Brass tumbling recommendations

[vgdvc]

Hello. Perhaps someone could give me good insight to a good tumbling technique for pistol caliber brass. My current method is using corn cob media with  Dillon rapid polish and then I would put some used dryer sheets in the tumblr to remove excess dust. I had a few episodes in the summer where when my magazines on my belt would be hot from sun beating on them some type of residue prevented proper feeding as it became sticky on the cases. Not dramatic but just enough to keep everything everything from rolling smooth in the magazines. I don't know if this was due to the polishing compound or something left from the dryer sheets. Any different materials or  techniques that have been proven successful is welcomed to hear,thank you.

[njl]

Try clean media without any polish/additives. It’ll still get the brass clean enough. Used dryer sheets to soak up dust shouldn’t be a problem. Definitely don’t try using unused sheets.

[Rnlinebacker]

Frankford Arsenal Rotary Tumbler with only frankford arsenal brass detergent pack. The 5 pounds of steel pins are not needed that are included.

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[vgdvc]

I appreciate the feedback. Is there a good way of drying the brass?that's one reason why I haven't used the wet tumble method

[Sarge]

2 minutes ago, vgdvc said:

I appreciate the feedback. Is there a good way of drying the brass?that's one reason why I haven't used the wet tumble method

If you live where it’s hot most of the time you can spread them out on the driveway but I do most of mine in the winter so I use the FA brass dryer. Set it and forget it on a two hour timer.

[vgdvc]

30 minutes ago, Sarge said:

If you live where it’s hot most of the time you can spread them out on the driveway but I do most of mine in the winter so I use the FA brass dryer. Set it and forget it on a two hour timer.

14 degrees F. this morning..... Got a lookout for an opportunity to try to locate in Sarasota Florida area asap, only 1 hour and 20 minutes from Frostproof and Universal Shooting Academy. I guess I would be looking to use a brass dryer until then, at least for the winter LOL

[IHAVEGAS]

8 hours ago, vgdvc said:

I had a few episodes in the summer where when my magazines on my belt would be hot from sun beating on them some type of residue prevented proper feeding as it became sticky on the cases. 

 

Do you lube the brass before reloading?

My brass, and case feeder assembly and whatever else the brass comes in contact with always has residue from either top shot or home made lanolin plus alcohol lube. If there is a meaningful effect on hot days I suspect it would be to reduce friction.

[Sarge]

8 hours ago, vgdvc said:

Hello. Perhaps someone could give me good insight to a good tumbling technique for pistol caliber brass. My current method is using corn cob media with  Dillon rapid polish and then I would put some used dryer sheets in the tumblr to remove excess dust. I had a few episodes in the summer where when my magazines on my belt would be hot from sun beating on them some type of residue prevented proper feeding as it became sticky on the cases. Not dramatic but just enough to keep everything everything from rolling smooth in the magazines. I don't know if this was due to the polishing compound or something left from the dryer sheets. Any different materials or  techniques that have been proven successful is welcomed to hear,thank you.

I tumble loaded rounds in fine corn cob with polish. No more residue from lube. Hands stay cleaner etc

[vgdvc]

6 hours ago, Sarge said:

I tumble loaded rounds in fine corn cob with polish. No more residue from lube. Hands stay cleaner etc

What polish do you use? I use coated bullets so not sure if that will work for me. I guess with rounded profile bullets or even flat point there's no risk in any primers getting set off?

[vgdvc]

6 hours ago, IHAVEGAS said:

 

Do you lube the brass before reloading?

My brass, and case feeder assembly and whatever else the brass comes in contact with always has residue from either top shot or home made lanolin plus alcohol lube. If there is a meaningful effect on hot days I suspect it would be to reduce friction.

I do not use any case lube. I don't know if the used dryer sheets used still had some of their coating on it that comes out of the box. I typically use corn cob media and will put in some Dillon rapid polish. Again don't know if the rapid polish also contributed to my issue when it got very hot out. I see people with very shiny brass. I have been reloading for quite some time and have resigned myself to just using corn cob but cases never really get all that shiny and smooth with my process. 

[anbrumm]

I wet tumble with brass juice or dry tumble in corn cob/walnut mix with Cableas case polish. For wet tumbling I rinse and then lay them out on a towel in the basement. Never had any issues with this method.

[IHAVEGAS]

28 minutes ago, vgdvc said:

I do not use any case lube.

 

Makes my right shoulder hurt just thinking about that  . 

 

I'm sure you have your reasons but it sure makes things easier if you do not have a motor driven press and it seems like it might help with sticky cases on hot days. Does take some of the shine off of the brass surface though. 

 

The rapid polish (I use a bit of "Nu Finish" paste car wax, cheaper) does not seem likely to be an issue just based on the gobs of people that use it. 

