I stopped reloading for several years and just built a bench and started loading again and noticed I left a decent amount in the tumbler for years using a lyman turbo tumbler walnut media and it liked stained the brass with media all over it inside and out. I tried to tumble it for several hours and it never cleaned up at all. I am not sure if I wasted all this brass or if there is a way to clean it. Thought about hot water and soap in the sink to see what happens.
left brass in tumbler
- Thread starter badbowtie
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Waywatcher
Member
What is the approximate value of the brass? If it's something like LC 5.56 I'd just toss it, but something like Lapua .223 brass, it might change the answer I give.
You do not have to use lemon juice (it works) which is expensive, Just use regular white vinegar.
For that amount of brass try 1 cup vinegar, 1 tablespoon salt to 1/2 ga of water. Let it soak 15 minutes or so and then rinse real well with fresh water. let it dry then tumble in new media with some kind of polish or Nu Finish.
For that amount of brass try 1 cup vinegar, 1 tablespoon salt to 1/2 ga of water. Let it soak 15 minutes or so and then rinse real well with fresh water. let it dry then tumble in new media with some kind of polish or Nu Finish.
jcwit
member
Clean it as the others have said with water, detergent, & winger. Then use it, no reason to toss it.
I'm sure the OP is going to spend $200 plus for a SS pin tumbling setup for a few pcs of .380 brass cases.
I'm sure the OP is going to spend $200 plus for a SS pin tumbling setup for a few pcs of .380 brass cases.
mgmorden
Member
As long as it polishes smooth (ie, no feeding issues), I personally wouldn't even bother. Tumbling from a functional standpoint only need remove debris and grim from the case. Once that's done everything else is merely cosmetic. I'd load them up and shoot as is.
Well thanks for all the help I pulled it all out of the tumbler and placed in a plastic jug filled with hot water and some soap and kept shaking it till all brass was nice clean and shinney. I really need to get a way to sort my brass brom this nasty red media it is such a messy job. I just bought the frankford arsenal tumbler a couple years ago, probably left the brass in due to being such a pain to get all the brass out and all the media out of the brass.
JRH6856
Member
Get a kitchen colander (like for draining pasta or washing veggies) set it over a bucket and pour the brass and media in it. Shake the colander until the media falls into the bucket.
dickttx
Member
After using a pan type sifter that came with my Cabelas (Berrys)tumbler I finally bought the Berrys rotating sifter. One of the best $33 I ever spent. A few turns of the crank and very, very little media on the reloading bench.
Bowfishrp
Member
Yeah those rotary sifters are the way to go....10-15 turns and almost all the media is out of my brass. As for the color...as long as it will shoot, it can be blue, I dont care.
jcwit
member
Another vote for this option.
Toss that red media out, probably the wrong size anyway. Get a bag of this
http://www.drillspot.com/products/521055/econoline_526040g-40_40_lbs_blast_media
Comes shipped to your door freight free, no gas expense.
Add one to one and a half teaspoons of liquid auto polish, any brand will work but Nu-Finish seems to be the most popular, and all your problems are solved as far as tumbling goes anyway.
It is walnut media but I have always hated it since day one. But looking at your link it is corn cob blast media. Which made me thing I have two 55 gallon drums full of sand blasting sand which is always called bllack beauty which I believe is coal slag. I wonder how that would work in the tumbler.
gamestalker
member
You can buy a media separator for like $5. I use a 5 gal paint bucket and place the separator(colander) on top and pour. I then use a plastic pasta claw to gently stir until all the media is knocked out of the cases, or until tender. Seriously though, it's just not that big of deal to cope with media separation.
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