Cleaning old brass

I hope this makes sense w/o pictures. I took a washing machine motor and plugged it in. As the spindle turns, hold a file against it to make it cone shaped and the size of the caliber you are using. . Put the empty casing on the spindle holding your thumb against the headstamp to hold it on while it is turning. With the other hand using steel wool (0000) put it against the casing (or use Flitz on a rag) and the casing will clean up and look like new. Of course this is good for empty cases only. Something to do on a long winters night.

Well, it's clear to me. Thanks for the idea.

There's a significant difference between clean and shined cases. One is needed, the other is purely cosmetic.

New cases have a matt finish, they're never glittery. I prefer to make my cases truly look new so I don't add metal polish to my tumbler media any more, I just add an occasional spoonful of diatomacous earth; that's the soft polish in white toothpaste that actually cleans our teeth. It does a great job on brass and leaves a true factory sheen.

Small boxes of diatomacous earth can be found in Lowe's/H'Depot's/Ace hardware home insectacide department. D.E. powder is hades to floor crawling bugs but harmless to animals and it's quite cheep too.

My chickens love to it too.DE works great to keep the bugs off of chickens

I buy muriatic acid, diluted hydrochloric acid.
dilute that 1 part acid to 10 or more parts water. Dirty, tarnished, sooty, brass will come out as dull brass. Rinse thoroughly, several times
with some baking soda in the water the first two times. Then clean water.
Dry thoroughly, and tumble polish as usual.

If you have a pin tumbler, no need. Follow the instruction with a bit of lemon shine.

Shiloh

You are right in that it is cosmetic to be shiny. It is also surprising to me how many people think that is what a tumbler should do. So for those who like 'em shiny this is one way to do it.

I have done a similar thing with a cordless drill. Snug the case head first in the drill and as the drill spins the case you can use 0000 steel wool or your favorite metal polish. Swap ends but be careful not to crush the case. Now polish the head of the case.
They come out looking very good that way. I have done tis with the cases I load for defensive proposes. The Never Dull gets them nice and clean and leaves a wax on then that helps prevent corrosion. Then give then another coat without the drill for a bit more protection.
I guess if I wanted to load some to show off a I could do this to them. It don't make them shoot any better but the shine may impress others.
Leo

Before I started using a tumbler and when I wanted some "BBQ"ammo, I used a tapered hardwood dowel chucked in a drill. Just push the case on the dowel and it stays tight. I used 000 steel wool with Pledge then wiped with a clean rag to make sure all the steel wool hairs were off the case...