SS Pin Wet Tumbling

[dale2242]

I got a tumbler and am waiting for my SS pins to arrive to start wet tumbling.
My question is this, why do you have to put citric acid and detergent in the solution?
I am assuming that the abrasive action of the pins are doing the polishing.
Has anyone tried tumbling without adding detergent and/or citric acid? If so, what where your results?
I`m not saying you don`t need them, just wondering why.....dale

[hotbrew]

Dale,

The citric acid puts a shine on the brass and the dish washing liquid (or other detergent) helps with the removal of oil, dirt, ect. I've run brass through without and it cleans well but is not nearly as shiny :)

hotbrew

[geargnasher]

The citric acid does a lot more than shine, and even the companies peddling the pins and solutions don't know why citric acid does what it does. This fellow does, though, which is why the thread is a sticky here on this page. worth a read: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?83572-Citric-acid-brass-cleaner

Gear

[runfiverun]

you don't have to use dishwashing soap either.
I use car wash soap with polymers in it and one with carnuba wax in it.
they both keep the cases from tarnishing after the cleaning.

be careful about the amount of soap you use, I use about 1/3 teaspoon and it seems to be about right.
you'll be surprised at how dirty the water can get.

I still use my media tumblers but they are now used just to clean the case lube off my rifle cases after the sizing and such before actually loading them.

do not run cases with lanolin based lubes on them in the stainless media you will be forever trying to get everything clean again.

you can however run regular tumbling media in your SS tumbler, it works pretty well that way.

[geargnasher]

I just got bitten by the lanolin case lube thing, you're right about that! I put in 200 cases that were previously cleaned before all the FL sizing, deburring, reaming, trimming, neck turning, etc. and I wanted them cleaned again. Put in the usual squirt of Dawn and Justin Wilson Teaspoon of citric acid and after 30 minutes the cases were all coated in a dark grey haze. So I change the water, put in another dose of citric acid, and three good squirts of Dawn to cut the lanolin and it was good to go.

Gear

[prs]

Another good question to ponder is the reciprocal of the OP's question. Has any one, other than moi, found that the stainless steel pins add very little to the process as compared to using use a dib of Dawn and wee bit of citric acid powder wit tap water? Now, to qualify this, I am not processing or reprocessing bench rest ammo. This is for every day shoot'n fodder. In my Thumler's B I place several hundreds of range brass of same caliber, spent primers still in, say about 3/5 to 3/4 tumbler full of brass. Then the detergent and acid powder, then just enough tap water to cover the brass. Turn it on and let it go several hours or over night. They come out clean as a whistle and only a trace of carbon in the floor of the pockets (where SS media will not reach anyway with the spent primers in). De priming and then washing is not an option for me, waste of time. The metal cases themselves will do anything the SS media will on the outside and the inside appears clean with my method. Some say distilled water, but the acid should break down any calcium in the tap water.

prs

[prs]

Runfiverun; when you said: "you can however run regular tumbling media in your SS tumbler, it works pretty well that way.", were you talking about dry tumbling with SS or wet? Regular tumbling media in a wet tumbler could be the Dickens to get out of the cases, even walnut. OH, maybe I see, is your tumbler made of SS?

prs

[varmint243]

Has any one, other than moi, found that the stainless steel pins add very little to the process as compared to using use a dib of Dawn and wee bit of citric acid powder wit tap water?
prs

I have found that the SS pins I bought don't seem to matter.
I just use some Dawn dish soap.
I just finished cleaning a whole bunch of muddy 38 brass for a friend.
I consider the wet/pin tumbling thing a real PITA and only use it for extremely muddy/filthy brass.
I went back to using my regular tumblers with walnut and mineral spirits and al little 2000 auto polish.
Works like a champ.

[Cowboy_Dan]

Runfiverun; when you said: "you can however run regular tumbling media in your SS tumbler, it works pretty well that way.", were you talking about dry tumbling with SS or wet? Regular tumbling media in a wet tumbler could be the Dickens to get out of the cases, even walnut. OH, maybe I see, is your tumbler made of SS?

prs

I think he means, and I was going to try this over the summer, using standard media dry in a rotary tumbler. Seems to me that it should work fine.

