Another Tumbler question

Norm99

CGN Regular
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Newfoundland
How clean should brass be after tumbling for 2 hours? I just picked up a Lyman tumbler on EE and tried it out for first time. Around 80 once fired brass came pretty clean except for black 1/4 inch or so around the neck where the bullet seats. Should this have cleaned or did I not have it tumbling long enough? All new to me, haven't actually loaded anything yet, just trying it out while I'm waiting for the rest of my reloading equipment.
 
I don't really know, since it was in the tumbler when I got it. It is a little on the dark side, I just topped it up with new. Maybe I should have changed it.
 
The carbon arround the neck can be hard to remove. Sometimes I use a piece of steel wool and just give each a twist or two. Also, are you using a brass cleaner with your media? Lyman and a few others make it, speeds up the process a lot.
 
start off with new media. 2 hours may be enough to remove all fouling on the outside, but that depends on how much brass you throw in there. The inside is a different matter, and may take you much longer then 2 hours.
BTW, I'll usually drop the brass in there in the evening and leave it running overnight. THat way in the morning you have squeaky clean, nice and shiny brass.
 
I also found that 2 hours was not cleaning the brass as well as it should have, so now I run it for 3 hours, and the brass comes out alot better. You should still change the media to new first! I went to the pet store and bought some corn cob media, it was alot cheaper than buying from a sporting goods store. I paid $20.00 for a 40 lb bag! I think this should last you a long time!
 
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