Just wondering if you really need to add stuff to your corn cob media or is it best left dry ??

It depends on what you are trying to accomplish.

Hot Core I Just want clean shiny Brass about to try my tumbler for the first time, I have de-capped it/resized it and have about 45 odd .458 lott cases to try in it first.

Nope...I use Lyman's treated media, both corncob and walnut.

I use Midway brass polisher which is what I suspect they may have added to their treated media. Probably don't really need it as plain corn cob media cleans the soot and dirt off of the cases well, the brass polisher just goes to the next level and really polishes it up to a nice shine (duh!) More an added aesthetic benefit than any real practical advantage IMO, but I still like the shiny brass - shiny objects always did appeal to me.

Funnily enough Riccardeli I have purchased some Lyman Media, all though it will not even fill a 1/4 of my Dillon Cleaner I suspect.

I've heard of both medias being used to polish, which one does a better job? I use walnut for both cleaning and polishing, and it doesn't make them that shiney, just really clean and brightens them up a bit, just did some 06 brass, had them in the tumbler for over 4 hours, do I need to keep them in longer for a good shine? Jay

Walnut is for cleaning; corn cob is for polishing.

I have always used walnut for both. I am glad I did not know that it doesn't work for polishing. It seemed to have worked fine with my ignorance in place.

I add a couple tablespoons of denatured alcohol to the media. It collects the dust to the sides of the bowl. The alcohol evaporates quickly afterwards. My brass looks better without the dust.

corn cob seems to produce more residue than walnut.

i use new walnut, but it does begin to slow down afeter a while. then i put a little flitz in it, that brings it back to life.

a few leaning patches in the media seem to keep it pretty clean and free of "dust."

quote:

Originally posted by PC:
Funnily enough Riccardeli I have purchased some Lyman Media, all though it will not even fill a 1/4 of my Dillon Cleaner I suspect.

Well, you just gotta buy more than 3 ounces of the stuff...

I have two Lyman 2200 Auto-Flo's, and I buy the media in the 10 and 12 pound boxes. (Around $1 per pound.)

I have "tumbled" tens-of-thousandes of cases and I haven't had to buy new media in over 10 years...

quote:

Originally posted by PC:
Hot Core I Just want clean shiny Brass about to try my tumbler for the first time, I have de-capped it/resized it and have about 45 odd .458 lott cases to try in it first.

That being the situation, I can recommend any Car Wax you might have that does not contain any Ammonia. I use Liquid Kit and one of the large commercial outfits I know has used regular old DuPont #7 for years. I use it for cleaning and polishing cases and consider it Batch #1.

The resaon I asked about your purpose is that I also use "Un-Charged" Corn Cob(Batch #2) to remove the excess Moly on Bullets I coat myself. Then Batch #3 is Corn Cob charged with more Liquid Kit than Batch #1. Batch #3 applies the Carnuba Wax over the Moly.

So, all batches are kept in gallon size Zip Lock Bags and swapped as needed.

Best of luck to you.

Most of the time I only tumble about 40 rifle and maybe 50 pistol cases at a time. I haven't added anything as just looking to clean the case up good. I de cap the cases and tumble them to remove any mi-nute scratches and powder residue, wipe off the outside , clean out any medium in the inside, full length them, trim and back into the tumbler until all oil is gone and cases are real clean. Have some polisher and extra corn cob but haven't used any of it as the desired effect was met without it.

Thanks for the help folks, hey would methylated spirits work as the de-natured grog someone mentioned above ??

i tumble my .38 an .357 cases with the primer in so i don't have to dig the media out of the flash holes.... is that wrong??


LIFE IS SHORT...........

I just purchased 12lbs of Lyman "Tuff Nut" from Midway for about 15 bucks. This stuff is truly amazing. If you want Bright, Shiny brass in a hurry give it a try. Just remember to put on your sunglasses befor you open your tumbler.

Try Brasso.

