I bought some IOSSO case cleaner from either Mid-South or Midway. It's thick, about the consistency of Brasso. I follow the directions only to find the case cleaner all caked up with the tumbling media at the bottom of my lyman case tumbler.

Can anyone suggest a better method of polishing or cleaning the casings or perhaps tell me what I'm doing wrong?

Many thanks for your help

Why not use the crushed walnut without any liquid and just tumble an extra 6-12 hrs or so, i started doing that a couple of years ago and never looked back.

I don't know how much you used, but it sounds like to much. I only add about 2 tblsp every 1000 cases. In other words about every 3 batch's. I also use cut up dryer sheets the other 2 batches. Works great.

I don't use my tumblers much any more. I have a lee universal lock stud and spin em with an elec drill. One rag with a little flitz and another to spin it off and things look really good really quick. (cheap plastic food service gloves keep the hands clean) If the brass is really grungy around the neck area this will help before going into the tumbler. (if I use a tumbler)
I'll bet Woods will chime in and show you how he does it.....and he does it well.

quote:

Originally posted by kraky:
I don't use my tumblers much any more. I have a lee universal lock stud and spin em with an elec drill. One rag with a little flitz and another to spin it off and things look really good really quick. (cheap plastic food service gloves keep the hands clean) If the brass is really grungy around the neck area this will help before going into the tumbler. (if I use a tumbler)
I'll bet Woods will chime in and show you how he does it.....and he does it well.

Hey kraky, coming around huh? Welcome to the dark side, or should I say the shiny side!

The Flitz does a good job and leaves a protective coating on the case and makes it easier to chamber. I use a Lee Zip Trim mounted on a piece of 2x4 set in a bench vise. With it I trim


spread some Flitz



hold a rag against it and spin


and clean the inside of the neck with steel wool or scotchbrite



and mica the inside of the necks



can do about 50 cases in an hour


with good results

Case cleaner or case polish?

The cleaner is a liquid process.

I just use my vibratory tumbler and rock 'em for about two hours. I use the crushed walnut hulls you buy as lizard bedding at pet stores. They come out lookin' real nice...

I just rinse it in mix of vinegar and salt. The details are somewhere on this page: Home firearms products

Try Nevr Dull if want to ploish by hand. I wash my brass in dishwashing detergint using a RCBS Sidewinder. If I want to polish I rinse in distilled white vinegar.

"tumble an EXTRA 6-12 hours" Geez, I've never tumbled brass for 6 hours at a spell since I've had a tumbler (long time) much less an "extra" 6 hours. What's the purpose??

quote:

Originally posted by wasbeeman:
"tumble an EXTRA 6-12 hours" Geez, I've never tumbled brass for 6 hours at a spell since I've had a tumbler (long time) much less an "extra" 6 hours. What's the purpose??

There might be some differences in what you're using in the process. Are you using an actual tumbler or a vibro bowl?

I use crushed walnut shells with Lyman polish added.

I will tumble (actually vibro finish) over night as a minimum (usually a minimum of 10 hours) and check them.

I'm not getting the cases brightly polished. They turn out clean but a satiny to sandblasted look.

I don't mind as long as they're clean before I resize them.

I think I'm going back to corncob and polish from dillon or someone else. I do like the glossy hi polish look!

good walnut and corn cob medial, Dillon polish and about an hour in each type of media. Over night??? six to ten hours??? My god Man I don't have time for that.
Polishing by Hand was the reason the tumbler was invented.
I do anywhere between 500 and 1000 cases at a time. I need volume production.

Woods is it the Flitz metal polish that comes in a tube that you use or is it the liquid polish that is designed to be added to a tumbler?

I'm fed up trying to get lub off the inside necks of my cases (I don't tumble) so I might give your Flitz and mica approach a try.

quote:

Originally posted by caorach:
Woods is it the Flitz metal polish that comes in a tube that you use or is it the liquid polish that is designed to be added to a tumbler?

I'm fed up trying to get lub off the inside necks of my cases (I don't tumble) so I might give your Flitz and mica approach a try.

It is the Flitz that comes in a tube



I don't own a tumbler anymore, gave it to a kid starting to reload.

But the mica is not put in the neck to aid in resizing, I resize with a Lee Collet which does not need any lube. The mica is to aid in consistant bullet seating pressure and is applied as a last step in case prep.

birchwood brass cleaner. About $8 does thousnds of rounds. I do a finish tumble for a few hours in untreated corn media.

quote:

Originally posted by woods:

It is the Flitz that comes in a tube

Thanks for that woods, I might give that a try and see how I get on as I don't do many cases in a year and use a Lee zip trim so your method would allow me to get clean cases without any more bits.

I might try using the mica for my neck sizing as am getting fed up trying to get imperial out of the necks before seating. Amazingly I have even found that it is available here in the UK.

I only shoot about 30 to 40 cases at a time so I re load them in the same small batches.

After tumbling I use a Lee zip trim to spin the cases while I polish them with a "Krazy Kloth".
http://cadie.jensco.com/cleaning_cloths/u53.html

There is very little mess. I use a small 3"x3" patch cut from the krazy Kloth, the brass shines up almost white.
The patch lasts forever you don't throw it out just seal it back up in the pouch the original cloth came in.

I do this polishing step after resizing.

I use corn cob media and vibrate (to be proper) after I have resized to clean off resizing oils and that takes care of cleaning the primer pockets also. The amount of time they're in the tumbler depends on what else I've got to do but rarely more than a couple of hours. Usually less.
Bless their anal hearts but there is absolutely not way I would shine individual cases like the pictures posted. Even if I was shooting a single round at a time.

quote:

Originally posted by greenjoy:
I only shoot about 30 to 40 cases at a time so I re load them in the same small batches.

After tumbling I use a Lee zip trim to spin the cases while I polish them with a "Krazy Kloth".
http://cadie.jensco.com/cleaning_cloths/u53.html

There is very little mess. I use a small 3"x3" patch cut from the krazy Kloth, the brass shines up almost white.
The patch lasts forever you don't throw it out just seal it back up in the pouch the original cloth came in.

I do this polishing step after resizing.

Hey greenjoy, now that is something I need to try out.

Does your package say what ingredients and chemicals are in the cloth? No ammonia right?

BTW I appreciate what you're saying beeman but it is not anal at all. Like I said I have had a tumbler and there is a certain amount of work and expense with it also. The media and additives are not cheap, there is a certain amount of time in separating the brass from the media and then a certain amount of time checking all the primer pockets. Also wiping the dust off cause you sure don't want abrasive dust in your chamber. So you do have to spend some time also.

Your results with a tumbler doesn't make it automatic to inspect each case idividually, don't make the cases easier to chamber and doesn't leave a protective coating.

Uuuhhh, perhaps.