Floribanne
Active Member
Hi what Cleaning Fluid etc do members use in thier Rotary Wet Tumblers what do you use ? And in what amounts ?
Cleaning Fluid for Rotary Wet Tumbler what do you use
- Thread starter Floribanne
- Start date
Dorsettaff
Well-Known Member
Hot water, citric acid and Fairy Liquid (other detergents are available!)
Although I’ve yet to do it in anger apparently citric acid and car wash n wax work very well!
Water, soap liquid (Any), Jif lemon juice.
How does softening the water aid the mechanical cleaning carried out by the pins?
Grannysmith
Well-Known Member
Fairy liquid teaspoon of vinigar and warm water
Stalker62
Well-Known Member
I think that the car wax option can lead to a build up of the waxy deposits in the tumbler.
phaedra
Well-Known Member
See this thread, Brass cleaner
Yes I understand citric acid in a liquid only situation will help clean the brass. In a stainless tumbling situation the mechanical action of the pins is far more effective so from a cleaning perspective the hardness / softness / ph of the water has nothing to do with the cleaning. It may help reduce tarnishing as it dries.
I live in a Wessex Water classified ‘Very Hard Water’ area, stainless pin wet tumbling cases come out spotless and I dry them immediately in a towel to prevent staining from any water droplets evaporating.
So as I say, how does the citric acid aid the mechanical cleaning action of the pins?
Rusty Gate
Well-Known Member
... or we'd just use fabric conditioner
phaedra
Well-Known Member
All I can tell you is I've been wet tumbling for about 8 years and that's what works best for me. I do a final rinse in warm water with a dash of dishwasher rinse-aid in.
Started off with a Thumblers Tumbler in 2008, then a Rebel Extreme (better made Thumblers) and brought the larger 7L Frankford Arsenal back from the US in 20015.
Started off with a Thumblers Tumbler in 2008, then a Rebel Extreme (better made Thumblers) and brought the larger 7L Frankford Arsenal back from the US in 20015.
12 years surely?
Makes sense on the softening the detergent if the detergent is sensitive to hard water but as I say I see literally no difference between cases tumbled with washing up liquid and water or the same with citric acid.
I use a 3 drum rock tumbler, will do one drum with citric and one without, post a photo and see if anyone can tell the difference
Makes sense on the softening the detergent if the detergent is sensitive to hard water but as I say I see literally no difference between cases tumbled with washing up liquid and water or the same with citric acid.
I use a 3 drum rock tumbler, will do one drum with citric and one without, post a photo and see if anyone can tell the difference
The citric acid is a mild pickle so will be aiding and speeding up the removal of the tarnish. The stainless pins have a predominantly burnishing action rather than an abrading one. So something cutting back the oxide film can only help.
If you just put the brass into a citric acid solution without tumbling it will just come out matt/dull yellow. No tarnish, but no shine.
Many washing up liquids contain citric acid which helps soften hard water and cuts through fats. The USA dishwasher additive Lemi Shine is citric acid and is touted to prevent hard water marks. But its main advantage for us reloaders is that it deodorises.
Alan
PS Whilst I was writing this you have added your "with and without experiment"...the main difference will be in the speed of achieving a similar result, not in the difference between the results.
Last edited:
I had considered that but if they are tumbled for the same amount of time then if the cases with the citric come out cleaner it will show the citric acid is speeding up the process.....
I don't know how long you tumble them for normally...you will see a difference if you periodically stop and photograph the process at stages part way through...the cases in the citric will be further advanced and will be fully cleaned sooner.
When I was making and tumbling silver jewellery I had it in an open Nivea pot revolving on a tilted record deck and would keep picking the bits out to see when they were done and chucking them back in to carry on with out stopping the machine. When I had my 1.5 tonne (!) vibratory rumbler going for the forged steel work, again that was an open trough and the ceramic media, abrasive soap and work pieces would cycle round and you could grab the bits out as they went past to see how they were doing. I bought the big rumbler because I had got most of the way through making the frame and hexagonal drum for a large (1200mm x 600mm A/F) rotary tumbler, just needed to resolve the drive gearing, when I realised that an enclosed drum would be a pain in the neck because I could not tell when the stuff was done with out stopping it and undoing the 12no. hatch plate nuts...
I describe that history to indicate not only my commercial interest in the speed of the process but also in the minimising of any excess time processing. Even though the process was largely unattended I was always looking to make it happen as fast as possible...not only from the financial point of view but also the aesthetic one...overly finished items lose there crispness and freshness of form. A half-sucked sweet springs to mind. Carrying that into my case prep for reloading I also want to do the minimum of intervention with the case, so leaving them being burnished for hours does not sit well with me...anything you can do to reduce that time being burnished is an advantage...hence the advantage of adding citric acid.
I ended up opting for case cleaning with just a 10 minute zap in the U/S tank, with citric acid and a drip of washing up liquid. No work/skin hardening through burnishing, or any noise going on for an hour or two.
Alan
Last edited:
Ecover washing up liquid in cold water in the tumbler then a separate rinse in warm water with ecover rinse aid. I take each case out one by one to get the pins out.
Dump the brass on a tea towel, gather the ends up then shake/roll to remove most of the water. This helps stop the cases from being stained with water marks. Dry in the oven a 50 degrees c
Dump the brass on a tea towel, gather the ends up then shake/roll to remove most of the water. This helps stop the cases from being stained with water marks. Dry in the oven a 50 degrees c
Last edited:
Similar threads
