Get Your Brass Out of the Oven!

[Hanzy4200]

I just recently started wet tumbling. The only reason I bought the tumbler was to clean my .22 suppressor baffles, but I am now seeing the benefits over dry tumbling brass due to the lack of dust and contamination. I have however been disappointed that after only 20-30 min in a 200F oven for drying, my brass always comes out very dull and slightly tarnished. Last night, instead of the oven I just laid the brass out on a old shirt by a heat vent. This morning the brass is dry, and perfectly shiny. Everything I've seen so far always instructs to use the oven for drying. I'm very happy with these results. Give it a try.

[ioon44]

I would never use an oven for drying brass, hot spots could run the brass. I dry my brass out side in full sunshine or on the floor by the wood stove over night.

[Rcmaveric]

A lot of people use dehydrators.

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[USSR]

I have been using an oven to dry my brass for years. I was even processing brass for commercial use for a couple of years. No tarnished brass and no "hot spots". Works great.

Don

[lightman]

I dry mine in the oven during the winter. During the summer I put them outside and let the sun do the work. I think the darkening that we see from the oven may be the wax thats in the wash in wax that I use.

I'm thinking of getting a food dehydrater. Its hard to beat the sun but its not available during the winter months.

[Gtek]

The large air compressor here is my friend.

[TjB101]

I’ve started to squirt in a shot of car wash/wax. It does help keep the shine a tad longer... towel dry the brass right after it comes out of the wash. I normally just let it dry overnight on the towel or in a laundry bag over a basement vent. If I’m In desperate need of the brass ... dehydrator for a few hours.

[GARD72977]

A lot of people use dehydrators.

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What I use

Can't see an oven set 175-200 causing any problems with brass.

It's harder to soften brass than you think.

[rockrat]

Wife got a new dehydrator and was going to get rid of the old one. Told her I could use it and it works well

[Carrier]

Been using oven as well with no issues.

[fast ronnie]

I dry mine on a table outside in the sun laying on cookie sheets.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I just recently started wet tumbling. The only reason I bought the tumbler was to clean my .22 suppressor baffles, but I am now seeing the benefits over dry tumbling brass due to the lack of dust and contamination. I have however been disappointed that after only 20-30 min in a 200F oven for drying, my brass always comes out very dull and slightly tarnished. Last night, instead of the oven I just laid the brass out on a old shirt by a heat vent. This morning the brass is dry, and perfectly shiny. Everything I've seen so far always instructs to use the oven for drying. I'm very happy with these results. Give it a try.

I bet that discolored brass got hotter than 200º.
Not all ovens will be 200º, when you set the dial on 200º.
Maybe put a thermometer in there, and see what temperature it really is.

I don't wet tumble, but sometimes I use Hot citric bath. when I do that, I dry them on a picnic table in the sun, in summer, or on a towel on the floor, in front of the wood stove in the winter. BUT...a dehydrator from the thrift store sounds like the best answer, if you do this regularly.

[skeettx]

Gas or electric oven?
If gas, maybe some fumes.
If not, what was cooked before the brass?? Any spill over?
Mike

[popper]

Let them air dry,< 100F. Above that you bake on impurities (fluorine and chlorine or chlorine/ammonia -called cloramine) in the water.

[Phlier]

I've been using a Frakford Arsenal heated brass drier. And yeah, I was getting bright and shiny brass out of my FART, but then toasted looking brass out of the drier.

I read somewhere to switch from Dawn in the FART to Turtle Wax Wash-n-Wax to eliminate (or at least reduce) the loss of shine caused by heat drying. I now use the car wash product both in the FART wash cycle, and in the media separation/rinse cycle (the rinse water in the separation tub has a good glob of Wash-n-Wax in it). This resulted in much better results. I'm now getting little (and occasionally no) loss of shine on the brass, and the little bit of polymer "wax" that is left behind makes the brass go through the dies like they've been case lubed.

A few guys are of the opinion that Dawn has something in it that'll make brass lose its shine quickly. At this point, I'm leaning toward them being correct; if I just use the car wash product in the rinse water, the brass still tarnishes in the drier. Completely removing the Dawn from the equation really does reduce/eliminate the drying induced tarnishing.

A gallon of the car wash is cheap. Pry open your wallet and give it a try.

Yeah, I know it doesn't matter if your brass is shiny or not, and to those of you that don't care, then don't bother. But some of us like shiny, non-tarnished brass.

[fredj338]

I would never use an oven for drying brass, hot spots could run the brass. I dry my brass out side in full sunshine or on the floor by the wood stove over night.

You should be drying in the oven about 250deg, that isn't going to affect brass integrity at all. Just too many extra steps in proper wet cleaning for my taste.

[Winger Ed.]

I have to lay mine out on a towel after a soap & water wash and rinse.

I used to dry large batches in the oven until the second live .45ACP got in there and cooked off.

Now days, all my reloading projects have been banned from the kitchen.

[Bird]

Dry them with a bath towel, then apply the hair dryer. Its the fastest method I know.

[Silvercreek Farmer]

Blue coral wash and wax was cheap, but didn't seem to much for my car or brass. Next time I might try Mcguires.

[kevin c]

I usually air dry in the sun, but it's getting colder and wetter out here now, and I've moved indoors.

After using a towel hammock to knock out most of the water from inside the cases (cleaned with primers in), I dump the cases over a fine mesh screen and put that on risers over a floor vent. Forced air heating does the rest. Even just a few minutes will get a thousand plus 9mm cases warm to the touch, and they are good and dry after a couple hours.