Tumbler question

[MDGrand]

Hey so far all those out there that use a dry cleaning method in their tumbler with Hornady media, about how long do you leave your brass in there? Do you ever get the inside of your cartidges to come out clean? Left my RUM brass in there for several hours and only seeing a slight difference.. wondering if I should give them a wet clean?

[MDGrand]

Thanks, JKeen..

No, I did not add any polish, just dropped in the media and brass and let it do its thing.. I was expecting the INSIDE of the cartidge to be cleaner than what I have experienced already though.. or is that too much to expect? it is still completely black inside.

[cwuwildcat]

There isn't any need to get the insides shiny.  Probably couldn't ever get it to match the outside.  As long there isn't junk on the inside of the case, your fine.  I usually tumble mine overnight, and turn it off when I wake up.

[JimmyHoffa]

For the insides, I use a bottle brush on an electric drill like someone mentioned.  You can add steel wool and tumbling media with the bottle brush to get a bit more 'shine', as well as chemical polishes.  The thing to ensure with steel wool is to thoroughly clean any remnants out--it can cause rust and scratch the barrel.  Another way to speed the cleaning process is to wash with hot soapy water--rinse with hot water--dry in the oven--then tumble.  Cleaning the insides can be time consuming if using the bottle brush method, so I only use it for select hunting ammo.

[timberghost72]

When I first started using my tumbler it would take forever to clean the brass. I had the tumbler in my reloading room in the house and had it on the floor (carpet). The wife eventually got tired of listening to it so I moved it out to the garage and set it down on the concrete. I noticed that it would work alot faster in the garage. I think that the carpet and wood subfloor was absorbing the vibrations and making it take alot longer to clean. So make sure your tumbler is on a hard surface.