Best all around media

12 February 2007, 23:04

George Oliver

I'm relatively new to reloading & just bought a new tumbler. What is a good all around media for cleaning & polishing brass? I had a midway vibratory that I used walnut media in that seemed to clean, but not polish. Any help would be greatly appreciated...George

12 February 2007, 23:10

Stonecreek

Both walnut or corn cob work well. I prefer corn cob because it makes less of the fine dust that sometimes accumulates with walnut shell. Add some enhancing agent like the tumbling polish from Lyman to speed the action of the tumbling media. (The polish is very similar to auto polish, which some reloaders use in the place of the Lyman product. I'm sure that auto polishes vary in content, and I'm not aware of which work best for this application.)

12 February 2007, 23:10

CharlieHo

Try adding some rouge (sp?) to the walnut media. Seems to make it a little shinier.

You could chuck 'em up in a drill and use some Brasso

However, most dead animals don't care what your brass looks like

12 February 2007, 23:32

NFMike

If you want polished, you need to add a polish compound, to either one. On a commercial basis, I prefer walnut but not the fine ground junk that is sold for case tumbling. I buy coarse walnut and clean and sift it to get any small particles out. The coarse walnut is far too large to get stuck in a primer flash hole. The beauty of walnut is that it can be washed over and over and will last indefinitely and, in fact, improves with age. You cannot do that with corn cob. But sometimes, for a small user, it is easier and cheaper to just buy corn cob and pitch it when it gets dirty.

13 February 2007, 01:12

Buliwyf

George,

Welcome to AR.

My best results are washing my brass with Cascade or other dishwasher detrigent in a RCBS Sidewinder and drying at low temp (170F). This process has produced cleaner brass and no dust on brass to run thru sizing die.

13 February 2007, 10:13

smedley

George,

I would like to suggest do both!
By that I mean walnut after decapping and then corn cob before you prime and powder.

Do yourself a favor and go to a pet store and get some "Lizard Litter" and save a little money.

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Smedley

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13 February 2007, 10:30

marlin55

There are 2 compounds . One looks pinkish and one is red. The pink stuff is CERIUM OXIDE, used to polish eye-glasses. The companies buy that stuff by the 20lbs. containers, take 5 ounces add water and charge you plenty. The RED stuff is Rouge ( FERROUS OXIDE) You cannot buy ROUGE anymore the EPA will not allow this. We, in Optics, had to change over to CERIUM, which does not give a finish
as good as Rouge.for precision optics. Rouge is closely related RUST
Marlin

13 February 2007, 10:38

seafire/B17G

quote:
Originally posted by smedley:
George,

I would like to suggest do both!
By that I mean walnut after decapping and then corn cob before you prime and powder.

.

I second Smedley here.. Walnut is better at cleaning the brass... corn is better at making it shine more..

I don't use any additives in my cleaning media...

14 February 2007, 06:05

MickinColo

I donâ€™t normally worry about shiny brass for the most part but I do want clean brass. Free of grim and resizing lube inside and out.

I have tried different methods to make them shiny from time to time with some success. There are a number of interesting suggestions here. Iâ€™m going to try a few.

14 February 2007, 10:37

NFMike

davel

Sorry so long getting back. I made a 3'x3'x4" box with screen in the bottom. It is about the same mesh as screen door screen (my walnut is about the size of 1FG or cannon grade black powder) but it is stainless so it won't corrode. The size of the box depends on how much you wish to clean. I set the box on top of two saw horses outdoors and have at it with the garden hose. A little dish soap helps clean but it takes a lot more water to get all the soap out. If it's really filthy, I use soap; if not, I don't. Work it around with the hands and flush all of it real good to take out any dust that has accumulated and any other small bits that get stuck in places you don't want them stuck in. I do about a 5 gallon bucket at a time and it takes ~10 minutes to wash and out in the sun about 3 to 4 hours to dry. Comes out better than new.

14 February 2007, 16:07

Terry Blauwkamp

quote:
Originally posted by HHI6818:
I use plain corn cob and add Flitz Brass polish to it. Makes them shine better that new.

Me too.

Remember, forgivness is easier to get than permission.

14 February 2007, 16:47

arkypete

Go to Wally's World and get some rubbing alcohol. Pour a half cup into while the tumbler is running. It does two things cuts any oil or grease and makes the crude stick to the side of the tumbler.
When finished take the tumbler outside, use an old paint brush and clean out the crude.
Ohh I used walnut hulls from the pet store.
Jim

"Whensoever the General Government assumes undelegated powers, its acts are unauthoritative, void, and of no force." --Thomas Jefferson

14 February 2007, 16:51

arkypete

George
You could talk to some of those WV hill boys who make their own and use that as a cleaner.
A couple of jiggers for the tumbler and a couple for you. Will speed up the intire process. Howeve it may dissolve your tumbler bowl.
Jim

"Whensoever the General Government assumes undelegated powers, its acts are unauthoritative, void, and of no force." --Thomas Jefferson

14 February 2007, 17:27

OkieNewton

I was tol on a recent pig hunt to get lizard litter from the pet store. Nothing but crushed walnut hulls. That is my next batch for the tumbler.

Keep yer powder dry and yer knife sharp.

15 February 2007, 02:11

Stonecreek

I recently bought a 25 pound box of crushed walnut at Harbor Freight and Tool. It was on sale. I can't remember what I paid, but it was a fraction of the cost of what is sold for reloaders. Haven't gotten around to using any yet, but it's size and apparent quality look fine.

I still a little prefer corn cob, but hey, this shit was cheap!