Yeah to the above, however to avoid the flash hole clog you can buy media in finer or more course grain to meet you particular needs. If you don't have access to a gun outlet or show as a source you can easily substitute corn or walnut from pet supply outlets.
For removal of lube corn's great but for stained and discolored (older) brass walnut or pecan first followed by corn media is effective. A shot of a brass specific polish is also helpful.
I used to buy the liquid lube in the bottle and spray can until somebody told me about the Imperial Sizing Die Wax sold by Midway. It's a little more labor intensive at first, since you put it on each case one at a time, but even if a little residue is left on the cases after tubling them, it works OK because the wax helps prevent corrosion. A very thin film won't collect dust like you might think either.
Like any product, everybody has their preferences. I've been happy with this stuff on all 8 rifle calibers I reload for. It can be tumbled like the water-based lubes too, but the media still has to be poked out of the flash holes, etc. afterward.
I used to forget mine and leave it on for days. I finally hooked it up to one of those cheap timers you use for Christmas lights. Saves $ on the powder bill and on tumblers.
If I leave mine running that long it gives the brass a slightly green tinge and the media gets super dark and dirty. Same thing happens if I put that RCBS polishing powder or liquid brass polish in the media. Not sure what I'm doing wrong.
That's the way my media looked the next morning. I poured it out and put in some new. The timer is a good idea. I've always wondered why I couldn't come up with good ideas like that? That's what forums are for. Thanks to all.
tumbled brass with old socks with golf balls inside them in a rotary tumbler.Brass is shiny new and no lube residue left and no media in the primer pockets or flash holes.
I dump mine, generally 200 at a time, in a 5gal plastic bucket 1/2 full of hot slightly soapy water. Agitate a bit, dump, rinse in plain hot water, dump that and dump on a junk towel. Torment the brass with clean hands until they're all rolled around enough to dump any water onto the towel, then load them into a warm air dryer (junker food dryer) until dry.
If you tend to get oily or sweaty hands, white cotton gloves go a long way to prevent fingerprints getting etched into the brass. I do this while sizing and loading but washing keeps the problem down during that operation.
A bucketful of clean prepped brass is truly a beautiful thing.
Mark, I don't often admit that I wash my brass that's fallen onto dusty or sandy ground. I'm glad to know there's at least one other out there who thinks the way I do, but I wash mine just with cold water a full bucket at a time, then do the old towel thing before setting them out in the sun (warm weather) or over the heat vent (cold weather) with all the cases laying flat to dry. Sometimes I'll just choose to leave them on the floor on the towel like that with a 14" fan blowing across them.
I tried being "green" about it and letting them dry without assistance, but had some residue/tarnish issues so I resorted to the salvaged food dryer.
I was processing a large lot of brass I got, all the same lot etc, for handloading some rounds for long term storage. I was real lucky to get it and didn't want any etching to ruin any while they sat loaded or waiting for loads. I even tossed in some dessicant to keep them dry.
Hey, ya gotta take care of them brass............and the "A"-word??? That's me all over!
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