wet tumbling with polish

[FluorideInMyWater]

hey guys. sorry this is sort of a continuation to my last thread on tumbling.
i read that using polish will greatly increase the life of your brass. i've found all sorts of polish for walnut and corncob but nothing for wet-tumbling.

does anyone use a polish additive to their wet tumbler or is it just Dawn and Lemishine?

[jsanch03]

[divingin]

I use auto wash and wax (Armor-All, Turtle, Meguiars - don't use Purple Power, that stuff is crap, though it's cheap) in place of Dawn. Don't know if it helps or not, but you can feel the coating when rubbing two pieces of cleaned brass together - almost feels chalky.

[newbie1234]

.....
does anyone use a polish additive to their wet tumbler or is it just Dawn and Lemishine?

I though Lime Shire is the polish addictive to wet tumbler. I use whatever dishwasher soap "Wifeo brand" + Lime Shire (and NO steel media), it worked for me.

[FluorideInMyWater]

i'm starting to think that the "polish" element does NOT refer to an ingrediant that assists in polishing and protecting the brass, but rather the appearence of the brass after tumbling.

i think the only way to actually "polish" is to dry polish in dry media in a vibratory tumbler. there you can add the polish and the walnut or corn cob absorbs the polish and then gets transfered to the brass.

it seemed as though wet tumbling was the best and cheapest b/c of results i've seen and because the steel media never goes bad. but i guess if you truely want to polish your supply of brass that you need to dry tumble. maybe even wet tumble first to clean and dry tumble second to polish. yeah, more money, but..... now i'm not sure. i wanted to sell off extra brass bullets at gun shows, so i guess it doesn't matter for that brass, but for my personal brass that i want to use over and over, the dry tumbling would be better to protect the cases for a longer period of time.

i'm not sure how many times you can re-use pistol cases.....i've heard as much as 8 times and as little as 3.....

[divingin]

I though Lime Shire is the polish addictive to wet tumbler. I use whatever dishwasher soap "Wifeo brand" + Lime Shire (and NO steel media), it worked for me.

Lemi-shine is essentially citric acid. It's not a polish; it helps to strip off oils and oxides, leaving the brass shiny. It doesn't leave a coating or film or anything.

So with the standard dish soap/Lemishine, you get the brass clean, but when all is said and done, you have squeaky clean brass. Brass and air will eventually tarnish.

Using a soap or detergent that is designed to leave a protective film *might* leave a coating on the brass which *may* delay the onset of oxidation. I have never felt the need to actually test it side by side with straight soap. But the theory makes sense.

[ARFrog]

Lemi-shine is essentially citric acid. It's not a polish; it helps to strip off oils and oxides, leaving the brass shiny. It doesn't leave a coating or film or anything...

[divingin]

I suspect we're talking about 2 different things here. I assumed that OP was looking for guidance on solutions for wet tumbling, which is what I offered.
The point of using the car wash and wax: to delay the onset of atmospheric caused tarnishing. Not necessarily to make it shinier than with Dawn/Lemishine.

Most of the polishing comes, IMO, from the action of metal on metal (either pins on cases, cases on cases, or a combo of the two.) The Lemi-shine aids in loosening the oxides and breaks down oils, and the soap holds all the crap in suspension in the liquid so it doesn't re-deposit. By the definition you supplied, you wouldn't be rubbing the surface with a Lemishine/water/soap solution.

The dull rose gold color you mention is due to the zinc being stripped off the brass, leaving the surface in a more copper-heavy state (it is, as far as I know, a surface phenomena. You won't trash the brass by using a bit too much Lemishine or leaving it in a bit too long.)

Bottom line: OP asked "does anyone use a polish additive to their wet tumbler or is it just Dawn and Lemishine?"

I said yes (sort of.)

Though I doubt it will increase brass life at all. It does, however, keep your fingers cleaner when reloading, and might be easier on dies due to less abrasive stuff.

