Hard water issue with wet tumble

[Bayou52]

I don’t tumble in that large of volume. However, to prevent water spotting after tumbling, I put the wet brass back into the rotary media separator along with a dry towel.

I then agitate back and forth for a minute or two. The towel absorbs and removes all surface moisture and there are zero water spots on the brass.

Bayou52

 

[Kaldor]

I would use more Lemi Shine or citric acid as a test run. I have somewhat hard water and I use 1 45ACP case as a dipper per 1.2 gallon drum loaded with brass and pins. Using more soap doesnt really hurt as it shouldnt change the PH of the water. Armor All or something like that is helpful if youre big into maintaining that shine.

I have left spots on brass with using a galvanized screen to dry on. If using SSTL it shouldn't react and leave brass clean.

A few pics would help diagnose this issue as well.

 

[gwpercle]

I know there are 100+ threads on wet tumbling vs dry etc etc and while I have browsed through a lot I’m still struggling mainly with the drying process, mostly because the quantity I’m trying to do is not viable to hand towel method. Hoping to figure out the wet tumble in bulk like this as I really don’t want to have to do multiple wash/dry/polish cycles and hoping to perfect single wet tumble.

my process:
Using a cement mixer.
About 60 pounds of brass
60 pounds of stainless steel chips
4-5 gallons of water
Shake or two of lemi shine
1-2 second dish soap squirt

brass is pristine in about 20-30 minutes. Looks damn near new. I generally do 1-2 rinse buckets for a few minutes after draining the ultra soapy sud water.


this is where the problem starts.

I generally separate the media by dumping media and cases into a 5 gallon with a shaker on top, shake out the chips etc. Once all separated I throw them on the drying table and try to agitate a bit to get more water out. Impossible to get it fully dry by just agitating or shaking. Sure I can put a towel on top to agitate but it’s only marginally better.

From there the stains etc begin….

I am assuming the outside hose water is way too hard I think, I get the worst water spot stains with outdoor hose. I have been filling water bucket from inside the house, it’s better but still possibly too hard as drying on a stainless steel mesh drying table in the FL sun or putting it on baking sheets and into the oven both still have blemishes. On drying table you get standard spots. On baking sheet you get markings from where they sit on the baking sheet.


I had a few ideas but looking for more.
first: Is there a recommended solution to add to my water to make sure it’s super soft? This is obviously a pain in the ass still but if it stops the issue it’d be worth it. I have purchased a hose inline rv filter that’s supposed to help but havnt used it yet.

second idea: a) attaching a vibrating motor to the drying table to try to shake off as much water as possible during the drying process. Drying table is made of 2x4s and ss mesh so really not sure how well it will work.

b) getting a vibrating linear screen. Seems like there are some smaller Chinese ones that might be meant for grain processing. Wondering if I run a bucket of wet brass through a few times, it will vibrate off as much water as possible and also catch any left over SS chips and separate. Ss chips aren’t that cheap so figure it would be added benefit. To make sure I separated as much as possible. Granted I’m looking at 500-1500 bucks for something like this so hard to say if it will vibrate enough of either the water or SS or turn into a waste of money.

C) last idea is to Jerry rig some sort of fan set up or top lid with fans in them to put on top of the drying table to try to push water off and through the ss mesh bottom of the table. Think server fan set ups drilled onto a piece of plywood with cut outs


Anyways not super confident which way to go. Hoping someone has some ideas to add or confirm any of these. Becoming massively annoying to have to re-tumble etc when dry goes too poorly on a batch. Thanks for your help

I know there are 100+ threads on wet tumbling vs dry etc etc and while I have browsed through a lot I’m still struggling mainly with the drying process, mostly because the quantity I’m trying to do is not viable to hand towel method. Hoping to figure out the wet tumble in bulk like this as I really don’t want to have to do multiple wash/dry/polish cycles and hoping to perfect single wet tumble.

my process:
Using a cement mixer.
About 60 pounds of brass
60 pounds of stainless steel chips
4-5 gallons of water
Shake or two of lemi shine
1-2 second dish soap squirt

brass is pristine in about 20-30 minutes. Looks damn near new. I generally do 1-2 rinse buckets for a few minutes after draining the ultra soapy sud water.


this is where the problem starts.

I generally separate the media by dumping media and cases into a 5 gallon with a shaker on top, shake out the chips etc. Once all separated I throw them on the drying table and try to agitate a bit to get more water out. Impossible to get it fully dry by just agitating or shaking. Sure I can put a towel on top to agitate but it’s only marginally better.

From there the stains etc begin….

I am assuming the outside hose water is way too hard I think, I get the worst water spot stains with outdoor hose. I have been filling water bucket from inside the house, it’s better but still possibly too hard as drying on a stainless steel mesh drying table in the FL sun or putting it on baking sheets and into the oven both still have blemishes. On drying table you get standard spots. On baking sheet you get markings from where they sit on the baking sheet.


I had a few ideas but looking for more.
first: Is there a recommended solution to add to my water to make sure it’s super soft? This is obviously a pain in the ass still but if it stops the issue it’d be worth it. I have purchased a hose inline rv filter that’s supposed to help but havnt used it yet.

second idea: a) attaching a vibrating motor to the drying table to try to shake off as much water as possible during the drying process. Drying table is made of 2x4s and ss mesh so really not sure how well it will work.

b) getting a vibrating linear screen. Seems like there are some smaller Chinese ones that might be meant for grain processing. Wondering if I run a bucket of wet brass through a few times, it will vibrate off as much water as possible and also catch any left over SS chips and separate. Ss chips aren’t that cheap so figure it would be added benefit. To make sure I separated as much as possible. Granted I’m looking at 500-1500 bucks for something like this so hard to say if it will vibrate enough of either the water or SS or turn into a waste of money.

C) last idea is to Jerry rig some sort of fan set up or top lid with fans in them to put on top of the drying table to try to push water off and through the ss mesh bottom of the table. Think server fan set ups drilled onto a piece of plywood with cut outs


Anyways not super confident which way to go. Hoping someone has some ideas to add or confirm any of these. Becoming massively annoying to have to re-tumble etc when dry goes too poorly on a batch. Thanks for your help

A local indoor shooting range has a side business , on-line and walk - in , selling processed once-fired brass for reloading . I started buying from them because I could get 5000 9mm Luger for $12.00 ... at my age that's worth it to me not to chase down and pick up my brass ...I got bad back and it hurts to doo that !
I was over there and went in back to watch qperation ... was surprised to see them cleaning/polishing brass in several vibratory polishers with dry media ...treated walnut shell . I asked why the dry media and he said the wet media had to be seperated from the water and pins , pins put back , water got every where then they had to dry each case perfectly dry in food dehydrators ...another added step .
The dry media was easy to sift and the cases seperated out easily ... no drying and no water on the floor ...and when done dry the cases didn't tarnish as fast . For them wet tumbling just wasn't the easier or best way !
If you are having trouble drying ... re-think the dry tumbling... it may be the best way for high volume !
Gary

 

[koni]

Add some white vinegar to your water..