Hi Reloaders,

For brass cleaning, I currently use the Lyman Tufnut (nutshell with rouge). Do you guys have a preference for untreated or treated media? Can the rouge residue left inside the shell be harmful or let's say non-desirable?

Regards,

Guy -

I used to use "rouge" treated media a long time ago but I got tired of the residue it left on the cases. I don't think it did any harm but the residue got on everything.

I then switched to a treated walnut shell media and for the last 6-8 years I have been using untreated ground walnut shella from pet smart ( bird cage or lizzard cage litter) and treat it with the Dillon polish.

I don't plan on ever going back to the "rouge" teated polishing media because of cost and the red residue.

I am currently tumbling about 20,000-30,000 case a year----- pistol and rifle combined

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Semper FI

I am using old walnut media with a little shot of turtle wax or boat hull polish. It works better than I expected. I've read that Nu-Finish car polish works real good too.

You do need some kind of polish in the media. I use the pet store walnut shell and add some Frankfort Arsenal polish I got from Mid Way on sale in the large container. I used Dillons polish before that.

+1 on pet store crushed walnut shells and whatever kind of car, brass, boat polish I have sitting on the shelf in the garage.

Use either walnut hulls, or corn cob media from a pet store. You don't really need any added polish. The idea is to clean the brass and remove any crud. A high polish adds nothing whatsoever to the way the brass performs in your gun. In fact, it may not even be helpful, insofar as highly polished brass might not grip the chamber walls as well, upon firing.

Whatever is cheapest, walnut or corncob. Currently using some Frankford corncob I got on ebay at a very good price. Polish adds nothing but cost, IMO.

Hmmmmm......

So you're saying that factory rounds, with a high polish, are not good?

I think that the polish actually helps in the sizer, it seems to run smoother than without.

My 2¢.

socal- you are exactly right about the high polish on cases and ease of resizing. even if you use carbide sizer, it's better to have them polished.

Walnut to clean, corncob to polish.

Add a little NuFinish polish (not wax) for extra shine.

I use the untreated ...cage stuff I get mine at WalMart...closer and cheaper than the pet store...and treat with whatever I have on my shelf but its usually a high grade wax/polish...3m ,meguiers..

Some say it isnt needed but I have done it and not used anything and noticed some of the newly loaded cases wood corrode a little while in storage...with the wax coating not so much

Dust is bad with plain walnut shells, so I add just enough Midway polish to keep the dust down.
I also throw in strips of used dryer sheets to get some of the carbon out and make the media last longer.

Corncob produces very high polish, but I mostly don't use it anymore.

I use untreated corncob media. This does a great job of cleaning the brass but it does not impart a slick shiny polish that a lot of people seem to prefer. I don't really care what cases look like as long as they are clean.

I've been using the Cabela's polish & corn cob media that came with the tumbler. I like it. It's a little slick but I wear the blue nitrile gloves from WalMart when loading. Keeps my hands clean & helps grip shiny brass & slick bullets.

I'll be trying the walnut to clean but I really like that high shine from the polish & corn cob.

I use lizard bedding from Petsmart. Tried the corncob after sizing, depriming, and expanding dies to give them a nice shine. The corncob is birdcage liner stuff. Too coarse and I spent a bit of time digging the stuff out of the primer pocket holes and wedged in 38 special cases. Ditched that idea. I use lizard bedding now with some rubbing compound that I just take some paper towels cut them up and wipe them in the can. I like the wax idea and will try that now. Gets the cases shiny enough for me. Tried the dual polish routine (first with walnut shells and then with corncob after case processing) with more time than it's worth and nothing to gain. I gave the remainder of my bird cage corncob to a friend with a parrot!

I also have moved from treated to untreated media. You can purchase the untreated for much less (Grainger has the best price for untreated corncob, Harbor Freight has the best price for walnut hull).

If you add some odorless mineral spirits to the walnut, it will clean much faster.

To get the high shine, I add NuFinish to the corncob. And it does make the brass resize with less effort in carbide dies for my pistol brass.