Yes, it is residue and can be removed with a pocket cleaner.Fyodor wrote:I got the Thumlers Tumbler rebel 17, and most of the pockets are clean after 45 minutes. But some discoloring might still be present, which is not residue, but discolored brass. To remove that, you would need to polish down the surface of the case. I don't see any need to do that. But I'm not sure about what I see on the picture above... is that actual residue?
That would be easy to determine.Fyodor wrote:What I found out is, that you need at least the same weight of pins as cases. More pins works better, less than 2/3 don't clean noticeably at all.
I've tried a couple of "lemon" products we have around the house, but for suds or foam, nothing has beaten Turtle's Zip Wash & Wax or Dawn Ultra. With my typical load of brass, 1/2 ounce of soap works very well. A lot of the suds depends on the water, the water in my area is very hard. My house uses "conditioned" water, but not my garage and a drop of soap will not produce anything. I don't need to dry my hands after washing them! Overall my cases are very clean, bright, and shiny so I think it is just the ratio or quality of the pins.Fyodor wrote:Hot water is nice, but not necessary. Be careful with LemiShine, the acid can dissolve some of the zinc from the surface, giving the cases a redish color, destroying them. None of the residue components are water soluble, so the soap is a placebo, but I also use it. One drop is more than enough. As long as you still have foam on the water, the soap was not used up. I still found foam on dark black water that has been reused for three batches, with only one drop of soap.
I do think that the Zip works the best. There is no doubt after a normal pin cleaning the inside necks of the cases are dry and pull on sizing and expander plugs. That can be corrected several ways before the brass is worked, but I've found that Turtle's Zip eliminates the issue. After the wash, I rinse the cases with cold tap water and put them in the case dryer. No spotting, the norm here with the water quality, and all of my handgun cases need no additional lube for sizing and the same for most of my rifle cases. I say most as I haven't tried it will all of the cartridges I shoot.
I use Turtle's Zip on my farm equipment after use, stuff like plows, discs, and planters. The earth contact with the shares, discs, and other metal gets brightly polished and subject to heavy surface rust in short time during storage with our humidity. All this gets pressure washed when the work is done and then sprayed with Turtle's Zip. I rinse it after a few minutes and then dry it with a leaf blower. The equipment is beautiful shape six months later.
It probably will be mid-week before the pins arrive, but I will give them a try as soon as they do. I have 1K 450 Marlin cases that I need to clean.
