good for you passing along what you've learned over the years. I have the same basic set up only for larger quantities of brass. The grandkids have some hungry AR's that are kept well supplied. Great results can be had by separating the cleaning and polishing steps. The dish soaps (Dawn, Prell, etc.) all produce an alkaline solution which will effectively neutralize the citric acid in the polishing solution. I use a 5 gallon construction mixer equipped with 5 gallon pails with wide screw-on lids. Steel pins are used as a tumbling medium for both steps. The first step cleans the dirt, grime, and residues. Secondly the well rinsed cases are tumbled with the steel pins in a citric acid solution with pH 3-4.5. Same basic equipment separates the pins from the brass etc. Some rifle cases are first decapped leaving cleaned primer pockets. Oven drying @ < 200 F until dry.
Sounds like you clean a lot of brass!! I've been adding a touch of wash and wax to the mixture and it seems to be working very well , no water spots and they hold their shine for extended periods. I think when I do my hunting and defense rounds I'll try separating the processes. Thanks for watching and commenting and adding your experience.
Agree completely, been reloading for over 50 years. I also used dry media with the dust, insufficient cleaning and no carbon removal. Saw a lot of wet tumbling but it seemed like a big mess and hassle. I couldn't have been more wrong. A couple years ago I found a Frankford Arsenal small tumbler for 50 bucks at a small show, bought it for 35 new in the box. If I was going to do it, it had to be then. Always looking to pinch a penny I found a big bag of powdered citric acid on Amazon was 1/4 the price of Lemi-Shine and I only use a 45acp case full per load so after 2 years I still have an almost full bag left and IMHO the citric acid works better and doesn't water spot. I also use a small squirt of Dawn and Southern Shine media. The Southern Shine doesn't get stuck in flash holes, bridge in necks and being pointy actually polishes the cases and removes all the baked on carbon. I always decap my rounds, no other way to remove the carbon from the primer pockets not to mention water will enter and sit behind the spent primer and make draining and drying the cases a big mess and hassle. I also bought a sifter that fits in a 5gal bucket, I fill the bucket and sifter to overflowing with running water and as it fills up I just stir The cases around and all the media falls into the water filled bucket. I remove the strainer and use a big nail pickup magnet, one of the ones that can release the magnetic hold (cheap at Harbor freight) and dunk it right in the bucket, it picks up all the media and put it right back into the cleaning drum and yes, I do store my media wet. With the citric acid in the water it never never goes sour and smells great even after 3 months. The drained brass goes on a cookie sheet and goes into my oven at 170* for 15-20 minutes, I then remove it and let it cool for another 5 and store the brass away. I also have an old food dehydrator that works also, just takes more time. Took me longer to tap this out that to clean a batch, minus the tumbling time of course. The brass comes out polished with the Southern Shine looking better than new and the process is super easy. Advise: Always decap, I use a Lee Universal Decap Die. A couple of bucks and it works on every caliber. I even bring home loads of pickup range brass, any caliber, decap and wet tumble. Sort and put in vacuum seal bags to sell at shows or give to friends, always comments on the great looking brass.
Awesome!! Thanks for commenting! I think a lot of peopleare hesitant to go to wet tumbling, to be honest I was too lol, but once you do you never go back and it truly is easier and gives 10x the results of dry tumbling. Cheers brother ,happy reloading!!
I have been reloading for many years, I am OCD as well. i would wet tumble with dawn and a little lemi shine, then walnut with nu-finish wax, great idea with the wash and wax car cleaner, I will try it out.. I use a Thumler's tumbler. mainly for the amount it can do in 1 process 10 pounds at a time. I have the regular rock tumbler version as when i started they did not make the brass cleaning version yet. Still works great.
I'm surprised by some of the other comments here saying clean brass is a waste of time and this is too complicated? If they aren't striving for perfection in every aspect of their reloading I'm pretty sure I wouldn't put a single round of theirs in my guns. I've never reloaded for speed or convenience, I reload for perfection!!
