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I'm going to begrudgingly start wet tumbling, but without the SS pins. I'm going to do it primarily to get away from the lead laden dust. I've tried used fabric softener sheets from the dryer, but they are only marginally effective. Even if I wear a mask, the dust settles in the garage and gets stirred up when I sweep.

I'm installing a kitchen double oven in the garage to use for drying the brass, so I won't have to deal with smaller brass dryers. (The ovens will be used for other projects as well.) I'd like to build something larger than the Frankfort Arsenal tumbler, but there just isn't enough time. I have so much brass that I don't need to turn it around quickly. This means I can shoot until I have thousands of rounds to clean. Has any Forum Members built a wet tumbler?

Chas.

flechero wrote: ↑Thu Mar 28, 2019 9:27 am

Beiruty wrote: ↑Wed Mar 27, 2019 11:09 pm Finished goods

Beiruty- I can't see any of your pics

I can't either.

Chas.

tomneal wrote:My brass seems shinier when tumbled with corn cob than it does with walnut.

Do you use corn cob after walnut and/or with any type of polish? I've read that some folks use walnut to clean the brass, then polish with corn cob and auto polish, Rooster Bright, etc.

If corn cob cleans as well as walnut, then I may give that a try. I get walnut from Clemtex in large bags, but I can't recall the weight now.

Chas.

I'm starting to agree with Crossfire. We aren't making jewelry!!

I seriously looked into wet tumbling, but that's way too much work. Separating the stainless pins from the brass, then drying the brass are two operations I don't have to deal with with my current system.

I can run my Dillon vibratory cleaner for about 2 to 2 1/2 hrs using walnut hulls and car polish and the outside of the brass looks great. It doesn't clean the inside, but in 40+ years of reloading, that's never been a problem.

Thanks for the information folks, but added work is something I don't need.
Chas.

Forget what I said about using Meguiar's!!! Some of it works very well, some of it is terrible. Stick with car polish or whatever else you like.

Chas.

Beiruty wrote:I went from Ultrasonic Cleaning to SS Wet Tumbling, Once I saw the first batch done, the Hornady Ultrasonic Cleaner is collecting dust on the rack.
I only use a squeeze or two of Armorall Wash and Wax and half a spoon of Lemishine in Frankford Arsenal Wet tumbler.

50mins and here is a sample

Thanks a lot; now I have another iron in the fire! I need to build a large (5 gal.) wet tumbler. How do you dry the brass? The primer/primer picket would tend to hold water quite well and I don't want it in my press.

Chas.

I used a Tumler's Tumbler for many years, but went to vibratory cleaners because they are so much faster! I must admit that I like the looks of brass that have been cleaned in a rotary tumble using stainless steel pins, but it would take a huge rotary tumbler to match the capacity of my Dillon. Also, I don't want the added work of having to dry the brass.

I'd be surprised to find any car polish that has ammonia. It would be very harmful to both clear coat and base coat.

Chas.

I've been way behind tumbling brass for so long I didn't know where to begin. I use the large Dillon tumbler CV-2001, with crushed walnut shells from Clemtex. I used a brass polish called Rooster Bright for years, but the price that was always high finally got to the point I had to do something else. For about five years now, I've been using the cheapest car polish I can find and it's usually NuFinish.

Today I found some brass that was severely tarnished. I tumbled it for two hours with walnut hulls and NuFinish and although it was clean, it looked terrible. I decided to try a small amount of Mequiars' #2 and the results were amazing! I may start using it on all of my brass. It's only about $2 higher than NuFinish when bought through Amazon, so cost isn't a factor. Plus, unless you are cleaning muddy brass, the same load of walnut hulls will last a long time.

So, if you have some really nasty brass, you may want to give this a try. I may even try some Turtle Polishing Compound on severely tarnished brass. A polishing compound is abrasive, but only marginally so, but I'll use it only on the worst of the brass.

Chas.

Edited to Add: Forget what I said about using Meguiar's!!! Some of it works very well, some of it is terrible. Stick with car polish or whatever else you like.