Monotonous? Never! This stuff is always interesting to ME. My only concern is whether it will be interesting for you guys. Trust me...I totally realize how awesome my audience is.
I owe u the short load work to the 2520 mk262 mod1, 1 hole shooter out of my gun out to 700 so far on 6 inch plates, and the shooters world, world on 308 in 175 smk and varget...same result, me go to load recipes for those calibers
@@psykoklown874 we dont get lemishine here in South Africa. Although one of the biggest outfitters here brought some in and charge an arm and a leg for it. A joke. I use a teaspoon of citric acid. Table spoon of normal sunlight dish soap and a good squirt of Finish dishwasher rinse aid. All in a homemade tumbler using a 10l drum. Rifle I ad media, pistol I dont. My brass looks awesome
Great job!! Better than any commercial on the boob tube. Thanks for all the work you put into this. I hand load about four just thousand rounds a year for the last 23 years and after much trial and error I've come down to using the Frankford arsenal pellets just to make it easy on myself. I already load 22 different metallic cartridges and have too much inventory as is. When using my large Frankford Rotary tumbler my brass comes out better than new and I've put some crap in that machine that I've found at the club. Rinsed well and dried it's perfect. No one has any complaints. Rotary tumblers are definitely the way to go. Wish they were around in the 80's. This is a lot of work you've done to save a lot of hand loaders from having to do themselves.
I’d like to see all three run with stainless media. I bet even just 30min with media would be al you need and there would be no difference between the three.
After years of vibratory tumbling, I just got the F.A.R.T.. All of my questions answered in one video by a thorough guy I trust. Unfortunately, I’ve already bought all of the products in the video. At least I know what to expect. I’ve been spinning 15 min with soap and without pins, then doing my case prep. Final step is pins and FART pods. At least I know what I’m buying when I run out of all of this stuff.
Been using wash and wax car wash for couple years now. Really happy with the results. Doesn’t leave water spots or dulling like I have encountered with dish soaps.
Perfect!!! I just sat down at the bench to size my 1st 6.5 grendel reloads for the new build. Finally I can use the info from all your grendel vids. It's a 16" b.a. fluted.
Wife got me the Frankford lite tumbler for Christmas. First thing I did was order the stainless chips because of your old media vid. Can't wait for the media to show up so I can clean some suppressor baffles and range brass.
I don’t know why I chose to comment on this video because they are all great. Straight to the point with no fluff. I admit to holding my breath during the test firing hoping for good groups. Thank you for doing this.
I use dawn dish detergent and lemi shine. Steel pins are absolutely necessary!! to make it look like new.. Thank you for this video, You are like my go to guy for every thing reloading.
I compared wet tumbling both rifle and handgun brass using stainless pins to not using the pins (have not tried the chips yet) and found a significant difference in the the primer pocket and the interior of the case cleanliness. In my comparison experiments the SS pins did a much better job in those areas. This video touches the work process for everyone in our hobby, regardless of experience or caliber, and really helps with making decisions on what process to use. Almost every reload includes cleaning the brass. Nicely done, very informative....thank you.
To give an idea of tumbler size (about a gallon and a half), I use 10 # stainless pins, about 500 pieces of .223, 1 teaspoon citric acid, and 1 teaspoon Armorall wash and wax premium. I tumble for two hours. There is NO residue inside the cases and a small amount inside the primer pockets. Citric acid can be purchased for about $10 for 2 pounds. I've been working on the first pound for a LONG time. I just finished my first bottle of Armorall after two years. Armorall runs about $10 a bottle. I started using this method because I HATE cleaning primer pockets. The wax in the Armorall keeps the brass from tarnishing later.
If you dry tumble you are contaminating the insides of the case with fine tumble particles. This will downgrade ignition . Outside on case looks great but that’s all.
I dry tumble as well with corn cob and walnut. I’ve never had an issue either. Once the media gets dusty I do add some dryer sheets. I will have to ultra sonic clean some brass and compare results
I do think the car wash with wax does a great job. It reduces the bubbles a little bit and I feel the wax helps keep the brass shiny for long term storage.
Thanks for all the videos as I look forward to them. I have tried several concoctions over the years. I settled on Brass Juice for the most consistent results. Depending on how tarnished the brass is I use 1/2oz-1oz per load with a squirt of Dawn, tap water and SS media. Not only does it shine the best but I find that over time my stored brass does not tarnish. Perfectly cleaned primer pockets every time too. Lemishine is just inconsistent for me. My go to is 1/2oz of Brass Juice for 90% of my brass so I end up with close to 50 batches per liter with single use. I don't like using the solution multiple times but I did try it and load number 5 was just as clean as load number 1. Just not worth it to me to use me than once. I load up my tumbler, turn it on for three hours and call it a night. Rinse the next day. I also use an RCBS media separator to rinse. This is key and the best way is to fill up the separator pan with water and you are actually washing the SS pins/chips out of the cases. Rotating it under water breaks the tension and the SS media just falls out and does not stick to the brass.
Two years late viewing the video, however, wished I had watched it about two weeks earlier. I spent the money and purchased a quart of the Brass Juice based on some other review's. Very good objective review.
I've reused Brass Juice up to 3 times with tap water with great results. Just leave the nasty stuff in the bottom and discard. The pistol rounds also goes through my dies better than the old Lemme Shine/Dish soap recipe. That's why I use it. For rifle rounds just go the cheap route cuz you're lubing your cases anyway.
I use the FA tumbler with ss pins, scalding hot water as full as possible, two cap fulls of green detergent, two cap fulls of Armor All wash & wax, a sprinkle of lemi-shine (depending on your local water hardness), and let it run for two hours. When the time is up I rinse immediately. I decap first and 100% of the surface area of the brass is perfectly clean and stays that way.
About 40 years ago I got a rock in a sizing die. I sent it in and rcbs polished it. After that I started cleaning better. I use a plastic tub and a hoe with laundry soap so it doesn't suds over. Rinse and drain a few times. I put in a cardboard box to dry. I look over the ones to reload for big issues, then again to decap and size when spraying with one shot lube. Then I use corn cob media with a cap full of Dillon polish. I run the vibratory for as long as needed. Usually overnight. I have 3 kitchen colander strainers for separating. I do this preparation before I have the need for that load. Over the years I have accumulated bulk brass so I can work in batches larger than I can shoot. Maybe I just need to shoot more.
One thing I like about your videos, it is pursued as a non-bias or supported with "I believe" when comparing different products. not too many people in the firearms community making videos produce a blindfold comparison as you do. I just want to say thanks. as you know personal preference will always get in the way and it is hard to take that out of it. you do a great job. I look at it this way, (Cost) as you brought to the table. as Paul Harrell says, "You be the Judge" or "does it make such a difference to make a difference"? as we have seen here, No it does not, just cost-per-use. Keep up the great work. peace bro. -Dave
I use citric acid powder and automotive wash & wax soap, in the same ratio that you showed. Citric acid brightens and passivates the brass. Lemishine contains citric acid. I've found citric acid powder on-line for as low as $.16/oz. in a 5# bag. I now have a lifetime supply of citric acid powder. Citric acid powder is used as a coffee pot cleaner also.
