Cut My Wet Tumbling in Half

[Bayou52]

Hi, Guys -

I recently tried a new to me technique that has successfully cut my tumbling time in half.

In short, I pre-soaked the brasses in soap and water overnight after decapping them. The water was drained off, and the wet brasses were then wet tumbled as usual.

Attached is a pic taken today of some 30 carbine brasses that were pre-soaked. I chose these cases since their tarnish level on a scale of 10 was 10. They were so deeply tarnished, that I had to scratch the metal just to make sure they weren't steel cases. You couldn't easily tell.

I would have normally wet tumbled these brasses for 4 full hours given their degree of tarnish. However, the result you see in these cases as shown in the pic was achieved in 2 hours of tumbling time. 1 ounce of auto wash and wax and 1/4 TSP of Lemi-Shine.

Since I usually decap and tumble on different days, a pre-soak adds no more time or real effort.




Bayou

 

[USSR]

A lot of ways to skin a cat - whatever works for you.

Don

 

[LiveLife]

I am currently dry tumbling but may add wet tumbling in the future.

Will remember the tip on pre-soaking brass before wet tumbling.

 

[primalmu]

If you are soaking overnight, you're not really saving any time, are you? I guess presoaking would be advantageous if the sound of the wet tumbler bothers you.

bds -- I got the following setup when it was on sale for $130. I'll never go back to dry tumbling again.

https://www.amazon.com/Platinum-Ser...F8&qid=1482011844&sr=8-1&keywords=wet+tumbler

 

[LiveLife]

Yes, Frankford Arsenal wet tumbler is the unit I plan to buy when I decide to wet tumble.

 

[NeuseRvrRat]

If you are soaking overnight, you're not really saving any time, are you? I guess presoaking would be advantageous if the sound of the wet tumbler bothers you.

yeah, I don't really see the advantage other than saving pennies on the electric bill and less time with the sound, which isn't a problem if you stick it out on the porch

 

[Wreck-n-Crew]

No mention of stainless pins. Not everyone uses them. I didnt for a while but i do now. Just like those primer pockets clean now that im loading rifle.

Fwiw you can also try some lemishine or lemon juice in the presoak. An hour of soaking does wonders and soesnt need to be overnight. If you use lemishine just make sure you mix it up.

The only time i soaked any was when i had more than a few batches to do. Not to self: stay on top and no need to soak.

 

[Bayou52]

^^^^ Thanks for the tip. ^^^^^

 

[Bayou52]

"If you are soaking overnight, you're not really saving any time, are you?"

For me, I often need to tumble 4 or more different calibers. Due to different case sizes, they need to be separated by batches. Cutting tumbling time means they can all be tumbled in one single day.

 

[dh1633pm]

I purchased some once fired lake city 308 brass. It was pretty dirty. I did the soak method. It certainly loosens up the dirt on the brass. It saves time if you de-prime and then soak over night. When you do tumble it is much faster until they are clean. While they are soaking your certainly not working on them. And by tumble I have used this method with both wet and dry tumbling.

 

[9mmepiphany]

I would have normally wet tumbled these brasses for 4 full hours given their degree of tarnish.

That seems excessive, but without a "before" picture of the brass it is a bit hard to say.

I've tumbled range picture that I had to check that they were brass, but I'm only tumbling 1.5 hours. The timer on the FAT doesn't even go to 3 hours. Granted I don't deprime before tumbling and I don't use stainless pins, but I'm not really that concerned about primer pockets in my 9mm or .38Spl cases.

I opened the thread thinking I was going to figure out how to cut my tumbling time down to less than 1 hour

 

[kingmt]

I have mine in the wash fit 45 minutes. I can't add to our subtract from the timer tho. I also don't use pins but only because I don't think I'd be able to get them out of the washing machine.

 

[cheygriz]

I've been using a Thumler's model "B" for 30+ years.
I would be very interested in your experiences with the larger FA rotary

 

[sbwaters]

I am currently dry tumbling but may add wet tumbling in the future.

I was dry tumbling near my bench but after having lead elevated a little last year I decided it was prudent to go to wet tumbling and eliminate it as a possible cause. If I were to continue to dry tumble, I’d move it to a sheltered area outside or into the garage. I prefer wet tumbling, deprimed, with stainless steel pins, Armor All Wash and Wax and a 9MM case of Lemishine for two hours. Shiny inside is safer -- an added check on whether the case already has powder in it.

 

[primalmu]

The only downside I've noticed is that seating a bullet is more difficult after wet tumbling since the brass is stripped to bare metal. I've been using a tiny amount of case sizing wax on the bullet to facilitate easier seating.

