brass cleaning poll

[gonoles_1980]

Probably is excessive. But I don't tumble it for that long. I like the walnut on after the deprime because it cleans the primer holes better. The 2nd tumble is only a hour.

 

[Toprudder]

I've done all three, although I admit I have not done a lot with the ultrasonic.

I started out dry tumbling, experimented with ultrasonic, but have settled on wet tumbling with SS media.

The labor overhead for wet tumbling is made up by the fact that I save up enough dirty brass so I can do about 2-3 times the brass I could do with my vibratory tumbler.

My normal procedure for pistol brass is to decap the brass, wet tumble with SS media for 2 hours, dry. For rifle brass, I wet tumble for 20 minutes without media, lube and resize/decap, then wet tumble with media (gets all the lube off) and dry.

One reason I like wet tumbling, besides the fact that it does the best job cleaning (my experience/opinion) is that I have less to worry about with regards to dust and lead exposure. The brass is cleaner, as demonstrated by my fingers being clean after handling a few hundred during inspection/reloading.

YMMV.

 

[rodinal220]

For the majority of my reloading I use dry media in a Dillon unit. For small lots of brass I sometimes use SS media in a Thumblers unit. I like the SS media for cleaning BP stains on my black powder brass. If I had to wet SS clean in large batches I would have to buy a small cement mixer.

 

[medalguy]

I dry tumble mostly, but from time to time I get some really spotted/dirty brass at the range, and I *may* tumble these in SS pins but normally that's not necessary.

 

[mizer67]

I've done all three, ultrasonic, dry and SS wet.

Of the three methods, dry is the quickest and easiest, ultrasound being the next easiest and SS wet being the most time consuming.

Of the three methods, SS wet produces the best looking brass.

None of the three methods in my experience (pistol) produce any better results on target, but the SS Wet, the enormous pain in the arse that it is (deprime, wet tumble and dry), does produce the best results. I'm shooting less than I used to do but if I was shooting in high volume I wouldn't mess with SS - too many extra steps + the extra time to dry.

 

[Crashbox]

I do ultrasonic because I had one prior to taking up this hobby. It does take a while to process all the cases, but the results for me are worth it.

I use two level teaspoons of citric acid per gallon of solution, along with two eyedropperfuls of Tergitol NP-9 surfactant (a gallon goes a LOOOOOOOOONG way). Several minutes at 120° Fahrenheit gets 'em nice and clean.

 

[nixpap]

Wash in soapy water. (pistol brass)

 

[Nordeste]

Potatohead,

Try area LEAD DUST contamination, small children, grandchildren, etc.

This is why I don't like dry tumbling. I live in an apartment and lead dust is a concern.

I pick up mid dirty range brass mostly, so before anything else I have to wash it to get rid of that mud. Then I dry on towel with the help of a hair dryer. This takes the mud away and most of the confusion residues away. Then the usual procedure is lubing, and resizing/depriming. After that, I may just dump it in the tumbler if it's Remington brass (the leadless primer kind) or they'll go into the ultrasonic for the sake of clean primer pockets. After that, sometimes they go into the tumbler if I want them really shiny.
Truth to be told, for my range/training ammo, I usually reload it after the first wash, which I do with hot water, dish soap and citric acid, and they look just fine after that.

 

[iwilc2]

All I have ever done is dry tumble,works well enough for me





Len

 

[1066]

I've used all ways over the last 40 years - For the last couple of years I have switched solely to wet SS tumbling.

Can't see me going any other way now.

Here's how I do it - Just using an old rock polishing tumbler.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcyAkj-LzA8

 

[hot chili powder]

How I tumble

Dry tumble in a Thumlers Model B, red crushed walnut. Easy and gets the job done......at least for me and that's what counts.

 

[herrwalther]

I dry tumble at the moment. Looking to upgrade to SS wet tumbling eventually.

 

[TexasDon]

I use walnut shell media with some Nu-Finish with a splash of Mineral spirits in my Burr-King 150.
I have the amplitude set to do the best cleaning with my media. It will clean primer pockets some if I leave it long enough...But why?
It really does not help much for most shooters.
Now I do look at primer pockets for stoppages etc...But a little residue doesn't bother me or does the inside of brass.

