How to get shiny brass out of stainless media tumbler?

[Mram10us]

Table spoon dawn or equivalent
1/2 Teaspoon lemishine
tumble 1 hour
Separate and rinse
Towel dry
Bake in oven for 8 minutes at 250
I just use tap water
Many ways. Post results

 

[javman]

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

This^^^

 

[crystalgayleguy]

I use brass juice my brass shines like jewelry then put in vibrating tumbler to dry

 

[BrentM]

I rinse the brass in hot water and then put it in a towel. I shake the brass in the towel back and forth multiple times and then dump the brass on a dry towel and let it air dry. It comes out super shiny. I use dawn and lemishine.

Only reason I went to wet tumbler is to clean the pockets better. I punch primers and clean. It seems a little easier doing it this way then a drill and pocket cleaner. I really hate brass prep. Punch primers, clean, anneal, deburr, size, wipe off lube, insert primer, load..... ugh. I like shooting sh!t, the rest is just noise.

 

[jimwest]

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

my process is exactly the same. works great. I did however switch from the stainless steel pins to the stainless chips. Seems to do a better job of cleaning out the inside of the case and primer pockets.

 

[Dosh]

Right out of the hot rinse water blow water off with compressed air. Mine are always very shiny and cleaned like new.

 

[jrg]

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

I used this same recipe when using the SS pins & they are always shiny & clean, I found the Pins to be a real pain so I switched to Brass Juice. Just use 2 oz. of Brass Juice to 1 gallon of distilled water & rinse with hot water, could not be any easier & you can reuse the same solution several times. You can find Brass Juice at https://www.thereloadingstation.com/products/brass-juice-case-wash.

 

[SteveBurton]

I use hot water out of my tap and either a cap full of the Frankford Arsenal cleaner or Lemme Shine. Once it's done, I rinse the brass well with tap water and roll them in a towel. Final step is to place them in a loading tray with the neck down to aid in water dripping out of the inside.
Things that I have found to cause spots are letting the brass sit in the tumbler after it has finished, using too much soap/cleaner, not rinsing them and not drying them in a towel. I have used a dehydrator but if I don't roll them in a towel first I have still seen spots.

I will have to try using distilled water as my water here is very hard. Thanks for the idea JE!

 

[25WSM]

I stopped wasting my time yrs ago. Pretty brass doesn't shoot better. It's actually not as accurate. The carbon build up in the neck really helps keep things consistent. Raw brass necks compared to a neck with carbon is a huge difference in seating pressure.
I just wipe my brass off with a rag and sometimes a bit of steel wool on the outside of the neck area.
When I did wet/pin tumbley brass I used car wash soap and citric acid. Car wash soap has anti spot agents in it so it rinses off real nice.
One thing to watch out for with tumbling brass on turned necks with small clearance is that your necks will get thicker. There are lots of articles on this subject. For most people with hunting guns you are not going to notice it. But it does happen and it's measurable.
Shep

 

[KSAv8r]

FWIW.......is saw on one of the forums here a while back that rice was better than corn cob media in a vibratory tumbler. Someone also recommended putting a dryer sheet (used in your wife's dryer to soften clothes) in the tumbler. I did both of these things and very pleased with the results. The rice is a little larger than the corn cob media and doesn't lodge in the primer pocket/flash hole quite as much and the dryer sheet helps keep the rice clean.

 

[rickjoty]

I use the cheap Harbor Freight tumbler. I like the fact that it has two drums so I can separate my brass. I use the stainless pins, some Dawn, some Lemonshine and tap water that is not the best but not horrible. I rinse liberally inside the tumbling drums with tap water. Then I individually tap out the pins lodged in the brass and do a quick roll on a clean towel. Once the drum is emptied I heat the brass still on the towel with a hair dryer. They blow around on the towel so I roll the towel up in the back to prevent the brass from blowing off. Brass comes out looking like brand new brass.

 

[Blackhawk]

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!

If you refer to previous posts you will find your answers.
What I believe is the culprit is that your brass cleaning mixture itself, as well as your rinsing time. Add the following two ingredients to this your water itself. How do I know this because I have encountered the same issue and learned to overcome it.
There are other factors involved here but I'm certain this is a big part of your problem.
In that light, I will tell you the way I tumble my brass using steel pin media.
Buy the following two items and ditch your current brass cleaner.
1) Lemishine powder. (adding more than this amount may cause a pinkish discoloring of the brass)
2) Dawn dishwashing liquid
Here are the quantities that I add to my drum
1/4 teaspoon of Lemishine
1/2 teaspoon of Dawn liquid

Before I proceed here in South Western Florida we have very hard water and to that end, I use water that has been run through our water softening system. Because of this factor, your results may vary and you will need to experiment.
Continue On, please.
Add pin media to your drum and fill with enough water to cover your media leaving enough water to add your Lemishine, and then your Dawn while mixing them thoroughly in your drum.
add your brass hulls and fill your drum. ( the water will agitate enough in the drum while filling to thoroughly mix up the Lemisshine and Dawn )
Seal your drum and tumble as per usual. When done bring to a sink and flush out your drum by letting hot water flow into and out of your drum. Now tilt your drum and drain water. Repeat this process several times
When you have done this it is time to separate your brass hulls from the steel pin media.
When you have just your clean shell cases lay them out and rinse them again to remove any residual soap or water.
( I mean rinse the good for at least a minute ).
Now what I do is using air from a compressor tip over each case shake them to remove any pins that are still logged inside and from the primer side shoot a blast of compressed air into the cartridge case and set them aside.
When I have completed this task I set my case dryer @ 158 degrees and insert all my brass. ( time will depend on quantity )
The end result for me is a clean shiny water spot-free case.
I must confess I am a little anal about cases with dark water spots on them.
They just bug the crap outa me!
if you don't want to try my method and still want to use your old cleaner please reduce the amount of cleaner that you are using.trail and error is the onlyway to solve your problem.

 

[338 dude]

I used this same recipe when using the SS pins & they are always shiny & clean, I found the Pins to be a real pain so I switched to Brass Juice. Just use 2 oz. of Brass Juice to 1 gallon of distilled water & rinse with hot water, could not be any easier & you can reuse the same solution several times. You can find Brass Juice at https://www.thereloadingstation.com/products/brass-juice-case-wash.

I don't even use distilled water just water right out of the tap

 

[dartem]

Rinse better and use no more Lemishine than a 9mm case.