Stainless Chips Work!

J

JeepHammer

Moderator
I was running 50-60 pounds of stainless steel pins,
Threw in some stainless steel chips (odd, random shapes) and MAN did they work!
Mixed with pins they REALLY speed up the cleaning process, and scrub out those last small pockets of carbon that are so stubborn.

I'm sporting about 75/25% pins/chips now, and cursory cleaning time is about the same (20 minutes), it just seems to take 20 minutes to get the oily carbon film off no matter what you do...

But full cleaning to spotless is about half the time it was with pins alone, just over an hour instead of a little over 2 hours.
(Your mileage may vary...)

If you have been considering chips (mixed with pins) I can certainly recommend it.
 
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A place called 'Southern Shine Tumblers' makes odd sized stainless chips that have sharp points that clean the cracks & crevices of the brass.


eBay has jewelry cleaning stainless chips that are odd size/shape and help with cleaning, but the eBay stuff can be sized to get stuck in cases,
Depending on what case size/caliber you are running.

The southern shine chips look like a metal working 'Nibbler' took them off a larger piece, and they seem to work very well for the application, very rarely getting stuck in the cases.

With somewhat pointed ends I'm not sure I'd run brass without a timer,
I've forgotten the drum was running and left it for a day or two, and I'm not sure that 48 (or more) hours would be a good idea...

No matter how filthy, 20-30 minutes makes the brass clean, no further cleaning required to process that brass.
I don't decap before cleaning, so they get a final cleaning to remove lube & primer pocket/flash hole crud, and they come out spotless, inside & out,
Bottle neck rifle cases take a little longer (about an hour) final cleaning to get the inside spotless, while open pistol brass clean in about 30 minutes.

Now, this isn't POLISH, it's a VERY good cleaning.
If you want a high sheen polish, it's off to something with a much finer grain abrasive & probably a polish added to the media. (Corn Cob or Walnut, Nu-Finish, etc.)

I don't often mirror polish cases, waste of time & money.
You can fairly easily get 'Factory' shine/finish with stainless media, and that is usually good enough for anyone.
I even have one customer that wants 'Hammer Finish' like the old military brass used to have, that involves ceramic pellets and is hard on mouth tapers...
 
very interesting. I have had such great luck with the ss pins that many of my friends have invested in their own tumblers or bring their brass to my place for cleaning. Speeding it up even more would be terrific.

Thanks for the heads up.

Side question: Other than the expensive polishes sold at the LGS, has anyone found a cheap polish for use in their vibratory tumblers with dry media? I made the mistake of using a cheap car polish and the residue left on the cases (though gleaming bright when removed from the tumbler) can leave green marks over time where the cases touch in the bulk package.
 
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