Tumbler media

[Dorado]

I just got a tumbler and bought some walnut media to clean my cases. What should I use to polish? or is there anything else I should look for?

[Guest diablo slim shootist]

Add some corn cob media also and liquid car polish!

[macinaw]

I'm not sure if this is true:

 

Car polish will "weaken" brass.

 

Dillon's polish will not weaken brass?

 

Mac

[Texas Coyote, #74098]

Dorado

Just a question and possiby an observation.

The walnut media that you bought, was it treated with anything? Like rouge.

If it is you will not need any polish. If it has not been treated then the Dillon product is good.

 

However on the other hand if the media is treated with rouge then the only suggestion I have is, Take it back and get your money back and go to the nearest pet store and pick up some lizard litter.

 

Texas Coyote

[Jebadiah]

I just bought some lizard bedding today to see how it works. Now I got to go shoot so I can get some brass to tumble.

[Colorado Coffinmaker]

The only required step is to tumble the brass clean. Making it shine like new is a waist of time unless you just have to have new looking brass. Tumble before you de-prime.

 

Coffinmaker

[Smithy]

I mix 50/50 walnut/corn media and apply ample amounts of Midway media polish and that seems to do the trick for me just fine. Not too rough and doesn't break down too rapidly. A perfect mix for my brass polishing needs. Smithy.

[Garrison Joe, SASS #60708]

I'm not sure if this is true:

 

Car polish will "weaken" brass.

 

Dillon's polish will not weaken brass?

 

Mac

Could we not post things that we are not sure are true? No, car polish does not weaken brass. Brasso polish can, as it has a fair amount of ammonia.

 

Car polish would be fine in your media - add a cap full and let it work into the media whuile vibrating, then add you brass so you don't get a clump of polish and wet media down inside a few cases.

 

Good luck, GJ

[Charlie Whiskers]

I play it safe.I use the Dillon corn cob media and polish.Works good.Tried using an off the shelf "all metals" polish and the brass came out real dull with a lot of residue on it,so dumped that and went back to what I know works.

[Deuce Stevens SASS#55996]

use corn cob media that I get at local metal finishing supply for $25 for a fifty pound bag. Add Turtle Wax rubbing compound. let run for 10min then add brass. Seems to work well for me.

[Doc Fill 'Em 67797]

I like Lyman Tufnut media. It is treated with red rouge, is not expensive, lasts a long time. Gets cases clean and shiny.

[Buckshot Frank]

I use a mixture of walnut media and rice. I throw strips of used dryer sheets in there and a dash of mineral spirits. I don't know how I ended up with this concoction, but it works for me.

 

I agree with Coffinmaker about the polish. Clean brass is good enough; it doesn't have to look pretty.

[Oliver Loving]

I use cracked pecan hulls for a media. They are plentiful here in Louisiana. Also with them I don't use a polish. They clean brass really bright.

[hogshooter sass# 51243]

well as some of you know i aint an expert in nuttin, but i aint ever seen any proof that brasso weakens brass. i have been using it for years on my reload brass an never had a problem .

 

hogshooter

[Uncle Joe]

lizard bedding and turtle wax chrome polish, works for me, ask this question and get 50 answers 1 is wrong the rest is right.

[macinaw]

In the Dillon Blue Press it says Dillons' Rapid Polish contains no ammonia, so it won't weaken brass cases!

 

So, according to Dillon if car polish has ammonia; it WILL weaken brass cases.

 

Just trying to help! Mac

[Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283]

Howdy

 

Yup, there are many answers to this question and all are correct.

 

I agree with Coffinmaker. Shiny brass does not shoot any better than dull brass. It is easier to find in the grass, but that's about it. The real purpose to cleaning brass is to get rid of any grit that may have gotten on the brass if it was ejected onto the ground. Grit is tiny pieces of sand and it is very hard. If you run brass with grit on it through your dies it will scratch your dies, and then your scratched dies will scratch all the brass that is run through them.

 

So dump your brass in your tumbler and run it awhile to clean off any grit.

 

Personally, I gave up on expensive media made specifically for tumbling brass a long time ago. I use Lizard Litter that I buy in the pet store in 25 pound bags. It is just broken walnut shells, but it is much cheaper than tumbler media. Personally, I don't add anything at all to the lizard litter. I just turn on the tumbler and let it work for a few hours. When I come back, the brass is nice and shiny. When the lizard litter gets too dirty, I throw it out and pour in some more. It is cheap enough.

[Dubious Don #56333]

I foind that lizzard litter and such has too much trash in it. Commercial cob (or walnut) was often too dusty so I stick with the media from Dillon. It's consistently good.

