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grit for tumbling
rawiron1
Member Posts: 57 ✭✭
I started using 40 grit metal shards for tumbling. Moderately dirty cases with lube come out CLEAN in about 35 minutes. 1/2 this time for non-lubed cases. Run them too long and they come out a pewter color (happens around the 1 hour mark).
Show me a media that will clean your cases in 20 to 40 minutes.
Show me a media that will clean your cases in 20 to 40 minutes.
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I started using 40 grit metal shards for tumbling. Moderately dirty cases with lube come out CLEAN in about 35 minutes. 1/2 this time for non-lubed cases. Run them too long and they come out a pewter color (happens around the 1 hour mark).
Show me a media that will clean your cases in 20 to 40 minutes.
stainless steel pins work fine for me
Chemical etching/reaction something is not right with that. That sounds like a "Patina" base finish.
I don't require cases be super shiny-just clean and w/o firing residue-prior to being reloaded. I'm also not in that much of a hurry to get them clean. If it takes 2 hours , it takes 2 hours.
Actually, my cases are usually in the tumbler 2-3 times. Once to clean the crud off before sizing, again for a shorter period to remove the sizing lube, and once more after trimming and/or swaging primer pockets. The final tumble is when they get "polished" a little since they've been fully cleaned during the first two runs.
Define clean? I get the feeling you all are talking about rifle cases here. I tumble my pistol cases once for about 40min to 1 hour. The media I use right now is rice, I bought a 50# bag at costco four years ago and have only used half of it. Corn cob works very well and will shine up your cases and it also only takes about an hour. Walnut is probably the quicker of them all, 250 9mm cases is about a half hour. Very clean!
Clean does not always mean shiney! We have had this discussion many times before. One "expert" stated that he tumbles his brass for four hours in an aggressive media and sometimes overnight to the point the head stamp becomes unreadable. Think about that and the bad implications! Be careful about what "experts" you listen to.
I mostly do pistol, thousands per year! Unless I were using a "wet" media tumbler like the "Thumblers" I would not even think of using a metal based media to clean brass. Mobuck may have a very good point about metal imbeding itself into the cases too. I would not do this!
There is quite a bit info about media and tumbling on this forum and quite a few options that are inexpensive and cheap. I would rethink what your are trying here.