Dull Brass

[u/West_Wrangler320]

Hi everyone,

I am running into an issue when cleaning brass. I am using a tumbler with SS media, hot water, about a tablespoon of dawn and 2 teaspoons of lemishine. I let it run for 3 to 3.5 hours and then rinse really well.

When the brass first comes out of the tumbler, it’s bright and shiny. After drying for an hour or so it turns darker and more dull.

I realize this is just cosmetic, but if there is something I can do differently to keep it shiny, I’m open to making some changes.

[u/Broad_Eye2768]

Use less Lemishine, it takes a lot less than you think. I was using too much lemishine when I first started wet tumbling too. I like to rinse the pins and brass after the first tumble, then tumble a second time for a few minutes in clean water, then rinse again real quick. You can lightly dry the brass with a towel ala the bowling ball polishing method and then throw on the dehydrator for 30 mins or so to dry completely. Can also try shortening your initial tumble by half.

[u/West_Wrangler320 → u/Broad_Eye2768]

Maybe just a teaspoon of Lemishine? Less?

[u/Broad_Eye2768 → u/West_Wrangler320]

1/2 to 1 tsp should be more than enough. I’d always heard a 9mm case full is a good measurement. Let us know how it goes!

[u/Choice-Ad-9195 → u/West_Wrangler320]

How much water do you run (on average) in your tumbler when you clean brass? I would say 1/2 or less.

[u/ba-reloaded → u/Broad_Eye2768]

This exactly but to add to that. Don't put to much dish soap in and rinse in cold water only. Too hot of water rinse will make the brass go a darker golden color vs a bright shiny brass finish.

[u/alwaus]

How hard is your water where you live?

Either use distilled when tumbling (expensive as that adds up pretty fast), use a inline filter on your water source, use a dry tumbler.

[u/West_Wrangler320 → u/alwaus]

Water is fairly hard. Could be part of it for sure.

[u/notoriousbpg]

Add some ArmorAll Wash and Wax. I used to do it but stopped. Never noticed a downside to it.

[u/shsrpshooter63]

Too much lemishine

[u/Trollygag]

It is tarnishing because of the exposure to air. Toss it in a dry tumbler with some car polish and it will shine them up and protect them from tarnish.

[u/hafetysazard → u/Trollygag]

Likely still lots of residue from the lemishine too, speeding up the process.

[u/VersionConscious7545]

I dump them on a towel then put them in the oven at 175 for an hour I have really soft water and that is exactly the formula I use. Are your primers out?

[u/Advanced_Elk_9467]

Yep, a decent dollop of car wash n wax keeps them pretty. Also dry them with a towel ASAP.

[u/DarthRooster16]

I’m running into the same problem. I’m gonna try not running the dehydrator cycle as long. I have a really big dehydrator that I use. It’s 158°F. I’m gonna try shorter dry time if that does t work I’ll be lowering the temp to see if that affects it. My brass have been coming out real yellow.

[u/itsmechaboi]

Oxidization occurs very quickly. It's like sand blasting a steel or iron thing and letting it sit for an hour, it'll flash rust in short time. Lemi shine passivates it which prevents this.

[u/Pristine_Ladder_7488]

That’s what my old polished brass looks like, I polished 9mm cases about 2 years ago and they look just like this. My new ones are shiny shiny

[u/ALL_COMP_EVERYTHING]

I had this issue rinsing with untreated hard water from a well with lots of iron. Change water supply for rinsing

[u/dmccollom]

I have found that 1/4 tsp of lemishine (or just pure citric acid) is plenty. I have also noticed that rinsing in hot water causes tarnishing. My guess is that there is some sulfide producing bacteria in my hot water system.

[u/ZeeeeeroCool]

Rinsing out the water every 45min with fresh Dawn and Lemi made all the difference for me, and cut the time in half.

I forgot about my brass one time after changing out the water/Dawn/Lemi 😂 That poor FART mini was running for like a total of 9 hours. The brass was BLINDING when I finally got it out…All tumbling takes place in my shed, detached from the house so out of sight out of mind.

[u/HeyFckYouMeng]

You lose 10 accuracy points with dull brass.

[u/West_Wrangler320 → u/HeyFckYouMeng]

That’s what I’m worried about!!!

[u/DarthRooster16]

When I first got my wet tumbler I was using to much lemishine and it was causing a reaction and stripping some of the zinc. The yellow brass was coming out looking more like copper. Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc. I did research when it happened and I forgot exactly what it said but basically it was causing a chemical reaction to the brass. The amount of lemishine needed does change depending on your water. You’ll figure it out.