How long should it take to clean when tumbling brass with pins?

Dultimatpredator

Well-known member
I put a couple of grains of lemi shine and a drop of dish washing liquid in with 50 cases on each side of my doubble harbor freight rock tumbler with metal pins last night at 6:30pm and it's now 3:30pm and I still can see signs of oxidization on the outside of the cases..do I need to put more lemishine in? The cases are new lake city never fired brass that I've had sitting for three years and look all speckaled from me touching them when I full lenght sized, anealed, and trim so they weren't even that dirty. Ididnt wanr to get too happy with the lemishine like I've done in the past being I have had cases turn green.
 
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If it's been tumbling for 9 hours, they are as clean and shiny as they are going to get, or you may have done something wrong. Which may be not enough lemishine, but it only takes a dab, anyway.
 
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You need more than a dash of soap. Two tablespoons in my 12 pound thunbler tumbler and 1/16 teaspoon of lemi-shine in the barrel with 100 cases snd five pounds of pins. Mine is the old motor and not as fast. I go for five hours because of that. Too much LS turns the brass pink for me.

Greg
 
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Originally Posted By: GLShooterYou need more than a dash of soap. Two tablespoons in my 12 pound thunbler tumbler and 1/16 teaspoon of lemi-shine in the barrel with 100 cases snd five pounds of pins. Mine is the old motor and not as fast. I go for five hours because of that. Too much LS turns the brass pink for me.

Greg

My recipe is pretty close to Greg's.
I use probably 1-2 Tbsp of dawn and a level 1/8 Tsp measure of Lemi-Shine.
I switched my Thumler's base out to the Rebel version with the bearings on the rollers and it increased the rpm's quite a bit.
Two to three hours gets mine spotless inside and out-most of the time two hours.
 
I have a cheap harbor freight double rock tumbler I'm using. I'm guessing mabey a 20oz capacity per jug. What ratio would you recommend?
 
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It's been a little over an hour and they're getting nice and bright but there's still some streaks in the casings. I would assume I need to leave them in for about another hour?
 
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Just did my first load in my Frankford Arsenal Rotary Tumbler (F.A.R.T.) Ran a coffee can full of 223's for 2 hours and they look like brand new, inside and out. I used the package of solution that they sent with it, but will be trying the recipes you guys posted.

It is a bit of a process but man I like shiny brass
 
I pulled them at just over three hours...they look awsome. Bright shiny brass like I tumbled them. I wasn't putting in enough lemishine and soap apparently. When I purchased this setup...and the last time I tumbled...three years ago I was told a pinch of lemishine and a drop of dish washing liquid which never got them this shiny.
 
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i usually set my timer for 2 hours.

5 lbs of brass
5 lbs of pins
2 lbs (1 quart) of water
0.5cc lee powder scoop of lemi shine
heavy squirt of dawn (1-2 table spoons)



hth.
 
Yea, you were a little light with the Lemishine and soap. Glad that solved the problem. Always nice to get nice shiny brass to reload and shoot.
 
When I bouugt mine I asked the guy (Cory at STM) how long to tumble and could I leave it running overnight
He told me there is a point where if left in too long, the dishwasher detergent actually breaks down and cases will get dirty looking again

He said 2-3 hours is fine for the dirtiest of cases. So i have followed his advise and have shiny cases
 
I put in a second load at 9pm last night and took them out at 8 this morning. They look awsome...again. so overnight works as well and wasn't too long. I have left them in too long in the past like 2 days straight with the minimal amount of lemi shine and they look like green military brass when they come out if somebody likes that look. I would describe it as a satin olive color.
 
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