What grit media is best for brass cleaning?

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
Since I got a wet tumbler I have not used my dry tumbler. Tossed the walnut media that was in it today.
 

Ian

Notorious member
I liked the SSTM system so much that I developed satisfactory (to me) work-arounds for the minor inconveniences of pin separation and drying brass. Still, it doesn't seem to be a process everyone likes.
 

358156 hp

At large, whereabouts unknown.
It seems so simple to me to separate the pins from the cases in a case separator mostly filled with clean water, then pick the pins up with a magnet like the one Frankford Arsenal markets. Yet some people really balk at the idea. After that I shake, or blow the water out of the cases and toss them into a running vibratory tumbler with walnut & NuFinish. They're clean and dry in about 30 minutes, I don't having any problems with media sticking in the cases, and the cases are nicely coated with wax and polished.
 

cherokeebill

New Member
I use the SSTM tumblers to clean sized brass, after I rinse the cleaned brass I tumble the wet brass in 50-50 mix of fine corn cob and fine walnut with nu finish polish in the mix, to dry and a final polish.
 

Ian

Notorious member
It seems so simple to me to separate the pins from the cases in a case separator mostly filled with clean water, then pick the pins up with a magnet like the one Frankford Arsenal markets. Yet some people really balk at the idea. After that I shake, or blow the water out of the cases and toss them into a running vibratory tumbler with walnut & NuFinish. They're clean and dry in about 30 minutes, I don't having any problems with media sticking in the cases, and the cases are nicely coated with wax and polished.

@358156 hp , I may have to try that. What I've been doing is pour off the dirty water, refill and pour off again, then dump all into the rotary separator basket, crank through clean water with liquid Meguire's to shake out the pins and rinse, then pull out the basket to shake out the excess water, pour brass into a towel, tumble shoe-shine style, pour onto large baking sheet covered with another towel and spread out to dry in the sun for a few hours or in the garage for a few days. Pins are removed frim rinse with F.A. magnet.

Every time I tried putting damp brass into cob media the media turned to cement inside the cases and primer pockets. Never tried it with walnut but it sounds like that's the way to go. You use lizard bedding I presume? I got this big F.A. vibratory tumbler that is fixing to get re-homed if I don't find a use for it....such as drying and waxing brass.
 

Winelover

North Central Arkansas
Plain lizard litter with a used dryer sheet. Nothing added until efficiency drops. Then I add Iosso, to rejuvenate. When I use the Lyman Turbo vibrator, a paper plate is placed over the slotted cover and held down with their hold down nut. I add information on the paper plate, like when it was last replaced and when I added the Iosso case polish. Gives me a good Idea when I should replace the media.
 
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Joshua

Taco Aficionado/Salish Sea Pirate/Part-Time Dragon
I really have no good answer for your question. I’m just gonna drift a bit.

When starting out the cost of all this stuff that we “need” to acquire can be daunting. For cleaning I went the cheap route. It’s a few years later and I’m still pretty happy with my system. My reloads don’t look like factory loaded ammo, but the way I clean gives me a perfectly functional product.

I reload about 7 different cartridges, and have about 10,000 pieces of brass for those cartridges. I also have quite a bit of brass that I don’t reload for “yet” that has been cleaned with this method.

I hand wash with hot water, dish soap, vinegar, and a little salt. It is a quick process about five minutes per batch, not including drying.

I live in an old house that was built in 1935, it has a great big double basin sink in the basement that is perfect for washing brass by hand. Big batches get washed in a 2 1/2 gallon bucket, that gets stirred with a three foot long piece of steel tube (recycled curtain rod). Straining gets done in an old salad spinner. I rinse three times. Smaller batches get sloshed back and forth between two plastic coffee cans for a few minutes.

In the winter I use towels to wipe down the brass, and then it gets dried in front of a box fan. But in summer it all gets laid out on plastic lined (waste basket liners) cardboard boxes and set out in the sun.

At this point I don’t have any reloaded ammo that is older than about two years. I can see how the lack of something like car polish could reduce the long term corrosion resistance. That being said, nothing has turned green yet.

Josh
 
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Dusty Bannister

Well-Known Member
I have a moderate amount of brass that passes through my hands. After sorting by caliber, I rough clean with dry media which makes sorting by head stamp a lot easier. I seldom sort the pistol brass by HS, but usually do sort the rifle by HS. Then the more desirable HS gets the wet pin cleaning. The brass I intend to keep for my own use gets the wet pin cleaning. For wet cleaning of brass that is not stained, I just use the wet solution (Lemi-Shine and Car wash & wax concentrate). Washed cases go for a spin in the rotary separator before the drying trays. Dry media cleaning also goes for a spin in the rotary separator to remove the media.

I also wash the old media, strain it though a fabric lined colander and let it drain well. This helps remove brass bits, and other debris that sticks to the fabric after the media has dried out a bit. After that it goes into a large flat tray for further drying and the media then shrinks back to the normal size. As it shrinks, stubborn bits of debris will become loose and release from the media. Pouring the mostly dried media from bucket to bucket outside in a cross wind helps let the dust blow from the media. Even then, I will fill the dry media cleaner, toss in a few scraps of rag and let the machine run for 20-30 minutes to clean out whatever is floating around. Then it is ready to remove the rag and use as normal. I still run the rag strips with the dry media to help attract the dust that is released as the brass receives the first cleaning.