 

[judgedelta]

A 30-minute run through the vibratory tumbler with some corncob and Nu-finish car polish will stop that stickiness from too-clean brass.

 

[primalmu]

I recently got some ArmorAll wash and wax that I'm going to try -- hopefully that will be enough to lubricate the brass. I'm unlikely to go back to the vibratory tumbler. In addition to the dust, I hated sifting through the brass and removing the corncob/walnut shells from the primer pockets and flash holes.

 

[Wreck-n-Crew]

I have mine in the wash fit 45 minutes. I can't add to our subtract from the timer tho. I also don't use pins but only because I don't think I'd be able to get them out of the washing machine.

Use a couple of old pillow cases, double bag and cinch it at one end one pillow case in the other? No holes in the case though! sew them up! Old t-shirts!

 

[Rule3]

[QUOTE="9mmepiphany, post: 10434493, member: 1448"]That seems excessive, but without a "before" picture of the brass it is a bit hard to say.

I've tumbled range picture that I had to check that they were brass, but I'm only tumbling 1.5 hours. The timer on the FAT doesn't even go to 3 hours. Granted I don't deprime before tumbling and I don't use stainless pins, but I'm not really that concerned about primer pockets in my 9mm or .38Spl cases.

I opened the thread thinking I was going to figure out how to cut my tumbling time down to less than 1 hour[/QUOTE]

Exactly. Where is the "Double Blind" Test with Non Soak brass, Brass after just soaking, and a control batch ???

How long does drying take?

"Surgically Clean" brass, is a tough to obtain!

 

[farmerboy78]

I use dawn dish detergent, lemishine, and hit water. Rinse use cold water

 

[Bayou52]

"Surgically Clean" brass, is a tough to obtain!

Not hard at all to obtain.

We all have our personal objectives in wet tumbling. Mine is brass having a "jewelry-like" appearance. Like these recent batches, for examples of typical results:









Now, we all know that the gun doesn't care what the brass looks like as long as it cycles well. But that's not the complete objective of my hobby. I get personal satisfaction from achieving this level of brilliance. It's achieving my personal expectations that makes this whole exercise one I want to repeat over and over. Each weekend, hopefully.

Obtaining clean brass, but rather dull looking brass, requires only soap, water and a bucket. Ask me how I know. But that's hardly what I'm after.

All the Best, Guys!

Bayou

 

[Bang!]

^^^^Beautiful. What is your process?

 

[Bayou52]

^^^Beautiful. What is your process?

Bang -

To answer your question:
The results you see in those pics were achieved by:

1. Wet tumbling using .047" diameter SS pins at a ratio of one pound of pins to one pound of brass,

2. Thumlers model B high speed tumbler,

3. Cover the brass with cold tap water and over by an inch or so,

4. 1 ounce of Blue Coral auto wash and wax,

5. 1/4 TSP of Lemi-Shine,

6. Tumble times vary due to multiple factors, including but not limited to, the relative hardness of your water, the mineral content of your water, and the degree of the tarnish and/or carbon on the brass to begin with. You will simply have to experiment with tumbling times to see what works best for you. There's no substitute for personal trial and error. As you can see in this thread, tumbling times vary from 30 minutes to 4 hours depending who is speaking at any given time,

7. Finally, the brass must be dried quickly to remove all water from the surface of the brass so as to prevent the occurrence of water spotting.

From my own trials and experiments, it does appear, for me at least, that pre-soaking the cases reduces tumbling time needed to achieve the level of my own personal desired results.

Good Luck!
Bayou

 

[hdwhit]

Bayou 52 wrote:
In short, I pre-soaked the brasses in soap and water overnight after decapping them.

Good idea.

The detergent removes the dirt and carbon residue and doesn't leave it for your tumbling process to remove. In particular, if set it up before you go to bed and then empty it first thing in the morning, then you lose no time and it can greatly speed up things for you.

I am impressed with the results you achieve.

In my case, I use Acetic Acid (Vinegar) or Citric Acid (Lemi-Shine) at far higher concentrations than you use, but for much shorter times (after decapping but before resizing) followed by dry tumbling to remove the resizing lubricant. I don't achieve results comparable to yours; which are exceptional. I do achieve results that are comparable to commercially available brass that I have purchased and which has been represented as having been tumbled with stainelss steel pins and Lemi-Shine for hours on end.

 

[Bayou52]

^^^^ hdwhit:

I'm picking up tips as well. Never heard of using vinegar instead of citric acid/Lemi-Shine, but it sure sounds as though you're getting good results. Will have to experiment with that.

Thanks for the pointer -

Bayou