Stainless steel pin tumbling, Question

[TexasJackKin]

[PTLaro]

I had that same exact results. 2nd & 3rd I ran for 2.5 hours so I ran 4th batch only 1.5 hours and everything looked bright and shiny again.

From what I have learned you can't leave brass in Lemi Shine too long or you get that "reddish" finish.

I will run 1.5 hours and maybe only 1 hour.

Try tumbling less time and a small amount (1/2 tsp) Lemi Shine .

I only use hot water, Dawn and Lemi Shine. The hot water helps the Dawn work better.

I would be interested in hearing your results.

[Calguns77]

I had that same exact results. 2nd & 3rd I ran for 2.5 hours so I ran 4th batch only 1.5 hours and everything looked bright and shiny again.

From what I have learned you can't leave brass in Lemi Shine too long or you get that "reddish" finish.

I will run 1.5 hours and maybe only 1 hour.

Try tumbling less time and a small amount (1/2 tsp) Lemi Shine .

I only use hot water, Dawn and Lemi Shine. The hot water helps the Dawn work better.

I would be interested in hearing your results.

And if you don't have a problem with hard water, drop the lemishine. Thats what i did and i was only using 1/4 tsp to start.

[MrElectric03]

Hot water if you aren't already using it. How dirty was the brass? It usually takes a while before you have to clean your drum and pins. About every ten loads or so I run the drum and pins with no brass in some simple green to clean it out and then everything is all clean again.

As for lemishine I use a .40 case to treat 2-3 gallons. Use too much and the brass will dull.

[bazineta]

As others have indicated, a little Lemishine goes a long way. I've moved from Dawn to Armor All wash and wax, and like the results. Hot water works better than cold does, but cold is fine.

However, 3 hours is ages; 1.5 is typically plenty for even really nasty cases.

[Gringo Bandito]

I typically use a 9mm case full of lemishine with wash and wax soap for a 45 min-1 hour tumble. Usually comes out nice and clean for .40 brass.

[iMigraine]

I use cold water. 1/8 teaspoon of lemishine with 2 tabespoons of liquid dish soap. My dirty brass only takes no more than one hour of tumbling. Brass I find out in BLM land, which is more ravaged than Keith Richards, takes about 3-4 hours to look like new.

[TexasJackKin]

Ok, if I'm understanding correctly, if one and a half hours are good, three hours aren't twice as good.

I'll give that a try this next weekend, thanks and I'll let you all know.

[Dragginpanda]

I had to wash in distilled water, it might help you.

[the_tunaman]

Biggest cause for red brass IMHO is too much Lemishine. It can also weaken the brass.

Key to stainless tumbling is to find the sweet spot for the duration, and stick to it. If it is clean in an hour and a half, it isn't going to get more clean in three hours.

Try to identify the minimum amount of time it takes to get your brass as clean as you want it and stick with that duration.

[TexasJackKin]

So, can I just re tumble and get back to that nice golden look again?

[CHS]

I usually go the full three hours only because I like my primer pockets SPOTLESS.

To avoid the red, like others have said: Just use less (or none) lemishine. I typically use just a .380 case-full because of hard water, but with lemishine less is more. If you put in too much it leaches the zinc from the brass and exposes the copper alloy leading to that red color. It's mostly harmless if you just get one batch of it, but it CAN lead to weakened brass if you keep doing it.

[stilly]

eww. more than 2 hours means you are doing something wrong or you have a SLOW tumbler.

Mine typically get done under an hour, or if I am in a so so mood, I let it go for about 1 hour, then I pull them out to rinse and dry...

[J-cat]

If you use the correct proportions of soap, lemishine and water you can tumble for 24hrs without adverse results. I typically start tumbling in the morning, go to work, and dry at night.

I use a quarter teaspoon of lemishine to 2 tablespoons of soap per gallon of water.

[JackEllis]

IMHO cleaning out loose crud from firing or sitting on the ground ought to be the objective. Shiny cases certainly look nice but especially for those who do lots of shooting, it seems to be a waste of time that could be spent doing something else, and money that could be applied somewhere else.

Right now I wash spent cases in a plastic jar with some kind of degreaser/cleaner and hot water to get out sand and other loose dirt. My wife suggested using the washer and I might try that. Or I might build a simple tumbler to agitate the wash water a bit. Dealing with pins and dry media doesn't seem to be worth the time and trouble.

One problem my old eyes have with well-shined cases is that flaws in the cases and head stamps are harder to spot for all the glare.

Just my $.02. YMMV