Brass polishing...I am confused

[Tim357]

I have used mineral spirits mixed in with the corncob media, but only on really dirty bras (i.e. range pickup). It works for me

 

[rockquarry]

What to use? I see recommendations for Mother's Mag Polishing potion, and Amazon has a 10 oz. tin listed. Walmart is the second most recommended source. The recommendations all seem to advise a couple of caps full into the tumbling media. So, is the Walmart product a liquid? I have some Turtle Wax liquid Chrome polish and rust remover, and wonder if that would be a good alternative for polishing brass, if it doesn't have ammonia in it?
What say, reloading gurus?

No guru here and certainly not an expert on anything...in the Internet age, the fastidious polishing of brass has become a hobby within the handloading hobby. Certainly nothing wrong with that, but a vibratory cleaner or tumbler with crushed walnut hulls without additive will do a more than adequate job of cleaning brass.

 

[rhodesengr]

how does every one feel about the citric acid bath cleaning? It IS time critical, as leaving it in too long does turn the brass interesting colors

Most threads about wet tumbling mention one version of citric acid or another. Lemi Shine seems to be the most often mentioned but there are many products (just like polishes). Please see my previous post in this thread about case lube. If you clean is the typical wet brew of some version of detergent (Dawn) along with some version of citric acid (Lemi Shine) you will probably need to use case lube to avoid galling on the expander to help with sizing and crimping. Also note that Dillon recommends case lube even with dry tumbling.

 

[Sevens]

Corn cob media and a squirt of turtle wax from Walmart.. Run for minimum of 12 hours...

Have you ever tried to tumble for 3 hours and compare the results with your 12 hours? I use a lamp timer.

My concern with tumbling four times as much is not the brass and it isn't the electric bill either. It's simply that vibratory tumblers absolutely have a life span and they shake themselves to death. I've replaced a few and that's after going in and patching them up where possible.

 

[rockquarry]

Have you ever tried to tumble for 3 hours and compare the results with your 12 hours? I use a lamp timer.

My concern with tumbling four times as much is not the brass and it isn't the electric bill either. It's simply that vibratory tumblers absolutely have a life span and they shake themselves to death. I've replaced a few and that's after going in and patching them up where possible.

That may be true, but if one lasts twenty years (I think I've actually gotten better mileage than that) and they only cost $50.00 for a small one, I think that's money well spent. I use mine about twice a week on the average. When it wears out, I'll throw it away and get another cheap one.

The large Dillon I have has been in use for about thirty-five years, but I don't use it nearly as often as the small one.

 

[Sevens]

I agree that 20 years would be great, certainly it depends on the volume of --USE-- and that's why I thought it was appropriate to contrast the 3 hours I use versus four times that length.


All is well here.

 

[flyfishinjunkee]

Sure have. I always run mine for 12-24 hours. I like them shiny and clean. Am I worried about a buck more on an Elec bill? Nope.

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[flyfishinjunkee]

Have you ever tried to tumble for 3 hours and compare the results with your 12 hours? I use a lamp timer.



My concern with tumbling four times as much is not the brass and it isn't the electric bill either. It's simply that vibratory tumblers absolutely have a life span and they shake themselves to death. I've replaced a few and that's after going in and patching them up where possible.

Sure have. I always run mine for 12-24 hours. I like them shiny and clean. Am I worried about a buck more on an Elec bill? Nope. Tumbling for 3 hours isn't even close to enough. I run 2 tumblers at a time and not at all worried about wearing one out...

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[NFrameFred]

Well, haven't seen this one yet, so . . . .

Many, many moons ago when I started reloading finding an economical source of tumbling media was not easily accomplished. An old hand told me to go to the grocery store and buy the largest and cheapest bag of rice I could find. Although I was a bit skeptical I gave it a try and was pleasantly surprised. My concerns about grains of rice clogging flash holes was pretty much laid to rest, and though the media is not conducive to providing a mirror polish like some walnut or corn cob I've used with and without a polishing additive, it cleans efficiently and is abrasive enough that it will remove oxidation on brass that has been left in/on the ground long enough to turn almost black. I was initially concerned that if it was that abrasive that it might eventually degrade/weaken the brass but it never seemed to be an issue and I've used it off an on for large quantities of brass in a vibratory tumbler for decades. Range brass collected that was discolored enough to be segregated eventually would be tumbled together for an extended period and 90% or better would come out with a nice, clean burnished brass look.

