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I purchased the .45 Colt "shorties" brass from Gunsmith a couple weeks ago and decided to run it through my tumbler for an hour to shine them up before loading them. They came in clean - I just like them "extra clean".
Well, I started them at lunch, and then promptly forgot about them while working. Around 8:00pm tonight I suddenly remembered I had a batch going - and it had been going for 7+ hours!
Well, nothing was hurt - not the brass and not the tumbler. And the brass are now really, REALLY clean!
Ysabel Kid wrote:... - and it had been going for 7+ hours!
YK, that's a SHORT cleaning session for my .45 Colt brass. I usually dump it in, turn it on, and forget it till the next day. But, then again, I'm cleaning after using BP!
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I have mine set up on a timer, mostly so it doesn't overheat. It cleans for two 45 minute periods per day. If I oversleep it wakes me up in the worst way.
This reminds me of another question, what would happen if you used sand instead of corn cobs?
"I'll tell you what living is. You get up when you feel like it. You fry yourself some eggs. You see what kind of a day it is."
I'm with Ricky, I like really clean brass. I only have the small Frankford Arsenal vibrator, so I try not to leave it on for more than 3-4 hours at a time, but I have forgotten about it for six or seven. Generally I do two sessions, one before and one after I deprime. At some point, I need to get a more robust one that holds more brass and that I can leave run for 6-7 hours.
"From birth 'til death...we travel between the eternities." -- Print Ritter in Broken Trail
Do you use any liquid polishing agent in your media. I used to use the expensive stuff sold for the purpose, but have discovered NuFinish, the auto polish is the same stuff or better and only costs about a third as much, readily available at Wallyworld. Throw in a few teaspoons with your media and watch 'em come out nice and shiney in about 45 minutes. No, it doesnt turn the brass brittle or any such urban legends, been using it for a long time.
I like to use what ever cheap auto rubbing compound that comes in a squeeze bottle. I add some every 3 or 4 loads or as needed. If the brass come out dusty, I add some.
Every 3-4 loads I add some more of the cleaning liquid from Frankford or some Flitz. I haven't tried some of the car polish products yet, by may try NuFinish (I have a can around somewhere).
"From birth 'til death...we travel between the eternities." -- Print Ritter in Broken Trail
alnitak wrote:Every 3-4 loads I add some more of the cleaning liquid from Frankford or some Flitz. I haven't tried some of the car polish products yet, by may try NuFinish (I have a can around somewhere).
NuFinish is a liquid, comes in an orange squeeze bottle.
Rimfire McNutjob wrote:Does anyone use the liquid dip cleaners like the Iosso stuff?
I tried Iosso once. The added time (wiping down and drying time) wasn't worth the results -- no better than walnut media in my opinion.
I guess I'm the odd-one-out. When I do tumble brass, I don't use any cleaner mixed in the media and I only tumble the brass for right at an hour. That gets it clean enoug for me -- knocks of and removes dirt, grime, stains, etc.
MODOC ED - i am with you . straight walnut media and about an hour or two max. Now the BP 45 -70 brass gets cleaned by hand in soapy water then tumbled.
Mike Johnson,
"Only those who will risk going too far, can possibly find out how far one can go." T.S. Eliot
One thing about Iosso and other liquid cleaners is that if you want to clean up some cases to reload right away, you have to be doubly and then tripley sure that the cases are DRY. If not, you run the risk of loading a round or rounds with droplets of water in the case thus producing duds.
With dry media, you just have to remove the cleaned case from the media, tap out any median in the case, and you are good to go to reload it.
Well, the brass was shipped already tumbled clean, but I was just being nit-picky!
Actually, my usual routine for dirty brass is 3 hours in a tumbler with crushed walnut media. This is the "dirty" mix. Brass is removed, media is removed, and media with polishing compound is replaced. Another 3 hours in that. Brass is removed, media is removed, and then 1-2 hours in with "clean" crushed walnut media. Brass is in for a total of 7-8 hours, maybe 9+ if it was really dirty to begin with. Usually comes out squeaky clean and looking like new after that routine.
I was just commenting that 7 hours for one phase is a bit much!
YK,
Do you change the media like that every time? I change media maybe once a year. I like the Lyman treated walnut, works real well I think. Here while back I bought some crushed walnut from the pet store and use it in one of my tumblers, it seems a little course and doesn't give a nice shine, but it does clean very well. I heard, but never tried, of using used dryer sheets thrown into the tumbler to clean the media. I may have to try this.
Same here.. no additive cleaners... The thing I noticed that dramatically improved cleaning on my vibratory cleaner (Ultra Vibe 10 Thumler's Tumbler) is leaving the lid off...Visibly more oscillations per minute...I can run more media.. more brass..
