Wet Tumbling

[KAMIKAZE BOB]

I have been shooting since 1972 when I joined the military (during Viet Nam), and reloading since 1981 when I got out. I've been doing precision long range shooting, reloading, and teaching precision reloading and long range shooting since 2001. The misconception about cleaning the brass is not about making it look pretty. It's important to get any unburned powder out of the inside, powder residue buildup inside the case, and any buildup inside the primer pocket and flash hole. These issues can cause increased pressure in the case and incomplete powder ignition when the flash hole is slightly clogged at the web (base) or reduced in size (flash hole residue buildup).
The method of cleaning is not important as long as the case gets thoroughly cleaned of debris. It all depends on how a person wants to spend his/her time cleaning. I prefer the STM SS pin tumbler with 3/4 filled with water, a few Tbsp of Dawn Dish Soap and a tsp of Lemi-Shine polish. I let it run overnight, and in the morning, it looks like new brass and thoroughly cleaned. The Walnut shell (or similar media) cleaning method leaves a powdery residue all over the casing which requires additional cleaning or wiping off (ever so slight film and you can't see it; but it's there). The wet tumbling does not leave a residue. The extra step is in drying the brass, where I use a dehydrator like a Lyman Case Dryer. I put 60-70 rds of 50BMG brass in the dryer and set the timer for 3hrs. When done, it's dry inside and out. Works great!.
Just my 2 cents (worth less in today's money).

 

[KAMIKAZE BOB]

Additionally, to remove the SS pins: Any plastic manual brass tumbler (like RCBS) and a piece of screen mesh placed over a 5-gal bucket, rinse while tumbling. I use a piece of old window screen to filter out the pins, while letting the water drain. Works great!

 

[Calvin45]

I quit cleaning the brass anything short of just wiping it down. I use to tumble with walnut, then wet tumble with brass pins. In my experience I have seen very little benefit for my purposes in the cleaning of brass. My SD & ES are well within acceptable limits with SD in the teens and ES upper single digits to mid teens. I look at it as a ROTS dilemma, Return On Time Spent. How much time does it take to do the operation and does it return benefits I can't live without based on my shooting needs. I shoot 1K and hunt. YMMV

Ah yes, as with bores so with brass….the OCD need for everything to be super clean usually does more harm than good in my experience as well. If its working just leave it alone dang it!!!

 

[Charles De Salme]

I find it much easier using Frankford's strainer on one end of the tumbler. Once strained and rinsed I place a towel on the tailgate of my truck and dump the brass/pins. I use Frankford's magnet to collect all the pins. I place a dry towel on my tailgate and let brass dry occasionally shaking brass till dry.

 

[KAMIKAZE BOB]

I find it much easier using Frankford's strainer on one end of the tumbler. Once strained and rinsed I place a towel on the tailgate of my truck and dump the brass/pins. I use Frankford's magnet to collect all the pins. I place a dry towel on my tailgate and let brass dry occasionally shaking brass till dry.

That works too.

 

[jrock]

I haven't found the strainers on the end to be good enough...maybe its me. I'd rise through the tub with the strainer into a bucket to catch the pins but let the excess water flow out. Like I said, the best I could come up with in a pinch was to oven dry them, dump them on a towel, shake it and then pick the pins out. Clearly I need a magnet for this process to be improved. Thanks for all the tips. I might try to use my tumbler more often!

 

[Carey Farmer]

You'll want to minimize time rotary tumbling to avoid bell-mouthing your case necks. Very hot water, lots of detergent, lots of pins, a half hour should get your cases plenty clean. A rotary media separator will shake most of the pins out of the cases, even wet.

After rotary tumbling with pins, I dry in the oven at 250 deg F for 30 minutes. One more session in the rotary media separator once everything is dry will usually yield a few more pins.

I tried wet rotary tumbling after sizing, without pins, to clean off the lube. That whole batch of cases was bell mouthed - neck mouth ID was reduced by over .004". So now I just wipe the outside of the cases with a towel, and then throw them in a vibratory tumbler with corncob for an hour or so to clean lube out of the inside of the case neck.

 

[orkan]

Play With Your Food: Clean Brass With Rice :: Primal Rights, Inc

Cleaning your brass is a necessity. Foreign material in or on our cases can cause all kinds of problems. Damage to expensive reloading dies, damage to rifles, and various other issues can arise if proper care is not taken.

www.primalrights.com

Wet tumbling was one of the shortest lived techniques in my handloading process. It has no place in precision shooting.

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[CoyHunter38]

Magnets!
I drop the pins almost everything I clean a batch, and I'm always worried a pin might be stuck to the inside.
After they dry, I pass each piece of brass over some strong rare earth magnets to make sure there aren't any stuck to the inside.
Pick up a magnetic bar or two from harbor freight and put them where the pins might roll off the bench.

 

[Calvin45]

Play With Your Food: Clean Brass With Rice :: Primal Rights, Inc

Cleaning your brass is a necessity. Foreign material in or on our cases can cause all kinds of problems. Damage to expensive reloading dies, damage to rifles, and various other issues can arise if proper care is not taken.

www.primalrights.com

Wet tumbling was one of the shortest lived techniques in my handloading process. It has no place in precision shooting.

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Yeah I got no claim to doing anything that counts as precision shooting yet find myself of the belief that it's only benefits are cosmetic, which I don't really care about as a guy who shoots ugly savage rifles and has been told he has a "face for radio"

 

[just_jon]

I failed to address your second question. After separating pins, I thoroughly rinse the brass and place it onto a bath towel and shake to remove majority of water. If it is warm out, I place them on a sheet pan in the sun for a couple of hours. If not, I put them in the oven set to 170 (my lowest setting) for 30 minutes or so.

 

[Joefrazell]

I do the oven method at 170 for 30 min. To remove the pins I shake them out by hand

 

[stirner]

I bought the Lyman case tumbler and their pin separator ($35.95). I use about 3 quarts of hot water and add a tablespoon of Dawn and a teaspoon of lemi shine. Then tumble for 15-20 min. Any more time really dings up the case mouths. This is enough to effectively remove all of the case lube. I then put the separator in a sink, and dump all the contents into it. I then use the sink sprayer to remove most of the soapy water. While doing this, most of the pins will fall thru the separator into the screened base. then I close the drain on a smaller bathroom sink, dump the cases in it, and add cold water. Swish the cases round and separate the cases that are stuck together (45s will eat all other cases), and make sure they are clean. I then remove the cases from the water into a T shirt, that my loving wife has sewn the sleeves and neck closed. After bouncing the cases in there for a minute or two, I remove them and put them on another T shirt to dry. I use the magnet on my Sonic toothbrush to collect the pins from the sink and T shirt, and any others that may have fallen out on the way. I like this system as not only does it polish the brass, but it also removes the lube and cleans the primer pockets.

 

[lyle2231]

Play With Your Food: Clean Brass With Rice :: Primal Rights, Inc

Cleaning your brass is a necessity. Foreign material in or on our cases can cause all kinds of problems. Damage to expensive reloading dies, damage to rifles, and various other issues can arise if proper care is not taken.

www.primalrights.com

Wet tumbling was one of the shortest lived techniques in my handloading process. It has no place in precision shooting.

-----------
Follow on Instagram
Subscribe on YouTube
Amazon Affiliate

Outstanding response! Thanks