For those gals saying wet is a waste of time and that you don't need shiny brass then why do you even dry tumble? Why not just go from the dirt to the reloading bench? Pretty stupid to call this gentleman out how he chooses to process his brass when you guys are guilty of doing it yourselves. You are wasting time and products, plus you are going through too many steps when you don't just take your spent brass out of the dirt and reload it immediately. I reload range brass right there and then on our range...no cleaning, no nothing. I do, however, prefer clean and shiny brass because it makes it easier to inspect for potential issues and means less gunk in my firearms.
I've shot Millions of Rounds and reloaded probably as much, I've never found where the Carbon in the Primer pockets altered anything Primer goes Bang powder burns Bullet go out the Barrel fast. NO PROBLEM at ALL
I'm sure you don't pick up "millions" of rounds and reload them without cleaning them in one manner or another. I said in the first 2 min that dry tumbling is perfectly adequate and the brass doesn't have to be shiny clean..I have jist found this process to be easier and neater than dry tumbling and the results are better for the effort put in. To each his own , I've been reloading for 30+ years with perfectly functional, crappy looking brass.. same effort but now my brass looks nice too! You do you! More power to you ! Thanks for watching and commenting.
I've started reloading in the Late 70s. right now I've probably got 10, 6 gallon buckets full of 223 brass being worked sorry you are a small batch reloader.your going to love wet till you miss a pin in the Primer pocket and it flashes when you reload cuz you missed it....@@Urban_Tarzan
Not sure which part you're finding complicated, the process? Or making a tumbler? You can buy a wet tumbler if you prefer, not complicated. The process is essentially the same as dry tumbling, you add your brass to a media and turn it on, just with a 100x better results, not complicated.
@@randybichsel4244Which "time" am I wasting? Start to finish I can have completely clean brass in considerably less time than dry tumbling(and dry tumbling still looks like sh$t). You have to clean your brass, you're not just picking it up off the ground and reloading it. Maybe you count seconds ,maybe reloading is just a chore to you, maybe reloading to you is just a means to save money.. And that's fine! It's just not why I do it. I don't consider a single second of my time spent at the reloading bench as wasted, I love reloading, every aspect , every step and every second of it. I take absolute pride in my finished product and continually strive to make every aspect of my reloading better.
You making the mistake of trying to compare "shiny" to "clean". Clean brass in no way has to be shiny to properly function, it is a cosmetic appeal only. Also you mentioned using corncob as media, well that is a polishing media not a cleaning media. I've tumbled +200krds brass for 20+ yrs in walnut with a cap of Dillon polish and it's clean every time. If you want to shine it up use corncob with NuFinish car wax added. Cleaning brass is not complicated or hard by any means. Using a wet tumbler (I have a BigShot from CreedMoor) works but it is more work, more steps, more products and more money. You just have decide if how shiny it ends up is important to you because it's 100% not going to affect it's perform in any way.
So just to be clear, to clean I need Walnut and Dillon polish(4hrs of tumbling) , to polish I have to switch out the Walnut for Corncob and Add Nufinish car wax (tumble for 4 hrs) ...not to mention replacing both the corncob and Walnut every ??? Cases ... but tumbling in SS pins that last forever with a tea spoon of Dawn and 9mm case of Lemishine for 90 min to get 100x better results is to many ingredients and steps??? Naahhh, been there done that ,my dry media days are over!
@@Urban_Tarzan see again you're not making a rational comparison. If the goal is clean brass tumble in walnut and you're done, end of story. Anything beyond that is cosmetic. You cannot compare one to other and say they are the same. You are clearly basing results on looks, not real works results.
@@RimfireAddicted70 Why do you need to separate clean and cosmetically appealing ? Because dry tumbling can't do both at the same time .. why would I spend the same amount (actually more) time and effort for half the results? Why wouldn't you want your brass to look good as well as be good? You just don't care? That's fine , but why do you care that I like my brass to look good too ? It's called pride in your work and results! I really don't care how many rnds you claim to have reloaded in.. I'm 57 ,I started separating brass for my dad when I was 4 and haven't stopped reloading since , do the math . All dry tumbling until recently, There's nothing you know that I haven't seen or done already and nothing you can say that would convince me my own eyes are wrong. God bless though ,you do you !
