Really Old school brass tumbling media - anyone ever done this ?

[gfisher]

Was talking with an shooter and reloader today with a few more years on him then I do, and he mentioned that he used recycled dried out coffee grounds as tumbling media for his brass. He said his wife saves all the used coffee grounds, and runs water thru them until it runs clear, then dries them in the sun (or oven in the winter) when she has a pan full. He then uses these straight as is for tumbling his brass.

I saw some of his empty brass and reloads and the brass was all VERY bright and shiny, I'd say better then most unfired factory cases. Now is there any truth to this or was he pulling my leg ?

-George

[dbosman]

Anything that is softer than cartridge brass, but harder than the gunk, will clean the brass. Polishing it depends on how finely the material scours the tarnish off. Coffee grounds are slightly abrasive.

[Hawkeye45]

Used that method years ago in college when I could not afford anything else.

Mr Ed

[Triggernosis]

A 15 lb. bag of walnut hulls from the "litter" section of the local PetsMart is cheap enought that you'd not likely save much money if you have to rinse the coffee grounds with water that you've got to pay for. :neutral:

[gfisher]

This guy is so far out in the boonies, I expect he is on a well.

-George


A 15 lb. bag of walnut hulls from the "litter" section of the local PetsMart is cheap enought that you'd not likely save much money if you have to rinse the coffee grounds with water that you've got to pay for. :neutral:

[soli]

I used Oil-Dry in my homemade tumbler years ago,a little dusty but it worked.

[kartooo]

A 15 lb. bag of walnut hulls from the "litter" section of the local PetsMart is cheap enought that you'd not likely save much money if you have to rinse the coffee grounds with water that you've got to pay for. :neutral:

i buy the walnut form the petco up the st from me.
reptile bedding section.
cheap good stuff !!

[Le Loup Solitaire]

Another item that was used back in the day was ordinary white rice. It was and still is cheap. It gets the dirt and crud off the brass, but does not impart a high shine; rather a dull sheen. But the brass is clean. LLS

[USMC87]

Yes Sir I use rice to do the initial crud busting on my brass then shine with corncob media.

[mdi]

I tried coffee grounds (I thought I was the only one cheap enough to try!). Only worked so-so for me. At that same time I was trying everything that was available and might work; white rice, hard wood chips, beach sand, dried peas & beans, beadblast media, oil dry (catlitter, diotomacious earth) and one that did work fairly well was "Good Mews" cat litter (recycled paper in hard pellets about the same size as rabbit food). None worked as well as plain old Lizzard Litter or ground corn cob (the one for blasting not litter) so I broke down and bought a large bag from Econoline .http://www.drillspot.com/products/499763/econoline_526020g-40_40_lbs_blast_media

[bruce drake]

I found that rice will also start to desintegrate over time and may leave a deposit on the inner necks of your brass. I also switched to using the Lizard Litter as well. Can't beat the price and the quality is good.

Bruce

[joec]

I buy my walnut shells from http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result?q=Walnut+shells in 25lb bags. It is cheap enough and lasts a long time.