Stainless steel tumbling - still dirty primer pockets

[Coloradocop]

So, I finally joined the world of stainless steel tumbling this evening, and ran my first load through the Frankford Armory tumbler they built for this purpose. I tumbled 175 pieces of .308 Win and .260 Rem brass, and my brass really hasn't ever been shinier. But, despite everything I've heard about how great stainless tumbling is for cleaning primer pockets, there's still some residual black shit in my primer pockets.

How does one go about getting the perfectly clean primer pockets that are shown in so many videos on this subject? Whether or not the brass is shiny means less to me than having clean primer pockets for reloading, though I'll admit that a lot of this is probably me being OCD. Regardless, I normally clean primer pockets by hand, and was hoping to be able to eliminate that step by using this tumbler.

Thoughts?

 

[SierraSR25]

I use an ultrasonic cleaner and that usually gets everything super clean including the inside of the case which is the most important. Sometimes I get a few dirty primer pockets so I just go to my Lyman hand prep tools and clean them out.

 

[wildfowler]

How long did you run the tumbler and what size pins are you using in the tumbler?

I usually run mine four to five hours to as long as overnight. And the pins I am using are small enough that two or even three can get jammed in the flash hole.

Primer pockets come out as clean as the rest of the case.

 

[downrange67]

I run mine with 2 tablespoons of dawn (blue) and 1 teaspoon on lemi shine for 3 hours and they always come out clean

 

[Milo 2.5]

Is your pin to brass ratio right, try less brass?

 

[remiglockoholic]

Use more soap, or verify you're not overloading your setup.

 

[rpk762]

One thing to keep in mind is fresh fired brass cleans faster than old fired brass. I usually only do 50 .308 brass at a time. I do run time of about 45 min to get the grit off and most of the carbon. After working the brass I give it one hour in hot water. That usually cleans them fully. Old brass needs more time.

 

[427Cobra]

If your concerned with accuracy I recommend not super cleaning your brass, just tumble it in Walnut/Corn Cobb or clean it by hand, brush the big stuff out of your necks, and leave that dull grey in there, after the primer pocket is uniformed a quick pass with the uniformer or a brush is all that is needed to make accurate repeatable low ES/SD ammo, super clean brass is more work, a lot more work compared to dry tumbling, less time reloading equals more time shooting. Go to a benchrest match, just watch the loading process the people who care about nothing but ultimate accuracy, 100 yard or 1000 yards, the smallest group wins, if super clean brass was required to win, they would be doing it.

 

[zipollini]

I use a Thumler's Tumbler - http://www.sinclairintl.com/reloadi...-tumbler-stainless-steel-media-prod42994.aspx with small pins. I usually tumble 100 cases (6XC) at a time.

The magic cleaning solution that I use is

1. 1 liter of softened H2O
2. 1 tsp of Lemishine
3. 1 tsp of cream of tarter
4. rinse with softened or filtered H20
5. dry in oven at 200deg. F for 2 hours

The secret is the cream of tarter which REALLY shines things up and helps with the primer pockets. You will find it in the spice section in any grocery store.

I do sometimes have to re uniform a few stubborn pockets though which cleans them out nicely.

 

[BLDTYLRY]

Is your pin to brass ratio right, try less brass?

This...I only load 100 pieces of 308/260 at a time in my Thumler Tumbler if I want my brass as clean as possible.

 

[Coloradocop]

Thanks for the replies, everyone. To answer a few of the questions:

1) I don't know if my brass/media ratio is "right". I've got the Frankford Arsenal tumbler, which has a fairly large container. They claim it will take 1,000 .223 cases, which seems a bit optimistic to me. I was at 175 cases of the .308 family and 5 pounds of media. For a detergent I just used the sample pack that came with the tumbler (was planning on doing the Dawn/Lemi Shine thing next time around.

2) I'm not too concerned about overly shiny brass. But, reasonably clean brass is nice. Also, if tumbling can clean the primer pockets for me, it saves me time in not having to do so. I can't honestly say if it matters or not, but having crud in a primer pocket does seem like it could introduce an undesirable variable into the reloading process.

3) I'm not sure of the pin size I'm using. 5 lbs worth of pins came with the tumbler, and I'll have to measure them later to see what I've got.

4) I tumbled for about 2 hours on my first attempt.


I may have to try the oven drying! Waiting for brass to dry is about like watching paint dry. I may also need to try rinsing my brass after tumbling. I laid them out on a piece of screen last night, and noticed that there's some soap residue on the brass today (which I don't like).