I've considered going to wet tumbling and pins but after this many years I have too much stuff geared for the older method and my competition days are over, so shooting tens of thousands of rounds annually is in days gone by. So I'll stick with the one I brought to the dance. The use of the rice isn't as good for bright polishing but is quicker and better cleaning than untreated shells/cob in my experience. And it's (so far) always been available anytime I need it. Not recommending it, just relating personal experience.

 

[ajgunner]

Walnut media for range pickup or really dirty stuff.

Corncob media with just a touch of Dillon's polish to either finish after the walnut, or to run stuff that came straight out of a revolver cylinder.

The Dillon stuff isn't cheap but, it does last a long time.

 

[Racer X]

I beg to differ. I do it the "real" old way. I use a Lortone QT12 rotary lapidary tumbler!

I've got a pair of those, and an old Lortone triple 15#. I grew up 2 miles from their original location, and they arte still local. The QT series is quasi industrial model. good choice.

 

[BC38]

I've always used Nu Finish car polish, just a smidge, with corn media in a vibratory tumbler. Time is passing me by as others are using steel pins and liquid tumbling and sonic cleaning.

Their brass looks nicer than mine, I can admit that. The issue I have is I cannot deal with anything wet. I need to have the option to forget I've left it in there for a week and you cannot do that with wet. I also don't want to deal with drying anything.

I might change my mind if I lived in an incredibly hot/sunny locale like Florida, where I could put brass outside to dry almost any day.

Ditto on the NuFinish, though I use it with crushed walnut shells. The polished brass looks close enough to new for me.

 

[TheTinMan]

Does anyone else put used dryer sheets in with their dry media? I'm embarrassed to say I don't even remember what the rationale was but that's what I've been doing for years. They do seem to pick up nasty dust so maybe the media lasts longer.

If you dry tumble, don't do it in a living space. It throws a lot of lead, etc. into the air.

I got a vibro-sonic cleaner for rifle brass. It does the job OK but I always worry about drying the cases. Great for cleaning metal parts though!

 

[flyfishinjunkee]

Does anyone else put used dryer sheets in with their dry media? I'm embarrassed to say I don't even remember what the rationale was but that's what I've been doing for years. They do seem to pick up nasty dust so maybe the media lasts longer.

If you dry tumble, don't do it in a living space. It throws a lot of lead, etc. into the air.

I got a video-sonic cleaner for rifle brass. It does the job OK but I always worry about drying the cases. Great for cleaning metal parts though!

Good call and it's dusty. My tumblers run on the back porch

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[LostintheOzone]

Corn cob media and a squirt of turtle wax from Walmart.. Run for minimum of 12 hours...

12 Hrs. OMG.

 

[flyfishinjunkee]

12 Hrs. OMG.

Why wouldnt I do this? Lots of armchair reloaders in here it appears.

Looks nice doesn't it?

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View attachment 629204

 

[BC38]

Does anyone else put used dryer sheets in with their dry media? I'm embarrassed to say I don't even remember what the rationale was but that's what I've been doing for years. They do seem to pick up nasty dust so maybe the media lasts longer.

If you dry tumble, don't do it in a living space. It throws a lot of lead, etc. into the air.

I got a video-sonic cleaner for rifle brass. It does the job OK but I always worry about drying the cases. Great for cleaning metal parts though!

Absolutely! My wife saves all her used dryer sheets for me. Two or three half-sheets per batch cuts WAY down on the dust from the media.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

12 Hrs. OMG.

Never needed ove 3 hrs for any brass I own.

 

[BC38]

12 Hrs. OMG.

That's one reason I use walnut shells instead of corncob.
3 hours is more than enough with the harder, more aggressive media.
12 hour runs sounds like a good way to wear out your tumbler a whole lot faster to me.
YMMV.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

If it takes 12+ hours to clean brass then the media is long overdue for replacement. The media cleans because of the sharp edges on the media kernels. When the kernel edges become smooth they no longer clean efficiently.

I use a 50/50 mix of corn cob and crushed walnut media. The only thing I add is a used dryer sheet to help keep the media clean and keep the dust to a minimum.