The Frontier Sixshooter Community Message Board - Water spots

Water spots (reply)

bmize — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 21:01:10 +0000

The lemi shine keeps the brass from getting water spots.

My reasoning for the SS pins is to remove all of the carbon so it anneals evenly.

I lay out the cases on a towel under a ceiling fan and they are usually dry the next day. If any water is left on the inside of the case,the annealer will dry up all the water in about 2 seconds or less.

Alternative for REALLY dirty brass (reply)

bmize — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 20:55:32 +0000

I cleaned some very old range brass that was green and black. 4 hours in the SS pins and it looked new inside an out.

Alternative for REALLY dirty brass (reply)

Catoosa — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 04:35:12 +0000

I have about 1400 pieces of military .30 brass that a friend gave me years ago. This stuff was picked up on a national guard range sometime in the late 1960s or early 1970s, thrown into a big wooden box, and sat in his barn until he gave it to me. This stuff is nasty - badly tarnished and some is beginning to oxidize. When I began to clean some of it up a few months ago, no amount of time in my vibratory cleaner would get the stuff clean.

After trying several things including a dunk in Iosso, I bought one of the green Scotchbrite polishing balls at Harbor Freight. This consists of ten round pads of the synthetic abrasive fabric formed into a ball and attached onto a mandrel. I unscrewed the mandrel and removed five of the pads, forming the other five into a disc with a large washer on either side to hold it in shape. With the mandrel chucked in a 1750 rpm motor, the fine abrasive fabric takes the tarnish and oxidation off quickly and easily, leaving a brushed finish that suits me fine, or I can run them in the Lyman vibrator for a couple of hours for a high polish.

Works fine on .223 cases, too, but they are easier to hold if you stick the cases down over a Phillips head screwdriver shaft.

Basically the way I have done it since the '70s. (reply)

John K. — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 01:16:01 +0000

It's the way I still do it for the majority of my cleaning. Mother's Mag polish works good as an additive also - better than Dillon's.

But corncob & walnut can't hold a candle to ceramic or stainless pins for cleaning. And it won't remove BP fouling and tarnish.

Whether or not that is important is up to the individual shooter and their needs. That's why you will see this process used more by Benchrest, BPCR & F-class shooters where every last "i" must be dotted for consistancy, rather than high-speed combat games. These guys can almost call each piece of brass by name...

Thoughts on tumbling........

Gunner — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 00:50:20 +0000

Been reading all the post about different methods of tumbling brass. Most ideas/suggestions I didn't care for......I have tried different methods over the years and one thing I know is I hate to dry brass after cleaning, or have water spots left on the cases after letting them air dry.

Here is what I do.....I use a 50/50 mix of corn cob and walnut media, I add a cap or two of paint thinner to the mix after it is filled with brass and running, cuts down on the dust. When the media mix starts to get a little dirty, say after 5-6 batches, I use a polishing agent instead of the paint thinner, I like the Rapid Polish 290 Dillon sells. It brings back some life to the tumbling media and puts a nice shine on the case while extending the life of the media. Once the media gets so dirty that 2 hours of running the cases are not fully cleaned and polished, I dump the mix and start over with a new 50/50 batch. Been doing it like that for years now, never found a simpler or better way yet.