Soaps 4 stainless steel pin cleaning PLEASE REPORT

[Hummer]

Well I decided to look around and see if something better or as good as Ivory could be found.

Just got in new axles for a Thumlers Mod B. I have a Mod A I converted over to run as a B and the original axles for the A were lacking so I called Thumlers and ordered new ones so now I have two Mod Bs for all practical purposes.

Spectrum Plus Wash & Wax ain't it guys. I just tumbled cases for 3 1/2 hours and opened it up. Water was black and cases were gray. It is a car wash formula.


I took a before pic but when I saw the cases I knew it was a lost cause.

I was hoping the wax residue might stay on the cases and they not tarnish as easily after being reintroduced to air.

I poured off water and refilled and added Dawn and Limishine. Best I have found is Ivory but I have a gallon jug of Dawn I am getting rid of first. I have about 30 bottles of Ivory laid in so when the Dawn is gone it will be Ivory all the way.

I have also tried Orange Clean and that did not work either. Anybody else tried anything else that worked?

I have also used Joy and it does pretty good but still my favorite is Ivory.

If anyone else has tried anything else please report it here so the rest of us won't waste time and money on something that does work.

 

[turbo54]

Re: Soaps 4 stainless steel pin cleaning PLEASE REPORT

Ajax liquid and dawn work about the same - which seems to be pretty good.

 

[Hummer]

Re: Soaps 4 stainless steel pin cleaning PLEASE REPORT

How does Ajax compare to Ivory price wise? How much do you use.

I use 1/2 ounce Ivory and 9MM case full of Limishine as my No 1 formula.

On extremely scuzzy brass I will go to one ounce on Dawn with Limishine.

 

[turbo54]

Re: Soaps 4 stainless steel pin cleaning PLEASE REPORT

I don't measure! LOL. Two quick squirts of detergent for foul crappy brass plus a small pile if Lemishine in the palm of my hand. Or, just one squirt for rifle brass that's gonna get resized, decapped and cleaned again later. I haven't tried Ivory yet - been meaning to.

An ounce of detergent seems like a lot. I have calibrated my squirts to yield a decent head of lather/foam when tumbling is complete.

 

[uafgrad]

Re: Soaps 4 stainless steel pin cleaning PLEASE REPORT

Ive been using store brand generic dish soap with success for what its worth

 

[Hummer]

Re: Soaps 4 stainless steel pin cleaning PLEASE REPORT

I find I get more uniform results by measuring as I also figured out not enough soap will cause problems so if brass is still shiney (from previous cleaning/and just fired) then 1/2 oz will do but if it is scuzzy I go for a full ounce.

If the water doesn't feel soapy when it open it I generally find the brass is not clean and requires more water and another run.

What store brand is the off brand soap? What color is it when it comes out?

If it is clear it could well be Ivory. Had not thought to check the off brands.

Ivory started out at 30 oz, then 25 oz and now I just noticed it is 24 oz.

Best cost per ounce is still the gallon jug of Dawn from Sam's Club.

 

[zuke]

Re: Soaps 4 stainless steel pin cleaning PLEASE REPORT

I just ran a couple batch's with Sunlight, cause that's all I had at the time and it worked quite well.
For me I think the amount of water used is a biggie.
The less water give's a larger air pocket and more noise/scrubbing.
When filled about to the top it's quieter but not as clean.

 

[turbo54]

Re: Soaps 4 stainless steel pin cleaning PLEASE REPORT

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: zuke</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I just ran a couple batch's with Sunlight, cause that's all I had at the time and it worked quite well.
For me I think the amount of water used is a biggie.
The less water give's a larger air pocket and more noise/scrubbing.
When filled about to the top it's quieter but not as clean. </div></div>

Totally agree! I've been filling with water about 2.5-3" from the brim which seems to be working better than 1" from the brim.

 

[Suasponte]

Re: Soaps 4 stainless steel pin cleaning PLEASE REPORT

The staple for me is still 1oz of Ivory, 40S&W case if Lemishine, and hot tap water to 1.5" of rim of barrel.