[Stealsack]

I will second the use of the FA dryer, or any food dehydrator.  It works awesome.

I have a cheap timer that I set to two hours and the brass is really dry.

I use whatever is cheap car wash with liquid wax in the wet tumbler and the brass comes out very clean and runs through the press reasonably well.

It also stays pretty

If I'm out of the wax, I use one shot.  It makes the brass slip through the press like butter but leaves it much less shiny.

 

[Sarge]

3 hours ago, vgdvc said:

What polish do you use? I use coated bullets so not sure if that will work for me. I guess with rounded profile bullets or even flat point there's no risk in any primers getting set off?

25% Nu Finish car wax 75% mineral spirits. (shake well before dropping in about a tea spoon full or so.) It never hurt any BBI's I tried. And no, you won't set off any primers.

[rustychev]

I wet tumble with just plain water and no pins.  I dont care what it looks like just want the crud off before going to the press.  For drying I picked up an old oven for free off of craigslist and use that at 250 for 90 min.  I only use 90 min because thats how long I tumble for.  then a shot of one shot as it goes into the case feeder.

[124gr9mm]

I wet tumble with pins and sprinkle of lemishine and dish soap.

 

After rinsing I stand the cases on a towel in the reloading room and let them dry overnight (or longer if I forget about them).

 

This (obviously) means that I have to do the case cleaning in advance, but I usually load in small batches as time allows (45 minutes to an hour after work when possible) so I need to have cases available when I'm ready to go.

[Adamj]

I wet tumble, mostly with no pins,  45 acp case full of lemishine, and dawn soap. When they are finished I stick them in the oven on its lowest temp until they are dry. Seems like everyone has their own little flavor. Like most everything here there a hundred ways to accomplish the same goal. 

[vgdvc]

I just tried for the first time wet tumble using Frankford Arsenal tumbler and "Brass juice". I used distilled water to tumble & tap water to rinse. No pins and tumbled for 3 hours.  Inside of the cases are very clean and outside of cases are shinier than new brass. Pretty amazing

[racer-x]

On 12/11/2018 at 6:02 PM, Sarge said:

25% Nu Finish car wax 75% mineral spirits. (shake well before dropping in about a tea spoon full or so.) It never hurt any BBI's I tried. And no, you won't set off any primers.

 

+1

 

Tumble this solution for 30 minutes in fresh corn cob to mix it up good (otherwise you could leave clumps inside brass).

Tumble with brass (set timer 3 hrs). Clean and very shiny.

 

4 sprays inside 1 gal baggie of lanolin case lube (Dillon or DIY). Fill bag with brass & shake for minute. Empty bag and let brass dry 10-20 minutes.

 

Load ammo.

 

Tumble loaded ammo 15-30 minutes. This removes all case lube and finds any loose primers.

[muncie21]

Another wet tumbler here. 

 

Squirt of car wax after cleaning with detergent makes cases run through my 650 without lube or extra effort.  I dry the cases for a day or 3 (depending on relative humidity) before dumping them in my 'clean brass' bin.  I plan ahead, so normally have several thousand clean cases ready to load at any point in time. 

[TheArmoredShop]

I use the Franklin  wet tumbler. I do use the pins with a dash of dawn and a tablespoon of lemi shine. Seriously I know the pins are a pain but the insides of my cases look just like the outside. 

 

To dry dry them I put them in the oven at 150 degrees for 20 minutes on a cookie sheet. Dry to the bone and ready to go. 

[TheArmoredShop]

On 12/11/2018 at 4:06 PM, rustychev said:

I wet tumble with just plain water and no pins.  I dont care what it looks like just want the crud off before going to the press.  For drying I picked up an old oven for free off of craigslist and use that at 250 for 90 min.  I only use 90 min because thats how long I tumble for.  then a shot of one shot as it goes into the case feeder.

 

 

Seems excessive? 150-170 for 20 minutes and my cases are completely dry. To each their own tho! Would definitely save you 70 minutes and some electricity! 

[Adamj]

I usually dry mine at 175°.  In 30 minutes pistol brass is dry and a little bit longer for rifle brass. 

[funflyr]

How long do most people tumble their brass?  Can you tumble it for to long?

[electricjet]

Hello gents ... experimented with several products for wet-tumbling and found that approx 30-35’ produced the same outcome compared to longer times.

 

I tumble de-capped brass.

 

I started using the commonly used Dawn/Lemi-shine mix with good cleaning results.

 

I moved on to use Boreteck’s case cleaner at a ratio of 1oz/gal. The results are spectacular. Primer pockets are spotless.

 

I have ordered some “Brass Juice” to experiment without the Pins.

 

After a final rinse I lightly dry the brass with a towel and then place them on an old cookie sheet on top of the “Shoe drying rack” in the clothes dryer for about 15’.

 

 

 

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