Pin tumbling & tarnish prevention after the fact

[pert near]

I've been SS pin tumbling a lot of brass & it comes out gleaming & bright! But after I lay it out on a towel in the sun to air dry it soon begins to tarnish, The suggested cure is to put some type of wax in the tumbler & a thin coat of wax will retard the tarnish. I tried a cap of Turtle Wax Zip liquid car wash/wax in the mix but no luck. I've also tried a concentrated separate wash is a bucket afterwards. Still no luck. Even as a last, separate step, is there away to stop these cases from tarnishing?

TIA...

 

[JO JO]

What is your formula ?

 

[pert near]

What is your formula ?

In a FART, 5lb pins, approx 500 .40 cal cases, light squirt of Dawn, about 2 tsp of Lemi-shine, & a cap full (1/4oz?) Turtle Wax Zip. Regular well water & the mix shows PH between 6 & 7.

 

[cheygriz]

Start by oven drying at 200 degrees for 1-2 hours. That removes the water much more quickly. It works well for me, even without the wax.

 

[Blue68f100]

You don't use Dawn if you use the Wash & Wax type auto soap. Use the same amount as before. Now if the pins are dirty then you need to increase the soap (W&W).

 

[Demi-human]

Yes.
Don't use Dawn if you're using a Wash N Wax.

 

[JO JO]

In a FART, 5lb pins, approx 500 .40 cal cases, light squirt of Dawn, about 2 tsp of Lemi-shine, & a cap full (1/4oz?) Turtle Wax Zip. Regular well water & the mix shows PH between 6 & 7.

way to much lemi shine !

try this
2 TBS turtle wax zip or use "armor all wash and wax "
1/4 TSP lemi shine
1 gal water

lemi shine less is good to much will give bad results , no need to use dawn and turtle wax just use the turtle wax zip

 

[labnoti]

2 tsp of Lemishine seems excessive. You're probably getting a fast tarnish because the citric acid isn't being rinsed and neutralized afterward. Use about 8 to 16 times less Lemishine (1/8 to 1/4 tsp instead of 2 tsp). Rinse very well, and dry quickly.

I dry by using a hot water rinse, roll in a towel, and compressed air. There will still be some water left in the primer pockets but not enough to cause rapid tarnish.

 

[pert near]

Okay, I'll nix the Dawn & increase my Turtle Wax Zip & reduce the Lemi. Thanks everyone I'll see how that works out.

 

[Demi-human]

Don't forget to let us know how it works out!

 

[markr6754]

Start by oven drying at 200 degrees for 1-2 hours. That removes the water much more quickly. It works well for me, even without the wax.

This^^^^.

I towel dry out of the FART and this gets out any residual pins, then onto a large brownie pan. No added wax, and my cases don’t tarnish. However...I use the Frankford Arsenal case cleaner solution. It’s possible that it contains wax.

 

[Demi-human]

It’s possible that it contains wax.

I would have put it in, if I were making the solution...

When I used only Dawn or only Suave shampoo (Rosemary and lavender scented ), I could watch the cases tarnish in the oven, before my very eyes.
Just like watching mint sugar cookies brown up.
The heat makes it tarnish faster.

Now I wonder if they would have been protected, the same as W'nW, if I used conditioner afterwards...
Only one way to know!
Looks like I'll find out with a run of Three Hundred Blackout and Alpine Currant Creme Rinse!

 

[Spade5]

I use Cascade liquid dish washing. It has Dawn and Lemishine plus some anti-spotting stuff and it works pretty good for me.

 

[Blue68f100]

2 tsp is too much unless your water is really really soft. When I was on well water I only added 1/2 tsp. When I connected to the county water I had to up it to 1 tsp to get the same clean.

 

[rodinal220]

Excess Lemishine can discolor or cause cases to turn pinkish in some cases. I have used the formula recommended by STM and have had zero issues, many folks use too much Lemishine, less is better. I'm using a Thumler's Tumbler Model B High Speed and use a 9mm case full of Lemishine per load.

https://stainlesstumblingmedia.com/

STMs instructions:
#6 Add 1/4 Tsp. (1.25 mL) of Lemishine. This is the key to the shine. (Not too much)

 

[Tilos]

You have to love another tumbling thread.

I have tried just about every type garage/household soap/cleaner I could buy in my quest to get wet tumbled brass "as clean as" with pins, by tumbling without pins.
To date, I have found no magic stuff, not even products made for tumbling without pins, that has resulted brass "as clean as" using pins.

One thing I have found is adding some fabric softener will knock down the foam/suds from the soap being used.
Important because the pins are small enough to remain suspended in those suds.
Try some in your next batch.
Whew,

Edit: I use dawn/Lemishine/pins and a final rinse with a heavy dose of Amorall wash and wax (use it over and over) to retard tarnishing.

 

[Erief0g]

I use a 3-4 second squeeze of dawn and a 1/2 tsp of lemi shine in my super hard (13 grains hardness) well water. I tumble for an hour but maybe longer if I'm busy/distracted with other work.

Once done I do a thorough rinse with hot water and then transfer to my sunbeam EX-food dehydrator. Last I checked it easily hits 160 and when I have it outside in the summer with ambient temps in the high 80-90's it get warmer than that.

I can have tarnish but usually it's when the brass has sat bagged for a few months.

