Gun Gadgets: Brass Tumbler

I cannot stand dirty brass, to me it is like walking around with a urine stain on your pants! There are many methods to clean brass. In the past on of the most common ways was in a tumbler of some sort with a media of corn cob or some such mildly abrasive media. The results were good, but not great. I found the brass to still appear dingy and not have a clean metallic feel.

The method that I have found to be the most economical with the best results is the use of stainless tumbling media. 

This media consists of small pins or rods with a small amount of liquid solution in a tumbler. The media can be used forever! The great guys at STM (Stainless Tumbling Media) recommends:

1. -dish soap. 1 -2 Tbs (15-30 mL) of either Dawn, Ivory, or Joy dish soap
2. 
   
   
   
   
3. -1/4 Tsp. (1.25 mL) of Lemishine. This is the key to the shine. (Not too much)
4. 
   

-I also add a cap full of Hornady One Shot Case Cleaner

1. The solution is added to a bunch of brass (4lbs or so) and 5 lbs of pins and left for a few hours and the results are amazing!

One of the most popular wet tumblers on the market is Thumler's Tumblers.

Thumler's provide a great product. I however prefer easy access to the brass, and am nor a fan of bolting in my brass every-time. Thumler's also run $180 or so, and I am cheap. When I decided to use stainless media I scoured craigslist and found a wet tumbler in great condition for $50, and it is a beast, able to handle all that Thumler's can handle and more.

It is not quite as pretty, but the end result is still brass that is like new. Frankford Arsenal cut a case in half to show the benefits of using stainless tumbling media. I am sold!