Length of time SS pin cleaned brass stays bright

[Walter Laich]

I got my STM stuff right before then end of 2013.
Settled on using 1/4 tsp. of Lemi-Shine and 3 Tbsp. of Armor-All Wash & Wax in with the water and pins.
Tumbled for 4 hours
Rinsed several times with clean water and set out on a towel overnight to dry.
Brass was as shiny as those in pictures on STM website
.
Happened to look at a small bucket of .38 Sp brass I cleaned the first week of 2014.
They have been in this open container in my unheated garage.
.
They are still as shiny and bright as the .45 Colts I took out two days ago. Really can't tell the difference between the two batches.
.
Just so you know...

[Love Life]

Interesting. I may need to try this armorall stuff. Can you set a small amount of clean brass to the side and let us know how it looks in a year?

[dudel]

Any reason why it shouldn't?

I have brass that I tumbled in walnut media years ago, that still looks good. Didn't have to do anything special to it. Just tumbled and put into a container.

[Mike Kerr]

I am still using Corn media, like always, so I can only speculate that your brass will stay looking like new for 3 years, seven months, and 13 days. :kidding: Now if someone can confirm or disprove this - that would be great.:roll::roll:

[Love Life]

The reason I asked is because SS cleaned brass cleaned with citric acid and soap, will tarnish shortly afterwards.

Brass SS cleaned with citric acid and soap, then tumbled in CC with NU-Finish, will look brand new a year later even when left in an unheated/cooled garage in an open air tote.

I am just curious if this armorall will keep it looking brand new for the same amount of time or longer. if so then I can swap to using the armorall over having to CC tumble in Nu-finish.

It is a legitimate question that is important to me.

[MUSTANG]

I'm with Love Life. If I can add another item (Armor-All Wash & Wax) to the mix when tumbling in SS media and it stay shiny, that saves another step of tumbling again in Corn Ccob media and Polish (i.e. NuFinish. etc..).

[Moonman]

What's in ARMOUR ALL, any AMMONIA?

[Love Life]

Is your caps lock broken?

[Moonman]

I looked up MSDS sheet, NO AMMONIA.

[Love Life]

Armorall- http://www.armorall.com/

[Mike Kerr]

Love Life wrote,
"It is a legitimate question that is important to me."

I was trying to be jocular not cruel, sorry if my post came across mean spirited.

[gunoil]

Thanks for the thread, lam gonna add some to my lemi-shine.

[Bayou52]

I have substituted Armor-All for Dawn in my wet tumbling many months ago. I use 1 ounce of Armor-All per drum in the Thumler's Model B along with 1/4 tsp of Lemi-Shine.

There is no difference in tumbling time nor the quality of the cleaning between Armor-All and Dawn. The difference is that the brass does not re-tarnish with the use of Armor-All. The small amount of wax residue impedes tarnish return.

I've had brass wet tumbled with Armor-All setting out exposed to open air for months with no noticable discoloration.

In short, it is simply my experience that the stuff works.

[jjsharpshooter]

After tumbling the cases if you put them through a carbide sizing die does it remove the wax coating?

[Moonman]

What type of ARMOUR ALL they have wash/wash&wax/ premium wash wax?????

[Love Life]

I'm going to try some of the Armor All on a test batch. Thank you for the tip!!!

[Bayou52]

What type of ARMOUR ALL they have wash/wash&wax/ premium wash wax?????

I use Armor-All Ultra Shine Wash & Wax.

Here's a link to the product at Wally World:

http://mobile.walmart.com/ip/Armor-All-Car-Wash-Concentrate-64oz/16817381?type=search

Hope this helps.....

[Bayou52]

After tumbling the cases if you put them through a carbide sizing die does it remove the wax coating?

I have done the exact thing - run the brass tumbled in Armor-All wash & wax through a carbide die (.38 SPL). This does not seem to remove the residual wax coating on the brass. The return of tarnish seems to remain impeded.

And the brass sure seems to pass through the die very smoothly, too......

[Bogone]

Bump for a really good thread, should be a sticky.

[jjsharpshooter]

Looks like I'll buy some and try it, can always use it on the car.

