OK
I bit the bullet and bought a Frankford Arsenal wet tumbler kit after vibe tumbling forever.
I knew there'd be a learning curve but those iddy-biddy pins end up everywhere and I thought I'd need to buy more soon, at the rate I was "loosing" them.
I am using Frankford's round separator that fits into a 5 gal bucket that I used for dry tumbling and didn't want to buy yet another special separator for the wet process so I searched the usual gun forums for a solution/method to not loose those pesky pins.
I found nothing...so I went to youtube and found a guy using 5 gal elastic top paint strainers to separate the pins from the brass.
($4 for 2
)
Strainers/bags:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-5-gal-Elastic-Top-Strainers-2-Pack-11573-36WF/202061360
Video
I don't have that rotary separator he has but use the paint strainer the same way...
GAME CHANGER
Once I have shaken all the pins from the brass and rinsed it, I dump the brass onto a towel.
I put the strainer bag, with the pins in it, into the separator and rinse the pins
.
Then a spread out the pins to dry while still in that strainer bag.
Once dry I just empty the strainer bag of pins back into the tumbler...done.