 

I prefer the Dillon polish, best I've found.

[Texas Coyote, #74098]

Gentlemen

A couple of thoughts/opinions:

1. Doc if you are happy with the Lyman media, I know from expierence that it shines up brass just fine, then by all means keep using it. However in my expierence after a time the inside of the cases will become coated with the powder and normal cleaning will not remove it. If you use a single stage press this will not be a problem as during the resizing this coating will be disloged and fall out during handeling. on the other hand in a progressive press you may expierence a problem with this material flaking off and interferring with the primer igniting the powder. Before anyone asks, I know this from personel expierence.

2. I have taken to depriming and cleaning the primer pocket prior to cleaning as with the 45lc I found the carbon build up prevented the proper seating of the primer.

3. The school of thought that shinny brass does not shoot any better than dull brass, well you may have a point but as I amfrom the PF Flyer generation and know that new PF Flyers make you run faster and jump higher, I also believe that shinny brass makes me shoot better, well mabe not but it souds good. Besides its easier to find shinny brass than dull brass and I lose to many of these big cases as it is.

For those of you with enquiring minds:

45 LC

200 grain

Federal Primer #150

Middle of the recommended load of Trail Boss

 

Just my thoughts/expierences/opinions.

 

TC

[Ranger Sgt. Jake McCandless #3368]

I used to use lizard litter from Wally World and found inconsistent sizing and content in the media. A shooting friend told me he had been using a product called Kay Tee parakeet litter http://www.kaytee.com/products/walnut-litter.php I tried it and have not used any other brand since.the sizing and cleanness of the ground walnut hulls sold me ,that was about four years ago. Adios Sgt. Jake

[Rio Brazos Kid]

My personal observations and findings through the years.

 

1) Walnut media cleans faster than others.

 

2) Corn Cob media will polish better, but also takes longer to clean.

 

3) Adding a polish to the media can and will aid in producing a brighter shine.

 

4) Cleaning the brass is all that's really needed. Polishing it is just fluff, and serves no real purpose.

 

 

For whatever it's worth, Brasso WILL chemically attack brass. Any product containing Ammonia should be kept away from brass.

This is not an old wives tale, it's the gospel truth.

 

Having said that, using Brasso is not going to immediately cause brass to crumble or disintegrate, and if wiped clean after use, will probably not cause appreciable damage. Suffice it to say that it's a poor practice, and theres nothing to be gained in pushing the envelope. Far better to find another product that has no ill effects to brass.

 

RBK

[Captain Woodrow Cahill, SASS # 54363]

From Wiki ...

"Brass is susceptible to stress corrosion cracking, especially from ammonia or substances containing or releasing ammonia. The problem is sometimes known as season cracking after it was first discovered in brass cartridge cases used for rifle ammunition during the 1920s in the Indian Army. The problem was caused by high residual stresses from cold forming of the cases during manufacture, together with chemical attack from traces of ammonia in the atmosphere. The cartridges were stored in stables and the ammonia concentration rose during the hot summer months, so initiating brittle cracks."

 

I give my brass a good pre-cleaning in boiling hot water & dish detergent, then once dry toss it in the tumbler. PetCo lizard litter is cheap and does just as well as the expensive stuff.

 

I have no experience with it, but I understand that the ceramic media does a good job too and apparently lasts forever. Anybody using it?

[Dorado]

The media I bought was the lizard litter. It is not treated with anything but has a fine grain. I've ordered some of the Frankfort Arsenal Brass polish for it. I'll give it a shot as soon as it comes in.

[Guest Chief]

The lizzard litter will work just fine by it self, but by adding turtle wax chrom polish it will help keep the dust down and also do a little polishing, a dryer sheet also helps keep the dust down. Been doing this for over 20 years and am still happy with it Chief

[Barterin Bill]

+1 on the dryer sheets. It doesn't help clean the brass, but it shore pulls a lot of the dirt and grime out of the media, which should make it last longer. I cut 1 in quarters and throw the pieces in with my brass while tumbling. If the media has been used much at all the dryer sheets will turn black. I've put them in with brass in new clean media and not much shows up on them.

[Go West]

You want to remove the dirt & grit that will damage your dies. I would not recommend media w/ rouge. Shiney cases are easier to find. Polish in the media will keep the dust down. Dust will be contaminated with lead particles, so keep it moist and change now and then. If you use polish, it will also ease your loading effort (more important on larger cases). I use a mix of walnut & corncob with whatever polish I have on hand. I'll have to try the dryer sheets.

