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Help with Wet Tumbling

caveman_actual

caveman_actual

Private
Minuteman
Oct 7, 2018
12
0
NoVA
Wet tumbled my once fired brass for the first time today and brass seemed to come out dirtier than when I put them in. It appears that the tumbler just spread the tarnish from the neck to the entire case.
Details on equipment:
  • Hornady Rotary Case Tumbler (Item # 050220)
  • Hornady Rotary Media Sifter (Item # 050207)
  • Hornady One Shot Metal Polish (Item # 9993)
  • Hornady 6.5 Creedmoor Brass (Once fired, de-primed)
I tumbled 5lbs of brass with 5lbs of SS media pins (that came with the tumbler), 2 quarts of water and about 5 Tablespoons of the metal polish for 3 hours. Then I rinsed the brass with hot water while running through the media sifter. The attached image shows a piece of non-tumbled brass on the left and a piece of brass that was tumbled and rinsed on the right. If I rub the tumbled brass hard enough I start to see a little shine but I expected the brass to come out shiny from tumbling and rinsing.

Some questions I have now:
  • What am I doing wrong?
  • Did I not run them long enough?
  • Is the metal polish from Hornady junk?
  • Should I use Lemishine and Dawn instead or with the metal polish?

Most importantly can I resize the brass while it is this tarnished and tumble again after?

Thanks and apologies if this has already been covered, I searched the forum for a bit and haven't seen this issue.
 

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caveman_actual said:
Wet tumbled my once fired brass for the first time today and brass seemed to come out dirtier than when I put them in. It appears that the tumbler just spread the tarnish from the neck to the entire case.
Details on equipment:
  • Hornady Rotary Case Tumbler (Item # 050220)
  • Hornady Rotary Media Sifter (Item # 050207)
  • Hornady One Shot Metal Polish (Item # 9993)
  • Hornady 6.5 Creedmoor Brass (Once fired, de-primed)
I tumbled 5lbs of brass with 5lbs of SS media pins (that came with the tumbler), 2 quarts of water and about 5 Tablespoons of the metal polish for 3 hours. Then I rinsed the brass with hot water while running through the media sifter. The attached image shows a piece of non-tumbled brass on the left and a piece of brass that was tumbled and rinsed on the right. If I rub the tumbled brass hard enough I start to see a little shine but I expected the brass to come out shiny from tumbling and rinsing.

Some questions I have now:
  • What am I doing wrong?
  • Did I not run them long enough?
  • Is the metal polish from Hornady junk?
  • Should I use Lemishine and Dawn instead or with the metal polish?

Most importantly can I resize the brass while it is this tarnished and tumble again after?

Thanks and apologies if this has already been covered, I searched the forum for a bit and haven't seen this issue.
Click to expand...
Yes, use dawn and Lemishine! I would retumble before sizing. But thats just me.
 
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Not sure what you mean saying metal polish? I use about a 9mm case full of LemiShine and a cap full of ArmorAll Wash and Wax. Some guys use Dawn instead of wash and wax. You also need to tumble your pins in the dish soap to remove any oil before using them. If you have a steel case mixed in it can make for some funky brass too!

And yes, if the brass is not dirty and gritty you can size first.
 
caveman_actual said:
Wet tumbled my once fired brass for the first time today and brass seemed to come out dirtier than when I put them in. It appears that the tumbler just spread the tarnish from the neck to the entire case.
Details on equipment:
  • Hornady Rotary Case Tumbler (Item # 050220)
  • Hornady Rotary Media Sifter (Item # 050207)
  • Hornady One Shot Metal Polish (Item # 9993)
  • Hornady 6.5 Creedmoor Brass (Once fired, de-primed)
I tumbled 5lbs of brass with 5lbs of SS media pins (that came with the tumbler), 2 quarts of water and about 5 Tablespoons of the metal polish for 3 hours. Then I rinsed the brass with hot water while running through the media sifter. The attached image shows a piece of non-tumbled brass on the left and a piece of brass that was tumbled and rinsed on the right. If I rub the tumbled brass hard enough I start to see a little shine but I expected the brass to come out shiny from tumbling and rinsing.

Some questions I have now:
  • What am I doing wrong?
  • Did I not run them long enough?
  • Is the metal polish from Hornady junk?
  • Should I use Lemishine and Dawn instead or with the metal polish?

Most importantly can I resize the brass while it is this tarnished and tumble again after?

Thanks and apologies if this has already been covered, I searched the forum for a bit and haven't seen this issue.
Click to expand...

What tumbler are you using?

Am not sure if this is the same issue I had with my Frankford Arsenal Rotary Tumbler, but it kinda looks like it. The problem I had was that one day after a couple years of use, my brass came out looking like yours. . . where it wasn't a "tarnish" that was left behind, but it was a thin layer of rubber from the rubber liner. Apparently the rubber liner in the tumbler was degrading for some reason. I called Frankford Arsenal and told them my problem and they immediately sent out a new drum. Using the new drum, the problem was solved and my brass come out nice and shinny once again after an hour of tumbling..