Is one method better than the other? Most people seem to think so, but why limit it to just one tool when both have their purpose. As to the size of the media, yes there is some concern about the media getting stuck in the flash hole, or perhaps packing into the primer pocket. The fine media does not seem to do this, but if handling large bore cases, the size would certainly be less important that if cleaning 22 cal or smaller.
 

358156 hp

At large, whereabouts unknown.
I initially strain my dirty tumbler water in a colander with a "liner" made from material salvaged from wrecked t-shirts, leaving the cases and pins together. I pour the cases and pins into the basket of my RCBS rotary tumbling media/case separator and fill the separator with clean water up past the level of the cases in the basket. The pins need to be completely immersed to eliminate the surface tension of the water remaining in the cases, the surface tension of residual water is what causes pins to stick inside the cases. And then I start cranking away to allow the pins to escape. I guarantee that I crank much more than necessary, but I do it anyway.

Now the cases and pins are both rinsed with clear water and separated. I shake the basket containing the cases a bit to remove most of the water an set it aside to drain further while I recover the pins from the separator. I pour off as much water as possible and recover the pins with the magnet and lay them out on an old towel to dry. At this point I shake the basket with the cases some more to remove even more water. Now comes the part where YMMV.

My cases are at a minimum decapped before wet tumbling. Handgun cases get fully sized as well, it's important to do it the same way each time. Rifle cases just get decapped and go into wet tumbling since I have a number of steps that I check/do to prep them consistently before loading. With the walnut media I use, I can generally get away with shaking rifle cases to remove residual water. The primer pockets are the worst part. Sometimes I'll blow compressed air through the primer pocket to clear what little water remains by this point. Often times I just shake a handful of cases and toss 'em into a running tumbler with walnut.

Very rarely do I ever experience any clumping inside the cases. Even .223 cases. As Ian mentioned, I too think the really fine walnut media makes the difference here. Handgun cases just get shaken really well and tossed into a running tumbler as well. I think 9mm cases help out a bit by design since the case has an internal taper. All I can say is that these procedures work well for me, but circumstances vary, so if you try it, start out with small batches.
 

popper

Well-Known Member
Don't have a media separator for the STM so I just pour out most water, rinse, pull out cases by the handful and onto a towel. That strains most water, then into a plastic tray to sit in the sun for drying. When dry, the pins just fall out through handling/ shake the tray some.
 

358156 hp

At large, whereabouts unknown.
Honestly, if your hand will fit inside your tumbler drum, you can simply pull the cases out of the drum with the case mouth down and any pins inside the case should fall to the bottom of the drum as you pull the cases out. Then just rinse the cases.
 

Ian

Notorious member
Honestly, if your hand will fit inside your tumbler drum, you can simply pull the cases out of the drum with the case mouth down and any pins inside the case should fall to the bottom of the drum as you pull the cases out. Then just rinse the cases.

I do this for short batches or large cases like 45-90. Tip the drum, hold the pins and brass back with my fingers while the dirty water drains out, rinse and repeat, refill with clean water again and reach in to grab cases one at a time. If they're under water the pins fall right out, not so much if the water is drained from the drum first because the wet pins stick to the inside of the cases due to surface tension.
 

Firephoto798

New Member
Plus 1 on the used dryer sheets. I cut in quarters, put all 4 in my vibrator with full load of brass. Brass comes out shiny and media gets cleaned. Dryer sheets come out grungy, use new one for each load.
 

Rockydoc

Well-Known Member
A couple tablespoons of liquid car wax in the rinse water after a wet tumble with citric acid/Dawn does a fair job of preventing tarnish and makes carbide sizing easier. Nothing beats cob and nu-finish for a lasting shine, though. I hate abrasive, dry media so much that I haven't used my vibratory tumbler one single time since I went SSTM a few years ago.

As for media size, I tend to agree with Brad on smaller size for polishing.
What liquid car wax do you recommend, Ian?
 

FrankCVA42

Active Member
Don't know if anyone ever mentioned this, but if you have a well stocked welding supply house near you they should have various grades or grits of walnut shells and ground corncob. Just thought I'd mention this. Frank
 

358156 hp

At large, whereabouts unknown.
Good point Frank. ground walnut shells, and ground corn cobs are often sold as blasting media.
 

Ian

Notorious member
What liquid car wax do you recommend, Ian?
I found a spray bottle of liquid Meguire's in the middle of a suburban street, picked it up, and eventually tried it in the rinse water. Worked great I imagine any emulsified liquid car wax would work.
 

Wallyl

Active Member
358156 hp

You mentioned " if your hand will fit inside your tumbler drum, you can simply pull the cases out of the drum with the case mouth down and any pins inside the case should fall to the bottom of the drum as you pull the cases out". Here's what I do that works well. With the Thumbeler Tumbler I use a plastic oil drain tub. Place the tub on the top of the opened tumbler them invert so that the contents transfer to the oil pan/tub (you have to do it "just right"). Then pour pour the liquid watching carefully so that the pins don't fall out, as you do. Now invert the cases neck down and shake out the pins. Works best with calibers larger than .22.