How long can you vibrate polish cases?

[BGD]

I am trying to get some bottle neck cases cleaned up and the necks of the cases will not clean up. There is still a dark stain on the necks of the cases. I have ran them in a vibrator polisher for about 5 hours. Can you damage the cases in a polisher?

Thanks

 

[ZeSpectre]

That dark "stain" may be the annealing. In that case it's a chemical alteration IN the metal and it won't "polish" off.

 

[blarby]

No, you cannot.

Add some mineral spirits, and spin overnight if ya need to- an ounce goes a long way.

Dont use this media once treated for final ammo tumbling.

 

[GLOOB]

Lots o folks tumble overnight, or more. W/e floats your boat. But there are various tricks to get your brass clean much, much faster than that.

That dark "stain" may be the annealing. In that case it's a chemical alteration IN the metal and it won't "polish" off.

IME annealing marks do come off, eventually. Mine are usually gone by second or third reload. But yeah, there's no reason to hurry that process along. Clean is clean.

 

[tcanthonyii]

If they are bad get a Lee case trimmer. Put it in a drill and use some steel wool to polish them up. Or some brass polish.

 

[BGD]

It is stubborn powder stain on the case necks. never thought of steel wool. They are probably clean enough to load. I am just being picky.

Thanks for the help

 

[FROGO207]

I have left the brass in the tumbler overnight and all the next day when cleaning really tarnished cases in the past with no ill effects. Now I use a Thumlers and SS pins that work faster but have smaller loads to deal with. If the rest of the casing is cleaned enough then use as is and the stain from annealing will polish out after 2-3 reloads anyway. It is only cosmetic, the casings will shoot the same tarnished or not.

 

[gamestalker]

What type of media are you using? I ask because corn cobb doesn't work as well as nut shell media in this respect. But there is also brass that gets seriously tarnished and will have very difficult to remove stains the result of, moisture or annealing, in which case mineral spirits will usually work.
As for tumbling too long, I have inadvertantly forgotten about my tumbler and actually tumbled brass for several days before I realized it. The only thing that happened was I had some really clean brass.

GS

 

[exbrit49]

Be careful with the brass polish

Some great ideas for cleaning there but be careful which brass polish you use, Unless you use a brass polish specifically made for tumbling shell cases it will probably contain ammonia! Ammonia causes the brass to become very brittle and will cause the cases to fail prematurely.
Brasso and most common cleaners contain ammonia so dont be tempted to use them, Instead look at Midway or one of the other bug suppliers and buy the right stuff.
As far as time in the vibratory cleaner, I leave then in till they are clean, some times as long as 12 to 14 hours for range pick up brass that has really discolored.
Have fun
Roger

 

[idoono]

I have left mine cleaning for two days while I went fishing. The brass was really clean and wasn't hurt a bit.

Idoono

 

[BYJO4]

You wont hurt the brass but puts more wear on the tumbler and cleaning media. If the brass is basically clean then reload it. Those stains will come off after several more cleanings.

 

[Constrictor]

Six years, three months and two days is all you can tumble this brass.

 

[ljnowell]

I usually put mine in around midnight and take it out the next morning around 8am. The brass is always really shiny

 

[savanahsdad]

I have a buffing wheel on my bench grinder for real bad spots, but most the time I run my 2500 pro mag , over night (8 too 10hrs)

 

[BGD]

I just bought this vibrator polisher and am using the media that came with it. I think it is corn. Is there a better media to use?

 

[James2]

Load them! Good grief, there is way too much yap about bright shiny brass. I loaded for 50 years with no more cleaning than wiping them off with a cotton rag. Usually not even that. Stains, tarnish? Who cares? They will work just fine.

 

[ljnowell]

Load them! Good grief, there is way too much yap about bright shiny brass. I loaded for 50 years with no more cleaning than wiping them off with a cotton rag. Usually not even that. Stains, tarnish? Who cares? They will work just fine.
__________________

Some of us prefer to put out the best quality ammo we can, including the appearance. I'm proud of what I make, I don't want it dingy looking. That just shows I didnt care enough to take the time to clean the cases well.

 

[blarby]

Load them! Good grief, there is way too much yap about bright shiny brass. I loaded for 50 years with no more cleaning than wiping them off with a cotton rag. Usually not even that. Stains, tarnish? Who cares? They will work just fine.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=654866&highlight=bullet+porn

Ahhhh........

There is a lot to be said about ammunition that is so well made....... that even at the scent of it, let alone the sight........that the deer just give up and jump in the truck of their own accord

 

[GLOOB]

I just bought this vibrator polisher and am using the media that came with it. I think it is corn. Is there a better media to use?

Try this:
1. Fill tumbler halfway with corn cob media and turn it on.
2. Add a very small squirt of Nufinish car polish.
3. Squirt in 1 fl oz of mineral spirits.
4. Swish the brass in a bucket of water with a couple drops of dish soap for about 30 seconds.
5. Strain well.
6. Put the damp brass in the tumbler. Don't worry. The brass will be dry in 20-30 min, and the water speeds up the cleaning action.
7. Add more media till the tumbler is near overflowing. No matter how little the load, my Berry's tumbler moves the brass much faster when it's full.

My brass is shiny clean in 45 min, and I've been using the same 2 tumbler's full of media for the last two years!

Do not mix up the order! If you put dry rifle cases into the media, then add water to the tumbler, you can get expanded media cemented into the cases.

 

[boommer]

IF YOU CARE CARE YOU CARE HOW PRETTY YOUR BRASS LOOKS (HAVE AT IT)
30years reloading and just want them clean. Just shows

 

[Walkalong]

I forgot about some brass tumbling out in the shed once and it tumbled 4 or 5 days. No worse for the wear. Shiny too.

Clean is all that is needed to load safe, quality ammo. Preferences on cleaning cases is just that, a preference. Lets not judge others as to how they prep cases.

 

[blarby]

Preferences on cleaning cases is just that, a preference. Lets not judge others as to how they prep cases.

I can get behind that sentiment.

 

[Hit_Factor]

I usually run 30-45 minutes in a large Dillon vibratory cleaner using tuffnut media from Lyman. Use one of those Christmas light timers too turn it on while at work and it's ready when I get home.

 

[beatledog7]

Opinions vary, and that's why I love America. For me, ammo is ammo: jewelry is jewelry. Shiny is nice, but clean is all you need.

 

[SSN Vet]

3 to 4 hours in the jitter-bug with a cap full of Nu-finish in Walnut media gets them plenty clean. I seem to get better results with Walnut over corn cob.

I'm more of a function trumps form kind of guy and don't attribute much value or "quality" to ascetics. But to each his own.

Cases with verdigris go into the scrap bin.

I sometimes hit a dark stained case with 400 emery paper to see whether the discoloration is on the surface or deep into the metal, and scrap or save that case depending on the outcome.