I've been trying to figure out why that rubber liner degraded like that, but haven't put a finger on it yet. I use hot water with Dawn and Lemonshine, which seems very popular cleaning brass. I just wonder if there's something about this particular rubber liner that Dawn's particularly strong surfactants degrades it. I don't know. If my new drum winds up do the same thing after some time, I guess I'll have to report it to Frankford Arsenal again and think of an alternative tumbler.
 
Last edited:
Do not wet tumble with metal polish. Use dawn as Lemishine

Place your brass in the tumbler with the SS media. Fill with hot water. As a goo squirt or two of Dawn and about a tablespoon of the Lemishine. Check back in an hour and it will look brand new.
 
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Did you run the tumbler with just the SS pins beforehand? Cleans the crap off of the pins.
Tumbling with dishwashing liquid soap keeps the gunk from settling back on your cases.
 
You also don’t need to tumble for 3 hours. But the main culprit here is that you didn’t use soap
 
The longer you tumble the more the brass gets pinged!
I usually only tumble 30 minutes at the most.

3 hrs and the case mouths should be rolled in pretty hard and the case body pinged to shit!
 
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GONE BAD said:
The longer you tumble the more the brass gets pinged!
I usually only tumble 30 minutes at the most.

3 hrs and the case mouths should be rolled in pretty hard and the case body pinged to shit!
Click to expand...

BS I tumble overnight without pinging anything.
 
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Peening is not an issue for me when I wet tumble, even if its bad, as I trim my cases every time to the same length with a three way trimmer and that does away with any peening of the case mouths.
 
Franklin Arsenal tumbler, .5 teaspoon Lemmeshine, 1 teaspoon Dawn, 250 5.56 pieces of brass, tumble 3 hrs, comes out like new. I have picked up the nastiest range brass I could find to test and still comes out like new.
 
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HOT WATER!! Dawn and lemishine !/2 hr to 45 mins and it is is in new condition. I'm using the lyman but have used the FA and RCBS versions also. Same results. Hot water makes it much faster to dry as well.
 
Don't overthink it.
I deprime my brass first because the spent primers probably have more gunk in them than the rest of the case. Hot water from the tap, a squirt or two of dawn and a small pinch of Lemishine. Run it for 45 mins. Then drain the water and start over. Another 30 mins or so and you're good. I do this for about 200 pieces of 6.5CM brass per run.

I think the Hornady case polish is for dry tumbling, not wet tumbling.
 
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The metal polish you used was for a dry tumbler with corn cob or walnut media. These guys have you going on the right direction with Dawn and Lemi-Shine. The amount of Dawn isn’t critical, but if your brass comes out looking a little pink, back off the Lemi-Shine. I use no more than a 9mm case full, usually less.
 
lightman said:
Not sure what you mean saying metal polish? I use about a 9mm case full of LemiShine and a cap full of ArmorAll Wash and Wax. Some guys use Dawn instead of wash and wax. You also need to tumble your pins in the dish soap to remove any oil before using them. If you have a steel case mixed in it can make for some funky brass too!

And yes, if the brass is not dirty and gritty you can size first.
Click to expand...
The Hornady Metal Polish I mentioned in the post that I thought was made for wet tumbling.
 
Last edited:
Hot water, steel pin media, 2 second squeeze of Dawn and a tsp of LemiShine for 3 hrs. You’ll never go back
 
Thanks all, I'll toss that metal polish I thought was for wet tumbling and go with Dawn and Lemishine. I also just cleaned the media by itself with Dawn and rinsed until the water was clear, hope that helps. Now just need to wait for the Lemishine to come in.
 
straightshooter1 said:
What tumbler are you using?

Am not sure if this is the same issue I had with my Frankford Arsenal Rotary Tumbler, but it kinda looks like it. The problem I had was that one day after a couple years of use, my brass came out looking like yours. . . where it wasn't a "tarnish" that was left behind, but it was a thin layer of rubber from the rubber liner. Apparently the rubber liner in the tumbler was degrading for some reason. I called Frankford Arsenal and told them my problem and they immediately sent out a new drum. Using the new drum, the problem was solved and my brass come out nice and shinny once again after an hour of tumbling..

I've been trying to figure out why that rubber liner degraded like that, but haven't put a finger on it yet. I use hot water with Dawn and Lemonshine, which seems very popular cleaning brass. I just wonder if there's something about this particular rubber liner that Dawn's particularly strong surfactants degrades it. I don't know. If my new drum winds up do the same thing after some time, I guess I'll have to report it to Frankford Arsenal again and think of an alternative tumbler.
Click to expand...
I'm using the Hornady tumbler I mentioned in the original post. It's brand new so I doubt its the rubber lining, but thanks I'll keep an eye out for that in the future.
 
straightshooter1 said:
What tumbler are you using?

