Too Much Lemishine!!!

Please share how much is too much, because I plan to use Lemishine for the first time soon. Sorry, I'm no help.

Zahn said:

Please share how much is too much, because I plan to use Lemishine for the first time soon. Sorry, I'm no help.

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Less is more. A 45acp case is gooder.

I use 1/4 TSP to a max of 1/2 TSP of Lemi-Shine per 15 pound Thumlers drum. One to two ounces of auto wash and wax with warm to hot water.

Brass looks like jewelry when tumbled.

Bayou52

I use 1/4 TSP of Lemi-Shine per 15 pound Thumlers drum for me as well.

My last batch, I just used dish soap. Couldn’t tell I didn’t use Lemishine at all. Came out very clean and shiny.

When everybody is sharing their recipes for Lemi Shine, remember, the PH of the water being used, varies......so....what works at my house, will not work in Georgia.

The harder the water, the more lemishine. My water is probably about normal in that I get great results with a 9mm careful in my FART and that is what was recommended here for years before I got mine. Obviously harder water you May need to go up to a 45 case full. What I haven’t seen is a chart referencing for x.x hardness you need x.x grains/grams/ounces of lemishine.

TheClasonater said:

Has anybody tested how safe brass is when you put in too much?

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Unless you waaaaay overdo it, only the surface is effected. You run it for another cycle and it's gone. If you used a cup full, consider it trash and be smarter.

I'll add that if you use Lemi-Shine, add it to your water and stir it thoroughly to dissolve before adding pins, brass and soap..
I've had a few pieces of brass that I assume were against undissolved LS that corroded the brass before being on the tumbler.

Like dcloco said, everyone's water may have a different ph.
Once you get it right, write it down and stick to your recipe.
Its not rocket science but could be.

We have city water and for me I use 1/2 a teaspoon of Lemishine Booster, a cap full of ArmorAll Wash n Wax, a small squirt of Dawndish soap and a cap of Finnish Jet Dry.

I use hot tap water and let my FART run for an hour.

Drain the black waste water & rince in the drum.

Fill it back up with just warm tap water and let it go for another fifteen minutes.

Drain the water and then hang my brass on my drying racks I made a couple of years ago.

I buy & sell lots of range brass thati wet tumble before it goes to the new owner.
With my drying racks I get to handle each piece of brass so I can discard the trashed brass.
I get an accurate count on the brass and it is guaranteed 100% dry.

If you retumble your brass with the pins and just Dawn it should come out just fine.

If your really curious you could get an aquarium ph kit. I've never seen any numbers but 7.0-6.8 would be a zone I would be comfortable. If your water source is already in that zone just skip adding any.

My well water has 13 grains of hardness. I run a full 9mm casting full or there abouts.

I wouldn’t think a 9mm case of lemon shine would turn cases purple. Are you sure those cases aren’t those coated cases? It’s like a protective coating and more often times than not it’s on a steel case. What caliber?

I use just a large plastic jar that peanuts come in, fill about 1/2 way with brass, about 1 45acp case full of Lemishine, small squirt of dish soap and then fill with hot water until the brass is covered. No SS pins, no hours of tumbling. Just shake jar to agitate for about 5 min. let rest. Repeat 4 or 5 times and dump, rinse.

+1 on a 9mm case about full, full drum of hot water, a good squirt of Dawn dish liquid in a large FA tumbler with pins and about 500 pieces of brass. Works great!!!

The only time I got the condition you describe I just ran it for another cycle with no LS and they came out fine and shiny.

As stated by others, water has a different PH so you need to experiment a little with each batch as I did. Take detailed notes on each until you get the results you want.

IMHO start with less LS not more!!! Good Luck!!!

Erief0g said:

My well water has 13 grains of hardness. I run a full 9mm casting full or there abouts.

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What is grains of hardness. I've seen a dkh scale but never that scale.

I've had a few batches turn pink when I first started wet tumbling but not had any turn purple.
I tumble about 1500 9mm per batch so I use a lot more of Lemi-shine than other with smaller tumblers, I use just a palm full in each batch.

LOL great thread!

Now I remember why I quit wet tumbling

AK Hunter said:

I use just a palm full in each batch.

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That's funny, I'm not laughing at you. I use an ultrasonic and I put two heaping tea spoons full in 4 liters of water, but I'm not tumbling with pins.
I got ahold of bakers citric acid liquid one time and I swear it is getting stronger as time passes.
I use to put 1/4 cup of it in a batch of 9mm brass (about 200) in my US cleaner and it would clean them right up.
Now, I'm seeing the purple on the brass where the case is sitting against the basket in my cleaner.
I have to back off on the citric acid for some reason that I haven't figured out yet, the same amount has worked for the last 5 years just fine.
Maybe the water is evaporating out of it.

AJC1 said:

If your really curious you could get an aquarium ph kit. I've never seen any numbers but 7.0-6.8 would be a zone I would be comfortable. If your water source is already in that zone just skip adding any.

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+1. It would be useful to know the right pH for the tumbler.

Last time I checked, pH meters were 2 for $20 on amazon (as much as I dislike using Amazon.) I homebrew, and pH is important to the alpha-amylase in the mash.

Personally, I don't use LemiShine, and the brass is always brilliant after 30 minutes. The local pH is 7.0-8.0, depending on which reservoir is feeding Fort Collins.

Any others care to measure the pH before tumbling?

I use litmus paper. I get my solution down to 3ph, but I wouldn't recommend someone that pin cleans doing this, non-contact cleaning only.
On my next load that I clean I need to get it out and find out if my Citric acid is getting stronger.
Thanks for reminding me about having it.

tightgroup tiger said:

I use litmus paper. I get my solution down to 3ph, but I wouldn't recommend someone that pin cleans doing this, non-contact cleaning only.
On my next load that I clean I need to get it out and find out if my Citric acid is getting stronger.
Thanks for reminding me about having it.

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Holly crap that's a strong acid.