Review of brass cleaning using "Stainless Tumbling Media"

westcliffe01 · Jul 9, 2011

So after reading great reviews of cleaning brass using stainless steel pins, I had to give it a try. The media and lemishine is not expensive and will supposedly last forever in home use, so I sent off my order. I just ran a batch of boxer primed brass and was blown away how shiny it was cleaned. I then decided to try decapping the mountain of 8mm Mauser berdan primed brass and see how that would clean up. The 1950's Yugoslavian brass is not comparable to current Privy / PMC brass but I thought that it is anyway the first step to possibly finding a way to use it.

To deprime the brass, I clamped my neck sizing die (shank wrapped to protect it) in my heavy vice. I then took a concrete nail (hardened steel) and ground the point to a slightly hooked shape with a sharp edge (similar to the pictures I posted earlier in the 1950's Yugoslavian ammo thread). I put the tip of this tool in the indentation made by the firing pin and inclined about 45 degrees to the axis of the shell. This was then struck with a hammer to pierce the brass cup and wedge the point of the tool good. The hammer blows would then change direction such that it drives the head of the nail downwards, levering the primer out of the pocket.

Sounds complicated but took about 20 minutes to do 81 rounds including make the tool and re-grind it twice. I think I broke the anvil off in 2 cases, so I will throw those away.

So here starts the fun part. First picture is the un clean shells. Not in bad shape, but nothing to make anyone excited and certainly too dirty to reload.

OK, so much for that. Note the black muck in the neck and primer pocket ?

Now here is what a single shell looks like after tumbling for 4 hours in the pin media with only soap and the Lemi shime.

Here is a different view showing the primer pocket

Here you can see that the inside of the case neck is clean

Here is a better view inside the primer pocket:

Here are the clean shells after rinsing and drying on a towel

These cases came with a texture from the factory that suggests that they were tumbled very roughly, so they do not look as shiny as cleaned new brass. However, totally serviceable without using any harsh chemicals or metal polish and it only takes 5 minutes to set up and another 5 to rinse everything after tumbling for 4 hours.

The vendor who sells the media is Stainless Steel Reloading Supplies | Tumblers, Seperators, Media & More!
Great company, great product...

Now I have to figure out the primer problem, but I think I have a plan...

k0ua · Jul 9, 2011

Interesting, I have always just used corn cob media with a couple of cap fulls of Dillon's media shine with good results.

James K0UA

westcliffe01 · Jul 10, 2011

Does the corn cob media get loaded up with powder residue ? How long until you change it out ?

k0ua · Jul 10, 2011

Yes, but it takes a good long while before it becomes really dirty. One thing you can do is take it outside in a light breeze, and pour it from one bucket to another. and let the very fine dust winnow out. Wear a dust mask when doing this.. The Dillon Rapid Polish seems to help "sequester" the residue

Dillon Precision: Reloaders, Reloading Equipment, Bullet Reloading, Bullet Reloaders

One bottle lasts a long time. don't bother buying a case of it..

Of course there will come a time when you have to throw it away and start with some new media. but you can tumble thousands of pieces of brass with just one tumbler load of new media.

I don't know how the SS media would fare against the cob media, from an economic standpoint. but you have to keep cleaning with soap and water the SS pins, and you can run many loads of brass with the cob media without doing anything, just keep adding the polish.

James K0UA

vwnotrunning · Jul 10, 2011

I throw in a used dryer sheet with each tumbler load. It really collects the dust and you are throwing them out anyway.

k0ua · Jul 10, 2011

vwnotrunning said:
I throw in a used dryer sheet with each tumbler load. It really collects the dust and you are throwing them out anyway.

Hey that is a cool Idea!

westcliffe01 · Jul 10, 2011

I ran all my 7.62x39 brass this afternoon, I used both 3lb tumbler drums. It took a loooong time to rinse and dry the cases, but that we because I had not deprimed the berdan primers and thus the water did not want to leave the cases. I should add that the very small pair of holes for the berdan primer has a way of trapping the stainless pins and if the pin projects out the base of the shell, then the end of the pin is going to beat up other cases. I found that this had happened to several of the 8x57 cases and it spoiled the finish on that batch. Hence the reason why I tumbled this batch with primers in, and it worked.. The shells had an amazing finish.

So far, nothing I have run has needed much longer than 2 hours of tumbling. I also run them again after re-sizing to remove the lube, that only takes 20 minutes. I suppose the more tarnished the brass is the longer it will take. I have been starting the process with near boiling water, then added the second half of the water after a short soak just luke warm. That could be a significant factor regarding how long it takes the detergent and the pins to get all the carbon fouling removed.

My berdan depriming process works, it is just slow. I suppose that it is a one time deal. I am planning to make a tool to swage about 0.020" around the primer pocket to reduce the diameter of the pocket, then use a standard boxer primer pocket swager to get the pocket to exactly the right size for a CCI #200 primer. The goal is that the same process will work on 7.62x39, 7.62x51 and 8x57 ammo and also for 8x57 brass to be converted to 7x57.

I am no longer buying more of the 8x57 milsurp ammo, I will bite the bullet and get privy FMJ ammo for the price of anyone else's brass alone, and I get to have fun "fireforming" it to the chamber.

k0ua · Jul 11, 2011

Of course with corn cob media, you just spin the brass for a few seconds in a separater and the brass is seperated from the media easily . I made mine from 2 old collanders I bought at the dollar store for $0.59 each and a piece of rebar for an axle. Then cut some slots in the top of a 5 gallon bucket and put the axle in the slots and spin it a few times the media drops in the bucket and the brass stays in the seperator. It works well.

James K0UA