ballman6711 wrote:
Using automotive products when tumbling brass
I don't.
I wash (not tumble) my brass in a detergent/citric acid solution.
After resizing, my brass is vibratory tumbled in walnut media (with NO additives) to remove the resizing lubricant.
Processed brass is then stored in plastic boxes with individual compartments. It will hold this way with minimal tarnish for about a year. If stored in a sealed container with a desiccant pouch, experience has taught me it will hold this way (with minimal corrosion losses) for 20+ years.
I do not participate in a local "snob-off" at my range to see how shiny I can make my brass as opposed to others who likewise value the reflective index of their brass. I want brass that is clean and moderately shiny. I also want it to resist corrosion (as opposed to tarnish, although they are the same chemical process) for several years.
My loads from 1980 may have cases and bullet jackets that have turned a medium brown, but they still perform
identically (with the same bullet and same load) to rounds loaded in 2017.
Based on this experience, I see no need to add waxes, polishes or oils to my tumbling media as I believe that coating a brass case with a polymer in the name of "shine" leaves the reloader to deal with the build-up as case-after-case coated with wax or silicon-based polish is crushed into the chamber walls as each round is fired.
43+ years reloading. Reloads go, undifferentiated, to five (5) different rifles. Once dies were properly adjusted for each new cartridge), I have experienced:
- Zero stuck cases.
- Zero hang-fires.
- Zero failures to fire.
- Zero failures to extract.
- Zero failures to eject.
- Zero failures to feed the subsequent round.
I don't claim to have all the answers. But as brass and its functional longevity (as opposed to its cosmetic appearance over time), I think I at least have some answers.