Tumbling brass

kealil · August 12, 2011, 06:07 PM

Hey all,
Three questions:

How long do you tumble your brass?
Do you Deprime before tumbling?
What gets your brass super duper shiney?

I tumble using corncob media for 10 hours using some nu finish or brasso.

farmerboy · August 12, 2011, 06:21 PM

I don't use brasso, if stained badly. First walnut media for about 5 hrs and then corn cob for about 5 hrs. Pretty clean. Corncob for about 5 hrs Do not deprime until after tumbling. Gets stuck I'n primer pockets sometimes

Twinsig · August 12, 2011, 07:00 PM

keep in mind I do straight wall pistol only, for now. 2-3 hrs in walnut with 1 cap-full of nufinish car wax mixed into each batch.
deprime after, keeps dies cleaner
clean primer pockets & check for cracks, etc...

Jim243 · August 12, 2011, 07:32 PM

Quote:

What gets your brass super duper shiney?

Fine corncobb.

Quote:

Do you Deprime before tumbling?

NO.

Quote:

How long do you tumble your brass?

1 hour is all it takes. 50/50 fine corncobb and fine walnut with one oz of franklin arsenal case polish.

That's all it takes.

Jim

SurplusShooter · August 12, 2011, 08:01 PM

tumbel for 6 - 10 hours in corn cob media with one cap full of cabelas brass polish.

roberto mervicini · August 12, 2011, 08:17 PM

I second Jim243, but I first deprime using universal depriming die, that way even the primers pockets get clean.
After I resize, followed by 20 minutes tumbling with clean fine media to remove the grease from the brass.

TXGunNut · August 12, 2011, 08:23 PM

I've been using the same batch of walnut shell media for over 10 years, hundreds of hours I'd guess. I add a bit of Hornady's One Shot metal polish every 15-20 hours.
I deprime, wash and dry my BP rifle brass, deprime my smokeless rifle brass and merely try to remove the grass, leaves and rocks before tumbling pistol brass.
My goal isn't "super duper shiney" in every case (NPI) but I like shiny old brass and shiny new boolits. I think I was a raccoon in a past life.

wncchester · August 12, 2011, 08:24 PM

"How long do you tumble your brass?"

Until it looks the way I want.

"Do you Deprime before tumbling?"

Yes, with a universal decapper, so it's clean for my sizers.

"What gets your brass super duper shiney?"

I don't want my cases to look like shiney plastic, I want it to look normal. I put a few tablespoons of diatameceous earth in my cob media and the finished effect looks like factory new.

lamarw · August 12, 2011, 08:39 PM

My Lyman tumbler recommends 2 hours. This is my norm. I use nufinish and I have also tried blueboy metal cleaner. I have used both corncob and walnut shell. Both work well for my use.

I have also used my ultrasonic to compare. It did a better job, but I thought it was a waste of my equipment and chemicals. I don't have to blind myself with the brass. I do want it clean.

jepp2 · August 12, 2011, 08:44 PM

I deprime prior to tumbling with a universal decapping die.

Then I "touch" the primer pockets on an RCBS primer pocket brush mounted on my Lyman powered universal case trimmer. I know I don't have to, but I just like seating primers into a clean pocket.

For cleaning I use fine walnut media with a dash of OMS (odorless mineral spirits) for a couple of hours. This gets the brass clean and ready for sizing. If it is tarnished badly, it just lightens it slightly.

To remove sizing lube (synthetic motor oil in my case) I use the same walnut media + OMS for 30 minutes.

When I want bright shiny brass, I add either NuFinish or Frankford Arsenal brass case polish to find corn cob media. Both shine equally well in 2-4 hours depending on the brass condition. I think the NuFinish leaves a protective coat on the brass that resists tarnishing.

I like good turnover in my tumbler. So I put the quantity of media in that gives the best turnover and don't overload it with brass. This shortens tumbling time.

bigredhemi · August 13, 2011, 01:47 AM

I have 40 pounds of that stuff for my swimming pool filter... does it leave residue inside the case? Do you add for each cleaning and does it build up in the media?

beex215 · August 13, 2011, 03:43 AM

whats the purpose of tumbling the brass? is it cosmetics?

PawPaw · August 13, 2011, 06:48 AM

Quote:

whats the purpose of tumbling the brass? is it cosmetics?

Yeah, pretty much. You can clean brass by putting it in a bucket with some water and Simple Green and swishing it around. That's what I did for two decades if my brass was dirty. Then, through some luck and karma I came into possession of not one, but two tumblers in the same month. I figgered I'd try them.

