Ammunition & Hand Loading > Cartridge and Shotshell reloading

Lemi Shine in my sonic cleaner :(

(1/4) > >>

00BUCK:
I suppose if a person didn't have a tumbler, or after tumbling wanted to clean the primer pockets and insides of the case that soaking them in a Lemi Shine solution for several hours and then rinsing them out this might be acceptable. I've been seeing Lemi Shine pop up a lot lately so I figured I'd give it a try. The results were far less than acceptable but I am used to my current method giving me brass that, aside from resizing scuffs, comes out like brand new brass.

Each of the methods below was done after the cases were tumbled for a couple hours, decapped and resized with no case lube using carbide dies.

  I tried 2 different solutions in my Hornady Magnum Sonic cleaner.

First was ~3qt distilled water with 4 Tbsp of Lemi Shine at 135 degrees for 45 minutes. The primer pockets and insides were still fairly cruddy.

Second was ~3qt distilled water with 6Tbsp of Lemi Shine at 135 degrees for 45 minutes. Negligible difference in overall cleaning than the first solution. The biggest difference was the cases came out with almost an etched look to them. They didn't feel rough but looked terrible. I'm not so concerned with how they look but with that much abrasion (or whatever it did to the cases) and no real cleaning going on I consider this a fail.

  What does work well for me is ~3qt of tap water (that passes through our water softener) with 2 ounces of Hornady One Shot Sonic Cartridge Case Formula. This stuff isn't cheap but like I said early, it gets the brass perfectly clean. I've tried just about every concoction I've ever read about for sonic brass cleaning and nothing works like this stuff. I was hoping the Lemi Shine would work - even 90% as well - because it would reduce my overall reloading costs but it didn't even come close. I was hopeful.

 I guess for now I'll have to keep using the high dollar stuff until I find something that is an acceptable yet cheaper alternative.

Neeco:
I just retumble them after decapping.  Once the brass gets components, it gets a wiped down at the end and that's it. 

A-FIXER:
Thanks buck

GreyGeek:
Lemi Shine appears to me to be Citric acid powder.  Like Lemon Juice, it should be rinsed off of the casing throughly or it could lead to discoloration.

What I found I  like about  Vinegar is that it evaporates when it dries, leaving no  residue.

00BUCK:

--- Quote from: GreyGeek on March 01, 2013, 03:25:58 PM ---Lemi Shine appears to me to be Citric acid powder.  Like Lemon Juice, it should be rinsed off of the casing throughly or it could lead to discoloration.

What I found I  like about  Vinegar is that it evaporates when it dries, leaving no  residue.

--- End quote ---
I really didn't think I would need to express that my cases get rinsed and dried very well after coming out of the sonic cleaner. Guess I should have.

What Lemi Shine did to the cases was more than just a discoloration and more of a dulling effect.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page