Fitting you post this video now since my family bought me a wet tumbler for Christmas this year! How consentient. No more old worn out rag wiping for this guy!
I use Dawn with a sprinkling of citric acid in my ultrasonic cleaner that heats the water. After the cases are dry, I put them in a vibrating tumbler with fine reptile bedding from the pet store. I like clean brass going through my dies.
That's the way I do it, except that I don't use pins at all unless I'm going to store the ammo longer term, in which case I also pour some liquid wax in my final rinse in my RCBS separator.
@@l800x8 I find the pins remove all the carbon/debris. The inside of the primer pockets look like they have never been fired. I don't see those results without pins.
Thank you. Just ordered my first wet tumbler. Grabbed the frankford packets with the order until I can track some dawn and lemi shine and get it figured out.
I use hot water, lemishine and dawn or Palmolive with stainless steel pins for about 45 minutes to and hour. Comes out real clean with maybe a little residue still in primer pocket.
It's beyond me why people insist on reinventing the fricken wheel!!! Lemishine, and dawn WITH pins or chips (used both, and I'm sold on chips) does very well! (With fricken tap water). Your reviews are great to prove my point!! THE WHEEL IS ROUND, IT WONT GET NO ROUNDER!!!
I think the key to getting the primer pockets clean is to get the water ph correct, I use a ph 3-4. This usually can be done with lemi-shine and vinegar. My recipe is to use dish soap, tide pod, lemi-shine, and vinegar. Maybe a little too much but brass is beautiful inside and out.
@Don Hill - Since we are all budget minded the Lemi Shine is just citric acid (mostly). It can be bought in bulk (food grade) dirt cheap and pH paper is dirt cheap on eBay ,etc. And pH meters (like electronic thermometers which at max $25) run maybe $30+. Vinegar is very wise to have because one can titrate pH is they mess up the measurements, pH, etc. Citric Acid can be used to clean fruits and vegetables to. The idea was invented on a small family farm in West Texas.
I've had excellent luck with a few drops of Armor-All Ultra-Shine Car Wash (gold) and it keeps my brass from tarnishing for years. I still have shiny brass on some bulk 9mm I loaded years ago.
I just got a wet tumbler after years of vibrating brass. Night and day difference. Way easier, way faster, way better results. Stranger’s opinion. No regrets here 👍
I use the FA packs and tumble pistol brass for 4-5 hrs. I fill the tumbler to the top with brass, add water, use all the pins included with the tumbler. Rinse 2x in the tumbler, wet separate with the FA seperator, then dry separate. Finally dry for 2-3 hrs with the FA dryer. Brass comes out looking mighty fine. No real need for me to speed up the process as I value the best looking brass possible over any other consideration. I will look into the stainless chips you mentioned. As always, Johnny makes me think. Thanks for sharing your experiences!
As a car wash owner I know soft water (0 grains of hardness) is a must for getting "soap" to clean especially without friction. (brushes) I tried the Frankford Arsenal product and pins that came with the tumbler and the results were decent. When I tried the Brass Juice, hot water and Southern Shine Media it was incredible. The brass looked pretty much like new but I am not reusing the Brass Juice for the next batch. It looks black in color. The only issue is that even with using hot soft water after drying left some spotting. What I tried (again thinking like a car wash owner) was rinsing it after tumbling with water from our home reverse osmosis system. (that is what spot free rinse is at a well run car wash) It left no spots at all after it dried. Then I tumbled it in a vibratory tumbler with corn cob media and about a capful or so of Nu Finish car wax for tarnish protection just in case I don't reload them right away. (that is something I read about and have no experience with) 5,000 decapped cases so far. I am going to try the Dawn and Lemi Shine next with pretty good confidence that it will be as good as the Brass Juice.
The heating elements in ultrasonics are pretty low power - they will keep the water warm, but that's all. The waves the machine makes heats the water up too! In my little cheapo unit of 600ml I mix 3/4 of boiling water, 1/4 vinegar, a squirt of dish soap and a coffee spoon of citric acid. 2x8min cycles and then a good rinse under normal fresh tapwater. Primer pockets of my mildly loaded 6.5x55 with WLR are "80%" cleanish. Thx for all the content on your channel, great work!
I have cleaned brass spray nozzles in ultrasound unit for my steel plant. Finally chose citric acid as the least harmful, and used tap water because it had low hardness. Check it and get a simple filter to make it softer if needed.
I've found that limiting the amount of brass to under 300 pieces (decapped) makes a big difference. Another thing you can try is doubling the stainless media to 10 lbs. I've been able to drop tumble time to 1 hour with really good results (I use 1 Tablespoon Dawn Pro, 1/4 teaspoon Lemishine, hot (municipal) water). Don't forget to clean your media every 5 or so loads, especially if you use lanolin based lube. It (and the drum) holds a lot of grime while still looking pretty clean.
I use the liquid FA solution it's just a cap full in a batch with water and steel pins in their tumbler. That said once I'm out I'm probably going to start using lemon shine and dish soap. Thanks for all you do brother!!!
The only reason I started wet tumbling my brass was to get the brass spotless inside and out along with the primmer pocket. I am going to stick to dish soap and using the stainless pins. You can spend a lot of money reloading ammo today, use to everyone tried to get it done the least expensive way possible. Hell, used to people didn't even tumble the brass they would just reload it dirty and they worked fine. Save your money for bullets, powder, and primers when you can find them.
I run my brass with dish soap and lemishine for 40 minutes with steel pins. I think that works fine. I don't even use hot water, I just fill it with the garden hose out by my garage. I used a Hornady ultrasonic cleaner a couple times and then put it away. I've never used it since. The ultrasonic cleaner with Hornady brand brass cleaner does nothing in one cycle and you have to reset it every couple minutes. It also doesn't hold very much.
I’ve been using lemi shine & Armorall’s Wash-N-Wax car wash liquid soap from Walmart. I use one gallon of water in a thumbler tumbler, 3lbs of brass, 1/4tsp of LS, 1oz (shot glass) of the soap. Let it run for 6hrs & the brass looks amazing.
I own a car wash and have the same conversations with soap dealers. High and low pH soaps clean totally different. Soap has two purposes. To break the bonds of the gunk with the item you want cleaned and suspend the gunk. High pH attacks different gunk than low pH and if you mix the two you negate the two and wind up with some mid-pH blend. Low pH is Lemishine, and vinegar. High pH is dish soap, degreasers and simple green. Laundry soaps like Tide are in the middle. The best way for brass is to hit it with a mid or high pH soap in hot water for 15 minutes, drain it and hit it with low pH for five minutes or less since it will start to attack the brass
Dish soap is really close to neutral so what we do as reloaders winds up being a slightly low pH wash and that's it. There's usually not greasy dirt on brass so there isn't a particular need for high pH. The citric acid is a fairly weak acid so at regular temperatures it would take really long exposures to start encountering dezincing to a serious extent. I've experimented with more aggressive washes and more extreme pH, and it can work, but it can also go south really quickly. I've watched brass go pink in seconds when in near boiling water when I've done a pH adjustment. The mildly low pH classic method has much wider margins for error, and it's hard to get into trouble,
Dish soap, hot tap water and white vinegar in a mop bucket. Yes, extreme budget. I have learned, from this channel, that fairly tight control of charge weight gets me to reliable 1" groups or less out of my bolt rifle. I still have a lot of work to do with my msr. However, as previously stated, reloading has dropped my group size from 2-3 inches to 1.5 with my entry-level msr. Thanks JRB and the group here!!!
