Well. I bought A Frankford Arsenal EZ Tumbler...

[DODGEM250]

I paid for it with my Ebay Bucks (technically cost me nothing) for $46.00 shipped to the front door of this CB repair shop. I put it out in the garage at home tonight, loaded up some corn cob, about 100 pcs 38 special brass, threw the master voltage pass switch, and watched it vibrate for a 2-3 minutes (that's just boring) and walked away for an hour.

I came expecting to see mirror like reflections in my brass... not. I added some vinegar that I spritzed in with an old deer lure spray bottle. I came back an hour later... HAVE MERCY ! The brass is shining now !

The vinegar is sort of offensive. What does one recommend for this type of shining o' the brass ? Powder or liquid ? OxyClean ?

[rodsvet]

I use any liquid car wax I have lying around. Just a cap full now and then is all you need. Don't use enough to have the media cake up. My tumbler is on steroids [bigger motor] and will polish 300 38's in 30-40 minutes. Good luck, Rod

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

Nu Finish car polish. Works good, smells good and is inexpensive at Wally World.

[Duckiller]

Clean your brass with walnut hulls (lizard bedding) and polish brass with corn cobs. Avoid any chemical that has ammonia in it. Ammonia is really bad for brass. Just how shiny do you want your brass? With a curved surface it makes a poor mirror. Highly polished brass may be pretty but it doesn't shoot any better than brass that is clean with big hunks of dirt removed. I vibrate enough to clean the brass after it gets dropped on the ground or water gets into the brass bucket. Occasionally I forget and leave the vibrator running for an extended period of time and I end up with highly polished brass. It doesn't shoot any better than barely clean brass.

[DODGEM250]

I want my brass to reflect the Suns rays enough to start a fire.

Not really. This brass I had was really dirty and it needed a serious cleaning. I left in the tumbler for a few hours and I know that was overkill, but, I wanted to see what this would actually do. I just want to enough tumbling to give it all a uniform color. I think my routine will be a vinegar/hot water spa treatment then 30 minutes in the tumbler.

I am upset that that super shiny brass won't make the loads more accurate. If I had of known that before I would not have bought the tumbler. I am however aware that the color of the lube is responsible for 94.325% of a bullets accuracy though, so, as long as I stick with the right color lube, it will make up for the shine that the brass lacks.

[drklynoon]

Thanks for the tip on the vineger Dodge. I am in the market for a brass cleaning method. I am fairly budget concious so I am tring to find the easiest cheapest way to knock the lube off. Right now I am using my dads Tumbler with quick dry and then news paper, this works but his quick dry has a bunch of rouge in it and that stuff gets every where.

[Hardcast416taylor]

Why not put the dirty .38 brass in a mesh bag you bought some garlic in and then run in for several wash cycles in the wifes clothes washer? If it doesn`t get the brass clean it will at least make a great conversation topic for you and the wife.:bigsmyl2:Robert

[DODGEM250]

This is my vinegar tumbled 44 brass I did last night. I just primed it this morning. The original brass I was given was quite dark in color due to the fact that it had been in storage for a while.

After the vinegar tumble, it's perfect. I think I will change the process slightly and do a vinegar/water spa and then drop it in the tumbler for the polish finish. Some guys are known to add salt to the slurry, but, I yet been able to figure out the purpose of the salt.

[DODGEM250]

Thanks for the tip on the vineger Dodge. I am in the market for a brass cleaning method. I am fairly budget concious so I am tring to find the easiest cheapest way to knock the lube off. Right now I am using my dads Tumbler with quick dry and then news paper, this works but his quick dry has a bunch of rouge in it and that stuff gets every where.

Most brass cleaners are acid based. Vinegar is basically straight Acedic acid, which is slightly harsher than Citric acid, however both will work, but, I'd prefer the vinegar which works faster. The trick is to not let the vinegar solution set / dry on the case, otherwise you'll end up with black spots. Put the vinegar and hot water in a bowl, let it set for a few minutes, shake the brass around a bit, let it set for a another 2-3 minutes, then towel dry it all to remove most of the liquid, then drop it in the tumbler for about 20-30 minutes and your done.

[drklynoon]

I'm liking that method. I may purchase a vibrator styl tumbler in the next week or two. Thanks manno.

[DODGEM250]

Update with a new cleaner test in the new tumbler:

I just ran a test on a new cleaner in my new vibratory with corn cob and a few brass and nickle .357 cases. This product is awesome to say the least. I am very very familiar with this stuff with many years of experience with it on many different surfaces, I have used it for everything, so, I know what's in it and I know what it is capable of. I just didn't expect the brass to come out so shiny.

It's called Gel Gloss (http://gel-gloss.com/index.php?pageId=351) and is mainly used for cleaning marble counter tops and stainless steel, BUT, I dropped about a half ounce in my corn cob and let it go for about 30 minutes. The outcome was excellent. Much better than my vinegar/water bath then tumble test. View photo of my last brass test HERE (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=39503&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1326216730).

.

[M1A4ME]

I bought one of those "cheap" Frankford Arsenal" brass polishers a couple of years ago and I've cleaned/polished thousands of pieces of brass from 9mm through 30.06. The wires on the motor have broken twice but were easily repaired once I got it apart. I'd buy another one.

I've been using a dishwasher product called "LemiShine" from WalMart. I mix about a table spoon in a quart of hot/warm water and soak the brass in it. Lightly tarnished brass is clean in minutes, almost black brass (range pickup stuff) may take a couple/three hours. Then I pull the brass out, throw it in the polisher and let the walnut shells dry it out for me.

The Lemishine wasn't my idea, I got it off another forum.

[DODGEM250]

I ran a batch of old .300 WM, . 270, and 30-06 brass last night with the Gel Gloss and the old black brass came out looking like white gold after about 45 minutes. It looked about the same at 20 minutes, but, I was doing other things and just the tumbler go. I am definitely sticking with the Gel Gloss.

[MW3840]

I use a spoonful of Turtle Wax Chrome Polish for $2.00 a bottle at Wal-Mart. Pour it in on top of the media and work it around with your fingers to eliminate the lumps. Has no ammonia in it and really shines the cases.