However, I have been wanting to try Lime-A-Way. The wife got several bottle for free with coupons. Whenever, I get a chance to run a batch of pistol brass I picked up I'll post some picts.

Terry

 

[Suasponte]

Re: Soaps 4 stainless steel pin cleaning PLEASE REPORT

Do not waste money or time with this soap! Worthless for even doing dishes.

That is problay why the wife gave it to me! LOL!

Terry

 

[Suasponte]

Re: Soaps 4 stainless steel pin cleaning PLEASE REPORT

Got some 45ACP range pickups in the tumbler right now!

Soap: Purex laundry detergent 1/2 cap full with 5 squirts of the Lime-A-Way.

Both the wife has got for free with coupons. If it works well and they go on sale again I will have the wife post the deals.

Test Brass:

Purex and Lime-A-Way:

Will post the results when I take them out.

Terry

 

[Suasponte]

Re: Soaps 4 stainless steel pin cleaning PLEASE REPORT

Purex and Lime-A-Way with a 3 1/2 hour tuble.

Clean but does not have that golden shine.

Terry

 

[turbo54]

Re: Soaps 4 stainless steel pin cleaning PLEASE REPORT

That's a nice bundle of 45 range pickup! I haven't had a payday like that in a long time! Only 45 I see is either steel case, aluminum case or small primer...

That brass looks nice and clean - but missing the shine, like you said.

 

[Hummer]

Re: Soaps 4 stainless steel pin cleaning PLEASE REPORT

Try the Lime Away and Ivory for a combo. That might work.

 

[Sespe]

Re: Soaps 4 stainless steel pin cleaning PLEASE REPORT

Dawn and Lemishine for me. Why Dawn? It's what I found under the sink...

 

[bohem]

Re: Soaps 4 stainless steel pin cleaning PLEASE REPORT

I get whatever soap is on sale or the cheapest when I'm at walmart.

I use a 10mm case to measure lemi-shine into the tumbler with a liberal squirt of soap and load it up with hot water.

If I'm doing a really full load of 223's from the suppressed AR15 then I use 2 scoops of Lemi-Shine and tumble for about 23 hours.

The interval necessary is much less than 23 hours, but that just happens to be convenient with my work schedule. I decap everything and throw it in the tumbler. The next batch is decapped and I load the set from the previous day that's now dry.

It's a rolling cycle that keeps me from spending a whole day reloading, I try to do a bunch each day for about an hour.

 

[Suasponte]

Re: Soaps 4 stainless steel pin cleaning PLEASE REPORT

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: turbo54</div><div class="ubbcode-body">That's a nice bundle of 45 range pickup! I haven't had a payday like that in a long time! Only 45 I see is either steel case, aluminum case or small primer...

That brass looks nice and clean - but missing the shine, like you said. </div></div>

Yeah, I get a pretty good haul of pistol brass once or twice a month from the guys that shoot IDPA and IPSC.

Tpyically a couple hundred 45's, 1000 or so 40's, 1500-2500 9mm's, a few 357Sig and 38 supers.

Last month I had a real good haul of Federal 308 match and 223's from the Pittsburgh Swat team.

Terry

 

[DBohn]

Re: Soaps 4 stainless steel pin cleaning PLEASE REPORT

I've been using Citranox which from what I've read is what people are using in their ultrasonic cleaners. It does a phenomenal job with the stainless media with only a few hours tumble time. If I was home I'd post some pic's.

 

[Kevlars]

Re: Soaps 4 stainless steel pin cleaning PLEASE REPORT

Dawn works great

 

[vman]

Re: Soaps 4 stainless steel pin cleaning PLEASE REPORT

A few squirts of some Aussie brand dishwashing liquid, and Lemishine seems to do the trick for me.

 

[DamnDave]

Re: Soaps 4 stainless steel pin cleaning PLEASE REPORT

3 tablespoons of Dawn and 1/4 teaspoon of lemi-shine with water filled to 1.5" from the top. It comes out great, but have not tried anything else yet.