It must be the soothing timbre of your voice that kept me glued to every second of this video. You have reaffirmed my confidence in dish soap and lemi shine after an hour in the tumbler with pins I don't believe you can get it any cleaner. My fondness of the cost of that operation makes me want to do a little dance. You could probably do a video on finger nail trimming for proper press handle operation and I would watch. Thanks brother!
I've dry tumbled for years. I saw how the cases that you wet tumbled looked so clean , I found my wallet and got the whole set. My first batch was 1000 9mil cases , I ran it for 3 hrs. with the pins and the supplied cleaner. You never made any comments about those pins. They go all over the place, the magnet and the separator, help a lot but they still have strays. Drying the brass and the pins, still more strays to round up. The whole process took about 5 hrs. but the brass looks fantastic if I didn't know better I would say it's brand new. The next step in this brass cleaning was a sonic cleaner. I did a large load of range brass ,9mil 800cases for 6 minutes.. They came out pretty clean , most as clean as the brass with pins and others better then dry tumbling. Rinse and dry 800 9mi, done in a little over a hour. No brainer for me.
I switched to just citric acid (buy in bulk) and Meguiars wash and wax, the creamy yellow stuff. Does a fantastic job! My wash and wax is going to last forever because I only use about 1-2 tbsp. Clean as a whistle, and the polymer additives in the car wash help it dry faster and spot free. It may be coincidental but I've never stuck a case using wash and wax. Lets face it.. we only NEED to brush out the neck a little to reload. I tumble because I want them looking NEW. The wash and wax helps them STAY "looking new." Edit: Oh! Also I learned to fill up my tumbler and then walk away for an hour or two before turning it on. The soak time helps the baked on caked on crud come off. In my experience the soak is more important than the tumble time. I'll soak a couple hours and only tumble 30 mins or so. Easier on necks.
@@bikemad001 I purchase mine in the home canning area at the local store. It is food grade. The price is higher, i'm sure, but I add less than 1/4tsp (~0.5 gram) to one frankfort arsenal mini tumbler batch. (1500-2000ml on a fill, depending on brass added) It really does not require a lot unless you have very hard water or add a LOT of brass (which adds a lot of oxidized metal dust to the mix) Start light, work up. No point in wasting it. My tiny bottle has 142gr of powder, so i'm getting 300 batches+ for 5 bucks. Of course if your tumbler is approaching "overfilled" add some extra.
I have tried about everything under the sun as far as cleaning brass. Brass Juice does make them shiny but still needs pins to get those pockets clean as you have shown. Awesome comparison.
I have the smaller Frankford Arsenal tumbler with 1 lb of stainless media, hot tap water, and 2 capfulls of Simple Green. 2 hours tumbler time, brass is then dried in the Lyman air dryer. For whatever the reason, 9mm and .38 Special brass is like new and I do not have to clean the primer pockets. In the case of 5.56 LC, 6.5 CM Lapua, 6mm Peterson, and other rifle cases where I did not use a magnum primer, the brass is very good, some pockets need cleaning, but some do not. With hotter factory loads, I tend to see mixed results, and usually clean all the pockets.
Awesome video though I may be overboard with my cleaning. TO ME the best is 1 1/2 cap full of Armor All Wax and Shine, Dawn soap and Lemi Shine. This takes very little and I have been pulling from the same bottles for two years now. The AA has a side benefit to me the cases are slick requires less lube on sizing rifle brass and doesn't hurt accuracy, and prevents those horrendous water spots you can get if not completely dried or if you have hard water negating the need for DI water. Johnny so glad to see you back at the bench sir.
Here in Europe I use citric acid, (no lemi-shine available) and any dish soap with stainless media. Clean the brass for 1 hours. After the brass is dry than resize and adjust length, chamfer etc. After all prep work is done the brass going back in the tumbler for 1 hour. Done..
I've been using dish soap (usually plain old Dawn), splash of Lemishine, SS media (most of the time), & warm-hot water for 45 minutes (average) on the first tumble, dump, fresh water (no soap) and another splash of Lemishine for 15-30 minutes rinse tumble. Frankly I've always been pleased with how well my brass comes out. I found not over loading the tumbler with brass helps and more soap than usual when cleaning 308 (or larger cases) helps. For pistol rounds, usually 300pcs or so 9mm, 250pcs or so of 45acp, etc. turns out really nice (even range pick ups). I also use the FA dryer, usually no less than an hour to 1-1/2 hours and spread them out. I could see in some cases not using the media once in awhile but I'll stick with my tried & true economical method. Not only are they available everywhere in my area, but I honestly don't see enough improvement to warrant the more expensive options...especially when you factor any freight costs that might be acquired & added hassles.
What I have found is.... dawn dish soap and lemishine works good , I have it, it’s cheap if I need more. I have no need to buy anything above and beyond. Also I have quit using pins. As long as you have plenty of brass in there I have been happy with my results.
I've been cleaning my brass in wet tumbler and dawn soap for 30min for a few years now, no pins or anything else. If I want shiney brass I will run it thru a second time with wax and pins. I've also been using Brass Sorter and bucket for draining as I often don't presort dirty brass.
Thanks for all that you have shared over the years. One 45ACP of lemishine... one 9mm of dawn.. using pins.... typically 3 hour tumble to clean pocket..rinse/dry. saltbath anneal... then tumble in carnauba wax for ultimate shine....The chips sound like a good idea... cutting the tumble time down would be awesome. Would love to see part 2 showing these test results compared to pins compared to chips.
I bought a HF rotary tumbler 6 years ago, some ss media, and used about a tablespoon of Dawn with a small sprinkle of Lemishine. I have cleaned tens of thousands of pieces of brass...mostly range pick up .223, 9mm, and .45 acp. NEVER have changed the pins. Tumble for 2 hours. Brass comes out factory shiny. There is 0 need to buy anything more elaborate or expensive. Anything else is simply a waste of money...period.
I do tapwater, simple green and citric acid for 2-3 hours then rinse well then tapwater and a little dawn. Use a food dehydrator to dry the brass. I don't use pins so I use a little brush chucked into a drill for a primer pockets. They look pretty darn nice. And that's cheap.
