I had a guy at the store where I bought my tumbler tell me he uses car wax. I was wondering does this work well and how much wax to use?
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Wet tumbling
- Thread starter Cobblestone
- Start date
For dry tumbling, I put a squirt of car polish/wax in with the media and brass and it does a good job.
For wet, I just use SS chips and a squirt of Dawn.
I wet tumble to clean, vibratory with dry to polish.
For wet, I just use SS chips and a squirt of Dawn.
I wet tumble to clean, vibratory with dry to polish.
Wet tumbling gets brass uber clean, problem is super clean brass is not as accurate as brass tumbled in dry media, or (this is how benchrest shooters do it) brass that is hand cleaned, that grey carbon inside the neck is a good thing, aids in consistent bullet release(low ES/SD) and accuracy. Dry tumbling is the least amount of reloading work, less time reloading equals more time shooting, which will make you a better reloader and most importantly a better shooter.
I don’t use car wax, but I do use car wash soap and it works well. Use that and a 9mm case full of lemishine.
I use citric acid (which, I believe, Lemishine is mostly made of), a squirt of washing up liquid and a cap of cheap car wash n wax. With 2.2lbs of SS pins and the rest full of water my brass comes out pretty much spotless!
I have to rinse it off, pat it dry with a towel and then pop it in the oven on a low heat for ~40 minutes to fully dry it. If I don’t I tend to get water marks on it. Shouldn’t be an issue for anything other than my OCD!
I have to rinse it off, pat it dry with a towel and then pop it in the oven on a low heat for ~40 minutes to fully dry it. If I don’t I tend to get water marks on it. Shouldn’t be an issue for anything other than my OCD!
Newbie reloader question - would dipping the necks of the brass in dry graphite lube before bullet seating have the same effect on release as the leftover carbon residue has?
I use these pods and cold water, tumble for about a hour. Done.
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Yes.
The carbon left in the neck after firing needs to be brushed otherwise it will cause problems in the case sizing process.
So dipping the necks in graphite isn’t really that much more work.
That great question, I do lube the inside of my necks with graphite after a simple in and out of a worn bore brush prior to seating, my chronograph tells me it does make a difference
I’m going to try this in my next set of 6.5 rounds. I did a 10 round test this weekend with a max charge of 41.3 of H4350 and 14O ELDMs and several of the rounds had an odd hard bolt lift but absolutely pressure signs on the brass. I’m thinking that it’s a case of inconsistent neck tension for some reason. I’m going to repeat the test with the same components and some graphite in the necks
that part sounds like monkey mud, I’ll agree with the rest of it.
I switched to wet because I load .45SACP with bullseye and it gets the inside of the brass so clean it’s easy to see my 4 grain charge. I like to see my charge.
Wet is a total PITA and I have about 1500 super bright and clean .40S&W that I added another 300 to but unfortunately I didn’t get that last batch 100% dry which tarnished the whole 1800 buy the time I noticed.
To the OP, nope, no car wax in wet tumble. I do dry tumble my completed rounds in corn cob with NuFinish car wax to get the lube off and protect the brass from tarnishing. As Cobra said, wet gets the brass Uber clean, like using M-Pro7 on your rifle, it removes all the oil and you have to re-oil or it rusts (wax, oxidizes)
I've found it easier to roll the bullet bases in the Graphite prior to seating. I only wet tumble my dirtier brass (normally semi auto brass) and if you limit the time to about 1:30 you'll still have some Carbon in the neck. I use the Graphite on both wet and dry tumbled. Chrono and paper show slight improvements. A friend of mine uses a healthy cap of nu finish in his wet tumbler along with soap and a 1/2 tsp of citric acid. He doesn't feel the need to use Graphite and the cases do feel polished and stay shinier longer. Bullet seating is very smooth. His ES's are about the same as mine - single to low double digit numbers. I'm planning on trying it out. My .02...
I’m just wet tumbling without pins for 20min. Small amount of dish soap.
I do it if brass gets dirty (like hits the ground or sand). Before annealing/sizing. And then again for 20min after sizing to get the lube off. Then mandrel/trim/prime powder seat.
If the brass was run in brass catcher or didn’t hit ground, I don’t clean before annealing/sizing.
20 min and it comes out plenty clean.
I do it if brass gets dirty (like hits the ground or sand). Before annealing/sizing. And then again for 20min after sizing to get the lube off. Then mandrel/trim/prime powder seat.
If the brass was run in brass catcher or didn’t hit ground, I don’t clean before annealing/sizing.
20 min and it comes out plenty clean.
I only wet tumble pistol brass. The necks on rifle brass get peened over wet tumbling and adds another step to the process.
Once the brass is clean enough to run properly in the dies and chamber the rest is aesthetics.
