raysracer Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 I just got three 5 gallon pails filled with brass and nickel plated brass. They are wet and very dirty. any suggestions to get this into a condition that i can start tumbling? i was planning on hosing it down (it's wet already). Possibly build a strainer (home depot is down the street). then there is the issue of wet brass. putting into a tumbler is going to be a monster mess. any recommendations on getting rid of the crud and drying the brass? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle O Posted March 26, 2011 Share Posted March 26, 2011 is it all the same caliber? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted March 26, 2011 Share Posted March 26, 2011 (edited) I pick up wet and muddy brass all the time. Just go get a strainer bowl from walmart. No need to build anything. I fill a utility sink with hot soapy water and put brass in the strainer and dunk, dunk, dunk, and swirl, swirl,swirl with my hands until it looks good. Then I lay a towel out in the garage or out in the sun is better. Flip the brass in the strainer several times to get the bulk of the water out then spread it out on the towel to dry. I let it dry for along time because you are right, wet brass and tumblers don't get along. The media packs in and dries and is hard to get out. I use Dawn dishwashing soap and get great results. Edit to add Kyle makes a good point. The brass should be sorted by caliber to keep it from nesting. Edited March 26, 2011 by Kevin Sanders Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdm74 Posted March 26, 2011 Share Posted March 26, 2011 Wow that's alot of brass..were they kept like that? I normally dump mine out to dry but not at that quanity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raysracer Posted March 26, 2011 Author Share Posted March 26, 2011 they are mostly .40 they were kept outside, and with the rain, it has made them wet, muddy and really dirty. I just got them today, so looks like Saturday will be clean brass day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foilhat Posted March 26, 2011 Share Posted March 26, 2011 You could also use a little Lemi-shine in the water (found by dish soaps). I've used the Lemi-shine and it seams to do a good job on tarnished brass. Rinse and lay on towel or use wife's cookie sheets covered with foil and place in oven. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raysracer Posted March 26, 2011 Author Share Posted March 26, 2011 Rinse and lay on towel or use wife's cookie sheets covered with foil and place in oven. that will go over well...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foilhat Posted March 26, 2011 Share Posted March 26, 2011 Rinse and lay on towel or use wife's cookie sheets covered with foil and place in oven. that will go over well...... While she is at work, cover your tracks before she returns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
okshootist Posted March 26, 2011 Share Posted March 26, 2011 Best to decap them first, water gets trapped in the primer pockets. Wash with dish washing liquid and cream of tartar. A waterproof tumbler helps. Putting them in a strainer on top of a central air conditioning unit dries better than the oven if that is an option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raysracer Posted March 26, 2011 Author Share Posted March 26, 2011 I just spent some time working on the brass. this is really dirty, but not terrible. I keep thinking of when i'm going to go shooting... so, i went to home depot and bought some buckets. i drilled a bunch of holes on the bottom of one to use as a strainer. the hard part will be drying the brass. it is still raining outside, so i'm going to lay it out on the garage floor. i've got some cardboard out, hopefully it will be dry in the next day or so... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Ryder Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 Rinse and lay on towel or use wife's cookie sheets covered with foil and place in oven. that will go over well...... While she is at work, cover your tracks before she returns. I left a case on the bottom of the oven and got caught! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raysracer Posted March 27, 2011 Author Share Posted March 27, 2011 I left a case on the bottom of the oven and got caught! Doh! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsa Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 to dry the brass after its been sorted by cal and cleaned put a bunch of it in a laundry bag with a draw string ,put your dry on medium heat throw the bag in with a couple of old towels and your good to good it works great it will tumble out any dirt left inside and it will stay inside the bag. They will come out dry is a bone.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 to dry the brass after its been sorted by cal and cleaned put a bunch of it in a laundry bag with a draw string ,put your dry on medium heat throw the bag in with a couple of old towels and your good to good it works great it will tumble out any dirt left inside and it will stay inside the bag. They will come out dry is a bone.... Won't lead deposits be an issue here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whistlepig Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 I'm no germaphobe, but its not a good idea to contaminate your oven or dryer..... All kinds of things going on in combustion inside a case. Firefighters don't wash their turnout gear in home washers and dryers for the same reason. For your dirty cases, just hose off and let air dry. Shake em around over the course of drying and it will turn out fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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