I tumble after depriming and sizing and I find that it makes the brass prettier. I use walnut media that I buy at the pet stores (walnut bedding) and tumble for a couple of hours after sizing. The walnut media is fine enough that it cleans the primer pockets and I haven't had any trouble like others report with clogged flash holes or media sticking in the cases. Even .223 brass, the media pours from them after the tumbling session.

Can I tell the difference? Other than cosmetic, not really.

Uncle Buck · August 13, 2011, 07:12 AM

I like really shiny, mirror like brass. It irritates the heck out of my shooting buddy.

Corn cob media. A cap or two of liquid car polish and a few hours in the tumbler. I will toss in a little bit of odorless mineral spirits now and then.

The tumbler (Vibratory type) gets turned on for a couple of hours while I am out and about doing chores. I also put a few used dryer sheets in the tumblers, cut up in strips, to help keep the dust down. The carbon that is cleaned from the shells gets trapped in the dryer sheet.

I decap them after I tumble them, because I hate fishing media out of the flash holes. I also believe the highly polished cartridges are much easier to run through my dies. (Others have said they notice no difference and others seem to get the same feeling I do about the car polished round, easier to work with.)

If I am working with rifle cartridges, I still lube them before running them through the reloading process, but I put them all in the tumbler when finished to get the lube off. Yes, you an tumble loaded rounds.

A FEW NOTES:

When putting in the liquid car polish, spread it around and run your tumbler for a few minutes until it gets spread around and disappears. Throwing your brass on top of it, or the other way around, makes a mess you'll have to dig out later.

Dryer Sheets should be cut into strips. One or two inches long. They will get wrapped around the center post of your tumbler, no worry. The media will just keep vibrating past the sheets and the old carbon will attach. I toss them after every use.

Mineral Spirits and odorless mineral spirits are two different things. One stinks to high heaven and the other doesn't. I put a little bit in the media, maybe every three to four months, depending on how much brass I have cleaned. Eventually, you just want to change the media.

Before there were tumblers, media, car polish, mineral spirits, etc..., people were reloading rifle and pistol shells by wiping the cartridge on their shirts, pants, or what ever was available. Whichever way you decide, just make sure the casings are clean before you run them through your dies.

dunerjeff · August 13, 2011, 07:19 AM

I switched from treted corn cob to walnut to this spting SS pins.Using a Lyman twin vibratory cleaner and the pins it takes 10min to get 80% like new or 25min to look exactly like new(even after the 4th reloading).It's a wet system so you do have to deal with drying. I decap first,clean, then size.

alloy · August 14, 2011, 06:24 AM

I run the brass overnight in crushed pet store walnuts.
Accumulated RCBS case lube mixed with fine range grit and powder residue polishes it as well as any store bought stuff I tried....and rinses off with water when the media gets nasty.

Ike666 · August 14, 2011, 10:16 PM

I have now tired every method I'm aware of. I've tumbled with corncob & walnut; with polishing agent and without.

I've tried ultrasonic; especially for my 5.7 brass.

And just recently I've been trying stainless steel.

The shiniest brass, by far, was with crushed walnut from Lyman with the jewelers rouge polish treatment.

On the other hand, the cleanest inside and out is with stainless steel.

I have not had any luck with the ultrasonic. Brass looks the same coming out as going in. It may be my solution (SimpleGreen and water). The 5.7 brass has the varnish coat on it so I wasn't expecting a change, but the rifle brass was not noticeably cleaner, inside or out.

I do not deprime when I'm tumbling; I do when I'm using the stainless.

Shiny brass does benefit from slightly increased lubricity (from the brass itself) and I can use a little less case lube for rifle prep.

kealil · August 14, 2011, 10:41 PM

What about a Dawn solution for a liquid tumbler?

I think I want to try a Dawn dish soap soak/rinse and see what I can get. The way I figure it, it its strong enough to get crude off of penguins without hurtin the little buggers, it might be something good to try here. Assuming no one screams no before I get started, I'm gonna give it a shot tomorrow.

Cruz5350 · August 15, 2011, 08:12 AM

Dawn works fine along with a pinch of Lemi Shine. I put them in a tupperware and shake the heck out of it. Sometimes I let it sit for 30 minutes to help give it a better shine with the Lemishine.

serf 'rett · August 15, 2011, 08:41 AM

Deprime on drill press or with universal depriming die first.

Wet tumble with Thumler Tumbler and stainless steel pins, using water, liquid dish washing soap and Lemishine, for 1 to 1-1/2 hours. Don't see any way the brass could be cleaner or have more "shine" for the small amount of time and effort invested in the process.