Wet tumbling is too many steps. I can’t justify cleaning brass to jewelry quality when the plan is to quickly fill the inside with burnt carbon and then throw them in the dirt.
To be honest I used to think the same thing, until I started doing it. I actually find it cleaner , neater , and a much easier process with better results for my time. No dust and media all over the place or stuck in the flash holes either. I find the steps are basically the same. I've never felt like I got a fair return on my time and effort with dry media, and to the contrary I'm proud of the results I get with the wet tumbling. To each his own though ,shiny clean brass isn't necessary for great results , You do you brother!! Be safe out there and thanks for watching and commenting!
Just to back up Tarzan, I felt the same way as you but once I started wet tumbling it was a no brainer. I didn't like the dust because of health issues and I still use a dry vibratory cleaner for quick touch up's between firings but when my brass really grungy or I pick up a batch of range pickup cases they go in the wet tumbler and come out looking better than new. The wet tumbling also makes it very easy to see defects and cull them out.
For those gals saying wet is a waste of time and that you don't need shiny brass then why do you even dry tumble? Why not just go from the dirt to the reloading bench? Pretty stupid to call this gentleman out how he chooses to process his brass when you guys are guilty of doing it yourselves. You are wasting time and products, plus you are going through too many steps when you don't just take your spent brass out of the dirt and reload it immediately. I reload range brass right there and then on our range...no cleaning, no nothing. I do, however, prefer clean and shiny brass because it makes it easier to inspect for potential issues and means less gunk in my firearms.
good for you passing along what you've learned over the years.
I have the same basic set up only for larger quantities of brass. The grandkids have some hungry AR's that are kept well supplied.
Great results can be had by separating the cleaning and polishing steps. The dish soaps (Dawn, Prell, etc.) all produce an alkaline solution which will effectively neutralize the citric acid in the polishing solution. I use a 5 gallon construction mixer equipped with 5 gallon pails with wide screw-on lids. Steel pins are used as a tumbling medium for both steps. The first step cleans the dirt, grime, and residues. Secondly the well rinsed cases are tumbled with the steel pins in a citric acid solution with pH 3-4.5. Same basic equipment separates the pins from the brass etc. Some rifle cases are first decapped leaving cleaned primer pockets. Oven drying @ < 200 F until dry.
Sounds like you clean a lot of brass!! I've been adding a touch of wash and wax to the mixture and it seems to be working very well , no water spots and they hold their shine for extended periods. I think when I do my hunting and defense rounds I'll try separating the processes. Thanks for watching and commenting and adding your experience.
Agree completely, been reloading for over 50 years. I also used dry media with the dust, insufficient cleaning and no carbon removal. Saw a lot of wet tumbling but it seemed like a big mess and hassle. I couldn't have been more wrong. A couple years ago I found a Frankford Arsenal small tumbler for 50 bucks at a small show, bought it for 35 new in the box. If I was going to do it, it had to be then. Always looking to pinch a penny I found a big bag of powdered citric acid on Amazon was 1/4 the price of Lemi-Shine and I only use a 45acp case full per load so after 2 years I still have an almost full bag left and IMHO the citric acid works better and doesn't water spot. I also use a small squirt of Dawn and Southern Shine media. The Southern Shine doesn't get stuck in flash holes, bridge in necks and being pointy actually polishes the cases and removes all the baked on carbon. I always decap my rounds, no other way to remove the carbon from the primer pockets not to mention water will enter and sit behind the spent primer and make draining and drying the cases a big mess and hassle. I also bought a sifter that fits in a 5gal bucket, I fill the bucket and sifter to overflowing with running water and as it fills up I just stir The cases around and all the media falls into the water filled bucket. I remove the strainer and use a big nail pickup magnet, one of the ones that can release the magnetic hold (cheap at Harbor freight) and dunk it right in the bucket, it picks up all the media and put it right back into the cleaning drum and yes, I do store my media wet. With the citric acid in the water it never never goes sour and smells great even after 3 months. The drained brass goes on a cookie sheet and goes into my oven at 170* for 15-20 minutes, I then remove it and let it cool for another 5 and store the brass away. I also have an old food dehydrator that works also, just takes more time. Took me longer to tap this out that to clean a batch, minus the tumbling time of course. The brass comes out polished with the Southern Shine looking better than new and the process is super easy. Advise: Always decap, I use a Lee Universal Decap Die. A couple of bucks and it works on every caliber. I even bring home loads of pickup range brass, any caliber, decap and wet tumble. Sort and put in vacuum seal bags to sell at shows or give to friends, always comments on the great looking brass.
