9mm brass polishing question

[GOF]

On 3/1/2022 at 4:25 AM, GrumpyOne said:

No. 

 

You could even skip the whole washing of the brass and just tumble in corn cob, before de-priming. I've been doing this way for many years, as well as countless others. 

 

 

+1

[Ben53]

On 3/1/2022 at 4:25 AM, GrumpyOne said:

No. 

 

You could even skip the whole washing of the brass and just tumble in corn cob, before de-priming. I've been doing this way for many years, as well as countless others. 

 

 

Yes, indeed.  I did it that way for a couple of decades and it does work.  I only moved to wet wash w/media a short few years ago and have come to prefer it.  Lots of different ways can work just fine.

[WDG710]

Many may not agree with this method but ... I discovered and now clean my brass this way; I put 200-250 casings into a gallon container (leftover Arnold Palmer ice tea container) - add the hottest tap water possible / fill container 75% to 80% full - add Dawn dish-washing detergent (about 1/2 shot glass) - then about 2 oz of "isonic" ultrasonic brass cleaner from Amazon. Then thoroughly shake  container (20 times) - then let sit for 48 hours.

 

THIS ACTUALLY WORKS GREAT - RINSE THOROUGHLY

 

NOTE: I may occasionally shake container ( but not required) a few times when passing it during the 48 hours / also do 2 containers at a time.

[Kjrobbins24]

Wet tumbling > dry tumbling 

[Laughing_jackal]

I wet tumble and used to use the Dawn and Lemi Shine combo.  I couldn't always get the mix quite right, or maybe it was the timing, so sometimes the brass would turn out super clean, sometimes it would look like nickel, and other times it would come out pink.  

 

I then switched to using Brass Juice in the Wet Tumbler, and it has provided very consistent results.  You can buy a big jug at a reasonable price that will last a long time.  For brass that isn't too dirty, I don't use the SS media.  If the brass is stupid dirty, I use the SS media.  This is what I use for 40 cal and 9mm.  

 

For precision rifle, I stuck to walnut and Nufinish, as the necks seemed to get "too clean", and seemed to create some inconsistency for seating projectiles. 

[X5SigChris]

@Laughing_jackalim glad you mentioned your use of brass juice. My wife got me a FART for Christmas and have been hearing good news about brass juice. Looking forward to giving it a try soon once I’m all set up. 

[Laughing_jackal]

@X5SigChris, yes, I've been pleasantly surprised with brass juice.  When I used to shoot PRS, some guys turned me on to it.  What I like about it is that it's simple, it's quick, it's idiot proof, and it's not harsh on the brass. 

 

I tried some of the Brass Juice brand case lube, but it's stickier than I'd prefer for loading on a progressive, so I just stick to Hornady One-Shot. 

[X5SigChris]

@Laughing_jackalwell i greatly appreciate your input. Got a small Liter jug on the way. I don't think I'll be loading nearly as much as I'd like to. damn primers!

[sam_b]

Brass juice no pins in my FART then dry in my dehydrator or on a bed sheet in the yard depending on season.

[delta6]

Interesting discussion..

my 2 cents.. I vibrate all brass for an hour in old media. This cleans all the dirt, debris and mud off the cases. Then, I tumble the brass in corn cob with either NuFinish or Dillon polish for about a hour to 1 1/2 hours. This saves a bit of money on the cost of the media by repurposing the old media.

[X5SigChris]

3 hours ago, delta6 said:

Interesting discussion..

my 2 cents.. I vibrate all brass for an hour in old media. This cleans all the dirt, debris and mud off the cases. Then, I tumble the brass in corn cob with either NuFinish or Dillon polish for about a hour to 1 1/2 hours. This saves a bit of money on the cost of the media by repurposing the old media.

thats really not a bad idea. Im tempted to do the same before wet tumbling 

[pmspaul]

I'm mostly reloading 9mm right now, so it's ~500 cases at a time in a homemade wet tumbler using SS pins.  I add a squirt and a half of dawn dish soap and a half 9mm case full of Lemishine.  I run it for 1-1.5hrs and it comes out great.

[Sarge]

Man I feel like a dummy. After trying all the home brew, pins, different brands and shapes of pins, etc I ordered a small jug of brass juice and gave it a try. Holy crap! The hype is true. Brass is just as clean without the hassle of pins and it’s actually more shiny. I’m a believer

[delta6]

On 1/30/2023 at 11:23 AM, Sarge said:

Man I feel like a dummy. After trying all the home brew, pins, different brands and shapes of pins, etc I ordered a small jug of brass juice and gave it a try. Holy crap! The hype is true. Brass is just as clean without the hassle of pins and it’s actually more shiny. I’m a believer

Sounds like a pretty viable solution for folks who do not want to mess with the pins, but prefer the wet method.

[m700]

On 1/30/2023 at 1:23 PM, Sarge said:

Man I feel like a dummy. After trying all the home brew, pins, different brands and shapes of pins, etc I ordered a small jug of brass juice and gave it a try. Holy crap! The hype is true. Brass is just as clean without the hassle of pins and it’s actually more shiny. I’m a believer

Ive been on it for 2 years or so. From what ive found run your first load an 1:15 drain into a bucket though a sifter to get brass out then dump the juice back in tumbler with another load for 2 hrs or so. I found that with the extra time on the second load you get just as shiny. and 2 hrs is enough time in the dehydrator to be dry by the time the second load is done. After the second load its diminishing returns. im running 4oz to 2-1/2 gallons with 2000 cases or so. What I usually end up doing is running 9mm first then the second is decapped/sized/trimmed 223, they take about 3-4 hrs to dry thoroughly and I only have 3 dehydrators

[mmc45414]

For you guys pre-processing with an APP, I was doing the same thing (when I was swaging on an APP) and realized I could lube 9mm cases with the homebrew lanolin and they sized as easy as they would deprime.  Made loading them effortless. 

 

I would usually do a quick wash to keep mud and dirt out of the sizing die, then lay them on a towel overnight.  They do not need to be completely dry, since moisture in the primer pockets does not matter and there are not shoulders to dent like a rifle case.  Then wash with polish, without primers they dry very quickly.