Cleaning BP Brass

[Two Bit Charlie]

I'm just getting into the BP World.  When it comes to cleaning my empties, I see that a lot of people using wet tumblers with the stainless steel pins are using a product called Lemshine.  I was told by one of my local club members that Lemshine will crystalize brass.  Has anyone else heard of that?  He uses citric acid in a powder form for tumbling his shells. Anyone heard of this before?

Two-Bit Charlie

[JohnsonBarr]

Reed I only use the LemniShine and water bath between the range and my work shop (usually no more than a 4 or 5 hour soak). Once at the shop I thoroughly rinse the cases and lay them out to dry overnight. I use walnut ballast media in my Frankfort 'salad bowl' turbo and a 4 hour trip yields clean brass. If you want them factory shiny try adding a little polishing compound to the mix. Another trick is to use one dryer sheet per batch. The dryer sheet picks up the dust and keeps the media clean. It also makes your brass smell morning fresh! -Smokem' if ya gott'm boys.

[Dick Dastardly]

Give Ceramic Porcelain media a go.  The 'soap' supplied with the media is mild and thorough.  SS pins as a first tumble are fine, but they don't bring up the sparkling bright shine that CP media does.  This is stated from experience.

Lemi Shine is good used in moderation.  No need to overdue it because more isn't always better.

DD-MDA

[Crow Choker]

I get along fine by washing them ASP in warm-hot water using dish detergent(deprime first), then tumbling the 'beegeegers' out of them using corncob or walnut media. Works good, the brass come out nice and clean. I've seen some deprime at the range and toss them into a soapy water solution right away to presoak. Sometimes a few stains will still be present, but unless you are required to stand at attention for an inspection before every shoot, the system works good. If you want to go to the extra $$$ of wet tumblin' with stainless steel pins, that route is available.

[Two Bit Charlie]

Thanks guys for the replies!  But the main question I had was the use of Lemishine.  Is it bad for brass or was that an urban myth?

Two-Bit Charlie

[Blackpowder Burn]

It's an urban myth.  Lemishine is citric acid, just what your buddy says he uses.

I've been using Lemishine and stainless pins for a couple of years with absolutely no issues.  The purpose of Lemishine is to chelate the hardness minerals in the water so you don't get water spotting on the cases when they dry.

[rbertalotto]

I use distilled water from my dehumidifier. A shot of Dawn dish detergent. And stainless steel pins. I do not deprime first. Two hours and my brass comes out looking like new. I then put the wet brass in a basket above my dehumidifier and they dry within a few minutes.

[Ranch 13]

Twobit Charlie I'ld be cautious about much of anything that guy tells you. Lemishine is citric acid.
I rinse my cases, then toss them in the thumlers with about a cup of ceramic, a tablespoon of Lemishine and a drop of Dawn dishsoap. just cover the cases with water. Let em run for a couple hours and then dry, they come out sparkling clean and shiny.

When doing just a small batch I put the empty cases in a can and use either a scoop of oxyclean, or about a 1/2 inch of Simple Green, fill the can with water and shake it around a few moments, rinse with clean water, dry the cases, and pop them into the vibrator tumbler with corn cob media, treated with a dallop of Brasso..

[St8LineLeatherSmith]

you may think I am crazy but I once used a couple of spoons full of craft mayonnaise in a tumbler full of .44-40 brass and wall nut hull media, tumbled for 5 hours or so, rinsed the brass with hot water an let dry.
cleanest and shiniest brass I ever had.
Mayo is made with Lemon juice, eggs and vegtable oil.

[Dick Dastardly]

Regardless of your method of cleaning, clean brass is a lot more friendly to reload.  It chambers easily and it extracts easily.  For those that take pride in their guns, gear and costumes, sparkling ammo is a hallmark.  Show me a shooter with cruddy ammo and I'll show you someone that really doesn't care about performance or appearance.

DD-MDA

[Two Bit Charlie]

Thanks again for the info!  I have been depriming at the range and soaking in water. simple green, and vinager.  Rinse when I get home.  To tumble I was using water, simple green and Lemishine or Citric Acid.  I run for 3 hours (tumbler has a 3 hour timer on it) I then have been rinsing and put in corn cob tumbler to finish shining and to dry them off (wife does not like them in the oven!).