[fredj338]

If you are just cleaning your brass after shooting, the pins aren't much value. Where ss pins & citric acid come into play is very tarnished brass.

[runfiverun]

I just use walnut media in my tumbler instead of the stainless pins.

I do the same thing with my little sears brand rock tumbler to finish off my swaged bullets.
the rolling action cleans just as well if not better than the swirling around tumblers do.

back before I got the pin tumbler I would just wash the cases in the lemi-shine and soap then toss them in the regular tumbler with walnut media to dry them off and apply a little nu-finish to the cases.
and I still do that for the most part, saving the pins for the super grungy stuff or to clean the cases right before I anneal.

[prs]

understood about the process, thanks Runfiverun.

fredj338; grungy and tarnished is my middle name, lol. Some of my cases are black by the time I find them mashed into to acidic iron bearing clay on our range. Many lost after having been shot with black powder. After pinless tumbling they are bright and shiny in and out. Can't pick them out of the "crowd" after the tumble. So, my SS pins are in a plastic tub on the shelf.

Now, my vibratory/swirl tumbler has a new life after sitting on the shelf for years. It does a great job of applying powder coat paint to boolits when charged with a little powder paint and lots of black AirSoft BBs as the media.

prs

[Cadillo]

you don't have to use dishwashing soap either.
I use car wash soap with polymers in it and one with carnuba wax in it.
they both keep the cases from tarnishing after the cleaning.

be careful about the amount of soap you use, I use about 1/3 teaspoon and it seems to be about right.
you'll be surprised at how dirty the water can get.

I still use my media tumblers but they are now used just to clean the case lube off my rifle cases after the sizing and such before actually loading them.

do not run cases with lanolin based lubes on them in the stainless media you will be forever trying to get everything clean again.

you can however run regular tumbling media in your SS tumbler, it works pretty well that way.


Can you please elaborate on the problems associated with lanolin based case lube and the SS pin case cleaning. I clean my brass with my home built tumbler and SS pins. I also lube my cases with Imperial sizing wax, which I believe to be lanolin based. I occasionally have to run my pins by themselves with water and Lemishine for a half hour or so to clean them, or else the brass comes out of the drum looking like antiqued brass, and I'm thinking that based on your statement, perhaps the lanolin is contributing to this issue.

Any additional input appreciated.

[detox]

RCBS Sidewinder tumbler and Simple Green concentrate makes process very simple.

[runfiverun]

lanolin don't like water too much.
the pins don't scrape it off too well, and any grunge in there just sticks to the lanolin.
everything just gets coated with this muck.

I use regular walnut media to get the sizing lube off.

I think that imperial sizing wax is something other than lanolin it seems more like a paraffin wax fortified with a thin oil to me.
I have used it before with fair success but have taken to making my own bullet swaging lube and I just use it for sizing cases too.

it's 2 parts anhydrous lanolin to 1 part castor oil and about 10% [by mark-I eyeball] neets foot oil to thin everything down.
I apply it to the cases in a plastic baggie and squish everything around to get a super thin even coating.
my application process is 100 cases and a swipe of lube [about a small pea size dollop] on a Q-tip shoved in the cases and swished around then taken out before squishing them around.

[captaint]

I love my Imperial Wax and it's been all I've used in years. However, if I had to bet money, I'd say it's shoe polish. Sure does feel the same. Anybody remember shoe polish ??? One of these days I'm gonna have to try out my theory......

[hockeynick39]

Wow, never had any problems with lanolin and SST media and I use a 1:4 mix of lanolin to alcohol in my pump. Either that or I just don't know what I am looking at, but everything comes out looking great. 1 TBSP of generic dish soap and 1/4 tsp of Lemi-Shine for 4 hours. Rinse until soap is gone and put in the dehydrator for 30 minutes or so and voila, sparkly, pretty brass that slides effortlessly through the sizing die with another squirt of lube and roll on the pad. Good luck and stay safe.

[Cadillo]

[QUOTE=runfiverun;3130043]lanolin don't like water too much.
the pins don't scrape it off too well, and any grunge in there just sticks to the lanolin.
everything just gets coated with this muck.


That sounds like the same effect I often get. If the Imperial is other than lanolin based, it seems at least to behave similarly in the tumbling solution.

THX!