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Dry case tumbling


Go West

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I know the trend is towards wet tumbling, but I'm still doing it dry and am slow to change. If you're still tumbling with dry media, what additives do you like? I'm wondering if some of the products used in wet tumbling would also work with corn cob or lizard litter. 

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A little liquid Turtle wax and a drier sheet, brass comes out beautiful.  The drier sheet keeps the dust down to almost nothing and with a hundred pounds of corn cob not changing soon. 

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So here's a question I've always wanted to ask on this subject.  Do you just add the brass polish/detergent/lemi-shine straight to the dry media?  Seems like it would get stuck in one place to me.  How does the liquid get dispersed in the dry media?  Thanks.

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19 minutes ago, Marshal Hangtree said:

So here's a question I've always wanted to ask on this subject.  Do you just add the brass polish/detergent/lemi-shine straight to the dry media?  Seems like it would get stuck in one place to me.  How does the liquid get dispersed in the dry media?  Thanks.

When I add the Turtle Polish I just pour a little bit in and run the tumbler for 10 minutes or so and then use a stick to break up the small clumps. Doesn't take too long.

I also soak my brass first in a mix of 50/50 water & Simple green. Shake once in a while for about half an hour. Dry in an old food dehydrator and then into the tumbler for an hour. They look like new. Inside is still a little discolored but not bad. Be sure to get them dry to avoid any corrosion in the primer pockets as i don't usually deprime before cleaning.

Using the drier sheets seems to help with dust and the media last me quite some time, using corn cob I get a year or so out of a batch before it gets too gray.

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I no longer add any car wax to my lizard litter, as I would (rarely) get clumps of wax and media in my cases, even when I usually remembered to let the wax run for a few minutes before adding cases.

 

So, now it's just the lizard litter and a dryer sheet (used) and a cap of paint thinner (maybe a tablespoon).  Run vibratory bowl for 30 minutes.  Brass gets as clean as I need, and even a little shiny.  

 

good luck, and good enough for me, and no waiting for wax to spread out, GJ

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I use lizard litter crushed walnut that I buy from the pet store.

 

Pre treat the media with scratch and swirl remover used on automobiles (a couple ounces).

 

Just pour it on and run the tumbler a couple minutes to let it mix together.

 

Then each time before I run a batch I add about a half ounce of the swirl remover to the media and tumble to mix.

 

My brass is beautiful after about an hour.

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I use walnut shell media but this would work with corncob media too.  Squirt a shot of auto polish (not wax) into the media bowl and add about a tablespoon of mineral spirits or paint thinner.  Then run your vibratory tumbler for a few minutes to thoroughly mix.  
 

I usually let the tumbler run overnight, but about an hour probably would work.  Any brand of auto polish works as long as it doesn’t have wax in it.
 

The mineral spirits not only cuts the grease on the brass but, more importantly keeps the dust down.  
 

My brass comes out looking like new. 

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Wouldn't the mineral spirits tend to remove the polish? I use spirits in the media I clean loaded cartridges with to get the lube off. Works good but does seem to remove the polish.

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IMG-1790.thumb.jpg.43181f6d549616becb159621d6338142.jpg

 

Mixed black powder and smokeless .38 Specials, tumbled in a Dillon CV750 case cleaner (the smaller one), using ground corn cob media and Dillon Rapid Polish 290.  These are all brass cases, no nickel cases in there.  Some catch the light more directly.   No, I don't keep track of how many times a case has been loaded.  No I don't keep black powder and smokeless cases separated.  Samee, samee, alla samee.   After dumping the dirty brass into the media, I stir the cases down into the media to bury them, then pour a thin line of polish in a circle on top of the media, maybe a tablespoon at the most.  Tumble 4 to 6 hours.  These have been reloaded several times.  I stood a few up so you can see the inside of the case; new unfired brass is shiny inside too.  About once a year I clean the film of polish from inside the tumbler bowl.  Mineral spirits on a paper towel cleans it off easily.

 

 

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