tumblr afterward with walnut hull media and a small squirt of white diamond metal polish

When you do vibratory tumbler do you use dry media or do you add polish to the media?

 

[338 dude]

When you do vibratory tumbler do you use dry media or do you add polish to the media?

After the cases come out of the Frankford arsenal Tumblr I dry them with a heat gun I squirt the polish into the walnut hull media in the vibratory Tumblr let it run for 10 or 15 minutes to spread it out so you do not get a chunk of it inside the brass then I will polish the brass in the vibratory Tumblr for one and a half to two hours after they are done there they get blown out with compressed air and the reloading process begins

 

[J E Custom]

I found that the best results were to use just a little dish detergent (Dawn) and Lemi shine with distilled water that has no minerals at all. after separating the pins from the cases, I rense several times changing the water, Again, the distilled water works best and is actually very cheap.

I tried the dehidrator and found that the brass spotted from lack of movement while drying, so I started drying it with a towel and then placing it in the dehydrator for final drying and the results were very good. A good friend converted a George Foreman rotisserie to tumble the cases while drying and it works very well if you don't hand dry the cases first. I am still looking for a good used one. It sounds like a lot of trouble, but when I tumble cases, I will do 2 or 300 at one time and allot the time to do it right.

Pin tumbling does the best job of cleaning cases inside and out, sonic cleaning does a very good job and is ideal for smaller batches. Vibratory media does the best at "shining" the cases, but a through cleaning to get the abrasives out of the inside of the cases must be done afterwards to minimize erosion of the bore during firing, This method take the most time and effort if done right so I rarely use the media method any more.

Different processes, produce different results so I recommend using the one that gives you what you want. I want clean cases first, (#1 Priority) and then I try to get the best looking brass that the process will produce. Renseing and air/towel drying well will always improve any process.

Just the way I have found that gives the best results for what I want.

J E CUSTOM

 

[Deleted member 115654]

What JE said has worked for me for many years.

KISS !

 

[Roninco]

With regard to a vibratory tumbler; brass polish is abrasive. That abrasive gets inside the case which is then reloaded. Upon firing the abrasive is sent down the barrel. Not a good idea by my thought. If I use a vibratory tumbler I use only untreated walnut or corn cob media.

 

[Varmint Hunter]

I use the original STM SS tumbling system. Sometimes the brass comes out shinier than others. I assume it has to do with the amount of Dawn/Lemishine vs brass quantity. I roughly use the amount of Dawn/Lemishine that is recommended but don't measure anything.

I lay the wet brass out on a towel with all the case mouths facing in one direction and use a fan to blow air over & through them. I leave it that way for a few hours while I'm doing other things. All of the brass is sufficiently shiny but non is brilliant. The exterior finish is more than sufficient for me.

FWIW - I only clean my brass on occasion. Brass that goes into the chamber clean comes out the same way with the exception of some carbon on the neck which is easily removed with 0000 steel wool. I see no reason to frequently clean brass.

 

[dakewlndn]

JE said it best, exactly what I do.
only tip is use minimal Lemishine (dash).
If you use too much then it turns the brass cloudy.

If its dirty soiled brass, I put it in an ultrasonic cleaner first befote the SS Tumbler.