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Posted: 1/15/2010 9:46:18 AM EDT
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Hello hive mind
To prep .223 cases for reloading, I tumble in the Walnut media with the polishing rouge (red stuff) on it. This does a good job of cleaning, but leaves red powder all over the cases. I wash them in the kitchen sink with some Dawn detergent, agitate by hand for a few minutes, wash off with sprayer, drain and put into the oven (200°) until dry. I'll then put into a large zip lock bag, spray in some Arsenal case lube and tumble around by hand to coat evenly. I then resize the batch. The problem I'm encountering is there is always a coating of rouge powder and gooey lube. I've tried rewashing and drying the cases, but the only way to get it off is to wipe each case by hand. Do you have something that would work easier/quicker? Gun Scrubber works on it, but can be a bit of a pain. |
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Quoted:
Do you have something that would work easier/quicker? .... Yep, throw the treated media out and get plain untreated walnut. The stuff you have is horrible, far worse even than One Shot lube. About the only thing that might work to clean the residue off large quantities of brass is to put it in a container with a tight lid, fill with scalding hot water and Dawn or other dish soap, install the lid, and shake the crap out of it to agitate the soapy water. More than one try might be needed, and if it doesn't work, you'll need to resort to a solvent such as paint thinner or brake cleaner. |
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Scrap the rouge media. Go to a pet store and get some of this: http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2753590
Tumble, lube, resize, then tumble again. No rouge, no sticky mess. Occasionally I'll toss in some liquid car polish to the media, but not everytime. The walnut litter is cheap and works great. For the first couple of cycles, I will throw in a used dryer sheet to cut down on the dust. |
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Or if you want a good amount, check harbor freight. This one in the link is good but I like their coarse grade one better.
For polish, add a few caps of Nu-Finish car wax |
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The red rouge can only be used for the filthiest of straight walled cases. It has no way of getting trapped in them. I follow any use with red rouge with several tumblings with straight up corn cob, you can use a mild solvent mixed with the first batch of corn cob, denatured alcohol or mineral spirits. The solvent will help get that crap off your brass.
Never use red jewelers rouge treated walnut on bottle necked cases.........never. Not only will it coat the cases inside and out, it will build up a caked on layer of the stuff. If not 100% completely removed, inside and out, it can ruin a barrel in short order. Imagine polishing compound at 55,000 PSI and 2700 fps. and you'll get the picture. Rather than throw it out, I reserve it for the worst of the worst straight walled range brass, followed by solvents and corn cob. I will never buy it again, I have at least another tumbler full of new media that I purchased twenty years ago. I expect it to last another twenty+. |
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Quoted:
Hello hive mind To prep .223 cases for reloading, I tumble in the Walnut media with the polishing rouge (red stuff) on it. This does a good job of cleaning, but leaves red powder all over the cases. I wash them in the kitchen sink with some Dawn detergent, agitate by hand for a few minutes, wash off with sprayer, drain and put into the oven (200°) until dry. I'll then put into a large zip lock bag, spray in some Arsenal case lube and tumble around by hand to coat evenly. I then resize the batch. Face palm  .
The problem I'm encountering is there is always a coating of rouge powder and gooey lube. I've tried rewashing and drying the cases, but the only way to get it off is to wipe each case by hand. Which is why nobody buys a second batch of this stuff. Don't know what Lyman is thinking. 
Do you have something that would work easier/quicker? Yes, Start with plain walnut. I add Midway brass polish. 
Will look like this. I tumble overnight. Lube and size brass. Place in tumbler with plain corn cob. 
Will look like this. I tumble overnight. All of the lube is removed, and brass is ready to for the rest of case prep. You don't have to tumble overnight, about 2 hours will do at each step. I just like the bling. Gun Scrubber works on it, but can be a bit of a pain. What to do with your red devil dust media? Mix it with plain walnut about 50/50, remove the dust with plenty of used dryer sheets. If cases are still dusty, tumble in plain corn cob to remove dust. This media should not be used for delube, it has red devil dust in it. Good luck. |
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