Awesome!! Thanks for commenting! I think a lot of peopleare hesitant to go to wet tumbling, to be honest I was too lol, but once you do you never go back and it truly is easier and gives 10x the results of dry tumbling. Cheers brother ,happy reloading!!
Add a small amount of Meguire's Wax & Shine with the Lemishine. Comes out clean and resists discoloration on sitting until used.
I have been reloading for many years, I am OCD as well. i would wet tumble with dawn and a little lemi shine, then walnut with nu-finish wax, great idea with the wash and wax car cleaner, I will try it out.. I use a Thumler's tumbler. mainly for the amount it can do in 1 process 10 pounds at a time. I have the regular rock tumbler version as when i started they did not make the brass cleaning version yet. Still works great.
I'm surprised by some of the other comments here saying clean brass is a waste of time and this is too complicated? If they aren't striving for perfection in every aspect of their reloading I'm pretty sure I wouldn't put a single round of theirs in my guns. I've never reloaded for speed or convenience, I reload for perfection!!
For those gals saying wet is a waste of time and that you don't need shiny brass then why do you even dry tumble? Why not just go from the dirt to the reloading bench? Pretty stupid to call this gentleman out how he chooses to process his brass when you guys are guilty of doing it yourselves. You are wasting time and products, plus you are going through too many steps when you don't just take your spent brass out of the dirt and reload it immediately. I reload range brass right there and then on our range...no cleaning, no nothing. I do, however, prefer clean and shiny brass because it makes it easier to inspect for potential issues and means less gunk in my firearms.
Well said !! Thank you ! And thanks for watching!
I've shot Millions of Rounds and reloaded probably as much, I've never found where the Carbon in the Primer pockets altered anything Primer goes Bang powder burns Bullet go out the Barrel fast. NO PROBLEM at ALL
I'm sure you don't pick up "millions" of rounds and reload them without cleaning them in one manner or another. I said in the first 2 min that dry tumbling is perfectly adequate and the brass doesn't have to be shiny clean..I have jist found this process to be easier and neater than dry tumbling and the results are better for the effort put in. To each his own , I've been reloading for 30+ years with perfectly functional, crappy looking brass.. same effort but now my brass looks nice too!
You do you! More power to you ! Thanks for watching and commenting.
I've started reloading in the Late 70s. right now I've probably got 10, 6 gallon buckets full of 223 brass being worked sorry you are a small batch reloader.your going to love wet till you miss a pin in the Primer pocket and it flashes when you reload cuz you missed it....@@Urban_Tarzan
Seems to me you are making this way too complicated.
WAY to Complicated and a waste of Time to boot.
Not sure which part you're finding complicated, the process? Or making a tumbler? You can buy a wet tumbler if you prefer, not complicated. The process is essentially the same as dry tumbling, you add your brass to a media and turn it on, just with a 100x better results, not complicated.
@@randybichsel4244Which "time" am I wasting? Start to finish I can have completely clean brass in considerably less time than dry tumbling(and dry tumbling still looks like sh$t). You have to clean your brass, you're not just picking it up off the ground and reloading it. Maybe you count seconds ,maybe reloading is just a chore to you, maybe reloading to you is just a means to save money.. And that's fine! It's just not why I do it.