Thanks again

Two-Bit Charlie

[Ranch 13]

Just get a case drying rack, they will dry at room temperature and you don't have to worry about the discussion with the cook over the proper use of a kitchen stove. 

[Dick Dastardly]

Drying brass after wet tumbling is easily done in an onion bag hung behind the computer.  Computer drying works great.

DD-MDA

[john boy]

Drying brass after wet tumbling is easily done in an onion bag hung behind the computer.

Dick, but I'll bet you they don't dry in less than minutes ...
http://www.theopenrange.net/forum/index.php?topic=7653.msg56565

Stick Your wife's or 'your'  hair dryer in that onion sack and you'll be done lickety-split too

Not to shabby, this thread on TOR has been viewed 5247 times

[Dick Dastardly]

But JB, I was being ecologically responsible by using waste heat. 

DD-MDA

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

This is about the time when I chime in and say that shiny brass does not shoot any better than stained brass, it is just easier to find in the grass.

I dump my brass in a jug of water with a squirt of dish soap in it at the end of the day. No need to drag the jug around all day, back at the car is fine. Then when I get home I rinse out the brass REAL thoroughly, until the rinse water runs clear. Dry them for a while, then dump them in the tumbler with Lizzard Litter and let it run for a few hours. When they come out they are clean. They may not be shiny, but they are clean and shoot just as good as shiny brass.

[Montana Slim]

Admit I recently went the wet tumbler and stainless pins route.
Liking it well, but it has a larger "footprint" than a vibratory tumbler.
Brass can go direct from the range to the tumbler & then done...or let it sit a few weeks and run a larger load. It comes out clean.
Like clean primer pockets periodically...just deprime before the process.
My collection of 45-70 brass now looks new, inside & out...it probably had lost 5-grains of powder capacity from the years of shooting BP.

I'm cheap & Lemishine isn't...especially compared to store-brand real-lemon juice. Cost is 1/2 (or less) of lemishine.....I get more & use less.

Slim

[Ranch 13]

I just fireformed 50 cases for the 44-90 straight. I brought them in and put about 1/2 scoope of Oxy clean in a coffee can filled with enough water to just cover the cases, and sloshed and rinsed. Then put them in my Hornady Ultrasonic with their cleaner and ran 2, 4 minute cycles. Rinsed and dried and those buggers are just as clean and shiny as if I had put them thru one of the tumblers...
Got another batch loaded and ready to fire, will see if the same good results happen again.

[Mad Mucus]

Howdy

This is about the time when I chime in and say that shiny brass does not shoot any better than stained brass, it is just easier to find in the grass.

I dump my brass in a jug of water with a squirt of dish soap in it at the end of the day. No need to drag the jug around all day, back at the car is fine. Then when I get home I rinse out the brass REAL thoroughly, until the rinse water runs clear. Dry them for a while, then dump them in the tumbler with Lizzard Litter and let it run for a few hours. When they come out they are clean. They may not be shiny, but they are clean and shoot just as good as shiny brass.

I'm with you Mr Johnson.

[Bunk Stagnerg]

Since I only get to shoot once or twice a month I usually wait until I have enough dirty brass to make cleaning worthwhile. My method was to wash and rinse until the water was clear and allowed to dry. When two or more batches accumulate and time is available, which might be a month or so, they are cleaned using ceramic media , soap, and lemishine. By the time I get around to cleaning the brass it usually gets pretty corroded and takes a long time to tumble clean and shiny.

On a Youtube site called capandball he uses a cleaning product (not available in the US)  that contains a chemical  called Sodium Perborate that is also found in denture cleaning tablets. My test was done with some fairly fresh cases and some really corroded ones. They were covered with warm water, and had 2 generic denture tablets added to the water along with a couple of drops of dawn detergent.. They soaked for about 30 minutes were rinsed carefully and left to dry. Two weeks later they were still stained, but the normal corrosion was stopped. Next shoot I will use the tablets in the water for the trip home and see what happens.
Respectfully submitted
Bunk