[ARFrog]

Divingin - I think we are on the same page and describing the same thing. I was bouncing off the original OP's comment:

" i'm starting to think that the "polish" element does NOT refer to an ingrediant that assists in polishing and protecting the brass, but rather the appearence of the brass after tumbling. "

[FluorideInMyWater]

Divingin - I think we are on the same page and describing the same thing. I was bouncing off the original OP's comment:

" i'm starting to think that the "polish" element does NOT refer to an ingrediant that assists in polishing and protecting the brass, but rather the appearence of the brass after tumbling. "

no, i think we are talking about 2 different subjects, in the same realm.

you don't polish your car by running it into 20 other cars really fast to make it look better. you use a compound that has chemical properties that both 1- enhance the appearence, and 2 - protect the paint.

in wet tumbling all we are doing is enhancing the appearence. we are not protecting the brass in any way. apparently polish additive helps prolong the life of the brass which equal more reloads per case.

in dry tumbling we are both enhancing and protecting because we are cleaning the brass and also adding polish to it that coats and protects the brass in the long run.

i confused the term "polish" for several months while i read up on each product on the market and what it was for. i kept looking for a polilsh "additive" for wet tumbling....to go along with dawn and limi shine. but there was none. everything said "not for web tumbling" so if you really want to protect your brass for long term use then you would need to dry tumble it and add a polish to the dry media along with a cleaner.

it seems to me (i haven't tried it) that brass comes out "cleaner" with wet tumbling, but as stated above a few posts, brass will tarnish and become brittle (i believe i read). the only way to stop this would be to dry tumble it with polish. half the people who talked about tumbling in my other similar post indicated that they preferred dry tumbling, partial b/c there was zero chance of steel media getting caught in a case and causing irreputable damage to the barrel. so that is a win/win. but if you are cleaning 50 lbs of media in a cement mixer i think wet tumbling would probably be more efficient. in that case i think perhaps you could wet tumble first and then throw the brass in a dry vibratory tumbler for a short period of time for the purpose of just waxing/polishing it. Is this the overall best approach? probably not for everyone and it would cost more and be more time consuming, but you would accomplish cleaning the brass thoroughly, and polishing the brass for longevity, and i've also heard that polished brass is a bit easier on the dies.

if you are processing brass for personal use then perhaps dry is better for the long run.
if you are processing brass for reloads to sell, then probably wet would be easier since you don't have to worry about the longevity of life on a piece of brass you will never see again, ergo, not your problem. lol

AR15Barrels asked me to take some pics of stainless media from a vendor that was NOT Frankford Arsenals, to compare to the 2lbs of media i got from them in my platinum series wet tumbler. i'll take some photos later today and post here and in the other thread. i got 6 lbs of BC Precision's media so i'll put them side by side and see if there is any difference.

[sofbak]

^^^^ BS!
Put a cap full of auto wash n wax detergent in place if dish washing liquid n u have the best of both "methods".

[waveslayer]

Increase the brass life by keeping it clean?... squeaky clean... what BS is this.

Dawn soap, lemonshine and water.

Polish won't keep case length, primer pockets or annealing so don't buy into it

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[omalley72]

Over the years I've finally found a process that works to my liking. Some may think it's overkill, and it probably is, but this is what works to my liking.

Wet tumble with steel media, cartridge full of Lemishine, and a shot of McGuires Car Wash with wax. Run that for 3 hours. Then dry in food dehydrator at 165 degrees for 1.5 hours. After that, I dump it into corncob with NuFinish polish for about an hour. No issues with brass "sticking" on dies, and removes all water spots.

[divingin]

in wet tumbling all we are doing is enhancing the appearence.

And that's the divergence. You know what you're describing, and I know what I'm describing, and those two are not the same.

When I wet tumble, I use something that does coat the brass (in theory, anyway.) it's more than just cleaning.

Dictionary definitions aside, I assumed that the OP was looking for something that would (using your definition) maintain the polished appearance longer. Hence the suggestion for something that prevented oxidation from air exposure for some length of time. That assumption may or may not have been correct.

If the OP was asking about exactly what he posted: "i read that using polish will greatly increase the life of your brass.", then I've gone down the wrong path. But communication in forums is iffy at best when people don't try and understand the question, so...

[FluorideInMyWater]

Increase the brass life by keeping it clean?... squeaky clean... what BS is this.

Dawn soap, lemonshine and water.

Polish won't keep case length, primer pockets or annealing so don't buy into it

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it's not BS. adding an actual polish protects the metal. making it clean just makes it clean. it's does not protect the brass from tarnishing or becoming brittle, as i have read on many sights and in may posts.