Thank you very much for doing these videos. I'm sure at times it doesn't seem worth it but we appreciate all your hard work and time you put into these videos. As far as this topic, I do the dish soap and lemi-shine. I use the sunshine media pins as well. I think my "issue" for needing to take 3-4 hrs is I fill my FART all the way up with brass. *well, all the way with rifle. About 2/3s if pistol* but I will actually boil a gallon of water when I start it.
Harbor Freight rock tumbler, plain dish soap, lemi-shine, and some stainless steel pins is a great budget friendly setup. I still clean the primer pockets just for peace of mind, but results are good.
As for cleaning brass I use 1gallon DI water, one 5oz. scoop limme shine and a squirt of Dawn dish soap.And this I use in my Hornady ultra sonic cleaner with the heat on.
Johnny, you did a fantastic job breaking the whole thing down. Don't be so anti-distilled water at $1.07 a gallon! LOL. Let me throw this in to the mix. Good old store brand Baking Soda will do just about as good a job as Lemi Shine. Both are just lowering the Ph content of the water to be "softer" to prevent hard water stains. I also add 3-5 drops of Brasso brass polish and get fantastic results. But a teaspoon of ammonia does just about the same thing. So tap water, liquid detergent, ammonia and a teaspoon of table salt gives outstanding results for pennies per tumble. Thank you for the in depth analysis of the results from $ to $$$!
Johnny, I have learned some things watching your videos. I have bought several new tools like you have. I recently purchased a Frankford Arsenal wet tumbler, the pin magnet, a set of digital scales, swagger dies. I went on and ordered a set of beam type Ohaus scales. I trust them better.
A&D FX120i is the cheapest answer to your scale related issues. It’s hard to get out of single digit standard deviation. JRB is a smart dude. Keep watching 👍
No, this wasn’t lame! You answered some good questions. I’ve been using Dawn dish soap and Lemishine but I just give a small squirt of dawn and a little bit of Lemishine, I have heard that 9 mm case full of Lemishine before. The last batch I ran,, I used too much Lemishine and the cases did come out discolored, and they continue to get darker with time!
I use simple green in my Franklin Tumblr. works great.immaculately clean inside. Tapwater, A shot glass full of simple green. Run it for three hours. That gets everything cleaned off. as an added feature I polish it and put it in a dry Tumblr and polish it comes out looking better than factory ammo.
I used to use dish soap and lemishine with ss media. I have switched the Brass Juice. I only use 1oz to 1 gallon of tap water. Occasionally I will add SS media. Most times I don’t. Brass comes out looking new everytime.
I only use a sonic cleaner to clean gun parts or my suppressor. I soak the part I'm going to sonic clean in CLR (Calcium, Lime, and Rust remover) overnight then I rinse it off and clean it in the sonic cleaner using Purple Power and hot water. I wet tumble brass with hot water, stainless steel pins, dawn dish soap, and straight citric acid. It helps that I have citric acid on hand for water bath canning.
I been using bulk citric acid powder (its in the canning section) and a bit of dawn dishsoap with good results. I use a big ultra sonic tank,it's branded LPS and probably holds 4 gals, filled with water. But i put the brass in big Mason jars with the acid/soap/water to keep tank cleaner and makes draining/handeling/drying easier. Run it for a 30min cycle
for an ultrasonic solution I make 4 runs. pass 1 will be 50/50 vinegar and water then a couple drops of dish soap for 20 mins. 2nd pass is water and a half teaspoon of baking soda to stop the acid eating away your brass, run that for 10 mins. last 2 passes are just water at 10 mins each. my ultrasonic has a heating section which i use on the passes. It doesnt get as shiny as tumbling though... it does eat away the grime though.
Watched your twitch stream last night fell asleep while watching your 22-250 video again wake up to a new video tell's ya how much we like your content. Keep talking I'll be listening.
For the Ultrasonic I use a 9mm casing of Lemmishine and a half a teaspoon of Dawn. I run one 30 minute cycle, Rince in clean water then 1 more cycle in the Lemmishine/dawn mixture and a final rinse off. It seems to do a good job. Hope this helps!
I tried the chips after watching your video. Def a game changer. I use dawn dish soap cuz... that was the cheapest on Amazon. Works well. I don’t get crazy measuring the soap or Lemi shine. A good glug of soap and a wiggle of Lemi. Works very well. I go for 2 hours, but maybe I need to try a shorter run one of these days
You crack me up man. I've learned so much from you. I just use soap and lemi. I tried cream of tartar just recently because I've seen one guy swear buy it. The results were negligible. Stick with soap and water.
I hope you realize how much we appreciate what you do, no matter how annoying it is to you and monotonous. Thank you.
Monotonous? Never! This stuff is always interesting to ME. My only concern is whether it will be interesting for you guys. Trust me...I totally realize how awesome my audience is.
@@JohnnysReloadingBench Thanks for taking your time to do this video!Already forwarding video to the range buddies! 💪
... OMG…the lack of drama!!! 🙀
I'll second that
I owe u the short load work to the 2520 mk262 mod1, 1 hole shooter out of my gun out to 700 so far on 6 inch plates, and the shooters world, world on 308 in 175 smk and varget...same result, me go to load recipes for those calibers
I love your comments..."sorry folks, I'm not using distilled frickin water to clean brass". You always read my mind.
Why not? If you're willing to spend money on specialty cleaning products, why not spend a dollar for a gallon of distilled water?
@@Martinroadsguy because he is spending 20 cents plus regular water instead
started with Dawn and lemi-shine and probably won't ever change
Me too.
Yup. In an HF cheapy double drum tumbler, and the brass seems great to me.
It's all I use and works and much cheaper than those cleaners from reloading companies.
Lemishine is basically citric acid, which is much cheaper.
@@psykoklown874 we dont get lemishine here in South Africa. Although one of the biggest outfitters here brought some in and charge an arm and a leg for it. A joke.
I use a teaspoon of citric acid. Table spoon of normal sunlight dish soap and a good squirt of Finish dishwasher rinse aid. All in a homemade tumbler using a 10l drum. Rifle I ad media, pistol I dont. My brass looks awesome
Best reloading channel on RUclips
Dish soap and lemishine for the win.
Dawn, Lemishine and Southern Shine Media. Cleans every nook and cranny spotless and makes my brass shiney clean!
Cleanest brass in the county
I need to get your email address if you don't mind. Message me on Southern Shine Media page.
I just ordered 10 lbs!
@@rachelgale54 any discount codes
I love your comparison reviews. You are definitely the project farm of reloading.
Project Farm is one of my favorites!
Great job!! Better than any commercial on the boob tube. Thanks for all the work you put into this. I hand load about four just thousand rounds a year for the last 23 years and after much trial and error I've come down to using the Frankford arsenal pellets
just to make it easy on myself. I already load 22 different metallic cartridges and have too much inventory as is. When using my large Frankford Rotary tumbler my brass comes out better than new and I've put some crap in that machine that I've found at the club. Rinsed well and dried it's perfect. No one has any complaints. Rotary tumblers are definitely the way to go. Wish they were around in the 80's. This is a lot of work you've done to save a lot of hand loaders from having to do themselves.