If I were to use something else, it would be the SS pins and a wet tumbler.
They DO come out like factory or better...

TxD

 

[Toprudder]

I did not mention in my earlier post that I wet tumble in the Frankford tumbler. I really like it. I can put a little over 1000 .40 casings in one load, over 1200 9mm (probably could do 1500).

For a little less money, though, you could get a cement mixer from Harbor Freight.

 

[Ex]

I tumble before deprime. That insures that the flash hole gets punched through.

Medium walnet, mixed with a shot of TurtleWax metal polish (cheap and no ammonia).
'Bout 2 hours and the brass looks better than some does NEW.

 

[JO JO]

lots of dry tumblers out there I have tryed all 3 was not a fan of ultra sonic sold it , tryed stainless wet tumble nice clean brass but small batches and extra work I only
tryed it with the harbor frieght 3lb rock tumbler. Maybe if I tryed a larger wet tumbler
I may like it more , so I am going back to dry tumbler for now brass is clean enough
for me and the brass seems better protected and slicker then wet tumbled to me.

 

[Toprudder]

lots of dry tumblers out there I have tryed all 3 was not a fan of ultra sonic sold it , tryed stainless wet tumble nice clean brass but small batches and extra work I only tryed it with the harbor frieght 3lb rock tumbler. Maybe if I tryed a larger wet tumbler I may like it more , so I am going back to dry tumbler for now brass is clean enough for me and the brass seems better protected and slicker then wet tumbled to me.

I originally wanted the Harbor Freight tumbler, but they were out of stock. I ordered the Frankford instead and I am glad I did. I think I would be like you, the small batches would be more trouble than they are worth. When I can rinse and separate the media 1000 casings at a time it saves a lot of time over small batches.

 

[Vodoun da Vinci]

None of the above for me....I recap and resize after a quick rinse in running water then soak 'em in big plastic jars with dish soap for about a week giving the jar a couple good shakes every time I walk past.

Rinse them well, dry with a hair dryer, and reload 'em.

VooDoo

 

[Captaingyro]

I've tried both, and I much prefer wet tumbling with SS pins.

If the wet tumbling was all I had ever known, and someone came up to me and suggested that I tumble my brass in corncob or crushed walnut, throw in dryer sheets to cut down on static and car polish to improve shine, and fill up my reloading room with a bunch of dust and dirt, only to achieve inferior results, I'd humor them to be polite and walk away shaking my head.

 

[CarJunkieLS1]

Where I work I am able to wet tumble my brass. Its a perfect setup I can clean brass 100's of pieces at a time and it only takes 1/2 an hour. Brass comes out shiny, dry and perfect. In fact it looks better than some new unfired brass I've bought before.

 

[mdi]

I almost checked "other" as I have a couple media "mixes" I use. I have some de-burring media, 3/8" hard plastic pyramids that clean exceptionally well, but leave a matt finish, I have walnut and corn cob media that work pretty good, but sometimes I want more cleaning action. I mixed up some pyramids (25%) and corn cob (75%) and some auto polish and get a fast, shiny brass finish for my Garand brass. I only "need" bright shiny brass for my 30-06 and 45 ACP cases 'cause they are much easier to find in the dirt, rocks, stuff at my shooting spot...

 

[jell-dog]

Dry tumble with a cap full of Nu Finish and a dryer sheet. Brass comes out sparkly and the sheet catches much of the dust.

^^^^^+1
jell-dog

 

[Nwflycaster]

I know it's overkill but I Ultrasonic then de-prime. Follow that with a few hours of dry tumble, clean any media from primer pockets then ultrasonic again. Shake out excess water and let sit overnight.

 

[Candyman87]

Dry tumble with corncob media and a capful of Cabela's case polish. I'll usually let them go all day if I'm not in a rush to load them, but I usually have enough clean brass ready to go that they can go all day without a problem.

 

[rskent]

Just dry tumbling for most stuff. Good enough is good enough.

I do clean my rifle brass in hot soapy water to clean the sizing lube out of the necks but that's about it.