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I guess what I do is a bit odd. I have an electric screwdriver mounted bronze bristle brush that I run into a decapped case that's full of soapy water. Then I rinse each individually and then dip the batch into the Iosso for about 30 seconds to a minute. Then another rinse and then to the oven in a stainless collander to heat up to about 180degF for about 20 minutes. Then I pull them out and air dry them. Their latent heat from being in the oven causes them to air dry rather quickly.
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Ysabel Kid wrote:Actually, my usual routine for dirty brass is 3 hours in a tumbler with crushed walnut media. This is the "dirty" mix. Brass is removed, media is removed, and media with polishing compound is replaced. Another 3 hours in that. Brass is removed, media is removed, and then 1-2 hours in with "clean" crushed walnut media. Brass is in for a total of 7-8 hours, maybe 9+ if it was really dirty to begin with. Usually comes out squeaky clean and looking like new after that routine.
My routine is somewhat similar. I have the crushed walnut for the intial "heavy" cleaning -- generally 2-3 hours. This is a batch I've used before (and use until it gets noticeably gray-black from the carbon residue). Then I deprime and run the brass through a second batch -- this is usually crushed corn cob that is treated. I find the corn cob seems to make it shinier than the walnut. (Probably no difference though; tough to tell.) It's in the second "spin" cycle for another 2-3 hours, then I'm done.
I rotate media every few months as it gets really dirty or dusty.
"From birth 'til death...we travel between the eternities." -- Print Ritter in Broken Trail
That's an awful lot of work for something that's just going to get that dirty again as soon as you use it. I use Iosso and find it needs a whole lot of rinsing, but it's still way easier than changing media, several tumbling steps, etc. I only need my brass clean, not sterile.
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RKrodle wrote:YK,
Do you change the media like that every time? I change media maybe once a year. I like the Lyman treated walnut, works real well I think. Here while back I bought some crushed walnut from the pet store and use it in one of my tumblers, it seems a little course and doesn't give a nice shine, but it does clean very well. I heard, but never tried, of using used dryer sheets thrown into the tumbler to clean the media. I may have to try this.
Ricky -
Oh no! That's why I do it this way, so I only have to change the media once a year or so. Just depends on how much brass I cleaned that year and how dirty it was to start off with. What I usually do it "demote" each batch, pitching out the dirtiest media that I start the process with, and taking the 2nd batch to become the first, the 3rd batch becomes the 2nd, and new media becomes the final (3rd) batch. I haven't tried the dryer sheets, though I do have them in my reloading area. I use them to wipe off the sifter and 5-gallon pail (where I pour the media), which helps knock down the static cling that hangs up a lot of the media. I'm going to throw one in the next time to the final batch to see how it does!
Rimfire McNutjob wrote:Does anyone use the liquid dip cleaners like the Iosso stuff?
Seems that I misplaced my tumbler....actually keep forgetting to buy one. Just use a bucket of hot water, a couple of squirts of good dish soap, about 15% vinegear, and a table spoon of salt. dump the dirty cartridges in and swish around real good, let 'em sit a 1/2 hour our so and swish them around again. Rinse in your wife's caldrone, wipe down with her towel, and wrap 'em up in her apron pocket before toss'n 'em in the dryer for a half hour or so. They come out all sparkly. Or after wipe'n 'em off with the towel you can throw 'em back in the caldrone and let 'em air dry over night. But that is not any fun, 'cause it doesn't get the wife in a tither.
Old Time Hunter wrote:Seems that I misplaced my tumbler....actually keep forgetting to buy one. Just use a bucket of hot water, a couple of squirts of good dish soap, about 15% vinegear, and a table spoon of salt. dump the dirty cartridges in and swish around real good, let 'em sit a 1/2 hour our so and swish them around again. Rinse in your wife's caldrone, wipe down with her towel, and wrap 'em up in her apron pocket before toss'n 'em in the dryer for a half hour or so. They come out all sparkly. Or after wipe'n 'em off with the towel you can throw 'em back in the caldrone and let 'em air dry over night. But that is not any fun, 'cause it doesn't get the wife in a tither.
In the beginning, I used just about every home-made recipe for brass cleaning solution there is on the net. There were also a couple of long threads on this board (old forum) about various concoctions. They worked OK, but never got the brass as shiny as the vibrator (more a dull sheen, sometimes with a pink tone). After a while, I started a thread on the "chemistry" of such home-made brews, and the bottom line was that many of them had the potential to impact the integrity of the brass. While I never personally experienced that, I stopped using them and just bought the vibratory cleaner. Never looked back.
However, I do like the idea of using the wife's goodies to help in the process!
"From birth 'til death...we travel between the eternities." -- Print Ritter in Broken Trail
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