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8/31/2026 9:43:46 AM EDT
Ran out of lemnishine while wet tumbling this weekend.

I simply used hot water & Dawn dish detergent and rinsed the brass using hot water after cleaning the pistol brass.

What I noticed: using Dawn alone left the brass slick compared to mixing lemnishine with Dawn and water.

There was also a noticeable difference when flaring case mouths, I wasn't feeling any resistance and jerking  like I normally do as a result of the brass being " super clean ".

Moving forward I'm going to clean my brass without lemnishine.

Just an observation.

That's all. Carry on
8/31/2026 9:52:34 AM EDT
[Last Edit: lazyengineer][Edited] [#1]
For gleam, Give it a week and look again.   I find They gleam in day 1.  And in a week or so are tarnished dark.  

Which functionally is fine. I've stopped really caring about that any.  But dont get fooled by the day 1 gleam.
8/31/2026 11:01:12 AM EDT
[Last Edit: Sinister][Edited] [#2]
I've been using a 50/50 of Dawn and car wash with wax before adding water plus a little Lemishine.  It seems to delay the light tarnish-oxidizing.
8/31/2026 2:13:10 PM EDT
[#3]
I've used the same formula for 10+ years.

45 ACP case full of Lemishine, 2 second squirt of Dawn to 1 gallon of my well water.

Water has different chemistry depending where you are, so some experimentation is necessary for good results.

I've used the splash of car wax, didn't see much difference.

I store my wet tumbled cases in GI ammo cans. Even after 3 or 4 years they are almost as shinny as fresh tumbled.
Selling agent for Algores carbon credit scam.

Shooting and Reloading, one hobby feeds the other.
8/31/2026 5:11:49 PM EDT
[#4]
The Lemishine chemically treats the brass so that it won’t tarnish quickly in a process called passivation.  That’s what causes the “drag” you feel.  A VERY short tumble in plain corn cob media will un-drag the brass that seems “too clean”.

While the stainless pins will scour the brass pretty well, they won’t lift everything.  Between the acid action of Lemishine (it’s citric acid plus some other chemistry that helps buffer the acid and soften water) and the surfactant action of Dawn (it is NOT “soap”), the nasty chemical sludge from who know what was in the powder is a goner.

Unless you store brass you tumbled without Lemishine in airtight and dehydrated containers, the cases will darken fairly quickly.
9/1/2026 11:34:19 AM EDT
[#5]
Quote History
Originally Posted By GHPorter:
The Lemishine chemically treats the brass so that it won’t tarnish quickly in a process called passivation.  That’s what causes the “drag” you feel.  A VERY short tumble in plain corn cob media will un-drag the brass that seems “too clean”.

While the stainless pins will scour the brass pretty well, they won’t lift everything.  Between the acid action of Lemishine (it’s citric acid plus some other chemistry that helps buffer the acid and soften water) and the surfactant action of Dawn (it is NOT “soap”), the nasty chemical sludge from who know what was in the powder is a goner.

Unless you store brass you tumbled without Lemishine in airtight and dehydrated containers, the cases will darken fairly quickly.
View Quote


I honestly don't care if the brass darkens. I'm not looking for glamor brass,
9/3/2026 3:22:05 PM EDT
[#6]
Quote History
Originally Posted By GHPorter:
The Lemishine chemically treats the brass so that it won’t tarnish quickly in a process called passivation.  That’s what causes the “drag” you feel.  A VERY short tumble in plain corn cob media will un-drag the brass that seems “too clean”.

While the stainless pins will scour the brass pretty well, they won’t lift everything.  Between the acid action of Lemishine (it’s citric acid plus some other chemistry that helps buffer the acid and soften water) and the surfactant action of Dawn (it is NOT “soap”), the nasty chemical sludge from who know what was in the powder is a goner.

Unless you store brass you tumbled without Lemishine in airtight and dehydrated containers, the cases will darken fairly quickly.
View Quote



If you are using a Dillon powder measure, I take the powder funnels to a buffing wheel.  That helps with the resistance of pulling the case down.

I store the wet tumbled brass in a .50 cal ammo can with a desiccant pack.






9/3/2026 3:35:08 PM EDT
[#7]
Quote History
Originally Posted By WeimaranerDad:



If you are using a Dillon powder measure, I take the powder funnels to a buffing wheel.  That helps with the resistance of pulling the case down.

I store the wet tumbled brass in a .50 cal ammo can with a desiccant pack.






View Quote
That's how I store my wet tumbled brass.
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Shooting and Reloading, one hobby feeds the other.

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