How clean is clean enough, after tumbling?

[yhtomit]

I don't have any pictures to attach, but perhaps I will try again next visit to Ye Olde Castle of Home to take some. With that in mind (perhaps someone *has* some good pictures, though, and I'd be grateful to see them), I am trying to know if my tumbler is doing what it should

I tumbled 200 .45 ACP cases this weekend -- as related in another post, my first experiment with it -- and they came out after an hour in my Frankford tumbler (the manual suggests 30-60 minutes, and at 30 minutes the cases weren't looking much different, so I kept 'em in the full time).

At 30 minutes, too, I peered into a lot of them to see how the insides were looking, and for the most part I was seeing black -- just a few spots where it was starting to give way to exposed brass.

At 60 minutes, many cases (but certainly not all) had a lot of metal showing on the inside (by the primer), while the walls remain mostly burnt-powder black.

So how clean is clean, exactly? What should I be aiming toward? The manual suggests that the sequence go:

- clean (as above)
- deprime
- polish (for a longer time).

I'm not surprised, since I used no brass polish, just corn cob media, that the outsides don't look like new brass. They still look perfectly fine and clean. But the insides, I'm just not sure how to know what they should look like.

Any reloaders out there geniuses at getting macro shots from the confined space of inside a correctly cleaned shell, and / or a polished one?

timothy

 

[trueblue1776]

you really need to use an additive with your media to get good looking results. That said, as long as I get any crusties out of the brass I could care less how it looks. So if the media removes crusties but doesn't polish the brass then it did it's job.

 

[fastattack]

I agree with trueblue1776, mine are shiny after a couple of hours. I do put a squirt of brasso in with the brass and it works great.
If you like bright, shiny brass run it 2-3 hours.

 

[P5 Guy]

No Brasso it has ammonia that will ruin your brass.

 

[cdrt]

I posed this question before; anyone who has used Brasso had a case failure?

The answer before was "no". Yes, Brasso has ammonia in it, but if you use just a very small amount in your media, the ammonia seems to dissipate and not cause any problems.

I have a 12 pound Lortone tumbler which I fill about a third to half way with walnut media and I use about a tablespoon of Brasso. Cases are clean in about 20 to 30 minutes depending on how dirty they were to begin with. I have been reloading the same batch of WCC brass forever and never have had a case fail. Yep, they split after 20 or 25 reloads but nothing lasts forever. And I only have to add the Brasso once and then I use the media until it's too dirty to clean the brass effectively.

 

[P5 Guy]

I've had Brasso etch my cases. I used it once and that was enough for me.

 

[SSN Vet]

look deep inside your heart Grasshopper.....and when you can snatch the brass from the tumbler without spilling any media, it will be time for you to reload......

 

[happy7]

To answer your original question, the brass doesn't need to be shinny and the insides don't need to have the burnt powder stains cleaned out. Really you don't have to clean brass unless it is dirty. The only reason you need to clean brass is to get all the dirt off so you don't damage your dies, especially the sizing die, and also you want to make sure there is nothing inside the brass that is going to change the volume. I don't clean and deprime and then polish. That just adds extra steps. However, while the brass doesn't have to be pretty, it is so easy to just toss the brass in the tumbler and add a little nufinish to the media and two hours later you normally have nice shinny brass unless the brass is really tarnished. And who doesn't like to have their brass nice and shinny and new looking. Plus with the polish on it, it size easier.

 

[yhtomit]

Thanks to all for the answers above.

happy7 -- OK, this fits in with my previous understanding, but unlike some people (who are burdened with excess intuition), I like to get some extra reassurance.

Weekend after this one (the first likely chance), I intend to get my first reloads done. I will probably do some prettying-up of the same brass I've already cleaned, but when I did the initial tumbling, I didn't have any cleaner.

wrt to the blackened insides, I was just worried that that layer itself would (though slightly) change the interior volume. I guess that's pretty picayune ... I've heard before too that cleaning cases is only necessary with notably dirty cases, but I'd *like* mine to look brand new

timothy

 

[FieroCDSP]

I tumble with walnut media, a capful of Nu-Finish(every seven runs), strips of dryer sheet, for two hours. The crusties are gone, the inside walls and web are usually still charred, but the outside looks better than factory and they glide through the dies. Everyone is different, uses different times, and different combos. Find what works for you. But don't tumble different calibers together, or none of them get clean. I once had a 45 with a 40, a 9mm, and a 380 all stacked. Had to use the pliers to break them loose.

 

[Sunray]

"...only necessary with notably dirty cases..." They need to be cleaned every time. Shiny is not required. Just clean of powder residue. Unpolished brass look just like what it says. Clean, but not shiny.
The inside will be black. That's fine. There's no reduction in capacity.

 

[fastattack]

Hey, thanks for the brasso hint P5 Guy, I should have known if I had done my homework! Sorry for the suggestion, and I'll switch in the future.
I do love shiny brass, kind of anal that way.
This site is a wealth of knowledge.

 

[RustyFN]

Walnut and Nu Finish, tumble two hours and they come out looking like new.
Rusty

 

[gyp_c2]

uhhhh...

...I dump it in the tub, hurts my feet when I shower though...
...ain't got the guts ta' take a bath with it...havin' some probs' with primer toenail, however...

 

[gandog56]

It seems to me that walnut media cleans better on really stained brass, but corncob gives it a high shine gloss. Some people I know use a 50/50 mix. and that seems to work pretty good. I can get either media for cheap at pet supply shops. But I have to run the corncob through a blender to chop it down a little better, as their chunks are pretty big and can jamb in my .223 cases. Don't have to bother with it on all my pistol cases.

 

[HJ857]

When I first started reloading I was advised to tumble wet. I find it works great and have never questioned the technique.

Get one of these. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=90979

Fill the drum about 1/2 or 2/3 full, fill with water, add a couple drops of dishwashing liquid and a teaspoon or two of lemon juice. Tumble 30 minutes, drain with a colander, rinse, de-cap and size while wet. Then tumble again with the same mixture for an hour or so. They'll be clean inside and out, no need to mess with the flashholes at all.

I rinse them well and dry them on a screen. It's unbelievably cheap and painless to do.

 

[Ari]

That sounds like a really good idea, anyone else use the wet method?

 

[USSR]

I spray the brass and walnut shell media with Glass Plus non-ammonia glass cleaner. Cuts down on the length of time in the tumbler.

Don

 

[cheygriz]

Are you looking for CLEAN or PRETTY?

Clean doesn't require any type of polishing agent. Pretty does.

Clean is all you NEED. Pretty is because you WANT it!

 

[ilbob]

I use crushed walnut hulls with a little bit of polish added. I have used Dillon brass polish and brasso. i doubt the small amount of brasso you would use matters much.

The important thing is to add some grit to the mixture.

I have also heard adding some mineral spirits helps. Haven't tried that yet.

I don't care if the cases are shiny so much as the crud is cleaned out.