Stainless Tumbling Brass

[Will]

A couple years ago I picked up a STM rotary tumbler. I like it but it could I feel I could have better results. Figured you guys may have some pointers.
My brass always needs a tumbling in corn cob media with nu finish car polish after being wet tumbled. If I skip this step the brass will tarnish badly just from being handled.
Also I seem to always have water spots on the brass.
I've seen to many pictures of wet tumbled brass online that you could see yourself in to believe I'm doing everything correctly. I just don't get those kind of results.

 

[KHornet]

I tried cob, and went to crushed walnut shells used for Lizard bedding
from PetSmart. Found it worked much better IMO.

 

[Ian]

There are some simple rules for perfect brass from a wet-tumbler. I'll enumerate them.

1. Use only distilled water or rainwater for both your wash and for rinsing.

2. Use at least a full teaspoon of either Lemi-Shine or pure citric acid powder (such as McCormick tomato canning additive) per load.

3. Use enough Dawn or Palmolive detergent to make a sudsy head when you open the tumbler up after it's been going for a few minutes, but no more. Dark brass is from insufficient detergent to cut the bullet lube and/or case lube residue on the brass. The usual recommendation of two tablespoons per load is usually too much, one is almost always too much, but on really greasy brass it might be about right. Two long squirts is about right most of the time. Too much is as bad as too little and interferes with the citric acid's action of passivating the brass.

4. Put citric acid in your rinse water bath. One teaspoon per gallon.

5. Dry your brass after separating the pins using a large bath towel and the "hammock method" of tumbling it. Pour it out on another dry towel, spread it around, and let it dry in the sun or where ever you can leave it for a while.

A tip for separating the pins: Use a rotary hand-crank corn cob media separator filled with distilled/rainwater and citric acid solution. Use a speaker magnet inside a deep cup to retrieve the pins, or spring for the pick-up magnet sold for the purpose. Using the media separator basket is good because after shaking out the pins and rinsing the brass, you can pull the basket out and let it drain for a minute, then just dump the whole load of brass in a towel for the hammock-tumble to get the outsides dry.

 

[SierraHunter]

I found using a hair dryer on the cases works really well. I'll put a towel down, and dump the brass on it, and blow dry it while moving it around. Only takes a few minutes.

I actually use Tide laundry pods for cleaner, and nothing else. Drop one in, and I've never had a batch come out looking bad.

Also, don't let them sit in the dirty water at a standstill.

 

[David Reiss]

My Frankford Arsenal tumbler my wife bought me 2 years ago for Xmas works great. I use dollar store equivalent of Simply Green and then dry the cases in a food dehydrator I picked up at a garage sale. My cases come out looking brand new. Just don't overload the tumbler.

 

[Ian]

Also, don't let them sit in the dirty water at a standstill.

Excellent tip.

Just don't overload the tumbler.

Another excellent tip. The more you put in there, the longer it takes for primer pockets to get clean, and at a certain point too much brass can stress the tumbler.

 

[SierraHunter]

Not over loading is a wonderful tip. The RCBS sidewinder only had a slip fit cap. The Frankford arsenal has screw on caps. I got used to using dad's FA, and when I got the RCBS, I put about 700 rounds of 45 acp in it, because it seemed to fit. Set it outside so it would not annoy the wife, and went back a few hours later to a lovely site. Spend a good while picking up 45 acp out of the dirt...

 

[358156 hp]

I live in an area with fairly decent tap water, and I use hot water, straight from the tap. Common sense tells me that the water doesn't need to be hot, but I do it anyway. I use a Thumlers Model B, and load the drum to about the halfway mark with brass & pins, I have a couple of Hornady Tumbling Media buckets that are the perfect size. I fill the drum to withing about an inch of the top, then add Lemishine & Armorall Car Wash & Wax from the local auto parts store. Since my Thumlers is the low speed version, I generally run it 3-4 hours. Then I drain & rinse the brass- often two rinses, blow the water out of the rifle cases, and toss the brass in the vibratory tumbler to dry it. If I'm planning on long term storage I'll tumble with NuFinish in walnut. I doubt the NuFinish is necessary, but as before, I do it anyway, it's not any extra work. As an aside, all my wet tumbled brass is sized and fully processed as needed before wet tumbling. I store brass that won't be used immediately in 1 gal. freezer bags.

 

[fiver]

that's pretty much how I do it too.
you have to be super careful about how much of the car wash you use.
I think it is trying to coat the cases while it is washing them and more than like just a drop or two is too much.

I just let the brass and sit to air dry if it's rifle brass because it's going back in the dry tumbler after sizing and de-priming anyway.
if it's pistol brass it goes in the dry media with the nu-finish.
I think a big part of the super shiny is also in the pin to case ratio.

 

[SierraHunter]

I always size/decap mine before wet tumbling.

 

[Ian]

I've been meaning to try adding liquid car wax to the rinse water bath instead of citric acid, but somehow I keep forgetting to try it. With citric acid in the bath, the brass turns a nice gold color after a few months and pretty much stays that way.

 

[SierraHunter]

I just recently picked up a bottle of citric acid, but have not done tried it yet. My dad uses lemishine and Dawn but I find the brass comes out shiner using the laundry pods

 

[Ian]

There is a specific reason to use citric acid (Lemi-shine is mostly if not all CA) on cartridge brass. First, it is the only organic acid that doesn't harm the zinc, and second it passivates the surface of some metals like brass and stainless steel to halt further corrosion. It's like bluing is for steel.

 

[358156 hp]

that's pretty much how I do it too.
you have to be super careful about how much of the car wash you use.
I think it is trying to coat the cases while it is washing them and more than like just a drop or two is too much.

I just let the brass and sit to air dry if it's rifle brass because it's going back in the dry tumbler after sizing and de-priming anyway.
if it's pistol brass it goes in the dry media with the nu-finish.
I think a big part of the super shiny is also in the pin to case ratio.

I think you're probably right about the pin ratio idea. I've seen a number of guys who don't use pins at all, the just let the cases bang into one another. They seem happy somehow, but I want everything clean. One of the big advantages to wet tumbling is cleaning out the inside of the case and the primer pockets. That part makes me happier than the shiny brass, which isn't at all difficult to achieve with walnut and NuFinish anyway.