[Catshooter]

What a good idea. Thanks.


Cat

[bobthenailer]

I was previously using Joy dish washing soap with BB gun BB's for cleaning brass for the past 30 years or so . i tried the small dia SS pins and did not care for them!
I then switched to stainless steel jewelers mix about 2 years ago and im sold on them ! a person across the street was moving and he threw out a unopened 1 gal bottle of Turtle Wax wash & wax , i have been using it a while but haven't run a test to see if the brass ages .
i just put the cleaned cases in my Dillon vibrator with corn cob media and New Finish car polish , i have to have some use for it ! as i have two Lorton tumblers a QT 6 and a QT12 for the SS media.

[Walter Laich]

OK back with some results:
Brass I did way back when and a current batch from 4 days ago look pretty much the same. Both bright and shiny. Using Armor-All Ultra Shine Wash & Wax in place of Dove.
Brass has been in open plastic tub in garage this whole time.
I really like this method even though it's a bit more work-intensive

[Bayou52]

OK back with some results:
Brass I did way back when and a current batch from 4 days ago look pretty much the same. Both bright and shiny. Using Armor-All Ultra Shine Wash & Wax in place of Dove.
Brass has been in open plastic tub in garage this whole time.
I really like this method even though it's a bit more work-intensive

FYI -

In addition to Armor-All Wash & Wax, I've also used other brands of auto wash & wax for wet tumbling. These include Blue Coral from Wally World as well as Rain-X Wash & Wax with Carnauba Wax Beads.

My experience is that all 3 wash & wax products clean about the same and impede the return of tarnish about the same. I did note, however, that the Rain-X Wash & Wax with Carnauba Wax Beads product produced more suds than the other two. So, I use 1/2 ounce of this product rather than a full ounce.

So, in my experience, it seems to make no difference which wash & wax product is used. The results are about the same.

[fcvan]

I'm not using SS pins, but do wash with Dawn and some lemon juice before tumbling. I don't rinse, I just strain and put in the tumbler with ground walnut. I put a tablespoon of Turtle Zip Wash in the media every time I start out a fresh batch of media. Once the brash is dry (about an hour) the brass is bright and stays that way. I think the trace of wax in the Zip Wash seals the brass preventing the zinc from oxidizing.

My tumbling media is probably 2 years old now. I ran out but still had some brass to polish before I could get to the real world to re supply. I took the old media and put it in a burlap bag with a zipper. Some brand of rice came in it. Anyway, I wash the brass with hot dawn soapy water until he water runs clear. Left in the sun, the media dries in a few hours. The ground walnut swells up and is no longer smooth from tumbling. It is stained dark but still works like new. I think the detergent in Dawn and the Zip Wash helps a lot.

I want to get some SS pins and just try the Zip Wash. I have noticed that once the brass has the light coat of Zip Wash sealing the surface, the brass cleans up a lot faster. I've gotten picky with my reloading and don't like the primer compound getting everywhere. I deprive, wash, dry, and then let dry before resizing. After resizing, the brass gets the royal treatment and the final product looks better than some factory ammo I've seen of late.

[Irascible]

I tried the pins and the high speed motor, Dawn ultra and Lemi shine. After examining some 30 Herrett cases and finding a pin in a couple of them, I sold the stuff and went back to corn cob media with a few of tablespoons of Mineral spirits sprinkled in. It does a fine job and i don't have to examine the inside of every case worrying that I missed a pin and would end up ruining a barrel.

[TheCelt]

The reason I asked is because SS cleaned brass cleaned with citric acid and soap, will tarnish shortly afterwards.

Brass SS cleaned with citric acid and soap, then tumbled in CC with NU-Finish, will look brand new a year later even when left in an unheated/cooled garage in an open air tote.

I am just curious if this armorall will keep it looking brand new for the same amount of time or longer. if so then I can swap to using the armorall over having to CC tumble in Nu-finish.

It is a legitimate question that is important to me.


Same here. I like to clean using an ultrasonic cleaner with a solution of citric acid and soap and like LL said they'll take on a dull hue fairly quickly. The lemi shine + armor-all wash and wax looks like it will clean but prevent the dulling. I think I'll try it in the Ultra sonic cleaner and see how it works.