Not lame at all.... It’s the little bits of “what if” information that helps out so much. Thanks
I’d like to see all three run with stainless media. I bet even just 30min with media would be al you need and there would be no difference between the three.
I'd love to just see soap + lemishine with steel media at various time intervals to see how long we should tumble.
Amazing difference inside the brass and the primer pocket with the SS media. I do mine for 30 minutes and it comes out clean.
After years of vibratory tumbling, I just got the F.A.R.T.. All of my questions answered in one video by a thorough guy I trust. Unfortunately, I’ve already bought all of the products in the video. At least I know what to expect. I’ve been spinning 15 min with soap and without pins, then doing my case prep. Final step is pins and FART pods. At least I know what I’m buying when I run out of all of this stuff.
Been using wash and wax car wash for couple years now. Really happy with the results.
Doesn’t leave water spots or dulling like I have encountered with dish soaps.
Dish soap made my brass turn dark. Armor All wash and wax keeps it nice and bright and shiny.
Perfect!!! I just sat down at the bench to size my 1st 6.5 grendel reloads for the new build. Finally I can use the info from all your grendel vids. It's a 16" b.a. fluted.
Grendel is pretty dang awesome. Welcome to the club!
Wife got me the Frankford lite tumbler for Christmas. First thing I did was order the stainless chips because of your old media vid. Can't wait for the media to show up so I can clean some suppressor baffles and range brass.
I don’t know why I chose to comment on this video because they are all great. Straight to the point with no fluff. I admit to holding my breath during the test firing hoping for good groups. Thank you for doing this.
I use dawn dish detergent and lemi shine. Steel pins are absolutely necessary!! to make it look like new.. Thank you for this video, You are like my go to guy for every thing reloading.
Welcome to the world of advertising, a.k.a. manufacturing consent..
There’s a sucker born every minute.
Frankford Arsenal Media Separator: amzn.to/3pCRsPI
The cool kids hang out with me on Discord discord.com/invite/SjAtsfS9kU
My grandfather has passed and never taught me how to reload. Thankfully for you, I’ve learned a lot.
I use dawn and lemishine. I also use the dishwasher packets and don’t see much difference between the two
I compared wet tumbling both rifle and handgun brass using stainless pins to not using the pins (have not tried the chips yet) and found a significant difference in the the primer pocket and the interior of the case cleanliness. In my comparison experiments the SS pins did a much better job in those areas. This video touches the work process for everyone in our hobby, regardless of experience or caliber, and really helps with making decisions on what process to use. Almost every reload includes cleaning the brass. Nicely done, very informative....thank you.
Great as always. I love how you tell the truth, rather than some of these RUclips Reloading Celebrities who love whatever is sent to them for free.
To give an idea of tumbler size (about a gallon and a half), I use 10 # stainless pins, about 500 pieces of .223, 1 teaspoon citric acid, and 1 teaspoon Armorall wash and wax premium. I tumble for two hours. There is NO residue inside the cases and a small amount inside the primer pockets. Citric acid can be purchased for about $10 for 2 pounds. I've been working on the first pound for a LONG time. I just finished my first bottle of Armorall after two years. Armorall runs about $10 a bottle. I started using this method because I HATE cleaning primer pockets. The wax in the Armorall keeps the brass from tarnishing later.
I dry media tumble with good results but I thought I would check this out anyway , I hope 2021 is a better year
If you dry tumble you are contaminating the insides of the case with fine tumble particles. This will downgrade ignition . Outside on case looks great but that’s all.
I’ve never had a problem in my 25 years of reloading I totally debunk this statement
I dry tumble as well with corn cob and walnut. I’ve never had an issue either. Once the media gets dusty I do add some dryer sheets. I will have to ultra sonic clean some brass and compare results
Wash n wax car wash soap + lemi shine is my go to wash
I do think the car wash with wax does a great job. It reduces the bubbles a little bit and I feel the wax helps keep the brass shiny for long term storage.
Thanks for all the videos as I look forward to them. I have tried several concoctions over the years. I settled on Brass Juice for the most consistent results. Depending on how tarnished the brass is I use 1/2oz-1oz per load with a squirt of Dawn, tap water and SS media. Not only does it shine the best but I find that over time my stored brass does not tarnish. Perfectly cleaned primer pockets every time too. Lemishine is just inconsistent for me. My go to is 1/2oz of Brass Juice for 90% of my brass so I end up with close to 50 batches per liter with single use. I don't like using the solution multiple times but I did try it and load number 5 was just as clean as load number 1. Just not worth it to me to use me than once. I load up my tumbler, turn it on for three hours and call it a night. Rinse the next day. I also use an RCBS media separator to rinse. This is key and the best way is to fill up the separator pan with water and you are actually washing the SS pins/chips out of the cases. Rotating it under water breaks the tension and the SS media just falls out and does not stick to the brass.
Two years late viewing the video, however, wished I had watched it about two weeks earlier. I spent the money and purchased a quart of the Brass Juice based on some other review's. Very good objective review.
I've reused Brass Juice up to 3 times with tap water with great results. Just leave the nasty stuff in the bottom and discard. The pistol rounds also goes through my dies better than the old Lemme Shine/Dish soap recipe. That's why I use it. For rifle rounds just go the cheap route cuz you're lubing your cases anyway.
OH BOY! I was gonna go to bed, BUT I AINT GOING NOW!
Yup, this upload was a bit late for me. Gotta show my west coast homies some love every once in a while.
I use the FA tumbler with ss pins, scalding hot water as full as possible, two cap fulls of green detergent, two cap fulls of Armor All wash & wax, a sprinkle of lemi-shine (depending on your local water hardness), and let it run for two hours. When the time is up I rinse immediately. I decap first and 100% of the surface area of the brass is perfectly clean and stays that way.
About 40 years ago I got a rock in a sizing die. I sent it in and rcbs polished it. After that I started cleaning better. I use a plastic tub and a hoe with laundry soap so it doesn't suds over. Rinse and drain a few times. I put in a cardboard box to dry. I look over the ones to reload for big issues, then again to decap and size when spraying with one shot lube.
Then I use corn cob media with a cap full of Dillon polish. I run the vibratory for as long as needed. Usually overnight. I have 3 kitchen colander strainers for separating.
I do this preparation before I have the need for that load. Over the years I have accumulated bulk brass so I can work in batches larger than I can shoot.
Maybe I just need to shoot more.
One thing I like about your videos, it is pursued as a non-bias or supported with "I believe" when comparing different products. not too many people in the firearms community making videos produce a blindfold comparison as you do. I just want to say thanks. as you know personal preference will always get in the way and it is hard to take that out of it. you do a great job. I look at it this way, (Cost) as you brought to the table. as Paul Harrell says, "You be the Judge" or "does it make such a difference to make a difference"? as we have seen here, No it does not, just cost-per-use. Keep up the great work. peace bro. -Dave
I use citric acid powder and automotive wash & wax soap, in the same ratio that you showed. Citric acid brightens and passivates the brass. Lemishine contains citric acid. I've found citric acid powder on-line for as low as $.16/oz. in a 5# bag. I now have a lifetime supply of citric acid powder. Citric acid powder is used as a coffee pot cleaner also.
