Cleaning brass with SS media

[swampratt]

I’m a self professed cheap skate. I use plastic colanders from the Dollar Tree

I got you beat I just pour the water out then pour all my brass and pins out onto a towel and pick up one piece in each hand and tap them together case mouth down to make the pins fall out then place them on a different towel.

I look inside each case before I place it into the no pin pile.
My pins are homemade copper.
Dry them with the towel on the outside and then set them out somewhere to dry.
I do not shoot near as much as i used to. I have not cleaned any brass in months. Not enough dirty brass to make a batch.

 

[Louro]

I got you beat I just pour the water out then pour all my brass and pins out onto a towel and pick up one piece in each hand and tap them together case mouth down to make the pins fall out then place them on a different towel.

I look inside each case before I place it into the no pin pile.
My pins are homemade copper.
Dry them with the towel on the outside and then set them out somewhere to dry.
I do not shoot near as much as i used to. I have not cleaned any brass in months. Not enough dirty brass to make a batch.

and the penny pincher award goes..... drum roll

 

[turkeyrun]

[QUOTE=" and place them in my dehydrator.[/QUOTE]

Does dehydrating make .223 brass from .30-06?


Seriously, I just use corn cob and car polish. Are the pins / brass in plain water? Why rinse?
Anybody tried using SS pins in vibratory cleaner? Is bowl water tight?
Just pondering, most likely I will stick with corn cob or walnut. I normally, load up the shaker and let it buzz all night. Not in need of speed.

 

[lasher]

home depot orange bucket, the big blue Franklin separator, big blue colander over the top of Home Depot bucket, drape a towel over the colander and pour the brass into the towel, use the big magnets from Franklin to pick up the pins. rinse and into the dehumidifier to dry.

 

[OKCHunter]

[QUOTE=" and place them in my dehydrator.

Does dehydrating make .223 brass from .30-06?


Seriously, I just use corn cob and car polish. Are the pins / brass in plain water? Why rinse?
Anybody tried using SS pins in vibratory cleaner? Is bowl water tight?
Just pondering, most likely I will stick with corn cob or walnut. I normally, load up the shaker and let it buzz all night. Not in need of speed.[/QUOTE]

My method - pins are in a Thumblers Tumbler with a solution of water, Dawn liquid dishwashing detergent, and Lemishine. I’m proud to say my brass looks like jewelry, inside and out, when they come out of the process; even heavily tarnished range pickup brass.

 

[ragsflh]

no dust,cleaner than corn cob

 

[swampratt]

Before I built my wet tumbler I tried the pins in a vibratory and it did not work.
I tried wet and dry.
I tried all kinds of media including very small glass sand blast media in the vibratory.
Nothing cleaned like a wet pin tumbler.
Not even an ultra sonic cleaner.
Primer pockets were still dirty.

I deprime with a universal Lee deprimer then wet tumble my cases.
I still use the vibratory for steel and aluminum cases.

Some people notice stiffer resizing of the cases when stainless pin tumbled..I noticed it also. MoBoost noticed it and would vibratory tumble the cases after pin tumbling to make them slicker.
As you know he shoots rifles in competition and places at the top many times at OKC gun club.

Do you need to pin tumble to make accurate ammo . NO
You do not even need to vibratory clean the cases.
But it's what we do to make us feel better.

 

[Coug91]

I use the gold pans to separate the pins and media from the nasty water. Then use an RCBS media separator to separate the pins from the brass. Easy peasy.

 

[MacFromOK]

Not a reloader (so this may be a dumb question), but why doesn't anyone tumble with steel shot rather than pins?

Just a thought.

 

[swampratt]

I tried BB's those clean the outside but become rusted.
you tumble in water with citric acid and soap.
The pins have small squared off ends that get in the nooks and cranies.. and can pass through primer holes.
I suppose very small beads will do the same but the weight of the bead will be much less than a pin and may take longer.

I have used glass beads. Very small, in fact when running your hand through the 50 lb bag of them it felt like silky sand.. they made the cases very silky also.
I used those in a dry vibratory.. but they still did not clean as well as pins even after 8 hours in the vibratory.

I normally tumble with pins in water for 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours and they are done.