August 12, 2011, 06:07 PM	#1
kealil Senior Member Join Date: July 27, 2011 Posts: 270	Tumbling brass Hey all, Three questions: How long do you tumble your brass? Do you Deprime before tumbling? What gets your brass super duper shiney? I tumble using corncob media for 10 hours using some nu finish or brasso.

August 12, 2011, 07:00 PM	#3
Twinsig Senior Member Join Date: January 30, 2009 Location: East Alabama Posts: 235	keep in mind I do straight wall pistol only, for now. 2-3 hrs in walnut with 1 cap-full of nufinish car wax mixed into each batch. deprime after, keeps dies cleaner clean primer pockets & check for cracks, etc... __________________ I also have Fire Extinguishers, hope I never need those either.

August 13, 2011, 01:47 AM	#11
bigredhemi Member Join Date: February 2, 2010 Location: Southwestern PA Posts: 24	huh - diatameceous earth!? I have 40 pounds of that stuff for my swimming pool filter... does it leave residue inside the case? Do you add for each cleaning and does it build up in the media?

August 14, 2011, 10:16 PM	#17
Ike666 Senior Member Join Date: October 10, 2009 Location: SW VA Posts: 491	I have now tired every method I'm aware of. I've tumbled with corncob & walnut; with polishing agent and without. I've tried ultrasonic; especially for my 5.7 brass. And just recently I've been trying stainless steel. The shiniest brass, by far, was with crushed walnut from Lyman with the jewelers rouge polish treatment. On the other hand, the cleanest inside and out is with stainless steel. I have not had any luck with the ultrasonic. Brass looks the same coming out as going in. It may be my solution (SimpleGreen and water). The 5.7 brass has the varnish coat on it so I wasn't expecting a change, but the rifle brass was not noticeably cleaner, inside or out. I do not deprime when I'm tumbling; I do when I'm using the stainless. Shiny brass does benefit from slightly increased lubricity (from the brass itself) and I can use a little less case lube for rifle prep. __________________ ___________________ "I'm your huckleberry."

August 12, 2011, 06:21 PM	#2
farmerboy Junior member Join Date: May 16, 2009 Location: Central Texas Posts: 1,343	I don't use brasso, if stained badly. First walnut media for about 5 hrs and then corn cob for about 5 hrs. Pretty clean. Corncob for about 5 hrs Do not deprime until after tumbling. Gets stuck I'n primer pockets sometimes

August 12, 2011, 08:01 PM	#5
SurplusShooter Senior Member Join Date: July 3, 2011 Location: Upstate,New york Posts: 308	tumbel for 6 - 10 hours in corn cob media with one cap full of cabelas brass polish.

August 12, 2011, 08:17 PM	#6
roberto mervicini Senior Member Join Date: January 6, 2007 Location: Laval, Quebec, Canada Posts: 151	I second Jim243, but I first deprime using universal depriming die, that way even the primers pockets get clean. After I resize, followed by 20 minutes tumbling with clean fine media to remove the grease from the brass.

August 12, 2011, 08:23 PM	#7
TXGunNut Senior Member Join Date: January 16, 2010 Location: If you have to ask... Posts: 2,860	I've been using the same batch of walnut shell media for over 10 years, hundreds of hours I'd guess. I add a bit of Hornady's One Shot metal polish every 15-20 hours. I deprime, wash and dry my BP rifle brass, deprime my smokeless rifle brass and merely try to remove the grass, leaves and rocks before tumbling pistol brass. My goal isn't "super duper shiney" in every case (NPI) but I like shiny old brass and shiny new boolits. I think I was a raccoon in a past life.

August 12, 2011, 08:24 PM	#8
wncchester Senior Member Join Date: December 1, 2002 Posts: 2,832	"How long do you tumble your brass?" Until it looks the way I want. "Do you Deprime before tumbling?" Yes, with a universal decapper, so it's clean for my sizers. "What gets your brass super duper shiney?" I don't want my cases to look like shiney plastic, I want it to look normal. I put a few tablespoons of diatameceous earth in my cob media and the finished effect looks like factory new.

August 12, 2011, 08:39 PM	#9
lamarw Senior Member Join Date: April 12, 2010 Location: Lake Martin, AL Posts: 3,311	My Lyman tumbler recommends 2 hours. This is my norm. I use nufinish and I have also tried blueboy metal cleaner. I have used both corncob and walnut shell. Both work well for my use. I have also used my ultrasonic to compare. It did a better job, but I thought it was a waste of my equipment and chemicals. I don't have to blind myself with the brass. I do want it clean.

