Forgot some brass in the wet tumbler...

C

Coach Z

New member
So I ran one last batch of 200 rds of 5.56 brass though the wet tumbler before I was leaving for a long trip out of the country. Just got home four months later and realized it was still in there. The tumbler runs on a timer so it wasn't running that long but it's been in the water that long.

Recipe is 1/4 tsp lemishine and two tablespoons dawn plus the water obviously. Any damage to the brass? Run it again with clean water and dry it?

OOPS!
 
If there's no green colour on the cases, you're fine. Brass doesn't rust. The green is the copper coming out of the alloy. Any water in a tumbler should have evaporated long ago.
 
I use the wet tumbler B tumbler, your tumbler I'm sure didn't leak , sealed everything. Just run it for 30 minutes,remove the brass & water just th same way. No big deal. Didn't hurt anything.
 
Sure did. :) From his link.
Q. The brass is shiny but after a week or two it starts to get darker and doesn't look as shiny.

A. When you clean with SS Media you are cleaning down to the bare brass. As the brass is exposed to the elements and air it will discolor or oxidize over-time.
Click to expand...
I roll brass around in a large fluffy towel, works for me. Dont need a high shine if its just going to get darker/discolored anyway.
 
Last edited:
The question is any damage to the brass. As the instructions 2 tbls dawn,1/4 tsp LemiSine brass will look like new and it does. Great way to clean your brass, inside & out.
 
When I started wet tumbling, I kept having to make bigger & bigger containers,
Then I had to upsize the motor to pull two containers...
When cleaning got completely out of hand, I switched to a 'Harbor Freight' type home cement mixer.
Cheaper than any good quality tumbler, center pivot so I don't have to lug full containers around back and forth to the sink,
Speed is about perfect, and it will do a couple HUNDRED POUNDS if you have that much.
About as large volume for a 'Home' reloader will ever do I would think...
Pulled the mixing blades out of the drum, lined the drum with a roll of plastic (same stuff flexable cutting boards are made of)
And bolted in 3/4" PVC in place of the metal blades for stiring things up.
Works remarkably well for a dirt cheap price, can't even begin to imagine what a 'Dedicated' tumbler that size would cost...
 
4 months wow! That sounds like a rock tumbler from Michigan's, Kewanaw Peninsulas, Agate Beach. :eek:

I would be concerned that the cases would be worn out. Like a 65 Year old penny. That black water would be the equivalent of a over do oil change.

Toss the cases.
You should have learned to not let it happen again.

What do you think about that?
 
Well Longshot, I think you either can't read or just enjoying being inflammatory.

As per my prior posts the tumblr was not running for four months. The bass was in the water bath for that period. The tumbler is on a timer.
 
Cartridge brass, if I recall correctly, is copper/zinc alloy. Acids can dissolve the zinc. Wash cases. Are they copper colored or pitted? If so, consider tossing in scrap.
If dark colored, retumble and inspect.
 
The lemi-shine and the dawn should have no harmful effects on the brass itself. The brass may be discolored from sitting in the lemi-shine that long, but it's simply a surface color matter...........
 
So, Coach, we're all on pins and needles!:) What does the brass look like after sitting in lemishine, Dawn, and water for 4 months??? :)
 
I honestly didn't have the heart or time to open the time capsule before I left again. Currently in europe for at least another week. When I do get home my thought is to run it again for my normal four hours just to deal with any crud that sealed to the bottom of the tumbler over that period and then take lots of photos when I do get to unload it.

Will update as soon as I get home and unload my private little time capsule.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top