This is exactly what I do. Works great.
Every time I get on here I find a video that you've made whether its 7 years ago or yesterday and I'm addicted. Keep up the great content.
Fitting you post this video now since my family bought me a wet tumbler for Christmas this year! How consentient. No more old worn out rag wiping for this guy!
I use Dawn with a sprinkling of citric acid in my ultrasonic cleaner that heats the water. After the cases are dry, I put them in a vibrating tumbler with fine reptile bedding from the pet store. I like clean brass going through my dies.
This confirms my method. Tumble for 15 minutes before de-priming. Then I decap, resize, trim. Then tumble with pins for 90minutes. Then load.
Sounds like a solid plan
That's the way I do it, except that I don't use pins at all unless I'm going to store the ammo longer term, in which case I also pour some liquid wax in my final rinse in my RCBS separator.
@@l800x8 I find the pins remove all the carbon/debris. The inside of the primer pockets look like they have never been fired. I don't see those results without pins.
Thank you. Just ordered my first wet tumbler. Grabbed the frankford packets with the order until I can track some dawn and lemi shine and get it figured out.
SOAP!!!!!!!! I'm hitting pause and busting out the popcorn. I'll be right back...overall thanks for the video Johnny.
I use hot water, lemishine and dawn or Palmolive with stainless steel pins for about 45 minutes to and hour. Comes out real clean with maybe a little residue still in primer pocket.
How much of each? Not the water but the lemishine and the dawn?
It's beyond me why people insist on reinventing the fricken wheel!!!
Lemishine, and dawn WITH pins or chips (used both, and I'm sold on chips) does very well! (With fricken tap water).
Your reviews are great to prove my point!!
THE WHEEL IS ROUND, IT WONT GET NO ROUNDER!!!
I've been using dawn and a little lemi shine for years, works awesome
I think the key to getting the primer pockets clean is to get the water ph correct, I use a ph 3-4. This usually can be done with lemi-shine and vinegar. My recipe is to use dish soap, tide pod, lemi-shine, and vinegar. Maybe a little too much but brass is beautiful inside and out.
@Don Hill - Since we are all budget minded the Lemi Shine is just citric acid (mostly). It can be bought in bulk (food grade) dirt cheap and pH paper is dirt cheap on eBay ,etc. And pH meters (like electronic thermometers which at max $25) run maybe $30+. Vinegar is very wise to have because one can titrate pH is they mess up the measurements, pH, etc. Citric Acid can be used to clean fruits and vegetables to. The idea was invented on a small family farm in West Texas.
I've had excellent luck with a few drops of Armor-All Ultra-Shine Car Wash (gold) and it keeps my brass from tarnishing for years. I still have shiny brass on some bulk 9mm I loaded years ago.
I use dawn dish detergent and lemi shine. Steel pins are absolutely necessary!! to make it look like new, absolutely!!!
Am I the only one still using the old Lyman turbo with corn cob media? Wet tumbling just seems like a pain to me.
Appreciate the content as always. :D
I just got a wet tumbler after years of vibrating brass. Night and day difference. Way easier, way faster, way better results. Stranger’s opinion. No regrets here 👍
Nope your not alone...I'm useing my old Lyman I got in the mid 1980s..lol
I still use an orange tumbler and walnut shell media. Have been tempted to upgrade but have done it yet.
I use the FA packs and tumble pistol brass for 4-5 hrs. I fill the tumbler to the top with brass, add water, use all the pins included with the tumbler. Rinse 2x in the tumbler, wet separate with the FA seperator, then dry separate. Finally dry for 2-3 hrs with the FA dryer. Brass comes out looking mighty fine. No real need for me to speed up the process as I value the best looking brass possible over any other consideration. I will look into the stainless chips you mentioned. As always, Johnny makes me think. Thanks for sharing your experiences!
Been reloading for 30 yrs. still use RCBS dry tumbler with corn cob media. If you want really pretty, add a teaspoon of Mad Mothers wheel polish.
As a car wash owner I know soft water (0 grains of hardness) is a must for getting "soap" to clean especially without friction. (brushes) I tried the Frankford Arsenal product and pins that came with the tumbler and the results were decent. When I tried the Brass Juice, hot water and Southern Shine Media it was incredible. The brass looked pretty much like new but I am not reusing the Brass Juice for the next batch. It looks black in color. The only issue is that even with using hot soft water after drying left some spotting. What I tried (again thinking like a car wash owner) was rinsing it after tumbling with water from our home reverse osmosis system. (that is what spot free rinse is at a well run car wash) It left no spots at all after it dried. Then I tumbled it in a vibratory tumbler with corn cob media and about a capful or so of Nu Finish car wax for tarnish protection just in case I don't reload them right away. (that is something I read about and have no experience with) 5,000 decapped cases so far. I am going to try the Dawn and Lemi Shine next with pretty good confidence that it will be as good as the Brass Juice.
The heating elements in ultrasonics are pretty low power - they will keep the water warm, but that's all. The waves the machine makes heats the water up too!
In my little cheapo unit of 600ml I mix 3/4 of boiling water, 1/4 vinegar, a squirt of dish soap and a coffee spoon of citric acid. 2x8min cycles and then a good rinse under normal fresh tapwater. Primer pockets of my mildly loaded 6.5x55 with WLR are "80%" cleanish. Thx for all the content on your channel, great work!
"This video was kind of lame, but it needed to be made... I guess."
~Johnny
“More drama next time maybe... hopefully.”
I have cleaned brass spray nozzles in ultrasound unit for my steel plant. Finally chose citric acid as the least harmful, and used tap water because it had low hardness. Check it and get a simple filter to make it softer if needed.
I've found that limiting the amount of brass to under 300 pieces (decapped) makes a big difference. Another thing you can try is doubling the stainless media to 10 lbs. I've been able to drop tumble time to 1 hour with really good results (I use 1 Tablespoon Dawn Pro, 1/4 teaspoon Lemishine, hot (municipal) water). Don't forget to clean your media every 5 or so loads, especially if you use lanolin based lube. It (and the drum) holds a lot of grime while still looking pretty clean.
I use the liquid FA solution it's just a cap full in a batch with water and steel pins in their tumbler. That said once I'm out I'm probably going to start using lemon shine and dish soap. Thanks for all you do brother!!!
The only reason I started wet tumbling my brass was to get the brass spotless inside and out along with the primmer pocket. I am going to stick to dish soap and using the stainless pins. You can spend a lot of money reloading ammo today, use to everyone tried to get it done the least expensive way possible. Hell, used to people didn't even tumble the brass they would just reload it dirty and they worked fine. Save your money for bullets, powder, and primers when you can find them.
I run my brass with dish soap and lemishine for 40 minutes with steel pins. I think that works fine. I don't even use hot water, I just fill it with the garden hose out by my garage.