I don't consider a single second of my time spent at the reloading bench as wasted, I love reloading, every aspect , every step and every second of it. I take absolute pride in my finished product and continually strive to make every aspect of my reloading better.
You making the mistake of trying to compare "shiny" to "clean". Clean brass in no way has to be shiny to properly function, it is a cosmetic appeal only. Also you mentioned using corncob as media, well that is a polishing media not a cleaning media. I've tumbled +200krds brass for 20+ yrs in walnut with a cap of Dillon polish and it's clean every time. If you want to shine it up use corncob with NuFinish car wax added. Cleaning brass is not complicated or hard by any means. Using a wet tumbler (I have a BigShot from CreedMoor) works but it is more work, more steps, more products and more money. You just have decide if how shiny it ends up is important to you because it's 100% not going to affect it's perform in any way.
So just to be clear, to clean I need Walnut and Dillon polish(4hrs of tumbling) , to polish I have to switch out the Walnut for Corncob and Add Nufinish car wax (tumble for 4 hrs) ...not to mention replacing both the corncob and Walnut every ??? Cases ... but tumbling in SS pins that last forever with a tea spoon of Dawn and 9mm case of Lemishine for 90 min to get 100x better results is to many ingredients and steps??? Naahhh, been there done that ,my dry media days are over!
@@Urban_Tarzan see again you're not making a rational comparison. If the goal is clean brass tumble in walnut and you're done, end of story. Anything beyond that is cosmetic. You cannot compare one to other and say they are the same. You are clearly basing results on looks, not real works results.
@@RimfireAddicted70 Why do you need to separate clean and cosmetically appealing ? Because dry tumbling can't do both at the same time .. why would I spend the same amount (actually more) time and effort for half the results? Why wouldn't you want your brass to look good as well as be good? You just don't care? That's fine , but why do you care that I like my brass to look good too ? It's called pride in your work and results! I really don't care how many rnds you claim to have reloaded in.. I'm 57 ,I started separating brass for my dad when I was 4 and haven't stopped reloading since , do the math . All dry tumbling until recently, There's nothing you know that I haven't seen or done already and nothing you can say that would convince me my own eyes are wrong. God bless though ,you do you !
Wet tumbling is too many steps. I can’t justify cleaning brass to jewelry quality when the plan is to quickly fill the inside with burnt carbon and then throw them in the dirt.
To be honest I used to think the same thing, until I started doing it. I actually find it cleaner , neater , and a much easier process with better results for my time. No dust and media all over the place or stuck in the flash holes either. I find the steps are basically the same. I've never felt like I got a fair return on my time and effort with dry media, and to the contrary I'm proud of the results I get with the wet tumbling. To each his own though ,shiny clean brass isn't necessary for great results , You do you brother!! Be safe out there and thanks for watching and commenting!
Just to back up Tarzan, I felt the same way as you but once I started wet tumbling it was a no brainer. I didn't like the dust because of health issues and I still use a dry vibratory cleaner for quick touch up's between firings but when my brass really grungy or I pick up a batch of range pickup cases they go in the wet tumbler and come out looking better than new. The wet tumbling also makes it very easy to see defects and cull them out.
@@hardball107 Everything is better when wet! Lol
Thank you for watching and commenting!!
For those gals saying wet is a waste of time and that you don't need shiny brass then why do you even dry tumble? Why not just go from the dirt to the reloading bench? Pretty stupid to call this gentleman out how he chooses to process his brass when you guys are guilty of doing it yourselves. You are wasting time and products, plus you are going through too many steps when you don't just take your spent brass out of the dirt and reload it immediately. I reload range brass right there and then on our range...no cleaning, no nothing. I do, however, prefer clean and shiny brass because it makes it easier to inspect for potential issues and means less gunk in my firearms.
Well said!! Thank you !