Steve,

I am unsure if we can get this in Australia !!

Your local pet supply store (Petsmart, etc.)is a good source for ground walnut hulls. It can be found in the bird section in 4 or 5 lb bags, used for lining the bottom of bird cages. I mix it 50/50 with corncob. I usually spray in a little aerosol carb/choke cleaner to clean off the sizing lube. About 4-5 hours (overnight is better) and the cases look beautiful.

PC I use this Green Coloured Corn Cob media purchased from Tobler (RDT Products in Robertson NSW). It work well with nothing else. I tumble with the primers still in so that the corn media does not get in the primer pockets.

Only trouble with this media is that its dusty^but no prob I just rinse in acetone, strain then reuse the acetone.

But a friend put me on the Hornady Media. I will use them next. Lasts a long time & no dust. You may want to try that.

I also use a mixture of walnut and cob and find no need for additives. The brass comes out shiney enough to look good and for me to visually inspect before reloading, which is more important than the aesthetics.

John,

what do Tobler charge for that stuff ??

Lyman makes a media called Tuf-Nut. It can be had in corn cob and walnut and has jewellers rouge built into it so the entire cleaning operation is a dry one. The media simply pours back out of the case when finished. It beats the liquids for ease of operation and doesn't contaminate your cleaning media. It also looks terrific when fin8ished. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

I use the water based Lyman polish in with my media (corn cob). It has no ammonia base and if left for a few hours will polish any brass to pert near white.

These pics were taken after polishing with corn cob with either flitz or midway polish. Some may say they're too pretty, but I don't think so. The midway/frankfort arsenal tumbler can take a bunch of cases at one time. I had them in there for 3-4 hours.

I always throw in 2 to 3 table spoons of white gas that is used for Coleman lanterns. It gets rid of the resize lube and woks great!

Try grating a very little bit of jewellers rouge into the media of your choice. Wear sunglasses when you open the drum. Jim

Purchase some Iosso case polish, It speeds up the polishing process and talk about shine. It does not leave a residue on the case, great stuff. I have tried it all and Iosso Brass Poish shines above the all. A couple of tablespoons in the media and a couple of hours later you will have shiny brass that shines like gold!

'Twould appear that there is more than one way to skin a cat--I just use the media that came with my Midway kit--and I have been using it for maybe 10 years. Granted, I don't try to polish my brass, just clean it.

I have the same attitude about polishing brass as I have about washing my truck--why bother?, it's going to get dirty again--or else I'm not using it.

I like to wash my cases before putting them in the tumbler with corncob media.I tried different media and corn cob alone and prefer Hornady ONE SHOT TUMBLER MEDIA.Its faster than plain corn cob and does not contain walnut oil to leave my cases feeling greasy.

I use a couple tablespoons full of Meguiar's Cleaner Wax for a tumbler full of crushed walnut lizard bedding from the pet store, cleans them up really good.

Hey this tip isnt about media but I thought I would post it anyway. If you guys want a great vibrator polisher for a great price go to your local Harbor Freight store or go online. They have a great unit for 39.95 on sale now. This unit kicks butt and polishes twice as fast as my Midway unit. It is also much heavier and better built than the unitfrom Midway .

Anyone on this forum know where to purchase 15lbs or more of straight walnut or corncob at the best price . I havent purchased in years. Any help would be appreciated. Those tumblers I talked about are so good I bought another one and you cant beat the price . Hey they look just like the ones from midway but are a lot heavier duty ( bigger motor and springs. They have a 30 day guarantee from Harbor Freight (money back) and a three month warrenty. Hope this helps some one thanks and good shooting from the great state of Kentucky

I use 15ml of thinners with walnut for cleaning cases and 15ml of kerosene with corn cob for polishing. With the kerosene the cases stay shiny even after they are reloaded. If there is any wax residue on the cases it can increase presure. I had it with average loads and stop using wax. ("Carnu" product)