I used a Hornady ultrasonic cleaner a couple times and then put it away. I've never used it since. The ultrasonic cleaner with Hornady brand brass cleaner does nothing in one cycle and you have to reset it every couple minutes. It also doesn't hold very much.
You can always use a RV water filter on your hose to help with water spots instead of using Distilled water
I agree about the distilled water...I have a filtration system for my drinking water...that works pretty well.
I’ve been using lemi shine & Armorall’s Wash-N-Wax car wash liquid soap from Walmart. I use one gallon of water in a thumbler tumbler, 3lbs of brass, 1/4tsp of LS, 1oz (shot glass) of the soap. Let it run for 6hrs & the brass looks amazing.
I forgot to add that the almost unnoticeable wax left on the brass keeps the brass looking brand new for years!
I own a car wash and have the same conversations with soap dealers. High and low pH soaps clean totally different. Soap has two purposes. To break the bonds of the gunk with the item you want cleaned and suspend the gunk. High pH attacks different gunk than low pH and if you mix the two you negate the two and wind up with some mid-pH blend. Low pH is Lemishine, and vinegar. High pH is dish soap, degreasers and simple green. Laundry soaps like Tide are in the middle. The best way for brass is to hit it with a mid or high pH soap in hot water for 15 minutes, drain it and hit it with low pH for five minutes or less since it will start to attack the brass
Dish soap is really close to neutral so what we do as reloaders winds up being a slightly low pH wash and that's it. There's usually not greasy dirt on brass so there isn't a particular need for high pH. The citric acid is a fairly weak acid so at regular temperatures it would take really long exposures to start encountering dezincing to a serious extent.
I've experimented with more aggressive washes and more extreme pH, and it can work, but it can also go south really quickly. I've watched brass go pink in seconds when in near boiling water when I've done a pH adjustment. The mildly low pH classic method has much wider margins for error, and it's hard to get into trouble,
Dish soap, hot tap water and white vinegar in a mop bucket. Yes, extreme budget. I have learned, from this channel, that fairly tight control of charge weight gets me to reliable 1" groups or less out of my bolt rifle. I still have a lot of work to do with my msr. However, as previously stated, reloading has dropped my group size from 2-3 inches to 1.5 with my entry-level msr.
Thanks JRB and the group here!!!
It must be the soothing timbre of your voice that kept me glued to every second of this video. You have reaffirmed my confidence in dish soap and lemi shine after an hour in the tumbler with pins I don't believe you can get it any cleaner. My fondness of the cost of that operation makes me want to do a little dance. You could probably do a video on finger nail trimming for proper press handle operation and I would watch. Thanks brother!
Soap and lemashine....used ur recipe years ago, never stopped
I've dry tumbled for years. I saw how the cases that you wet tumbled looked so clean , I found my wallet and got the whole set. My first batch was 1000 9mil cases , I ran it for 3 hrs. with the pins and the supplied cleaner. You never made any comments about those pins. They go all over the place, the magnet and the separator, help a lot but they still have strays. Drying the brass and the pins, still more strays to round up. The whole process took about 5 hrs. but the brass looks fantastic if I didn't know better I would say it's brand new. The next step in this brass cleaning was a sonic cleaner. I did a large load of range brass ,9mil 800cases for 6 minutes.. They came out pretty clean , most as clean as the brass with pins and others better then dry tumbling. Rinse and dry 800 9mi, done in a little over a hour. No brainer for me.
Enjoyed the video. My poor family knows who I am talking about when I bring up Johnny. I love your channel.
I switched to just citric acid (buy in bulk) and Meguiars wash and wax, the creamy yellow stuff. Does a fantastic job! My wash and wax is going to last forever because I only use about 1-2 tbsp. Clean as a whistle, and the polymer additives in the car wash help it dry faster and spot free. It may be coincidental but I've never stuck a case using wash and wax.
Lets face it.. we only NEED to brush out the neck a little to reload. I tumble because I want them looking NEW. The wash and wax helps them STAY "looking new."
Edit: Oh! Also I learned to fill up my tumbler and then walk away for an hour or two before turning it on. The soak time helps the baked on caked on crud come off. In my experience the soak is more important than the tumble time. I'll soak a couple hours and only tumble 30 mins or so. Easier on necks.
Matt, a couple of questions, is it just food grade citric acid and do you purchase from Amazon/EBay? How much do you add per litre ?
@@bikemad001 I purchase mine in the home canning area at the local store. It is food grade. The price is higher, i'm sure, but I add less than 1/4tsp (~0.5 gram) to one frankfort arsenal mini tumbler batch. (1500-2000ml on a fill, depending on brass added)
It really does not require a lot unless you have very hard water or add a LOT of brass (which adds a lot of oxidized metal dust to the mix)
Start light, work up. No point in wasting it. My tiny bottle has 142gr of powder, so i'm getting 300 batches+ for 5 bucks. Of course if your tumbler is approaching "overfilled" add some extra.
@@mattfleming86 thanks for the reply, only just starting loading so just trying to figure it all out at the moment.
You're our reloading KINGGGGGG
I have tried about everything under the sun as far as cleaning brass. Brass Juice does make them shiny but still needs pins to get those pockets clean as you have shown. Awesome comparison.
You definitely need the stainless steel media. Cleans the primer pockets and the inside like new. I do mine for 30 minutes.
Thank you for this great video buddy
Seb 🇦🇺
YES, please do an ultrasonic cleaner test as well. thanks for the great vids !!
Looking forward to seeing the ultrasonic cleaner results. Thanks for the good work!
I have the smaller Frankford Arsenal tumbler with 1 lb of stainless media, hot tap water, and 2 capfulls of Simple Green. 2 hours tumbler time, brass is then dried in the Lyman air dryer. For whatever the reason, 9mm and .38 Special brass is like new and I do not have to clean the primer pockets. In the case of 5.56 LC, 6.5 CM Lapua, 6mm Peterson, and other rifle cases where I did not use a magnum primer, the brass is very good, some pockets need cleaning, but some do not. With hotter factory loads, I tend to see mixed results, and usually clean all the pockets.
Awesome video though I may be overboard with my cleaning. TO ME the best is 1 1/2 cap full of Armor All Wax and Shine, Dawn soap and Lemi Shine. This takes very little and I have been pulling from the same bottles for two years now. The AA has a side benefit to me the cases are slick requires less lube on sizing rifle brass and doesn't hurt accuracy, and prevents those horrendous water spots you can get if not completely dried or if you have hard water negating the need for DI water. Johnny so glad to see you back at the bench sir.
Here in Europe I use citric acid, (no lemi-shine available) and any dish soap with stainless media. Clean the brass for 1 hours. After the brass is dry than resize and adjust length, chamfer etc. After all prep work is done the brass going back in the tumbler for 1 hour. Done..
I do exactly the same, works a charm !
