Wet tumbling blues

I use NuFinish and corn cob media to do exactly that. Some of mine stored in ZipLoc baggies and in ammo cans have been there for ten years with no obvious problems. Time will tell.

I put a tiny bit of case lube on my fingertips that handle the straight wall cases, and roll them slightly as I pick them up to put them in the carbide sizing die.That little bit is enough to keep even the cleanest case from sticking and significantly reduces the sizing effort. I use a Rockchucker single stage for sizing, expanding, seating and crimping,

I only load straight wall pistol. With that disclaimer I also always use one or two spritz of one shot on my brass. Makes my Dillon 650 smooth as can be a I already have some upgrades to smooth it out. I just spritz a large coffee can full, shake them around, then load my primer tubes with it dries. Then into the case feed, load up another coffee can and let dry while loading the first one

J.D.R said:

My brass is too clean and sticks to dies.

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Sounds to me like you may be using something like Dawn instead of ArmorAll Wash&Wax.

Use a brass polishing mix.

J.D.R said:

I am using dawn and lemi shine

Tell me about what I should be using please because this sucks big time.

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Try ArmorAll Wash&Wax.

I have found that it not only eases the cases' passage thru the carbide ring of the sizing die it helps to keep the brass shiny for MUCH longer.

milsurpguy said:

Use a brass polishing mix.

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Don't use a brass polish like Brasso, it has ammonium hydroxide as one of its components, that will cause corrosion and induce stress cracking.

I mean something like brass tap, which is a wet tumble mix

GBExpat said:

Try ArmorAll Wash&Wax.

I have found that it not only eases the cases' passage thru the carbide ring of the sizing die it helps to keep the brass shiny for MUCH longer.

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Great info with the Wash&Wax.

So ditch the Dawn and add W&W in the same amount?

Glock User said:

So ditch the Dawn and add W&W in the same amount?

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Yes.

I use more Wash and wax than I did Dawn.

I ended up with three caps full as my go to amount. With less I occasionally had to re run a load. The bottles are big and cheap.

Oh, and Meguiars may work better on cars, but not brass. Stick to armor all.

Well I learn something new every day...or unlearn something old every day.

I am reasonably certain I “learned” here to use Dawn w/Lemishine to wet tumble and did so with great results (until I learned too much Lemishine actually dulled clean cases—more wasn’t better).

I used this combo for nearly two years after I ran out of my supply of Frankford Arsenal super duper special potion which did a fine job but I learned it wasn’t as cheap or readily available as Dawn.

Now I’ve learned not to use Dawn because it is too good. But, since I dry polish w/corn cob and flitz after I wet tumble I haven’t had a problem with sizing as others mentioned above.

Anyway, now I’m going to try some car wash and wax in lieu of Dawn/Lemishine and see what I’ve learned...till next time that is.

J.D.R said:

I am using dawn and lemi shine

Tell me about what I should be using please because this sucks big time.

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He did.

Glock User said:

Great info with the Wash&Wax.

So ditch the Dawn and add W&W in the same amount?

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I found, when I just used Lemi-Shine and AAWW, the cases were coming out sooty/greasy. I added dish detergent back in and that solved that problem. AAWW helps prevent tarnish and may help with lubrication, but I still dump my brass in a plastic bag and hit it with Hornady One Shot Case Lube. Makes everything go smoother. You do want to get some inside the case mouth, as that keeps the expander lubed. If you watch Hornady's video (at 37 seconds, ) they mention that.

This is what I do for straight wall pistol cartridges. I change a few things for rifle.

Welcome to THR!
I haven’t switched to W&W yet, but the brass I do have cleaned I give a quick shot of Hornady One Shot Case Lube, let it dry for a minute or two and it runs so much smoother through the press. I use an old shallow box, dump in 2-300 cases,, a quick one second shot, shake, another shot and dry. There’s no way I’d wet tumble and then do a dry tumble. Good luck.

J.D.R said:

I am filling ammo cans for future events so some may not be opened for 10-20 years.

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As a guy that was new to reloading over 35 years ago, I would advise you to not do that. That’s a long time for you to find a better combination or come up with another need for components.

