Used brass ??

[crow#2]

My buddy just gave me about 200 30/30 brass. Looks normal far as tarnish ,,havent tried looking inside any of it for dirt and such,,
Should i soak it in hot soapy water then rins well and leave laying on a towel to dry.
Then run through tumbler?

 

[recumbent]

That will work or put on a cookie sheet and oven dry at the lowest heat setting. I used to do that until I got a food dehydrator to dry my brass.

 

[crow#2]

That will work. Theres no need in me brushing the insides of the necks Y/N,,, I say that because a couple hrs or more in the tumbler shoukd clean the insides and outsides of the brass. Y/N

 

[MHtractorguy]

Y

 

[Kevin]

I've found if you wash brass with soap and water etc. A few hours out in the hot sun will dry it just as well as the oven.

Heck, just leave it until the next day and save the energy of the oven.

I used to use the tumbler with walnut media, then went to the wet tumbler with stainless pins. Brass looks brand new after that.

 

[XP100]

I've found if you wash brass with soap and water etc. A few hours out in the hot sun will dry it just as well as the oven.

Heck, just leave it until the next day and save the energy of the oven.

I used to use the tumbler with walnut media, then went to the wet tumbler with stainless pins. Brass looks brand new after that.

It will be OK to use the over as long as it is electric, just ask Slo Joe, don't dry them is a gas oven you will just ruin the planet.

I just wet tumbled 19 old tarnished 30-30 brass. They look like new. I have a 30-30 barrel coming for my Contender,

 

[Mobuck]

Unless the cases are packed full of mud dauber nest, tumbling will take care of the cleaning. They may not come out looking brand new and shiny gold but will be clean.

 

[Wyandot Jim]

After shooting black powder you come to realize that shiny sparkling brass is Highly Overrated
I put mine in a jug of soapy water at the range after shooting. Then when I get home I rinse and let them dry on a towel. Tumbling does not take off all of the BP stain. OH well ugly brass.

 

[crow#2]

Thats what makes old muzzeloaders look cool and the brass accesories. I use to built the old flintlocjs and percussion full stocks. Mainly 32,,36,,and 40 most of my stocks were in the 400 to 600 dolar range.Sure enjoyed building them and doing the patchboxes and all the silver inlays.Oh ta that tarnished brass is what we wanted not shiney.

 

[the_leper_colony]

I have read that washing brass cases can result in corroded primer pockets, if you don't punch the spent primers out after washing. I don't worry about it if it's just going to be a few days, but if the cases are going into storage rather than being reloaded, I make sure to decap them before they get put away.

As always IIRC, FWIW, YMMV, etc., etc.

 

[OLE_X_ME]

My buddy just gave me about 200 30/30 brass. Looks normal far as tarnish ,,havent tried looking inside any of it for dirt and such,,
Should i soak it in hot soapy water then rins well and leave laying on a towel to dry.
Then run through tumbler?

i'd not towel dry them.

i have at least 2 ways of cleaning

1) is to put them in the walnut media, for about 1 hour

or

2) put them into a pail of Iosso, for about 10 minutes, pull them out, put them into a bucket of soapy water, then rinse

then into the dehydrator for about 1 to 2 hours, depending on the number of cases to be dried.

3) dump cases into the polishing media


i use an orange net, that oranges come in..??

to drop them in the Iosso, then wash, then drop them into the dehydrator..

i use a Lyman, got it for same price as MidwayUSA, but from Amazon, with free shipping.


whether i use walnut media, or Iosso, times for cleaning and polishing come close.

i ain't waiting for no towel drying, no guarantee they are perfectly dry, over the dehydrator.

 

[crow#2]

I found my answer.

 

[TINCANBANDIT is back]

Here is my method:

I have an old Lee Challenger single stage press and a Lee universal de-primer die

I knock out the primers first, then I wet tumble in stainless steel media

I let them air dry for a few days

I then sort them by brand into boxes where the wait until I need to reload

I clean my brass as soon as I have enough to fill the tumbler, this way when I go to reload, the brass is ready, no delay in waiting to clean.

