Poor Results after Tumbling

[steelholder]

Dry tumbling has no such chemistry problems.

Can you recommend a good tumbler along with media for a noob reloader? There are lots out there, how do you feel abt the harbor freight ultra sonic cleaner?

[robert101]

I purchased a Lyman tumbler and use crushed walnut which can be purchased from a pet store like Petco for cheap. I have not tried the wet tumbling as of yet. I have been using the dry tumbler for over 20 years and see no reason to change at this point.

[bazineta]

My rule of thumb for my Franklin is that if I don't have any suds left at the end, I didn't use enough soap. Basically, we're washing stuff here; the pins are just a scrubbing agent. Oil and water don't mix; to make them mix, you need a surfactant, i.e., soap, to make them into an emulsion. OP, you don't need a lot of Lemishine; a little goes a long way, but you can use as much soap as you want, it won't hurt anything.

[ar15barrels]

Can you recommend a good tumbler along with media for a noob reloader?

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/414369/

When you wear out the corn that comes with the kit, look for walnut bird cage litter from the local pet store.
Then get some Nu-Finish liquid car wax (in the orange bottle).
Use about a tablespoon in each tumbler load.
Add the media and the polish and run the tumbler for about 5 minutes before you add any brass.

[baih777]

usually this happens if you did not add enough soap. when you took off the lid the first time and there were no soap suds. dry everything and run again add twice the amount of soap.

I am one of those who adds more lemishine and soap. the stuff is cheap. use more.

run again and add 4 9mm cap fulls lemishine. me I just dump some in. soap add a big squirt.

you need to have a stronger solution of lemishine and soap, that is stronger than the dirty water to break it down.

**another solution is to spray the brass with brake cleaner and wipe off what you can. you don't need to wipe them clean, just get at least half the muck off.
just spray brake cleaner on a rag.

I use the lanolin/alcohol mix also. you may have just mixed a batch too thick.
again your solution of lemishine/soap needs to be strong enough to break down the solution of lanolin/alcohol.

there is not one answer how to stop the brass from coming out that dirty. everyone uses different amounts of spray lube, different types, different methods. its trial and error what works for you.

but after resizing, the brake cleaner method works the most consistent. but its pricey. if you have a friend that's in the automotive repair business, its worth buying a case. be careful, some brake cleaners melt plastic.

[Sapperforward]

Use more soap. It won't hurt it. I had the same problem. Now everything is gold.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

[Milsurp Collector]

I use this stuff for detergent as an alternative to Dawn and LemiShine. It's pricey but it is low-foaming and it works well https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1



I always use cold tap water with great results every time so far.

[steelholder]

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/414369/

When you wear out the corn that comes with the kit, look for walnut bird cage litter from the local pet store.
Then get some Nu-Finish liquid car wax (in the orange bottle).
Use about a tablespoon in each tumbler load.
Add the media and the polish and run the tumbler for about 5 minutes before you add any brass.

Thanks, this tumbler alone is 35 on amazon. I bet i can cook up a media a separator at home..although it does look perfect and ready to go.

[ar15barrels]

Thanks, this tumbler alone is 35 on amazon. I bet i can cook up a media a separator at home..although it does look perfect and ready to go.

Then just buy the $35 Amazon tumbler and the separator for $20 or even the $8 separator that you shake over a 5 gallon bucket.
Then go pickup a $20 bag of media from the pet store and a $5 bottle of polish from Walmart and a $4 bucket from home depot.

You will still be into it about $80, but with a bunch more driving around.

[bubbala]

Then just buy the $35 Amazon tumbler and the separator for $20 or even the $8 separator that you shake over a 5 gallon bucket.
Then go pickup a $20 bag of media from the pet store and a $5 bottle of polish from Walmart and a $4 bucket from home depot.

You will still be into it about $80, but with a bunch more driving around.

I think the best deal is harbor freight crushed walnut with a coupon.25 lbs.for around 20 bucks. But you need a bucket to keep it in

[noylj]

Personally, they look fine to me.
You know, just wiping off the case exterior with a rag is all you need to do?
Just how much time and effort do you need before you just load 'em and shoot 'em and be done with it?
Case cleaning is the least important step and not worth all this time.
I need 6-8 hours in SS pins (or 20 minutes in the ultrasonic cleaner) to completely clean my 40 year old cases, yet my accuracy is the same before and after.

[tonyjr]

People are suggesting different amounts without knowing what tumbler , how much water , how many pins or even how many cases .
Me - bottled water[ enought to cover cases/ pins + 1/2 inch .
Sometimes cases look like yours / sometimes new .
I chalk you ugly cases to range pickups and unknown powder .
While it is nice to have pretty cases - I go to range to shoot , not to show off pretty cases .
BTW - if you don't deprime before , crap comes out of spent primer and yes - I did see you deprimed - that is for others .
Yes , I deprime AND clean flash hole before cleaning cases .

[Andy9161]

People are suggesting different amounts without knowing what tumbler , how much water , how many pins or even how many cases .
Me - bottled water[ enought to cover cases/ pins + 1/2 inch .
Sometimes cases look like yours / sometimes new .
I chalk you ugly cases to range pickups and unknown powder .
While it is nice to have pretty cases - I go to range to shoot , not to show off pretty cases .
BTW - if you don't deprime before , crap comes out of spent primer and yes - I did see you deprimed - that is for others .
Yes , I deprime AND clean flash hole before cleaning cases .

No range pick ups here. These are all 1x fired lapua cases.

I ran a load with a lot of soap. Good results. Thank you all.

[slixx1320]

No range pick ups here. These are all 1x fired lapua cases.

I ran a load with a lot of soap. Good results. Thank you all.

Looks good! Are these the same ones that looked tarnished in the first post? Did you use any LS or just all soap for this second go around?

[Andy9161]

Looks good! Are these the same ones that looked tarnished in the first post? Did you use any LS or just all soap for this second go around?

Yup, same brass. No LS this batch. Just a TON on soap.

I already thought I was using a lot of soap.