Oh, I tumble before depriming since the media can block the primer holes.

[Sneaky Gun Runner SASS 79775]

If you're debaing over Brasso then you're gonna have a blast with this one.

 

I use a Thumblers Tumbler, warm water, a squirt of Dawn dishwashing detergent, and a 9mm case full of Lemi-Shine. I deprime all my brass, dump it in the tumbler with the above ingredients and 5 lbs. of small stainless steel pins.

 

I come back in two hours and my brass is clean and shiny. This includes the inside of the case, primer pockets, and flash holes. I rinse off the brass and set it in the sun to dry.

 

I have brass that has been shot, cleaned, and reloaded over 20 times with no signs of wear or deteriation.

 

This will take the nastiest, greenest, ugliest brass you can find to like new condition.

[Virgil Ray Hality, SASS# 37355]

Howdy, I too have been using Kay Tee parakeet litter. It’s what is available.

 

Chemistry is chemistry and some physical things are real. IIRC, ammonia leaches out the copper from the brass. So, use it or not, your choice.

 

This, I think is worthy of an experiment. I think I'll drop a shell case in a glass jar of ammonia and see how long it takes to dissolve. I imagine I will have a really long wait.

 

Pretty much +1 for what Rio Brazos Kid wrote.

 

And I will add, if you can prove that using Brasso in media causes cold stress fractures in cartridge casings, I would like to see and read such evidence from a credible source (not the Internet). A couple of things come to mind: Given what has been posted about cold stress fractures, I hypothesize that annealing brass removes cold drawn stresses in the brass; and, brass shells work-harden and crack anyway, so how can one really tell if ammonia was the cause or if brass plainly cracked due to normal use?

[I. M. Crossdraw, SASS# 8321]

Guys,

 

Lets not all squabble on what is good or bad. I ain't taking any sides here, just my opinion. If you think that a car polish, chrome polish or rubbing compound will polish your brass because it polishes your car well, please use it. If you think that Brasso will polish your cases well because it polishes your brass lamp well, please use it. For me, I'll stick with what the brass manufacturer recommend, they probably know more than I do. For one thing though, I ain't loading my car or my brass lamp in my guns though, it don't shoot well.

[Marauder SASS #13056]

I've used many types of media including corn cob, rice, special cushed walnut. With many types of media additives. They essentially all worked. I did not like the rouge added to the media as it seemed to not work as well with my sizing dies.

 

Now I use the cheaper "lizard liter" type of walnut shells and it has worked well. (But some of the lizard liter is nice and fine and consistent. Some others varies too much or is too large to work well.) So you do have to choose wisely.

 

I also use car cleaner/wax and it has helped clean the brass faster and makes it shinier. Plus it seems to slightly lube the cases so it works smoothly through the sizing.

 

Brasso will work fine, for cleaning if you put it in the media a few minutes, then run it to distribute it AND allow the ammonia to evaporate. The reason folks have gotten away with using Brasso is that they let the ammonia dissipate.

 

The media alone will do the job, but may take longer, wear out a little faster and not shine the brass as much.

[Virgil Ray Hality, SASS# 37355]

And, if you would like a matte finish, try a little Comet or Softscrub in the media. The added grit works well. A good fist full of spent primers will help the cleaning process as well. ;-)

[Rye Miles #13621]

Just wonderin, anyone ever try good ol' cat litter?

[Cowboy Rick, SASS #49739L]

I've tried most of the dry methods listed above. Being a cheap SOB, I landed on corn cobs, 'cause they're less dusty - even with additive. A little car wax for shiny brass. Wife really like shiny brass.

 

I even run her finished rounds for a few minutes to get the lube off.

 

Vibrator is in the garage on a timer, runs while we're gone for about 4 hours. Clean and shiny every time. I know that once the grit is gone the main reason for this exercise is fulfilled, but it's just too easy to have 'em looking like new. These old eyes can find splits easier if they're shiny also.

 

CR

[Iron Pony]

Lizard litter from petco and a shot of meguiars mirror glaze from time to time works for me. I am going to try the dryer sheet trick on my next batch, been meaning to for a while but keep forgetting. One plus on the car polish is that I, Driftwoods going to get pissed, DO NOT lube my 44-40 cases before sizing them and that little bit of polish seems to make them run through the dies slick.

[Marauder SASS #13056]

I tried cat litter and comet, etc.

 

Both way to gritty and can cause wear on you dies.

 

Cat litter is essentially a clay or "dirt" and i don't want to "clean" with dirt that can cause scratches, etc.