August 12, 2011, 08:44 PM	#10
jepp2 Senior Member Join Date: December 24, 2008 Location: Loveland, CO Posts: 1,476	I deprime prior to tumbling with a universal decapping die. Then I "touch" the primer pockets on an RCBS primer pocket brush mounted on my Lyman powered universal case trimmer. I know I don't have to, but I just like seating primers into a clean pocket. For cleaning I use fine walnut media with a dash of OMS (odorless mineral spirits) for a couple of hours. This gets the brass clean and ready for sizing. If it is tarnished badly, it just lightens it slightly. To remove sizing lube (synthetic motor oil in my case) I use the same walnut media + OMS for 30 minutes. When I want bright shiny brass, I add either NuFinish or Frankford Arsenal brass case polish to find corn cob media. Both shine equally well in 2-4 hours depending on the brass condition. I think the NuFinish leaves a protective coat on the brass that resists tarnishing. I like good turnover in my tumbler. So I put the quantity of media in that gives the best turnover and don't overload it with brass. This shortens tumbling time.

August 13, 2011, 03:43 AM	#12
beex215 Senior Member Join Date: October 10, 2010 Posts: 317	whats the purpose of tumbling the brass? is it cosmetics?

August 13, 2011, 07:12 AM	#14
Uncle Buck Senior Member Join Date: June 21, 2009 Location: West Central Missouri Posts: 2,592	I like really shiny, mirror like brass. It irritates the heck out of my shooting buddy. Corn cob media. A cap or two of liquid car polish and a few hours in the tumbler. I will toss in a little bit of odorless mineral spirits now and then. The tumbler (Vibratory type) gets turned on for a couple of hours while I am out and about doing chores. I also put a few used dryer sheets in the tumblers, cut up in strips, to help keep the dust down. The carbon that is cleaned from the shells gets trapped in the dryer sheet. I decap them after I tumble them, because I hate fishing media out of the flash holes. I also believe the highly polished cartridges are much easier to run through my dies. (Others have said they notice no difference and others seem to get the same feeling I do about the car polished round, easier to work with.) If I am working with rifle cartridges, I still lube them before running them through the reloading process, but I put them all in the tumbler when finished to get the lube off. Yes, you an tumble loaded rounds. A FEW NOTES: When putting in the liquid car polish, spread it around and run your tumbler for a few minutes until it gets spread around and disappears. Throwing your brass on top of it, or the other way around, makes a mess you'll have to dig out later. Dryer Sheets should be cut into strips. One or two inches long. They will get wrapped around the center post of your tumbler, no worry. The media will just keep vibrating past the sheets and the old carbon will attach. I toss them after every use. Mineral Spirits and odorless mineral spirits are two different things. One stinks to high heaven and the other doesn't. I put a little bit in the media, maybe every three to four months, depending on how much brass I have cleaned. Eventually, you just want to change the media. Before there were tumblers, media, car polish, mineral spirits, etc..., people were reloading rifle and pistol shells by wiping the cartridge on their shirts, pants, or what ever was available. Whichever way you decide, just make sure the casings are clean before you run them through your dies.

August 13, 2011, 07:19 AM	#15
dunerjeff Senior Member Join Date: March 31, 2011 Location: central Wisconsin Posts: 440	I switched from treted corn cob to walnut to this spting SS pins.Using a Lyman twin vibratory cleaner and the pins it takes 10min to get 80% like new or 25min to look exactly like new(even after the 4th reloading).It's a wet system so you do have to deal with drying. I decap first,clean, then size.

August 14, 2011, 10:41 PM	#18
kealil Senior Member Join Date: July 27, 2011 Posts: 270	What about a Dawn solution for a liquid tumbler? I think I want to try a Dawn dish soap soak/rinse and see what I can get. The way I figure it, it its strong enough to get crude off of penguins without hurtin the little buggers, it might be something good to try here. Assuming no one screams no before I get started, I'm gonna give it a shot tomorrow.

August 15, 2011, 08:12 AM	#19
Cruz5350 Member Join Date: October 28, 2010 Posts: 63	Dawn works fine along with a pinch of Lemi Shine. I put them in a tupperware and shake the heck out of it. Sometimes I let it sit for 30 minutes to help give it a better shine with the Lemishine.

August 15, 2011, 08:41 AM	#20
serf 'rett Senior Member Join Date: June 25, 2009 Location: Stuttgart, AR Posts: 1,569	Deprime on drill press or with universal depriming die first. Wet tumble with Thumler Tumbler and stainless steel pins, using water, liquid dish washing soap and Lemishine, for 1 to 1-1/2 hours. Don't see any way the brass could be cleaner or have more "shine" for the small amount of time and effort invested in the process.