Brass wet tumbling additive?

[Little Dalton]

I've seen a few folks who wet tumble their BP-fouled brass recommend a "wash n wax" type additive that supposedly leaves a thin film on the brass that acts as a case lube among other things. I'm pretty happy with the results I'm getting wet tumbling with SS pins, Lemi-Shine, and Dawn, and I'm skeptical that anything with wax in it could retard the cleaning power of those chemicals. But I'm intrigued, and I wouldn't mind being able to skip an extra case-lubing step with my .44-40s. Does anyone do this with good results, including brass that's good and shiny (yeah, I'm one of those types- I like being able to see my brass on the ground easier)? Also, what is the product exactly so I can order some? Thanks in advance!

[Major 2]

Turtle Wax wash & shine is what I use, because I just happened to have it when ZIP Wax was suggested.
SS pins water to cover, 1/4 tablespoon Lemi Shine, cap of Turtle Wax....I don't use any Dawn or other soap.
As for Lube, I use Hornady One Shot Case Lube, Easy Peezy and it works 
I don't think it overkill lube wise, but other opinions may vary 

[DeaconKC]

I use Armor-all carwash with Lemishine and no pins, and get very good results. I still give my cases a quick spritz with Oneshot case lube before running them, even my carbide dies stuff.

[Dakota Ike]

I use pins, 1/4 tsp Lemi-Shine, and a capful of ArmorAll wash n wax.  I don't use dawn.  The wax in the wash n wax helps slow case tarnishing.  You will still have to lube your cases during the reloading process. 

I use Imperial sizing die wax for case lubing including carbide sizing dies.  A little goes a long way.

[Coffinmaker]

NONE OF THE ABOVE!!    No help atall for the OP's question(s) cause I don't "wet tumble" my fired brass.  Don't care about shiny like new, kinda like the stains that give it personality.

Toss my brass inna sack at the match.  Haul it home and rinse in water with Vinegar,
try and toss inna vibrator with Lizzard Litter for 30 minutes, DONE.


Yep. People are Hazardous to Yer Health

[Lucky R. K.]

Everybody has a method of cleaning their brass, some exotic, and some quite simple. and most of them will do the job just fine.  My method is to put my fired brass into a mildly soapy solution when I come off the stage. When I get home I shake the container a few times and pour off the water. I dump the wet brass directly into my Lyman tumbler which is filled with walnut media and no additives. I then add three caps of mineral spirits and three caps of water measured with the cap from the mineral spirits can and then run the tumbler overnight. Brass looks new the next morning.
I do not know of a simpler or cheaper method to do the job.
Lucky 

[Drydock]

cup of water, a few drops of Dawn, run in the tumbler for 3 hours.  Rotate them a few times in an old Dillon separator to clear out the pins and let dry.  End up clean with a dull copper color, fine by me.

[Bunk]

stainless pins do a great job but are a major PITA to separate and store.
Somewhere I read to take a zip lock bag turned inside out.
Put a big magnet in the bag, pick up the pins turn the bag right side out and all the pins are caught inside and the magnet is outside.
My system is to HE double tooth picks with it just  shoot stained brass and save time.
Bunk

[Little Dalton]

Guys, respectfully the OP was about SPECIFICALLY whether there is an additive to the process that eliminates the need for case lubing- NOT for general recipes for wet tumbling (I'm getting nice and shiny brass) or case lubing after the fact (which I already do) I still enjoy hearing about everybody's processes, it's just that I was looking for more specific info.

In response to a couple of you gents, I really am stuck on shiny brass. I don't consider it too hard to achieve, they look great in my belt, and most importantly to me are easier to find on the ground around the homestead.

[Little Dalton]

stainless pins do a great job but are a major PITA to separate and store.
Somewhere I read to take a zip lock bag turned inside out.
Put a big magnet in the bag, pick up the pins turn the bag right side out and all the pins are caught inside and the magnet is outside.
My system is to HE double tooth picks with it just  shoot stained brass and save time.
Bunk

I understand the frustration- still worth it to me, but I plan to try a rotary media separator soon.

[DeaconKC]

In answer to the original question, the Armorall carwash and wax leaves the cases shiny and you can run them through CARBIDE dies easily. I still give them a light spritz of One Shot just because I usually load 400-800 rounds at a time and it does make it easier. You still MUST lube with steel dies.

[Yakima Red]

Cascade automatic dishwasher detergent. No/low foam. I won't bore you with the rest of my procedure. I'm a shiny bass freak. I also like Snap~on tools.

[Oregon Bill]

Preaching to the crowd: A squirt of Dawn, a pinch of Lemshine and a capful of Armorall car wash into the pins and onto the Thumler. No eye of newt required.

[RoyceP]

I've been using the Frankford Armory juice with no pins. It does a real good job. Not seeing any value in the pins.

[Navy Six]

Since I use the wet tumble method(count me in on nice shiny brass) on bottleneck cases(38-40 & 44-40) and straight wall (45 on down, you name it) I get an opportunity to compare results. When the "wash & wax" additives are used (compared to just Dawn), I can detect no discernible difference on the brass surface. I use a bit of Lemi Shine either way. The bottleneck cases have to be lubed anyway, but I will also lightly lube the straight wall cases because I can feel the difference. The lubed cases still resize easier in a carbide die. Maybe because I have to use a "light touch" resizing the thin--especially 38-40--bottleneck cases I habitually use the same hand pressure on everything, but maybe that proves the point.

[Cliff Fendley]

stainless pins do a great job but are a major PITA to separate and store.
Somewhere I read to take a zip lock bag turned inside out.
Put a big magnet in the bag, pick up the pins turn the bag right side out and all the pins are caught inside and the magnet is outside.
My system is to HE double tooth picks with it just  shoot stained brass and save time.
Bunk

Stainless pins from STM are absolutely no trouble at all for me. I just dump the water off as much as possible through a piece of screen and then dump the rest, pins, brass and all in on of the rotary separator and spin it a few times just like you would with corn cob, walnut hull, or any other cleaning media. If by chance you rarely get a pin in a primer pocket just throw that pin away because their pins are supposed to be sized so they don't get stuck.

As for storing, once they dry just dump them back in the tumbler bucket I let them sit in the garage on the tumbler with the lids off ready for the next use.

[King Medallion]

After separation, I just grab the pins with a big magnet, put them back in the tumbler till next time, no drying.

[Sedalia Dave]

When separating the media from the brass. Do not over fill the media separator. Too much brass in the media separator will result in pins left in the cases.

I limit my RCBS media separator to no more than 300 38 specials at a time. Fill the lower container until the water covers the brass by about 1/2".

[Coffinmaker]

Gad Zooooks 

After reading all the "pointers" and personal processes, "Wet" tumbling is way more work than necessary for reloadable brass.  Sheesh.  No Way

People are still hazardous to yer health

[RoyceP]

Gad Zooooks 

After reading all the "pointers" and personal processes, "Wet" tumbling is way more work than necessary for reloadable brass.  Sheesh.  No Way

People are still hazardous to yer health

Sometimes it is necessary on very black / corroded brass. If the brass is simply dirty from firing smokeless loads ONCE then I don't use wet media. For that sort of brass the pecan shells (or corncob) and a vibratory cleaner with a squirt of Simichrome works nicely.