[Airman Basic]

I tried the pins and the high speed motor, Dawn ultra and Lemi shine. After examining some 30 Herrett cases and finding a pin in a couple of them, I sold the stuff and went back to corn cob media with a few of tablespoons of Mineral spirits sprinkled in. It does a fine job and i don't have to examine the inside of every case worrying that I missed a pin and would end up ruining a barrel.
There's a larger diameter pin available that doesn't stick in flash holes.

[Irascible]

The pins were not in the flash holes, they were on the inside walls.

[Bayou52]

The pins were not in the flash holes, they were on the inside walls.

The nominal length of many SS pins sold commercially is 0.255". Therefore, if pins are used on brasses with similar neck diameters, pins getting laterally stuck in the neck of some brasses is a risk.

The brasses should be inspected after each tumble.

Alternatively, you could search for and use a longer or shorter pin if you don't want to inspect the brasses after tumbling.

[Moonman]

Make sure your cases are DRY and mix them up or spin well in a media/case separator.

I just picked up some Armor All Car Wash/Wax to try.

I'm using Dawn/Lemi-Shine presently.

[Bayou52]

Make sure your cases are DRY and mix them up or spin well in a media/case separator.

I just picked up some Armor All Car Wash/Wax to try.

I'm using Dawn/Lemi-Shine presently.

Moonman -

Would like to hear of your results when you tumble with the Armor-All.

[Moonman]

Bayou52,

Will do.

[C. Latch]

Any idea what other waxes might work well for this?

[Bayou52]

Any idea what other waxes might work well for this?

Yes- I've tried Blue Coral auto wash & wax as well canuba wash & wax in addition to Armor-All. In short, they all clean and wax about the same.

[C. Latch]

Yes- I've tried Blue Coral auto wash & wax as well canuba wash & wax in addition to Armor-All. In short, they all clean and wax about the same.

Is there any reason a pea-sized glob of beeswax per tumbler wouldn't work just as well?

[runfiverun]

it don't jive well with water.
and it would make a muck outta the brass.

[C. Latch]

it don't jive well with water.
and it would make a muck outta the brass.

My first thought was to pre-tumble the pins with a glob of beeswax, but then maybe waxed pins would slow down the actual tumbling process.

This is probably one of those instances where I need to just go buy the stuff and stop trying to save $1.

[Walter Laich]

Know the feeling. Moths fly out of my wallet every time I open it which is not often

[bear67]

I have not been perfectly happy with the citric acid/Dawn tumble with SS pins so may try the wash and wax products. I tumbled some .357 Mag new brass that a friend gave me that was stored in a wet box in a barn. This did not remove all the tarnish. I added some NuFinish car was to my tumbler with fairly new lot of Walnut hulls and it cleaned them completly and has a smooth shiny finish.

For the first 25 years reloading, I never cleaned cases other than a wipe before lubing rifle cases. Times change as do we.

[Cadillo]

I use Armor-All Ultra Shine Wash & Wax.

Here's a link to the product at Wally World:

http://mobile.walmart.com/ip/Armor-All-Car-Wash-Concentrate-64oz/16817381?type=search


Hope this helps.....

Wow! That's a bit high. I saw it in this thread, and bought the same size bottle for about $5.50 at the automotive dept. in my neighborhood HEB Supermarket.

It pays to shop around.

[Walter Laich]

I picked mine up at wally world and paid less than $6.

[C. Latch]

I stopped in Wal-Mart this morning and picked up a jug of the armor-all wash'n'wax stuff, as seen in the link in this thread.

(I actually forgot which product to buy, googled 'brass rumble armor all' on my phone while standing in the aisle at the store, and this thread came up)

Anyway, I couldn't help but peek in on the brass I'm tumbling tonight, and after less than an hour they're already notably brighter than the Dawn and Citric Acid combo normally gets after 2-3 hours. I added roughly 2 capfuls of the wash'n'wax and maybe half a 9mm case full of citric acid.

[Moonman]

I purchased some Armour All Wash/Wax the other day,
haven't had a chance to try it yet though.

[Bayou52]

I purchased some Armour All Wash/Wax the other day,
haven't had a chance to try it yet though.

