by Blutius Maximus » 26 Jul 2018, 5:55 pm
Like Cooper in post #2, I got a KT-2000 tumbler off eBay.
Mine was about $110 and came with 1Kg of steel pins.
I don't use your normal dish washing detergent that others seem to. It creates too many suds.
I use automatic dishwasher detergent, the one you buy from Aldi. It has lemon fragrance, so possibly contains citric acid anyway.
Here is my process.
I de-cap first.
Brass into the tumbler with auto dishwasher detergent and 'without' the steel pins. Always warm water.
I want to wash out most of the carbon without putting that crap on the pins.
Water is black. Rinse and add fresh water.
More auto dishwasher detergent and add the steel pins.
Let that do its work. Water still gets pretty dirty, so will rinse that,
For the last cycle, I'll put a bit more of that same detergent in but also add either citric acid or some vinegar. Have tried both, and both are okay.
Tumble, tumble, all nice any shiny. Rinse with water under the tap in the tumbler drum. Final step with the brass still in the drum and covered with fresh water, add a half teaspoon of Bi-Carb, swirl around, rinse and remove brass to dry.
Vinegar and the Citric Acid are mild acids. I like to neutralize the acid on the brass with the Bi-Carb before drying. Bi-carb has the added benefit of softening the water before drying, I guess.
Drop the brass into a towel to "roughly dry" and sit out to properly dry.
Just thinking about it, I guess you could use a few drops of rinse aid to soften the water too.