 

[DrewC]

I run around 250 .223 cases in the thumbler for about 3 hours with dawn dish soap and lemishine. I use hot water in the wash and also rinse with hot water. Definitely make sure to do a good rinse, it gets any residue off the brass.I shake them out and put them upside down in trays and I'll hit them with a hair dryer - it blows out any excess water and pins being inside cases plus it allows me to check for pins being stuck in the primer pockets. I'll put them in the oven after that for a final dry. I do this again after sizing and trimming to remove lube and any brass shavings that might have gotten inside cases but I only run the tumbler for 30+ minutes. Makes for really clean brass and hits the pockets twice. I never have to do any pocket prep.

 

[918v]

5 lbs of media is not enough for that many cases. It gets inside the brass and you don't have any to wok on the outside including the primer pockets.

I do 25-30 cases at a time in my TT with 5lbs of stainless and 1 gal of water 2 tablespoons of Palmolive and .6cc of Lemishine for 3 hours. I size and tumble again for 3 hours.

If you want to tumble 175 cases at a time effectively, use more media. But that will kill your motor.

 

[QuietShootr]

30 cases in 1 load with 5 pounds of media in a Thumler? you're wasting time and electricity, IMO.

I can do 75 .300 Win Mags in mine or well over 100 .308s. I use hot water, Dawn, and a 9mm case full of Lemishine, and let it run for 4 hours. No carbon left anywhere in the case or the primer pocket.

 

[918v]

Your water is different than my water.

 

[Das Capitolin]

So, I finally joined the world of stainless steel tumbling this evening, and ran my first load through the Frankford Armory tumbler they built for this purpose. I tumbled 175 pieces of .308 Win and .260 Rem brass, and my brass really hasn't ever been shinier. But, despite everything I've heard about how great stainless tumbling is for cleaning primer pockets, there's still some residual black shit in my primer pockets.

How does one go about getting the perfectly clean primer pockets that are shown in so many videos on this subject? Whether or not the brass is shiny means less to me than having clean primer pockets for reloading, though I'll admit that a lot of this is probably me being OCD. Regardless, I normally clean primer pockets by hand, and was hoping to be able to eliminate that step by using this tumbler.

Thoughts?

If the barrel has one-gallon capacity, you should only run about 100 cases of .308. Let them run for three hours, and check the pockets. If they're close, run for another hour.

 

[Rangemaster]

Case lube will leave a dull shine, you will need to remove the lube before using stainless pins.

 

[remiglockoholic]

Your water is different than my water.

My brass is a spoiled bitch, I use RO water no lemishine and dawn. Done & done.

 

[918v]

I'm serious.

They add shit to the water at different times of the year that turns my brass purple. I played with the ratios to no avail. My current regimen works wonders, though.

 

[opeagle]

Soaking helps in my opinion. I load the tumbler the night before and only run it long enough to mix up the soap and lemi shine. It sits until morning then tumbles for about 4 hours. That works fine for .308, .223 takes a bit longer, maybe 30 minutes.

 

[ArmyJerry]

I load up to 200 308 in my thumbler and hundreds of 223, I run it for 4 hours with lemi shine and dawn, I also uniform the primer pockets and debur them, on every shell, never have crud in the primer pockets. Sometimes I let them soak over night like stated above.

 

[pawprint2]

I load up to 200 308 in my thumbler and hundreds of 223, I run it for 4 hours with lemi shine and dawn, I also uniform the primer pockets and debur them, on every shell, never have crud in the primer pockets. Sometimes I let them soak over night like stated above.

Agree with this method. If you live in a weird water district, you may want to do what a friend in lower Alabama does, he boils his gallon of water for about 20 minutes, the chlorine and other stuff "boils off", as when he cleans with this water, he has eliminated and staining, and never had a problem sense. He does allow the water to get to "warm bath" temp, before he starts his soak. Hope this helps.

 

[ArmyJerry]

one other step is when you rinse the the brass after straining the ss out I use hot water with a capful of car wash and wax in the rinse water, they dry faster and now water spots.

 

[pawprint2]

one other step is when you rinse the the brass after straining the ss out I use hot water with a capful of car wash and wax in the rinse water, they dry faster and now water spots.

That is the first time I've ever heard of that, it's a damn good idea! I shall be trying this tomorrow!

 

[Guilty]

Sounds to me like the OP only needs to add lemishine and dawn soap, these two components are the key to getting ultra shiny brass. Check the size of the stainless steel pins after switching to lemishine and dawn soap if you are still having problems with dirty primer pockets. I have over-filled my tumbler in the past and still get clean brass, 5 lbs. of pins should be good. I usually tumble dirty brass for no less than 4 hours, sometimes as long as 5 or 6 hours if I get lazy or distracted.
I rinse the brass in hot/warm water in the tumbler until the water is clear and then shake the pins out a couple pieces of brass at a time, then dry in a food dehydrator for 6-8 hours. It is a little time consuming shaking out the pins this way, it takes about 10-15 minutes, but the brass is always spotless after it dries.