Am not sure if this is the same issue I had with my Frankford Arsenal Rotary Tumbler, but it kinda looks like it. The problem I had was that one day after a couple years of use, my brass came out looking like yours. . . where it wasn't a "tarnish" that was left behind, but it was a thin layer of rubber from the rubber liner. Apparently the rubber liner in the tumbler was degrading for some reason. I called Frankford Arsenal and told them my problem and they immediately sent out a new drum. Using the new drum, the problem was solved and my brass come out nice and shinny once again after an hour of tumbling..

I've been trying to figure out why that rubber liner degraded like that, but haven't put a finger on it yet. I use hot water with Dawn and Lemonshine, which seems very popular cleaning brass. I just wonder if there's something about this particular rubber liner that Dawn's particularly strong surfactants degrades it. I don't know. If my new drum winds up do the same thing after some time, I guess I'll have to report it to Frankford Arsenal again and think of an alternative tumbler.
Click to expand...

Where was the drum made?
 
918v said:
Where was the drum made?
Click to expand...

. . . don't know. But I think that Frankford Arsenal probably has this and other produces manufactured in China like just about every manufacturer does, or at least many components. So . . . ???
 
I do the dawn and lemishine combo. I started by tumbling, then draining the dirty water, and tumble again with clean water, and that was a waste of time. Now I just tumble, drain the dirty water, rinse and dump.

One thing I discovered, my friends who have water softeners, they can't get their brass shiny using that water, so they had to resort to using water that bypassed the water softener.
 
Alpine 338 said:
One thing I discovered, my friends who have water softeners, they can't get their brass shiny using that water, so they had to resort to using water that bypassed the water softener.
Click to expand...

Hmmm??? I have a water softener and uses soft water and my brass comes out nice and clean AND shiny (using Dawn and Lemonshine).
 
If you use the wrong proportions of chemicals then the brass doesn’t shine.
 
How many 6.5cm cases can you wash at a time in the bigger Frankford Arsenal tumbler??

I was messing around washing some dirty gritty ones (no ss media) up before starting reloading. First batch was 300 about 1/2 full, had lots of tumbling, 2nd load was 600,pretty much full and was much quieter and not alot of tumbling in window. 3rd load was 500 and still didn't have a ton of tumbling but not sure how much tumbling is actually needed when cleaning with the ss media.
 
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caveman_actual said:
Wet tumbled my once fired brass for the first time today and brass seemed to come out dirtier than when I put them in. It appears that the tumbler just spread the tarnish from the neck to the entire case.
Details on equipment:
  • Hornady Rotary Case Tumbler (Item # 050220)
  • Hornady Rotary Media Sifter (Item # 050207)
  • Hornady One Shot Metal Polish (Item # 9993)
  • Hornady 6.5 Creedmoor Brass (Once fired, de-primed)
I tumbled 5lbs of brass with 5lbs of SS media pins (that came with the tumbler), 2 quarts of water and about 5 Tablespoons of the metal polish for 3 hours. Then I rinsed the brass with hot water while running through the media sifter. The attached image shows a piece of non-tumbled brass on the left and a piece of brass that was tumbled and rinsed on the right. If I rub the tumbled brass hard enough I start to see a little shine but I expected the brass to come out shiny from tumbling and rinsing.

Some questions I have now:
  • What am I doing wrong?
  • Did I not run them long enough?
  • Is the metal polish from Hornady junk?
  • Should I use Lemishine and Dawn instead or with the metal polish?

Most importantly can I resize the brass while it is this tarnished and tumble again after?

Thanks and apologies if this has already been covered, I searched the forum for a bit and haven't seen this issue.
Click to expand...
Definitely from adding the metal polish. I’ve done this before and it was the only thing different I’ve ever done. Retumbled with my usual dawn (maybe 2tsp) and lemme shine (1tsp) and they came out perfect as usual. If I want to increase the level of shine/cleanliness I just up my tumble time a bit. Quick 30 min prior to deprime/resize so I don’t run crap through my dies, trim, debur, chamfer etc... then the final tumble (30min works, 1hr makes it look damn near new).
BCE971FC-9B96-4420-9DA0-30CD4E7F5353.jpeg
 
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aprox 500 rounds rifle brass at any given time cover brass and media with warm water few drops of dawn yes just a few drops does wonders a small pour of lemi shine... generic powdered citric acid works just as good i let it go 2-3 hrs rinse seperate media and then toss in my dryer comes out beautiful ive never messed with any other polish or combination of chemicals the only time i ever got wierd spots was the time i let the kiddo squeeze the dish soap into the tumbler and he gave it a super squeeze.
 
I keep away from dish detergents as they do contain abrasives and more sulfates to create foam. Instead I stick to laundry detergent which has a high solids percentage and doesn't foam nearly as much. Top it off with a bit of white vinegar and your brass tumbles out looking like gold.

I'm using the Lyman wet tumbler with stainless media (5lbs) and then stealing my wife's dehydrator for drying duties. She's used it twice in 10 years so I've appropriated it. Neighbor gave me the tip to stick the brass on top of your air conditioning unit which has also proven very effective, especially in Texas summers. The Lyman tumbler includes two media sifter trays and I use the mesh one for drying duties, standing the cases upright. Works like a charm.
 
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