Brass cleaning methods???

[slowr1der]

I started out with a vibratory tumbler and then just recently switched to a Thumlers Model B with stainless steel pins. It's 100% times better and I'd never go back to a vibratory tumbler. It not only cleans the outside better, but gets the inside and primer pockets squeekly clean too which the vibratory tumbler didn't help with. It does this in half the time as well. The vibratory tumbler also has a ton of dust and is just a mess to deal with. With the Thumler there is no dust at all. The only downside is that it takes a little extra time since you have to deprime the cases if you want the primer pockets clean and then afterwards you have to let the cases dry. That's a small price to pay for the huge increase in performance though. Anyone that tells you a vibratory tumbler is better hasn't used the SS pins.

 

[BluewaterLa]

Again ... Potato patato... I'm from Louisiana and its taters here !
Personal preference will differ, wet tumble and ss pins are on the one day wish list, I just have a component addiction to feed
Fords can be nice to drive, I really love the satisfaction of pulling some buddies out of jams with my duramax !

 

[1John1:9]

Corn Cob Media in a Tumbler for 2 hours.

Ford
Dodge is 2nd
Chevy is last resort even after VW

 

[aka108]

I run a vibratory bowl tumbler with ground walnut. Generally takes 4 hrs. Last week I cleaned some 9mm cases. Put them in the tumbler, turned it on and was going to go turn it off later in the evening. Forgot about it. Next day I went to do some work at the Red Hill International Horse Trials and spent 5 days there. Anyhow those 9's got almost a weeks worth of cleaning and they now almost too pretty to use.

 

[Pentrite]

One dryer sheet with some corn media for a couple of hours works ok for me. Some day I will upgrade to SS pins and that fancy wet tumbler.

No Chevy, Ford or Dodge.. Prefer Harley Davidson! loud pipes say what?

 

[pretzelxx]

Ultrasonic doubles as parts cleaner as well, that's why I got mine. You can't polish brass in it, but you can surely clean it.

 

[Centurian22]

5 to 6 DAYS in the tumbler!!!!! And there were still cases left to find? I would almost be worried about case failure, being me I would take some thickness measurements with my calipers for comparison. Bet they sure are the shiniest cases though. Lol.

 

[Jim Watson]

I have stayed with the vibratory tumbler, walnut hull blasting media from the air compressor dealer at $16/50 lb, and a rotary separator.

As said, anything that calls for rinsing and drying is more trouble than I care for.

I do use ceramic or steel pin wet tumbling on black powder brass, but that stuff is really nasty and there is not a whole lot of it, I only shoot BPCR once a month.

 

[Citadel99]

Guess I'll stick with the old vibratory tumbler... I'm all about gadgets but can't see changing from what has always worked fine if it's gonna cost a couple hundred bucks... As always, thanks for the dialogue and education.

And to set the record straight, it's Ford.

Mark

 

[Nordeste]

One thing I'm concerned about, living, a I do, in an apartment, is dust containing toxic powder and primer residue and getting airborne around me when handling the tumbler's media. As my range pick-up brass is usually dirty with mud or sand and I wouldn't toss them in that state in my media, the brass always gets a wash with dish soap+hot water+citric acid. When they're dry, they get decapped and get a ultrasonic run, so all the residue gets down the toilet. Only when they're clean and residue free they get in the tumbler for polishing.

It's less time consuming than it appears to. A couple of hours is all what I need to process 350-400 cases of 9 mm this way, and the results pay off. I like the feeling of working with like-new brass.

 

[spitballer]

I've never used the tumbler, but I bought an ultrasonic cleaner for 50 bucks and couldn't be happier. Capacity is small, and I have to finish with cotton swabs, but for fifty bucks I feel like I got a bargain. Even cleans old coins.

 

[Level10]

Nothing beats wet tumble with SS pins/dawn/lemishine. Size and trim brass then wash to clean primer pockets and remove any lube used. Letting hundreds of cases dry beats having to handle each piece of brass to "properly" clean primer pockets. Which everyone needs to ask themselves if they should clean primer pockets, if ever??? Do people clean primer pockets because they are "anal" or do people "justify" not cleaning them because it takes too long etc?


I always dry tumble for 20-30min brass before sending through the size die to get any dirt or any foreign material off.

 

[loose noose]

Prefer my Thumbler's Tumbler (dual containers) using the walnut or corncob media, let it go for about 6 hours and my brass comes out looking like brand new. Also prefer my 350 Chevy Silverado.

 

[ch84]

How much walnut or corn cob to brass do y'all use. I've been using four pounds media to one pound of brass with the additives works great about a hour an a half in each just wondering if I can cut down on the media an add more brass

 

[divad]

I'm using SS/dawn/lemishine in a thumler. Started off with walnut and corncob in a vibe, but the insides of the cases weren't coming clean nor were the primer pockets. I ran cases in the dry medium for 4-8 hours, but with the SS wet method they are factory new looking in 2-3. Even brass that was oxidized black from being left out in the weather.
Also, there's no more cloud of dust when I dump the media to sort the brass. I'm sure that stuff isn't healthy to breathe.
I know for a lot of people it doesn't matter, but I really think the clean cases group more consistently for me. YMMV.

 

[jdwest]

How much dawn, and how much lemishine, and how much water do you put in your tumbler. I have 5 pounds of SS pins. Sorry, I am a newbie (back in it after 35 years). Thanks for your answers.

 

[divad]

I fill the tumbler to about two inches from the top with hot water and use about a tablespoon of dawn and a teaspoon of lemishine. I don't really measure, just eyeball - you don't need an exact ratio.

 

[edfardos]

I use 50% vinegar and a drop of soap in the ultrasonic cleaner. Dry in rhe summer sun, then vibrate in walnut lizard litter and a few drops of nu-finish car polish. Better than factory new.

Thats for really dirty, or new-to-me brass. Three hours un the vibrator with nufinish is good'nuf otherwise.

edfardos