Moonman -

How about posting your report when you finish that first tumble with Armor-All wash & wax? I'd be interested in hearing how it turns out.

Thanks......

[Moonman]

Bayou52,

Will do, I only do handgun and my brass is in great shape.

Some of the rifle brass I see here looks like it's

been stored in a cesspool for decades.

[Bayou52]

Bayou52,

Will do, I only do handgun and my brass is in great shape.

Some of the rifle brass I see here looks like it's

been stored in a cesspool for decades.

You're right, Moonman -

I tumble and reload both rifle and pistol. Some brass I've come across is severely tarnished. I cull those pieces with true corrosion.

I'm continually amazed how SS wet tumbling restores the bling even to the most heavily tarnished brass.

I tumble for some friends, too. Once wet tumbled, they can't believe it's the same brass.....

[Moonman]

Bayou52,

Just put some 38 brass in the Thumbler's Tumbler with
Armour All wash and wax (Carnauba Wax), and Lemi-Shine.

We'll see how the tarnish issue works out.

MOONMAN

[Bayou52]

Bayou52,

Just put some 38 brass in the Thumbler's Tumbler with
Armour All wash and wax (Carnauba Wax), and Lemi-Shine.

We'll see how the tarnish issue works out.

MOONMAN

Thanks for keeping us posted, Moonman. Look forrward to your report......

[Artful]

So it's been a year has anyone kept a small test to see if still untarnished?

[Walter Laich]

Still have the plastic tub of 38 Sp brass and brass color has darkened a little but it's bright and shiny. Keep it in the unheated (and right now un-air conditioned) garage.

[Bayou52]

Same here. I've got some brass that was tumbled a couple yers ago, stored in the attic in 50 cal cans. It's slightly darker than fresh tumbled brass but still shiney.

Bayou52

[Artful]

I'm going to order some pins - this will keep me busy for a while. :veryconfu

[kfarm]

Just got on a long run and deprimed and cleaned about 100 lbs of hand gun brass using Maguires wash wax. Sealed them up in zip lock bags and in 30 cal to 20mm cans. The surprise will be when I open a can to load later on in the year.

[Bayou52]

Just got on a long run and deprimed and cleaned about 100 lbs of hand gun brass using Maguires wash wax. Sealed them up in zip lock bags and in 30 cal to 20mm cans. The surprise will be when I open a can to load later on in the year.

Perhaps you can let us know of your findings.

Bayou52

[SouTexShooter]

I buy the cheapest wash & wax combo liquid I can find - usually wallyworld.
They all work the same and you save a few bucks buying a big bottle of cheap soap/carnauba wax.
I use the larger diameter pins as well.

A tablespoon or so of soap and 1/4 teaspoon or so of Lemi-shine, tumble for somewhere between 15 minutes and 2 hours depending on the brass.

[EDG]

http://www.copper.org/publications/pub_list/pdf/a1349.pdf

This stuff will keep brass from tarnishing almost indefinitely. It is one of the active ingredients in Birchwood Casey Case Cleaner.

[MacFan]

http://www.copper.org/publications/pub_list/pdf/a1349.pdf

This stuff will keep brass from tarnishing almost indefinitely. It is one of the active ingredients in Birchwood Casey Case Cleaner.

It looks like a very small amount in the final rinse water is all that would be needed. I haven't looked up anything on toxicity yet.

Edit: Low health hazard to humans, toxic to plants. http://www.engg.ksu.edu/HSRC/98Proceed/32Wu/32wu.pdf

[EDG]

Due diligence with any chemical is required.
Example - 25% Acetic acid (vinegar) is used as a weed killer.

The concentration of the Benzotriazole used is very very low.
I suspect the lead residue from the fired primers is more toxic than the weak contration of this stuff.
You could check the instructions for the Birchwood Casey Case Cleaner since it is one of the active ingredients of that product.


It looks like a very small amount in the final rinse water is all that would be needed. I haven't looked up anything on toxicity yet.

Edit: Low health hazard to humans, toxic to plants. http://www.engg.ksu.edu/HSRC/98Proceed/32Wu/32wu.pdf