Tumbled my first brass, some media stuck to the inside of the cases

[Clay]

Tumbled my first batch of brass and once the brass was nice and shiny I pulled it out. Then I noticed some of the brass had media inside, stuck to some black residue still on the walls.

Do i need to tumble the brass longer?

 

[SEIndSAM]

How long did you tumble and what kind of media did you use?

 

[Clay]

About 6 hrs. Its the really fine corn cob media that andrew/profire sells with some of their brass polish

 

[HavokCycle]

stuck in brass or primer pocket? what do you use to separate media from brass?

 

[Fishersjohn48]

6 hours is more than enough. Shake the heck out of it in you media separator.

 

[jcwit]

If you are using "Fine" media I fail to see how media could get stuck inside the cases. They were not wet/moist in any way were they?

I tumble brass by the thousands and since I have discovered "Fine" media which to me is 20/40 grit I have no media stuck anywhere, not even in the primer pocket or flash holes. In fact the media is fine enough to flow thru the flash hole.

Who added the polish? If it was you, was it wet polish and you did not allow it to disperse in the media before tumbling?

 

[Leo]

Whenever you add polish, it is good to let the vibrator run for 15 minutes or more so the liquid has a chance to dry. Do not expect vibration tumblers with dry media to make the insides of the cases shiney. They will not do that even if you run it 24 hours. The good news is, there is no reason to worry about it. The Powder and the bullet never notice the black soot staining the inside. Good Luck

 

[billybob44]

What caliber is the brass??

6 hours is more than enough. Shake the heck out of it in you media separator.

This MAY?? Help. Depends on caliber of brass.

If you are using "Fine" media I fail to see how media could get stuck inside the cases. They were not wet/moist in any way were they?

I tumble brass by the thousands and since I have discovered "Fine" media which to me is 20/40 grit I have no media stuck anywhere, not even in the primer pocket or flash holes. In fact the media is fine enough to flow thru the flash hole.

Who added the polish? If it was you, was it wet polish and you did not allow it to disperse in the media before tumbling?

^^^jc is right on track. When you add polish to your media, you NEED to run tumbler for AT LEAST 20-30 min. to completely mix--not leave clumps of polish/media.

For ME--I will NOT usually clean small diameter (.22 Hornet, .222 Rem., .223 Rem., or .22-250 Rem.) right after I add polish to the media. I will usually clean some 'Short+Fat' cases first (.40 S&W, or .45acp.) to throughly mix up the polish, so that it does not clump.

Polish+media stuck in a .223 Rem. case is a PAIN IN THE ARSE...Bill.

 

[Clay]

no its not a polish issue. I went back and looked at the brass just not, and found that it was limited to one specific case. All the Fiocchi GFL marked brass has the issue, nothing else. I had 50 round of Fiocchi brass in this batch, and all of the other brass was fine. Its something actually inside the case, some burned on black carbon looking stuff that the media is sticking too. I tossed that brass in with the next batch to see if it will clean up or not.

 

[HavokCycle]

possibly unburned powder? weak primers or primer strikes?

 

[Clay]

no idea. this brass is all de-primed. the ammo was actually pretty new. I just purchased it at Beech Grove Firearms for use on their range like a week ago.

 

[billybob44]

What CALIBER??

no its not a polish issue. I went back and looked at the brass just not, and found that it was limited to one specific case. All the Fiocchi GFL marked brass has the issue, nothing else. I had 50 round of Fiocchi brass in this batch, and all of the other brass was fine. Its something actually inside the case, some burned on black carbon looking stuff that the media is sticking too. I tossed that brass in with the next batch to see if it will clean up or not.

Different caliber cases will have different problems==What is the caliber of rounds that you are having problems with???...Bill

 

[Clay]

its all 9mm.

this is my first go round with reloading, and my first time cleaning brass 9mm is all I have dies for at the moment, and I figure its about the easiest to start with.

 

[billybob44]

its all 9mm.

Good deal Clay..It probably?? is the sealer that is used in some inport/military ammo on the bullet seal+primer pocket. Try a .40/.45cal worn cleaning brush dipped in thinner or acetone.
Either way, it should not affect your loads..Bill.

 

[-Jake-]

did you resize it before tumbling? could it be case lube making it stick?

 

[Clay]

Yes resized but using carbide dies so no lube. I think billybob hit the nail on the head. All the areas where media sticks is just below where the bullet seats.

 

[Clay]

well I let that brass tumble over night, still have media stuck inside the GFL cases. Oh well, I can clean the up a bit.

thanks everyone!

 

[digitalrebel80]

I had the same problem after tumbling some brass that used the lead free primers. I had to clean it out with an bore brush and a drill. Some of it was stuck it there like tar.

 

[hondatech2k2]

I would say to lean them out as Billybob stated, if that does not work toss them in the recycle bin. 9mm brass is cheap enough that I wouldn't worry about them. Not to mention, the great deal of time wasted on those specific cases and resulting headache! When it comes to my brass (9mm, 45, 223, 300blk) I toss them in the tumbler for 30 minutes, then pull them out. As long as the majority of the carbon is off I really do not care what they look like.

 

[imp22b]

I would recommend a wet tumbler

https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...g/284542-diy-wet-media-tumbler-pic-heavy.html