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Posted: 5/17/2008 5:55:41 AM EDT
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I have collected a ample amount of 9mm brass and am ready to tumble my first load, I have a RCBS tumbler w/ walnut My question is how long to tumble ? and do I tumble then resize/deprime and then retumble to clean out primer pockets ? I know some people don't even clean brass they just inspect/reload but it's not very pretty brass, I don't want it to sparkle but clean is good |
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Is it treated walnut media or plain? If it is treated it won't need as much time. Personally I use a mix of walnut, corncob, and NuFinish car polish. I would say let it run for an hour and check, then if you want it alittle cleaner run it for another hour. Also get an old tshirt or towel and after you separate the media, dump the brass in it and shake it back and forth to get the dust and surface crap off it. Some people put a used dryer sheet in when tumbling to cut down on the dust. I don't decap pistol brass before tumbling and if you did walnut would probably be stuck in more then half of the holes. |
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New media I would let it go for a hour, hour and a half. Time will be longer when the media gets older. Don't worry about the primer pockets, they won't get to clean in the tumbler. Once they get the media in them there isn't enough room for it to clean to good. Same with the inside of the case, they won't get to clean, but once you top it off with a bullet you won't see the inside anyway. |
| I run rifle brass for about 2 hours with corncob. It cleans up nice. Run it for an hour or so and if it is not clean enough for you, go another hour. Walnut will work also. Maybe not quite as sparkly, but you are just going for clean. I leave the primer in and then deprime and resize all in one step. |
The primary reason to clean your brass is to remove the grit that will scratch your sizing die. How much bling is up to you. I use the FA polish from Midway. Dillon Rabid polish works good also. 
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| I use plain walnut to clean cases fresh from the range, then (depending on how nasty the primer pockets are after depriming) either another run with walnut first or straight to treated corn cob media (I'm using Lyman's Green media). Walnut is hard and sharp, so it scrubs well, while corn cob is soft and round, allowing it to polish well. It works great for me. |
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