Brass Coated with sticky dirty film after wet tumble
- Thread starter TacticalCanuck
- Start date
You are using too much lemi-shine and not enough soap, the soap holds the dirt and sizing lube in suspension. And if you do not have sudsy water when finished tumbling you need more soap.
NOTE, Blue Dawn is designed for greasy dishes and oil soaked baby ducks. I do not wet tumble baby ducks but Dawn works well for cleaning brass and cutting case lube, oil or grease.
http://3.bp.########.com/-crtF5xX70T0/V7bn6qG8TRI/AAAAAAAAC5M/L7S05eJWzVUCWXLh2f9s6O0Ia7k5YhbQACK4B/s1600/dawn-saves-wildlife-med.jpg
And when in doubt read and follow the directions.
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TacticalCanuck
Regular
- Location
- SW Ontario
Following advice in this thread, including the new lube method, I got the best results I have ever had on test lot of 300 cases. The new lube method saved me so much time it was God send. Trimming with the FrankFord case prep centre yields amazingly consistent results. I just loaded my first 100 and they look better than factory. Now I just gotta get out to the range and test the results 
What I meant was to use green degreaser (brand "Zep") to degrease the hornady oil, then use ganderite's method to lube with Lee lube. Then never use hornady again.
When wet tumbling, don't use too much dawn or lemi-shine. Contrary to popular knwoledge, dawn isn't there to clean anything, it's only to break surface tension of water so that SS pins will clean the cases better. Lemi-shine isn't even necessary, but it gives a nice shine if you don't use too much.
I don't lube pistol cases if I have carbide dies.
That's what I've been using,I tumble 2/3 of a drum full of .223 in hot water for 15-30 minutes with no pins to pre rinse the dirt then half ounce of Lyman cleaner with just enough hot water to cover the brass and pins for one hour. Then I empty that water and shake the pins out of the strainer cap and tumble once more with fresh hot water for about 15 minutes. The brass comes out looking better than new brass I have in unopened bags. This is done with the primers still in and dried for one hour in a Frankford brass dryer which gets all the moisture out of the primers and pockets for those who are worried about that. Then the same 1/2 oz mix for half hour or so after sizing and your done. The small bottle will do an entire 20 litre pail of brass before and after sizing.
It's up to you, but I make a point of tumbling after resizing and trimming to get the lube and brass trimming out/off the cases. Also make sure to rinse the brass well after tumbling to get any film leftover from the soap/lemishine.
TacticalCanuck
Regular
- Location
- SW Ontario
Great advice here, thanks people. I've had some amazing results on my last batch of brass.
Hornady case lube is off the shelf. Switched to the Lee water based. My new process is:
1. Deprime
2. Wet tumble with a pinch of lemi-shine and about 4-5 drops of dawn
3. Dry.
4. Resize using Ganerite method
5. Trim
6. Wet tumble with the same recipe to remove lube - about an hour - this also allows me to not debur during trim The tumbling does it for me.
7. Dry
8. Reload
The batch I did this way after degreasing my system from that Hornady oil based lube is amazing.
For pistol:
1. Wet tumble with above recipe
2. Dry
3. Reload on progressive press
This isn't cleaning primer pockets, so I guess once or twice over the life of the brass it wouldn't hurt to deprime first just help ensure the flash holes are clear, but I've never has issues with just dry tumble so I can't see it being a big deal. I get the odd fail to fire, say maybe one every 5-600 or so.
Shooting your own loads offers a level of consistency and accuracy only the most expensive match ammo can yield, and it's done for less money. the more you reload, the more you save.
thanks for all the help!
Hornady case lube is off the shelf. Switched to the Lee water based. My new process is:
1. Deprime
2. Wet tumble with a pinch of lemi-shine and about 4-5 drops of dawn
3. Dry.
4. Resize using Ganerite method
5. Trim
6. Wet tumble with the same recipe to remove lube - about an hour - this also allows me to not debur during trim
The tumbling does it for me.7. Dry
8. Reload
The batch I did this way after degreasing my system from that Hornady oil based lube is amazing.
For pistol:
1. Wet tumble with above recipe
2. Dry
3. Reload on progressive press
This isn't cleaning primer pockets, so I guess once or twice over the life of the brass it wouldn't hurt to deprime first just help ensure the flash holes are clear, but I've never has issues with just dry tumble so I can't see it being a big deal. I get the odd fail to fire, say maybe one every 5-600 or so.
Shooting your own loads offers a level of consistency and accuracy only the most expensive match ammo can yield, and it's done for less money. the more you reload, the more you save.
thanks for all the help!
RJ
Butcherbill
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Blaster land, Okanagan BC
That’s the nice thing about Lee case lube it’s water soluble, so if you wet tumble after sizing the lube comes off in the water/soap mix.
I have been using STP oil treatment as a case lube for 5 decades, FA wet tumbler, HOT soft water, ONE teaspoon of TIDE laundry detergent, a pinch of Lemmishine, 100 grams of steel pins.
One hour, rinse and separate pins ,very easy with the grilled end caps. Dump the cleaned cases on the carpet downstairs, let dry overnight, next day ready to reload. Clean inside and out including primer pockets.
Butcherbill
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Blaster land, Okanagan BC
Yeah I have had zero issues with wet tumbling either, I’ve switched over to lanolin/isopropyl mix for case lube if I want a spray lube. Lee and Hornady Unique for when I want a paste style lube, One Shot has worked for me as well.
I wet and dry tumble depending on volume or how filthy brass is, both work well for me. When I dry media tumble I add varsol and liquid car wax to the walnut media, zero dust as well after I add varsol and liquid wax.
