Frankford Arsenal Wet Tumbler

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CQB45ACP said:
I use Dawn and lemon shine most often (dozens of loads) and then vibratory tumble with corn cob and flitz for high shine and long protection.

If I’m NOT going to dry tumble then I use their special sauce cause it does seem to protect from tarnishing.

Regardless, mine is still going strong even using Dawn and lemonshine.
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You Sir win the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval for the Cleanest brass ever!:)

The burning question for all the wet tumbler users, what are the nuances of cleanliness between DAWN and any other dish-washing soap.? Has bds (Live Life) done a statistical test on this yet?? Is Dawn Platnium mo betterer?

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Rule3 said:
You Sir win the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval for the Cleanest brass ever!:)

The burning question for all the wet tumbler users, what are the nuances of cleanliness between DAWN and any other dish-washing soap.? Has bds (Live Life) done a statistical test on this yet?? Is Dawn Platnium mo betterer?

View attachment 956084
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And I haven’t even mentioned the hand buffing....
 
I'm still abusing my harbor freight two drum rotary cleaner, but I need to upgrade to the FART this winter, it gets really old emptying those small containers and refilling them. But can't complain it has performed great after some tweaking and periodic oiling.
 
Cut the tumble time short, 2.5 hours. Brass looks the same with maguire's/lemmishine as it did with dawn/lemmishine. Surprisingly, it worked as good stuffed full of brass (~950 pieces) as it did with only ~400 cases.

Dirty water IMG_20201117_115306859.jpg

Brass after a couple good rinsings before drying.
IMG_20201117_121825766.jpg
 
Brass looks the same with maguire's/lemmishine as it did with dawn/lemmishine
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Since you have two batches you can left us know any differences you find down the road with the wash and wax vs Dawn. Tarnish, sizing etc.

If you want to get really carried away do about 1/2 hour dump the cruddy water, rinse then go another hour with clean water and your cleaning combo.

Surprising how much crud ends up in the water.

The big question of course is are you happy you spent the money on it?
 
Yeah, I'm good with the cost of the wet tumbler.

Just to clarify, the maguire's was a car wash and had no mention of wax. I don't even know if they make it anymore. I use dawn to wash cars, but ran out so I grabbed this from the shelf, I've had it for years.
 
MakBaba said:
I did the same thing. Wet tumbler was my first reloading purchase. I’ve only used Dawn and get great results.
I tumble with hot water and Dawn for 20 or so then dump the dirty water. Add clean water and another squirt of Dawn for an hour or so. Dump the water out as soon as it’s done. Looks like new!
I’ve had the brass come out with a tarnished look if I just ran it for an hour or two without dumping the dirty water early on. Others have had the same thing happen. Never used any Lemi Shine.
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SS pins or no?
 
Just did my second batch, the first without the blue goo that came with it. I used a 9mm case of lemishine and a splash of car wash detergent. About half of my brass came out shining like new, the rest not so much. I dried them in the oven and then sorted them. (I'm learning. I'll sort first next time)) I noticed that my fingers were dirty as I sorted. Do you think I may have overloaded my drum?
 
More cases = more gunk in the water.

My range has nasty 60grit dirt so I rinse everything and then do a 1/2 hour pass before I deprime /resize, then about an 1 hr does the trick in my Lyman Cyclone with say 1000 9mms.
Wash and wax and acid are cheap so if you have nasty brass a 1/2 hour pass then dump the nasty water, quick rinse and back in with clean stuff for another hour or so.

If you are not in a hurry just put the brass on an old towel in the corner of the room and it will dry in a day or two. (assuming inside is a reasonable temp)
 
9mmepiphany said:
A few more things came to mind.

1. Are you rinsing until the water is clear?
2. How long after the drum stops are you draining the water?
3. How long are you tumbling?
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Yes, rinsing until the water is clear. This time, I was away when the tumbler stopped, so the cases sat in nasty water for a while. I set the timer for the 3 hours max. As far as rinsing, I went to a restaurant supply store and found in their used stuff a couple of buss tubs and a fryer basket. I am able to rinse very thoroughly.
 
Dawn and a pinch of Lemishine ... doesn't take much of the Lemi maybe a teaspon or two. That's it.
 
Did a batch today and spread them out in a single layer of a baking sheet that was too big to fit into the oven. Simply allowed them to air dry. As they dry, however, I'm seeing a chalky white residue on many of the cases. Any ideas here? I've thought of buying a second drum and running dry media in it. Am I over thinking this?
 
I'm seeing a chalky white residue on many of the cases
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Wash and Wax or Dawn?


Agree, sounds like it might be water spots.
When I air dry I put them in an old towel and sort of towel off most of the water before I let them air dry.
Usually use two towels, one to dry them with and one for them to lay on while drying.
 
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