Dust on brass after cleaning

[TheCracker]

Use corn cob media, the dusting is why I quit using walnut.

Same here

 

[GLOOB]

1. Wash your media. Removes most of the dust. Put it in a bag, add water, then sqeeze it out. Set it out to dry. When you tumble, it will clean the bowl, even.
2. Wet tumble. Rinse off your brass in water. Takes away a lot of the dust on the cases. Shake the excess. Tumble wet. It'll be dry in 30 min - by the time the cases are done, anyway.

All the other methods are mediocre. Just try it and see. My finger tips don't even get black anymore when I'm done loading.

Edit: sorry, I have never used walnut. The above is for corncob.

 

[788Ham]

YES, to answer your question about eventually replacing the walnut media, I just changed mine after 5 years of use. Threw it in the trash can in the garage, dumped some more into the tumbler, added some Nu Funish wax, plugged it in, the suckers workin' like it always has. I don't stand over it while its mixing, , if its dusty, it'll quit eventually, have a lot of other things to get ready when reloading.

 

[OldTex]

The lead content of the dust probably would never affect an old goat like me, but if I had kiddos around it would need a different viewpoint. Lead's most damaging effects are developmental.

I used to put a big fan next to my tumblers as they ran outside to try and draw some of the dust out of the media. I tried everything mentioned here and still ended up with brass that would get a white shop towel black as you wiped them off, or your hands if you didn't.

I fixed all that when I went to stainless steel media in a Thumbler's Tumbler. Cleanest brass you'll ever see, especially on the inside.

 

[Coldfinger]

Dryer sheets work just fine, not to mention the amount of handling to get to a loaded round will have sufficiently removed the dust. If after loading you feel there is still excessive dust that would cause case pressure variations whilst firing place your ammo in boxes and hit it real quick with an air compressor or a can of compressed air.

 

[rixy308]

I agree with rcmodel. The dust is not dangerous unless inhaled in large quantities. It's only dust. Insignificant lead or other nasties. I tumble outside and leave the cover off. Media lasts longer and no buildup on the brass. Actually I've stopped using dry media and have gone to wet tumbling with stainless steel pellets. The worst black and tarnished brass left on the range for years sparkles like gold. If you Google "ar15 bling brass" (without quotes) you will see what I mean. No dust. Just clean bright brass inside and out.

 

[345 DeSoto]

What BDSban RCMODEL said...

 

[beatledog7]

The dust is purposely created to help addict reloaders. Breathe deeply, my friend.

 

[cfullgraf]

Dust, what dust.

i guess my dust threshold is pretty high. I used to work at a tissue paper mill where they would blow down the production areas once a week to remove the accumulated dust on the building steel. Gives new meaning to "white out" conditions.

I run my tumblers with the lids on. I use a rotary media separator that is enclosed. When I transfer the media between the two, there is virtually no dust cloud. I wash my hands after handling cases removed from the tumbling media.

I agree with remodel.

 

[Trent]

Tumbler Dust?

I love the smell of tumbler dust in the morning.

Smells like...

Victory.

 

[JSmith]

Do any of you do anything to the brass after tumbling?

I slosh mine around in a bucket of warm water with a scoop of Oxy-clean. Then I let 'em air-dry for a week or so before I load.

 

[JSmith]

I slosh mine around in a bucket of warm water with a scoop of Oxy-clean.

Forgot to add: then rinse thoroughly.