200 once fired 223 cases

 

[Hummer]

Re: Soaps 4 stainless steel pin cleaning PLEASE REPORT

Went to Wally World today and looked for Citronox in soap section and could not be found??? Oh well. Looks like Ivory may have dropped in price. It was 2.40

 

[cega]

Re: Soaps 4 stainless steel pin cleaning PLEASE REPORT

I'm using Dawn since we have one of those Costco/BJs industrial sized jugs of the stuff here plus the usual little pile of LemiShine.

In general the runs are in the 2 hour range for nice and shiny brass and the only problem I ever had was being in a hurry and not doing a good hot water rinse after and getting some black spotting on the cases as they dried.

 

[DBohn]

Re: Soaps 4 stainless steel pin cleaning PLEASE REPORT

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Hummer</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Went to Wally World today and looked for Citronox in soap section and could not be found???</div></div>

Yeah, I had to order it. Amazon has it if anyone is interested but it definitely isn't the inexpensive way to go. Once I use this gallon up I think I'm going to just stick with dish soap and lemi-shine.

http://www.amazon.com/Alconox-Detergent-Acidic-Cleaner-Citranox/dp/B0000WU82I

 

[Rarebreed93]

Re: Soaps 4 stainless steel pin cleaning PLEASE REPORT

LemiShine, Dawn and add teaspoon of Cream of Tartar

 

[Suasponte]

Re: Soaps 4 stainless steel pin cleaning PLEASE REPORT

Citranox can only be purchaed online! The last time I got it was from Amazon.com.

Plan on trying a few other soaps, and combos. Will post when I get them done!

Terry

 

[Bluesop7]

Re: Soaps 4 stainless steel pin cleaning PLEASE REPORT

Ok so when you say that you use Dawn or you use Ivory...do you use the unscented version? Does an unscented version even exist (I havent seen it)? Just wondering if the scent has anything to do with anything or just get a bottle and call it good?

 

[cega]

Re: Soaps 4 stainless steel pin cleaning PLEASE REPORT

The Dawn we have here is labeled "Original Scent" if that helps.

If anyone screws up like I did and don't do a good hot water rinse after cleaning and you start seeing black staining mine came clean just dumping that brass in a glass bowl with hot water and a bit of LemiShine. Let it sit for about 10 minutes and it was as bright & shiny as the ones I rinse properly.

 

[Vipa]

Re: Soaps 4 stainless steel pin cleaning PLEASE REPORT

I am amazed anyone is getting poor or 'variable' results here...

My Thumler's model B and pins etc landed from SMT last week. Up to now I have cleaned 6 loads of .308 and 6.5x55 cases, some once fired Lapua and some retreived from the bins at the range.

I have used hot water & cold water for the cleaning, rinsed in hot & cold, tumbled for 4, 6 & 8hrs and have now used 3 different UK brands of dishwashing liquid... no measurements, just 3 healthy squirts. The only constant with all loads up to now has been the small pile of Lemi Shine I put in, probably about half a teaspoon.

Once cleaned, I flush the drum and agitate the contents whilst doing so until the water is clear with no detergent in it then remove the cases, put them on a towel a few at a time, give them a quick roll in the towel to remove any droplets from the outsides and then transfer them to a steel collander.

Once they are all out of the drum and piled up in the collander, they go in the oven on it's lowest setting for 30 mins or as long as it takes for me to remember they are in there and then remove and allow to cool. (the temp in the oven doesn't get anywhere near that required to anneal the brass, just hot enough so any moisture evapourates quickly)

A long post but the results have been EXACTLY the same in every instance... lovely clean & shiney inside and out.

 

[cega]

Re: Soaps 4 stainless steel pin cleaning PLEASE REPORT

Seem to have read somewhere that the cleaning works best using cold water, I'll try to find that and post a link.

I've been drying out in the sun on the back deck here after giving the cases a quick wipe down with a couple of paper towels. I did pick up half a gallon of alcohol and will do a little alcohol bath test to drive the water out of and off the cases, after which the alcohol should evaporate quickly.

 

[mdmp5]

Re: Soaps 4 stainless steel pin cleaning PLEASE REPORT

Use laundry detergent. A quarter to half a capful works very well.