I've been using dish soap (usually plain old Dawn), splash of Lemishine, SS media (most of the time), & warm-hot water for 45 minutes (average) on the first tumble, dump, fresh water (no soap) and another splash of Lemishine for 15-30 minutes rinse tumble. Frankly I've always been pleased with how well my brass comes out. I found not over loading the tumbler with brass helps and more soap than usual when cleaning 308 (or larger cases) helps. For pistol rounds, usually 300pcs or so 9mm, 250pcs or so of 45acp, etc. turns out really nice (even range pick ups). I also use the FA dryer, usually no less than an hour to 1-1/2 hours and spread them out. I could see in some cases not using the media once in awhile but I'll stick with my tried & true economical method. Not only are they available everywhere in my area, but I honestly don't see enough improvement to warrant the more expensive options...especially when you factor any freight costs that might be acquired & added hassles.
What I have found is.... dawn dish soap and lemishine works good , I have it, it’s cheap if I need more. I have no need to buy anything above and beyond. Also I have quit using pins. As long as you have plenty of brass in there I have been happy with my results.
I've been cleaning my brass in wet tumbler and dawn soap for 30min for a few years now, no pins or anything else. If I want shiney brass I will run it thru a second time with wax and pins.
I've also been using Brass Sorter and bucket for draining as I often don't presort dirty brass.
Thanks for all that you have shared over the years. One 45ACP of lemishine... one 9mm of dawn.. using pins.... typically 3 hour tumble to clean pocket..rinse/dry. saltbath anneal... then tumble in carnauba wax for ultimate shine....The chips sound like a good idea... cutting the tumble time down would be awesome. Would love to see part 2 showing these test results compared to pins compared to chips.
Very good demonstration. Thank you for your work.
I am grateful for the effort you make to test things like this
I bought a HF rotary tumbler 6 years ago, some ss media, and used about a tablespoon of Dawn with a small sprinkle of Lemishine. I have cleaned tens of thousands of pieces of brass...mostly range pick up .223, 9mm, and .45 acp. NEVER have changed the pins. Tumble for 2 hours. Brass comes out factory shiny. There is 0 need to buy anything more elaborate or expensive. Anything else is simply a waste of money...period.
I do tapwater, simple green and citric acid for 2-3 hours then rinse well then tapwater and a little dawn. Use a food dehydrator to dry the brass. I don't use pins so I use a little brush chucked into a drill for a primer pockets. They look pretty darn nice. And that's cheap.
Thank you very much for doing these videos. I'm sure at times it doesn't seem worth it but we appreciate all your hard work and time you put into these videos.
As far as this topic, I do the dish soap and lemi-shine. I use the sunshine media pins as well. I think my "issue" for needing to take 3-4 hrs is I fill my FART all the way up with brass. *well, all the way with rifle. About 2/3s if pistol* but I will actually boil a gallon of water when I start it.
Harbor Freight rock tumbler, plain dish soap, lemi-shine, and some stainless steel pins is a great budget friendly setup. I still clean the primer pockets just for peace of mind, but results are good.
I use the steel media, dove dish soap, and lemon shine that works great for me I run the brass for about 45 minutes pretty cool video
As for cleaning brass I use 1gallon DI water, one 5oz. scoop limme shine and a squirt of Dawn dish soap.And this I use in my Hornady ultra sonic cleaner with the heat on.
For wet tumbling my favorite is Dishwasher soap pods and lemi shine. Works great, ultrasonic I prefer Master Stages 2020
Johnny, you did a fantastic job breaking the whole thing down. Don't be so anti-distilled water at $1.07 a gallon! LOL. Let me throw this in to the mix. Good old store brand Baking Soda will do just about as good a job as Lemi Shine. Both are just lowering the Ph content of the water to be "softer" to prevent hard water stains. I also add 3-5 drops of Brasso brass polish and get fantastic results. But a teaspoon of ammonia does just about the same thing. So tap water, liquid detergent, ammonia and a teaspoon of table salt gives outstanding results for pennies per tumble. Thank you for the in depth analysis of the results from $ to $$$!
Johnny, I have learned some things watching your videos. I have bought several new tools like you have. I recently purchased a Frankford Arsenal wet tumbler, the pin magnet, a set of digital scales, swagger dies. I went on and ordered a set of beam
type Ohaus scales. I trust them better.
A&D FX120i is the cheapest answer to your scale related issues. It’s hard to get out of single digit standard deviation. JRB is a smart dude. Keep watching 👍
No, this wasn’t lame! You answered some good questions. I’ve been using Dawn dish soap and Lemishine but I just give a small squirt of dawn and a little bit of Lemishine, I have heard that 9 mm case full of Lemishine before. The last batch I ran,, I used too much Lemishine and the cases did come out discolored, and they continue to get darker with time!
I use simple green in my Franklin Tumblr. works great.immaculately clean inside.
Tapwater, A shot glass full of simple green.
Run it for three hours.
That gets everything cleaned off. as an added feature I polish it and put it in a dry Tumblr and polish it comes out looking better than factory ammo.
I used to use dish soap and lemishine with ss media. I have switched the Brass Juice. I only use 1oz to 1 gallon of tap water. Occasionally I will add SS media. Most times I don’t. Brass comes out looking new everytime.
I only use a sonic cleaner to clean gun parts or my suppressor. I soak the part I'm going to sonic clean in CLR (Calcium, Lime, and Rust remover) overnight then I rinse it off and clean it in the sonic cleaner using Purple Power and hot water. I wet tumble brass with hot water, stainless steel pins, dawn dish soap, and straight citric acid. It helps that I have citric acid on hand for water bath canning.
I been using bulk citric acid powder (its in the canning section) and a bit of dawn dishsoap with good results. I use a big ultra sonic tank,it's branded LPS and probably holds 4 gals, filled with water. But i put the brass in big Mason jars with the acid/soap/water to keep tank cleaner and makes draining/handeling/drying easier. Run it for a 30min cycle
for an ultrasonic solution I make 4 runs. pass 1 will be 50/50 vinegar and water then a couple drops of dish soap for 20 mins. 2nd pass is water and a half teaspoon of baking soda to stop the acid eating away your brass, run that for 10 mins. last 2 passes are just water at 10 mins each. my ultrasonic has a heating section which i use on the passes. It doesnt get as shiny as tumbling though... it does eat away the grime though.
Watched your twitch stream last night fell asleep while watching your 22-250 video again wake up to a new video tell's ya how much we like your content. Keep talking I'll be listening.
For the Ultrasonic I use a 9mm casing of Lemmishine and a half a teaspoon of Dawn. I run one 30 minute cycle, Rince in clean water then 1 more cycle in the Lemmishine/dawn mixture and a final rinse off. It seems to do a good job. Hope this helps!
I tried the chips after watching your video. Def a game changer. I use dawn dish soap cuz... that was the cheapest on Amazon. Works well. I don’t get crazy measuring the soap or Lemi shine. A good glug of soap and a wiggle of Lemi. Works very well. I go for 2 hours, but maybe I need to try a shorter run one of these days
You crack me up man. I've learned so much from you. I just use soap and lemi. I tried cream of tartar just recently because I've seen one guy swear buy it. The results were negligible. Stick with soap and water.