Stainless tumbling recipes

neilst

Well-Known Member
A little while ago i made a tumbler and brought some media. Up until now ive used washing up liquid (good squirt of) and a bit of citric acid (because i read somwhere that was a good thing to do). All the recipies i see online call for lemishine, dish soap etc. what is everyone else using in the uk? Im getting patchy results and am just wondering if there are any good products that will be available in your average sized supermarket that may improve things?
 
I've yet to buy a tumbler, but I get good results soaking brass in a solution made with with salt, washing-up liquid and a splash of vinegar in hot water :thumb:
 
Well I use Lemishine, but I have also washed brass in the washing machine, come out nice and clean using normal non bio washing powder.

Neil. :)
 
Citric acid (very small amount to avoid staining the brass) Tablespoon of washing up liquid (Ecover) gets cases shiny bright.
Rinse in cold water - not hot as that stains them too & they come out golden rather than bright yellow.

Ian
 
And if you put them in the oven to dry they turn pink :oops: :doh:

LOL -- You aren't supposed to roast them Woody!. I dry mine by tumbling in a towel then laying them on a tin tray & leave them on the top of the Rayburn (not on the hotplate!) If I have the compressor out I blow out the water from inside first. It still needs drying properly tho'. If I'm in a hurry I blow them off & finish dry them in the fan oven set at 110 degrees C for 15 mins.

Ian
 
I rinse them in warm water with dishwasher rinse aid then in cold water to wash the rinse aid off. This also helps to shift any SS pins you may have missed in the first check!

Drying....They get placed on the "fins" between radiator panels....dry off a treat... unless of course they fall down and jam in between the panels! :oops:

(Wife thinks I'm mad!)
 
On top of the wood burner or in the Rayburn warming drawer dries them pretty fast. What temp do they need to reach before I'd be annealing them?
 
Annealing temperature is affected by the duration of exposure, but you certainly will be fine at below 200 centigrade. I go just above boiling point (100 deg) then it doesn't matter how long I leave them.

Ian

p.s. If you use a conventional oven leave the door open to let the humidity out or you'll get golden cases. - Thats why its best done in a fan oven that vents getting rid of the moisture.
 
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