 

[OLE_X_ME]

I found my answer.

what's the answer..????

 

[crow#2]

Here is my method:

I have an old Lee Challenger single stage press and a Lee universal de-primer die

I knock out the primers first, then I wet tumble in stainless steel media

I let them air dry for a few days

I then sort them by brand into boxes where the wait until I need to reload

I clean my brass as soon as I have enough to fill the tumbler, this way when I go to reload, the brass is ready, no delay in waiting to clean.

Hey Tincanbandit. How does the ss wet tumbling do? I know nothing about it. Sounds expensive but the media is probably a one time thing i would think.

 

[TINCANBANDIT is back]

Hey Tincanbandit. How does the ss wet tumbling do? I know nothing about it. Sounds expensive but the media is probably a one time thing i would think.

There is no better way to clean brass, the brass looks as good as new, no lie, you have to see it to believe it.

These guys sell the supplies, tumblers, etc. https://stainlesstumblingmedia.com/

I use Dawn dish soap, about 3 tablespoons and 1 teaspoon of Lemishine and good clean water (distilled or RO water) which prevents spots.
I remove the brass and rinse in clean water, then let it air dry for a day or two on a stack of towels.

I prep my brass way in advance, I always have an ample supply.

 

[crow#2]

Thanks buddy
I will ck into that ss wet tumbling

 

[contender]

Wet tumbling brass is THE way to go.

It cleans the inside of the cases as well as the outside. Brass can come out looking almost brand new.

And it's not expensive.

A tumbler designed for wet tumbling. Stainless pins, water & LemiShine. I don't use dish detergent because of the suds & amount of rinsing I have to do.
Yes,, the pins are totally reusable.
I use a pair of Dillon media separators to remove the pins. Both have clean water in the catch tub. I first pour off the dirty water as much as possible, w/o spilling any brass or pins. Then, I dump my pins & brass in the separator, close it, set it in the tub with about 1"-1-1/2" of water in the bottom of the separator. I gently rotate it,, allowing the pins to fall through the separator, into the bottom of the tub. Once I feel I've gotten all the pins out of the brass,, I switch tubs,, and rinse a second time in cleaner water.
I then shake off as much water as possible,, before putting the brass into a dehydrator. You can skip this step,, and just place the brass on a towel, and allow it to air dry. If you do this,, occasionally shift the brass to a clean & dryer towel. The towel of brass can be placed in the sun, or near a heater.

Clean brass doesn't have the chance to scar or damage my dies.

 

[crow#2]

Thanks contender. Im going to ck that out. Sounds like what i would like since im a picky ole guy.

 

[the_leper_colony]

There is a possible downside to wet tumbling with steel pins, as told to me by a good friend. He was shooting his own .223/5.56 reloads in an AR15, and had a cartridge that failed to chamber completely. He discovered that it was jammed most of the way into the chamber, and would not extract - he had to ask the range master for help in removing the live round. When they finally got the cartridge loose, a little steel pin fell out with it and landed on the table.

Turns out, one of the little steel pins he used for wet tumbling brass had stayed inside one of his .223/5.56 cases, and ended up inside a loaded round. That round fired ok, but the pin didn't exit the barrel with the bullet - it ended up in the chamber after the spent case was ejected. When the bolt picked up the next round and tried to chamber it, that little pin was between the case and the chamber wall, and jammed everything up tight as a drum.

Fortunately, it didn't scar the chamber wall, so he didn't need a new barrel. No idea what might have happened if that pin had ended up in the barrel instead of the chamber. Quite obviously, you could also have a bit of corn cob or walnut shell media left in a case after dry tumbling, if you weren't careful, but guessing it would be less likely to damage your firearm (and you ;^).

As always FWIW, YMMV, IMHO, etc.