Pin tumblers and solutions used

[swampratt]

I did some experimenting on how much soap and how much Lemi-shine or citric acid
to use.
A little on the subject over at Handloadersbench
http://www.handloadersbench.com/forum99/33533.html

Now i just tumbled 2 batches of 45acp i traded for.
One batch I used just soap only but it was only about 1/8teaspoon to just under 2Q water tumbled for 4.5 hours(i left to another town to get tires put on my son's car)

Then another batch of the same range pickup with a bit less soap, about 1/2 the soap amount and just a small shake of lemishine, i usually use 1/8 teaspoon this "shake" would be less than 1/16 teaspoon.

2.5 hours of tumble time, I was watching movies.

The shiny brass on the left is from the 2.5 hour tumble time with Lemi-shine. the other brass is clean and easily used and i will use it ..
I just wanted to do this test to see how a small amount Citric Acid would act.

I have never used such a small amount but looks to do just fine.

 

[Mike_60]

Cleaning to long or leaving the brass in the water after you turn the tumbler off will darken the brass. I run mine about half an hour and then change the water and then let it run another hour and a half - for two hours total. I fill the tumbler to within an inch or so of the lid, give it a squirt of dish soap and a thimble full of Lemi-Shine (each fill), and I end up with fantastic looking brass. When I separate it I use a media separator half full of water. I pour the barrel full of brass and pins into the separator's basket and spin it good to get the pins out. The stainless pins are still attracted to magnets, so I use a strong magnet to collect any wayward escapees, and there usually are some. After separation, I dump the brass onto a clean towel and roll it all around to get most of the water off. I then use a dryer to get them totally dry and spot free.

 

[swampratt]

I rinse my brass 4-5 times in the 2Quart V8 container i tumble them in. I use hot water when cleaning and rinsing.
Never any spots.

Some people state that the surface texture or finish of the brass with long tumble times with stainless pins is a negative to their brass.

I did another test.
30 minutes run time for both batches.
1.5 Teaspoons or 1/2 Tablespoon (Those measurements are the same amount) of Lemi-shine.
Vs a shake of Lemi-shine (if it was salt that shake would be enough for 1.5 eggs small amount).

On the top row is the 1.5Teaspoons
On the bottom row is a shake.

In those rows i have winchester. R-P, Speer and Federal brass..Speer beside speer win beside win ETC.

Both to me look to be the same cleanliness inside the cases.

The 1.5 teaspoons looks darker on the case. possibly my copper pins depositing onto the case surface from the citric acid amount.

And a pic of my pins beside the smaller stainless most people use.

 

[Blitzfike]

putting steel and or nickle plated brass leaves something different as well. I always try to keep the nickle or steel brass out of the solution. Good info.. Thanks

 

[TheLastDaze]

what are the pins used for?? I've never reloaded let alone cleaned brass but I have plenty of stainless rod I can use...

 

[Mike_60]

what are the pins used for?? I've never reloaded let alone cleaned brass but I have plenty of stainless rod I can use...

The pins are used as an abrasive media to clean the brass. The pins are quite small and are of a milder grade of SS.

 

[Blitzfike]

I think mine are somewhere around 5/16" long and think the smallest tig rod you have... They work great on removing all the crud and tarnish from the cases, the Water, soap and lemshine do help though. I did about a thousand rounds of 40 brass today with mine.

 

[mtnboomer]

what are the pins used for?? I've never reloaded let alone cleaned brass but I have plenty of stainless rod I can use...

Check here for info on the pins.
http://bestbyte.net/catalogsearch/result/?q=ACMIPL0471

The barrel on my wet tumbler will hold 10# of brass, 10# of pins and a gallon of water. I simply put in a generous squeeze of Dawn dishwashing liquid and a teaspoon of Lemi-Shine and tumble for two hours.

 

[amcardon]

This is where I've bought pins in the past, they regularly have them on sale... Bullseye Reloading

 

[mtnboomer]

DO NOT get the .041" x .255" pins as they will double up and wedge themselves in the flash hole in the cases. The .047" diameter pins are small enough to pass through the flash hole, but too large to wedge.

Here's another site I found for pins at a really good price! https://shop.guntap.com/stainless-steel-tumbling-pins-for-tumbling-5-lb-pounds