I do have brass, primers, powder and bullets that are older than that, just not assembled.

DanK3Pos said:

He did.

I found, when I just used Lemi-Shine and AAWW, the cases were coming out sooty/greasy. I added dish detergent back in and that solved that problem. AAWW helps prevent tarnish and may help with lubrication, but I still dump my brass in a plastic bag and hit it with Hornady One Shot Case Lube. Makes everything go smoother. You do want to get some inside the case mouth, as that keeps the expander lubed. If you watch Hornady's video (at 37 seconds, ) they mention that.

This is what I do for straight wall pistol cartridges. I change a few things for rifle.

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If your brass is sooty/dirty you did not add enough AAWW. You need enough surfactant to suspend all of the dirt/crud. If not enough used it coats every hing. I never measure just pour some in. Better to be over than under.

CQB45ACP said:

Anyway, now I’m going to try some car wash and wax in lieu of Dawn/Lemishine ...

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Replace the Dawn but keep the Lemishine.

... just making sure ...

BTW, I have always just used Citric Acid powder/crystals,the reloaders'-specific "active ingredient" in Lemishine.

IIRC, the 2 times that I have bought it (5lb sacks) it has been via Amazon. I have also read that it can be found in some stores with the canning supplies.

EDIT:

One other thing ...

If I have pile on muddy/clotted/filthy range pickups, I will first manually pre-clean them (agitated in a bucket of hot soapy [Dawn] water) prior to starting my regular case cleaning process.

I also rinse-off my dirty dishes prior to placing them in the dish washer.

J.D.R said:

Tell me about what I should be using...

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One Shot. Throw a handful into a plastic bag. Lightly spritz, roll around and load.

If you don't want to lube the cases using Auto Wash and Wax helps.
I usually use whatever flavor of wash and wax the car is getting, car gets what's on sale which where I am usually seem to be Turtle brand.
I don't measure W+W just give it a dollop (be generous with it) and about a .45 case full of citric acid,.
Wsh and wax makes sizing a bit easier and also helps prevent tarnish.

GBExpat said:

Replace the Dawn but keep the Lemishine.

... just making sure ...

BTW, I have always just used Citric Acid powder/crystals,the reloaders'-specific "active ingredient" in Lemishine.

IIRC, the 2 times that I have bought it (5lb sacks) it has been via Amazon. I have also read that it can be found in some stores with the canning supplies.

EDIT:

One other thing ...

If I have pile on muddy/clotted/filthy range pickups, I will first manually pre-clean them (agitated in a bucket of hot soapy [Dawn] water) prior to starting my regular case cleaning process.

I also rinse-off my dirty dishes prior to placing them in the dish washer.

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I didn’t use lemishine today with turtle wax brand car wash..results sucked. I then dry tumbled with corn cob and flitz—all’s back to normal now.

We prewash dishes also.

I then dry tumbled with corn cob and flitz—all’s back to normal now.

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I used corncob and Flitz when dry tumbling the Flitz is good stuff.

Surprised Turtle W+W didn't work for you, I would have thought it would have still worked without Lemishine/Citric acid.
Never tried it without the acid to see what happened but with the acid it works well for me.

My recipe for wet tumble;
Mixed once fired & range brass all same caliber.
De prime all
Use SS pins
Hot water
1 9mm case full Lemi-shine/citric acid
Dawn dish liquid (good squirt)
Tumble 90 min +/-
Drain Dirty Water
Rinse with Hot Water & add AA wash & wax 20 min +/-
Dry Completely
Sort & Inspect.

Just my .02!!! Thanks

Shoot Safe & God Bless

RashQuestion said:

My recipe for wet tumble;
Mixed once fired & range brass all same caliber.
De prime all
Use SS pins
Hot water
1 9mm case full Lemi-shine/citric acid
Dawn dish liquid (good squirt)
Tumble 90 min +/-
Drain Dirty Water
Rinse with Hot Water & add AA wash & wax 20 min +/-
Dry Completely
Sort & Inspect.

Just my .02!!! Thanks

Shoot Safe & God Bless

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Adding in the wash and wax like fabric softener in laundry makes a lot more sense to me if your starting with real dirty brass.