*Side Note* I was thinking that perhaps I should just lube the brass up with some one shot and see if that eliminates the longer term tarnish. It's really not a big deal at all as it all shoots the same. I've been shooting enough recently that brass doesn't get time to sit around anyway

 

[Texas10mm]

I never had good luck with wash and wax as the initial soap. All the dirt and grunge just got mixed with the wax and made the brass look like crap.

I have cleaned the brass, rinsed it off, then put it back into the tumbler with wash and wax. This resulted in awesome looking brass that didn't tarnish.

 

[Ruger 15151]

The Dawn and LemiShine strip the bass bare so oxidation happen as soon as they start drying. I spent hours on multiple forums trying to find a process that would prevent this oxidation. Yes... I also like them to stay the same way that they come out of the tumbler. Rinsing a few times in new cold water with a sprinkle of LemiShine helps slow the process. However, the only method I found to keep them looking like they were just removed from the tumbler is to tumble them in fine corncob with a couple of capfuls of NuFinish or Flitz Brass Case Polish ( Best). Once the brass has dried, I tumble them for 30 minutes and the cases stay like "just tumbled" for about a year. Its an extra step but I like the way the brass remains like new.

Also, when wet tumbling you are removing all of the graphite from the inside of the shell. So, the wax helps make seating the new bullet much smoother as well.

 

[larryh1108]

However, the only method I found to keep them looking like they were just removed from the tumbler is to tumble them in fine corncob with a couple of capfuls of NuFinish or Flitz Brass Case Polish ( Best). Once the brass has dried, I tumble them for 30 minutes and the cases stay like "just tumbled" for about a year. Its an extra step but I like the way the brass remains like new

This. I was going to type this and the last post said it perfect. I use walnut shells in the standard tumbler with NuFinish. 20 minutes or so and they look new and last for a long time like that. Extra step? Yes, but an easy one if you like your brass looking like new over time.

 

[Dudedog]

Suave shampoo

If you use shampoo you must follow with the correct conditioner for you hair (brass type)
Using the wrong conditioner can result in split ends (case mouths?) so they tell me.

Auto Wash and Wax seem to do the trick for me.
A dollop of wash and wax (brass gets what the car gets, car gets what's on sale usually Turtle) and a .45 case of citric acid.
How much acid depends on your tap water PH. Higher PH water needs more acid.

PS: Do not try adding car paste wax, I did once and I ended up with gray slime on my pins, on my cases, inside the drum, major PAIN to clean up. It might work for you but it was a big mistake when I tried it thinking more wax=more shine.

 

[Archie]

I use the SS pins and a small amount of soap; with hot water, of course. (Liquid detergent is handy for me. I'll have to try dishwashing soap sometime.) When the cycle (15 minutes or so) is done, rinse the brass to get all the soap residue off. Something like a gallon plastic bucket is about the right size (I cut the top off an empty detergent bottle) and put some holes ABOVE the level of the brass and pins. Run clean water into the bucket to displace the soapy water. The excess water will run out the hole, but the brass and pins will not float out.

I use an old cleaned cat box to aid in the separating of pins. Separate the pins from the brass. Frankfort Arsenal makes a magnet set up especially for this purpose.

Then I dump the now cleaned and rinsed brass into a conventional vibrating cleaner with some tumbling media and a capful of Nu Shine auto wax and let them run for a bit. The media will remove all the left over water (shake the brass off first) and rub what is left of the soap scum and watermarks off the brass. The Nu-shine will put a light coating on the brass so it doesn't tarnish.

This is simpler than it sounds and the brass looks new.

 

[labnoti]

... the only method I found to keep them looking like they were just removed from the tumbler is to tumble them in fine corncob ....Its an extra step but I like the way the brass remains like new.

I agree this is well worth it. Not only does it slow tarnish and restore some lubricity to the brass, it also assures the cases are dry and there is no water in the primer pockets. Corn cob isn't a good way to dry brass because it will clump and mold, but if the brass is almost totally dry, 30 minutes in a large volume of corn cob will absorb any remaining water. If cob is still sticking to the cases after 30 minutes, then they weren't dry enough. I rinse in hot water, shake them in the strainer, roll them in a towel, blow them off with compressed air, and they go into the corn cob. It takes 2 or 3 minutes of my time and unlike air-drying, it won't leave water strains on the brass. What's more, because the cases were deprimed and wet tumbled first, my corn cob stays free of lead dust.

 

[Ruger 15151]

if I am in a hurry to dry them, I just toss them back and forth in a towel, then lay the towel flat and roll the brass around to dry the outside, then throw them into the corn cob with a little polish for 30 minutes. They come out completely dry and shinny with a light coat of polish. I have never had my media clump or mold. If their is condensation on the lid after the cases are tumbled, I just turn the tumbler on for 15 minutes without the lid and the media dries pretty quickly.

 

[pert near]

Don't forget to let us know how it works out!

I cleaned & de-greased all the pins & the inside of the FART to start fresh. I've done 3 batches of .45's, about 500 to a batch. No dish soap was used. I measured carefully the formula is as follows:

• 1/2 tsp Lemi-shine
• 2 Tbs of Turtle Wax Zip Car Wash liquid.
• Filled water to within 2" of the lid.
• Tumbled for 3 hours.

What the dirty brass looked like to start.


What came out of the tumbler after 3 hours.

Air dried in the sun for 6 hours & no tarnish started! Before, orangish tarnish began within the first hour!

I'll check for tarnish development tomorrow, but so far this formula may be the ticket!

Thanks everyone!