enough tumbling?

Unless the brass is dirty/gritty, I'm not sure it needs to be cleaned at all. Not even the primer pockets.

I like nice, shiny ammo. It makes me feel proud of my product. That's just me.

From the range, I vibra-tumble in corn cob for about 45 minutes. If it goes an hour or longer, no biggie.

After sizing and flairing, I tumble for 1 hour, 45 minutes in ss pins. They come out bright and shiny. That's how I like it.

So really, it's all about what you want to do.
 
ok - so - zero chemists in this bunch to be sure.....

Acid removes tarnish and oxidation and, if left to soak too long, removes zinc which can leave you with color more towards copper - this means you have softer cases because the metal alloy has changed. not good - remember to take your brass out on time and rinse.

Dish soap and stuff like carb cleaner removes oil & grime and bubbles up to lift dirt off the metal - it is a base - so if you mix dish soap with your typical tarnish remover, citric acid, lemi shine, etc, you neutralize both - don't mix.

so if you have a dirty grimy batch of dark range brass - dish soap & warm water first to get as much gunk off as possible - I use a large mouth plastic bottle for this and shake vigorously - then dump & wash - then go for tarnish removal w/ SS media in a light acid solution for 2 to 3 hour tumble - less so for clean range brass.

Some pointers on tumbling wet -

Every 5th or 6th load put in dish soap or degreaser and a piece of cloth to pick up the gunk and oil residue that has built up in your tumbler along with the dirty brass and ss media - the cloth will likely come out black - pitch it. then do a short tumble with your typical weak acid to polish and shine.

When doing a detergent run, shake by hand first, then reopen the tumbler to let off some pressure from the detergent expanding, then tumble. This will reduce leaks and extend the life of your seal gasket.

Use hot water - this will cool down during the tumble and help keep the tumbler seal tight.

Make sure to take care of the rubber seal - it should be wet and clean of any debris or media when you seal it. Hand tighten so as never to crush the seal.

The #1 reason for clean brass is it is the BEST way to enable you to see any cracks or flaws in the brass, especially inside the bottom of the shell and in the clean primer pocket.

#2 is clean brass is less wear & tear on your weapon's chamber and your reloading dies. One grain of sand held on a case by a spot of case lube or bullet lube can scratch your steel. Do it enough and you'll wear more than if you'd always used cleaned brass.

And lastly - aesthetics
 
Quote:
I don't go crazy making my brass like new, I just want them clean so they don't scuff the dies... after all, when you shoot them, they just get dirty again....

My laugh of the morning (maybe the day)

I know a lot of compulsive gigglers; I do not believe what you said was funny, I thought it was sad. You had to ignore advise that was worthy of consideration.

The brass case in embeddable, you seem to believe you have some king of wiper system that wipes the die while being sized. The radius at the opening of the die prevents that from happening, the radius on the die forces dirt, grit and grime to be embedded into the case.

F. Guffey
 
I believe in different needs for different situations.

For my prone shooting with bolt action target rifles I eject onto my shooting mat. A old towel placed in the right spot can really help with that. I depin them using a universal die. After geeting the used primer out I wipe them off with a paper towel before lubing and size just as a precaution.

AR and pistol get a thorough cleaning before sizing. Also a case or bullet can also pick up grit off a concrete bench or pad, never lay a round on one before chambering until you wipe it off with a towel, barrel damage may occur.
 
I was at the range when I was approached by an Internet reloader, he wanted to know why I wiped my rounds off before chambering. I explained to him that was the last opportunity I had before chambering them. He did not understand.

I also informed him the last case fired gets tested with the bullet of the next round to be fired when firing a rifle I was not familiar with.

F. Guffey
 
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