Hence why I don’t use pins and only basically “rinse” the brass for 20min. I’ll probably cut it back to 5 or 10 as I’m pretty sure that’s all that’s needed.
LOL
Wet tumbling is the less work than dry tumbling? How is that since in both cases the brass is inside a machine while you're free to do something else?
Plus dry tumbling doesn't clean brass anyway. It seems clean until you handle 100 - 200 cases and look at your fingers.
People will believe any fairly tale......
"Peened" LOL is that what you call a few minor dents?
What extra process do you need? Between decapping and neck expanding, any dents that would interfere with bullet seating and rubbed out.
I have always, since I started reloading in 2004, cleaned, resized, re-cleaned to remove lube, primed, trimmed, chamfered, and deburred in that order to prevent dings in the neck after it was sized
So no, wet tumbling does not cause me to rework necks that are ready to take a bullet.
Well, I can tumble in dry media at any point in the process regardless. Wet tumbling isn't all that.
For reference, here is once fired brass. Wet tumbled for 20min *without pins*, annealer with AMP, sized with imperial wax, then tumbled for another 20min.
Run a .242 mandrel and trim/chamfer (have a henderson, so I trim every time. Takes 20min).
Pin gauge shows .241 for .002 neck tension. No lube or brushing and bullets seat at 20-40psi on hydro press.
Run a .242 mandrel and trim/chamfer (have a henderson, so I trim every time. Takes 20min).
Pin gauge shows .241 for .002 neck tension. No lube or brushing and bullets seat at 20-40psi on hydro press.
I use a similar work flow but don't prime until after I trim, chamfer, and debur as needed. Any advantages doing it earlier in the process?
I prime on a hand held unit and I just let the brass fall out into a bin after the priming cycle. I suppose I could set the brass down gently but I'm lazy. ID chamfering eats any minor edge dings.
You mean 30 min in a toaster oven while I get other shit done?
Yeah, that's a real burden.
If that is how you choose to view it. However, it is another hour added to the cleaning process regardless of whether or not you have something else you can be doing. I think at this point I've tried just about everything and I clung to wet tumbling rifle cases way too long trying to make it work for me. Between the peened necks, added drying time, and neck lubing I finally had enough. Dry media certainly has it's own drawbacks but I find them easier to accommodate, especially when processing large batches of brass.
so a few of you quoted me, and I get it, you spent all this money on ss pins, rotary tumbler, Lemmishine, Dawn, and cookie sheets dehydrators bla bra bla, I been there, I spent the money too, but I also shoot at the club where a world record was set in Benchrest, .0074 at 100 yards, I have watched Mike Stinnet load perfect ammo over and over again. the carbon inside the necks is a good thing, dirty primer pockets don't matter, exact seating depth and exact powder charges matter greatly. I have worn out 3 308 barrels, a 260rem barrel, and a few 6.5creed barrels, I work 12 hour days, commute 2.5 hours a day to make money, I have a family, so reloading must be fast, easy and effective, less time reloading means more time shooting, which of two will make a better shooter?
I switched to "wet tumbling w/ss pins after my last vibratory tub crapped out. Brass is supper clean and although it is a little more work it's a bit quicker and I don't find the extra steps that bad. currently drying on towel on the back of my truck. Two towels one for brass, one for pins. Living in East Texas in the summer has some advantages.
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As for harder seating of bullets, I do worry about that but have not found that to be a problem. Could be I might not be good enough to "feel" the difference. Dipping base of bullet in Graphite sounds interesting and I may give that a try just to see if there is any difference.
.As for harder seating of bullets, I do worry about that but have not found that to be a problem. Could be I might not be good enough to "feel" the difference. Dipping base of bullet in Graphite sounds interesting and I may give that a try just to see if there is any difference.
To answer OP's question, I use wash and wax and can feel the difference between it and straight dish soap when sizing straight wall pistol cases. It reduces friction in the dies and handle pressure on the press. Rifle brass has to be lubricated so the detergent type isn't all that critical.
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covered here, short answer is it really doesnt according to AMPs tests
I ran some brass through my tumbler with wash and wax plus some lime shine and it looks like new. I took two pieces out and touch them with my hands a lot as a test to see it the wax puts a small coating on there. Which is what the guy told me originally that it would take longer for the brass to tarnish with the wax tumble so we will see
Annealing Brass For Reloading | FAQ | Annealing Made Perfect
Not sure about something or have a question? Check our FAQ. Throughout our extensive R&D we have asked and answered many questions critical to perfecting the annealing process.
Induction Annealing Brass | Our Research | AMP
View the latest articles from AMP Annealing. Get tips and tricks from our R&D. Here we upload articles to provide your the best possible information on innovations in the annealing process.
covered here, short answer is it really doesnt according to AMPs tests
thanks man. I appreciate that info.
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