Tumbling Media

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Charliee

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Since I have been reloading I have been using corncob media bought in small bags at Wal MART as brass polishing media. It has always worked ok when I add some polish to it but I always wished for a bigger bag since it doesnt last that long before getting real dirty. Today I was in Tractor Supply and noticed they had wood pellet bedding at a good price. the pellest are somewhat larger than the corncob bits but I think it might still work. So now I have a load of pellets in the tumbler with some .40 brass to find out. I wil let you all know if it works ok.
 
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Crushed walnut shells (lizard litter at the pet store) works well, works fast. The shell media is fine enough that it usually doesn't get stuck in the flash holes. I use it for initial cleaning. Keeps the cob cleaner longer.

Since I like blazing bright brass I follow that up with the cob & polish.
 
Fishslayer said:
Crushed walnut shells (lizard litter at the pet store) works well, works fast. The shell media is fine enough that it usually doesn't get stuck in the flash holes. I use it for initial cleaning. Keeps the cob cleaner longer.

Since I like blazing bright brass I follow that up with the cob & polish.
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Yes, crushed walnut shells and a little car wax mixed in. Please don't tell the pet store what you are going to do with it lest they will raise the price. :D
 
lizard litter at the pet store, thats what i use too, i put a little car wax in mine and the brass comes out slick and pretty
 
I haven't reloaded for a while, but what about polishing the brass first and then depriming? Then the media won't get in the primer pocket......:confused: Or is there a porblem with doing it that way? I used a red clay like tumbling media when I was reloading but it left a waxy red residue on the cases if I remember correctly and it had to be hand wiped off of every case. WAPITA!!!
 
Broken walnut shells with a little line of Nu Finish on top the media before I start the tumbler. I get the 30% more size for $9 at target. Automotive section, orange bottle.

As far as depriming or not I normally toss em in prior to depriming. I thoroughly clean my primer pockets for my rifle brass after depriming but don't worry too much about my practical pistol rounds.

I'm down to the last of my walnut shells so Im gonna try some of that lizard litter too!
 
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Well I can now report that the wood pellets were a failure. It seems that they wanted to turn back into sawdust as the tumbler did its work. Guess I will go back to corncob. Just wish I could find a better source.
 
You can purchae both ground corn cobs and ground walnut shells at the pet supply shops. I purchase a 40 lb bag of the grounf corn cobs and discard when the media turns grey.
 
Wanted to add a helpful hint, I use corncob media with powdered red jewelers rouge and so mineral oil, works great, gets everything clean but the brass always looked "used". One day I tried putting a cleaned batch back in the tumbler with clean corncob media, nothing added. It only took 3 minutes or so for the brass to look like it'd been polished on a buffing wheel, and the clean media can be reused repeatedly or used as your next treated batch.
Timber
 
I use NuFinish, about a cap full every once in a while. I have not bought corncob media in quite a while, just did a batch of 40 S&W and it came out nice and shiny!
 
I picked up a bag of walnut shells at petco a while back and I put a little bit of Flitz in with it. The brass looks brand new after a short tumble. No need to do a second run with polishing media.

bob
 
I use the fine Wally World pet litter in my tumbler. I also have started using a cleaner/polish formula gotten off a fellow poster on a reloading site that really works better than the expensive case polishes being sold commercially. I use a 1 gallon empty milk jug rinsed out clean with water. Into the gallon jug I add 1/2 of a 30 oz. bottle of Ordorless Mineral Spirits and a full 16 oz. can of NU FINISH car polish, not wax, but polish. I rinse the NuFinish can out with the remainder of the mineral spirits and pour it into the gallon jug. I cap it, shake it up real well and its ready to use. You do not need to clean cases before polishing now. It does it in one step and better than any combination of case cleaning and case polishing I have ever tried. If your tumbler is dirty inside or black from burned powder residue like mine was, it will clean it to a brite shiney finish also. As an added bonus, the cost of above mixture is less than 1/4 of the cost of an equivalent commercial amount of case polish alone, much less the cleaner. You will need to shake up the mixture each time you use it as it tends to separate after sitting for a while. It will need to be capped good also to keep from evaporating. I also bought a mustard squeeze bottle for .97 at Wally World to use to add the mixture to my tumbler. It only takes a very little to work correctly. Try it, you'll like it. James
 
Polish handgun brass before de-priming. Polish rifle brass after de-priming with a universal de-priming die if you are OCD or trying to shoot one hole groups @ 1000 yards. ;)

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There is a corn cob bedding that can be purchased too. Treat with liquid car polish, something without ammonia, tumble without cases for a while making sure clumps break up if there are any, put a used dryer sheet in each batch to remove unwanted lead particles from your media and you will be good to go.

I understand about the shiny brass. Seems I learned that somewhere! ;) Brass is supposed to be so shiny that you can see yourself in it. At least according to Uncle Sam's Misguided Children. :)

I use Lyman Treated Walnut mixed 50/50 with Lyman Treated Corn Cob media. Not the cheapest but readily available locally and that combination works great.

Hope this helps.
 
My choice has been good corn cob media for many years and MANY thousands of cases cleaned. I got the best stuff from Gil Hebard (the label said it was "corned" - meaning it was harder and more uniform than typical stuff. It lasts much longer and simply does a better job. I bought it in 25 lb bags.

You might want to check with them.

Dale53
 
Grainger Industrial Supply has corncob "blasting media" for about $25 for 40lbs. It's sized 14/40, I think, just like packaged tumbling media.
 
Bob R said:
I picked up a bag of walnut shells at petco a while back and I put a little bit of Flitz in with it. The brass looks brand new after a short tumble. No need to do a second run with polishing media.

bob
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Same thing I do. The liquid Flitz also works well for polishing the wife's silver tea and coffee service.
 
JSR III said:
I haven't reloaded for a while, but what about polishing the brass first and then depriming?
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Strickly personal. Lots of people do, lots of people don't. Doesn't seem to make a lot of difference either way.

I probly put WAY more time into cleaning than is really necessary but to me it's part of the hobby and maybe after 20 yrs in the Navy I just have a shiny brass fetish.:D
 
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