Hi guys
Does anyone have a secret formula willing to share with me.
Ive got a stainless steel tumbler for my brass and need a cleaning solution or liquid to assist. Its going great guns cleaning but I need the shine factor.
Radar

What tumbler media are you using to clean your cases mate? I'm not 100% sure of this, but I believe that the actually media itself has a big bearing on the end result.

I am using the Lyman media (looks like crushed corn cob) and my cases come out looking like new, but I am using a vibrating type tumbler, not a 'rolling bottle' style that they use for polishing lapidary stones. I never put any sort of polishing media like some of the advertised products in the machine, just the Lyman media.

radar - I'm in the same boat as Vince. I use a vibratory type tumbler (Dillon), and crushed corn cob media. I add a cap of Nu-Finish to the media, let it run uncovered until the polish mixes in (about 20 - 30 mins), then add brass and tumble. The brass comes out nice and shiny.

A friend of mine uses the steel pins like you do, he uses hot tap water, a good squirt of Dawn dishwashing soap and a pinch or two of Lemi Shine. I have to admit his brass comes out looking brand spanking new.

OldSchoolRanger...What is Lemi Shine??

Bushmaster,

It's a dishwasher detergent additive. I've never used it as I have a (broken) vibratory tubmler, but it's a common suggestion for those who "wet tumble" or use an ultrasonic cleaner.

Is it a lemon based product?

I guess Im on the right track.
Im using a rolling bottle type of lapidary polisher which cost half the price of any of the media based tumblers here in NZ.
I did 110 .223 cases yesterday in water, Stainless pins, a couple of drops of dishwasher liquid and Lemi shine which we can't get in NZ so Im doing my homework on how to get it.
3 hours later - black water and near new cases. Primer holes and insides of cases are so clean - now all I gotta do is reload.

a teaspoon of citric acid in a cup of dishwasher liquid will do its job awesomely as lemishine substitute.

If I recall lemon juice or citric acid is not good for brass causing it to leach.

Shinny brass? Fine ground corncob and Nu-Finish (Cap full) will do the job.

The wet tumbler uses water and stainless steel pins to clean. Folks usually add a table spoon of Dawn dish soap and a table spoon of lemi-shine. It smells lemony but I don't think it is real lemon extract. You could use a bit of citric acide because the soap neutralizes the acid - I don't know that it would do much though. The pins are supposed to make the brass shine, the other stuff just keeps the dirt and oils in suspension until you rinse it all away.

I don't care for the method because it takes a couple of hours to get the brass clean then you have to separate the pins from the brass, rinse and dry. I would have to start my process the day before just to get two loads of brass loaded. I only tumble for a half hour with new media (crushed walnut from the grain store) and when it takes an hour I replace the old with new and wash the old. When I start a new batch I add a tea spoon of silver polish paste. When that batch takes an hour I put in the washed media (which is well dried by then) back in and add the silver polish. I don't think I will ever use the 25 pound bag I bought for $15.

Bushmaster wrote:

OldSchoolRanger...What is Lemi Shine??

Bushmaster - Lemi Shine is a brand name for a dish detergent additive which removes hard water spots and film.

I think PaulS is correct in saying that Lemi Shine doesn't have real lemon extract in it. It does have the lemony smell. I don't know for sure, but here is a link for it at Wally World.

www.walmart.com/ip/Lem...mp;veh=sem

Lemi Shine appears to be "Citric Acid + Fragrance".

www.lemishine.com/ingredients/

What's "Fragrance"?

and when citric acid seems to work, I might suggest to try oxalic acid too.

I have my brass done in Stainless steel /water media with dawn and lemishine and the cases are cleaner than new inside and out. I do not have to run a paperclip in them to feel for stretching as I can just look in and see the bright marks inside the brass. Primer pockets are shiny too.

You can take the filthy nasty tarnished stuff off of the range and SS tumbel it and have it look new again.

Fragrance= smelly stuff. perfume..

Somewhere on here is a test of a homemade brass cleaning liquid...