The shot peening is debatable. i'd have to imagine getting shaken around in a vibratory tumbler does at least as much shot peening as does rolling around with stainless pins.

ive been wet tumbling since well before any of these modern kits were available and havent notice any adverse effects.


as for time - how long are youvibratory tumbling for? i know a lot of folks are well into 4+ hours, often overnight kinda thing.

i typically wash my brass for a 90 min wet cycle, spend about 15-20 mins rinsing/pin separating, do a quick pat dry with an old bath towel, and then about 2h in my dehydrator to get them 100% dried out.

so its all passive time anyway. its not like you need to sit there and actively watch/assist the drying process.

i got my dehydrator at a yard sale for $5. they said they used it once and never touched it again.

they're totally not hard to find for under $20 all over marketplace if you dont wanna play the spring yard sale lottery. ppl in high end neighborhoods get rid of this kinda stuff all the freaking time for peanuts.

my cousin got a cabelas commercial model for $25 a couple years ago, it was basically brand new they said they used it twice and its been taking up space in their storage room since.

I think the folks that use SS pins will more than likely have arguments about how good it works and those that use media will argue about how good it works. Moral of the story...use what makes you happy. As long as you get the end results your looking for then keep doing it. I thought I was going to have to replace my equipment and thought I might try the SS pin route, but I repaired my tumbler so I will keep using media until I can't repair it. I'll review my options then. There may be a later and greater way by then...if I'm still alive.

That's a big part of it. I've been curious about US cleaning & the wet tumbling with SS media, but the reality is that I have a vibratory cleaner that's built like a tank & working perfectly. So I'd have to spend money to replace something that really doesn't need to be replaced yet.

that pretty much kills the deal, though it this thing ever craps out, anything is on the table.

My buddy had an ultra sonic cleaner and he absolutely hated it. We had a couple of tables at the Wanamaker show and it and a big jug of the liquid was on the table. He said one way or another the machine was not coming home with him. I think he got $20 for it and was thrilled just to have it gone.

You and me both.
Anymore I anneal every other time. Buddy bought an an Annealeze, I have done several K on it.
Clean brass = happy dies. There is way more going on pressure wise inside die than most imagine.
I still have two thumbless tumbler vibe type polishers. I got a deal on 50lb bag of corncob a few years ago. I use a squirt of Nu Finish every once in a while. A couple of caps full of mineral spirits every time, gets the carbon off.

(Clean brass = happy dies) Did you anneal some brass with carbon on the necks and scratch the die? If so did you leave scratches on the case necks?

i love my ultrasonic - but for cleaning gun parts. ar bcg's and casette triggers come clean in minutes. same for pistol uppers.

field strip the bcg even days after a hard range session, drop it in the tray, add water and a scoop of powder, 20 mins later everything wipes off with a light brush and patch. hose everything down with brake clean to dry it out, coat it in hornady one shot and put it all back together for next time. way way easier than using one of those scraper tools