Rejuvenating tumbling media

[Wally]

I have been using ground walnut shells for years for cartridge case cleaning. With time it clogs up with lube & primer dust and will no longer work. On a day, with a light wind, I will go outside and pour it beteween two buckets to let the wind remove the dust. Next time I use it I add 1/4 ounce of paint thinner and it works like new again. Thought I'd pass this tip along to others that might find it helpful.

[thx997303]

Ah, sort of the same way they used to remove chaff from wheat.

Good idea.

[Wally]

Yes, it works well, just be sure to do it with the wind at your back...

[Cowboy5780]

I turn the tumbler and slowly pour a bottle of regular alcohol, and let it dry. After it dries it cleans, its better than new and for some reason it seems to clean the brass better.

[Bill*]

Yes, it works well, just be sure to do it with the wind at your back...

Yeah...ya might want to consider whats downwind too. There's a lot of lead primer residue floating around a tumbler if I remember correctly

[Wally]

The media absorbs the alcohol and that accounts for the cleaning action---however it will evaporate pretty quickly..however if it works, how can one argue with that? I may try it myself as paint thinner is no longer cheap and alcohol will never hurt the plastic in the tumbler bowl.

[wolfman]

Once the sharp edges are wore down a little on my walnut media, I add a couple tablespoons of Turtle Wax red heavy duty polishing compound. Put about a cup of media in a small container, mix the polishing compound in, then sprinkle on top of the loaded tumbler before turning it on. Be sure to put the lid on for a little while as it will try to spill out over the sides till it gets mixed in well.

[Buckshot]

..............Pour it into an old pillow case. Knot the end and drop it into the warshin' machine with a regular dose of detergent and run it through the gentle cycle twice. You can let it run throught the rinse cycle except for the spin part Take it outside and lay it in the sun. Kinda flatten out the pillowcase. Every once in awile kind of fluff it around and lay it back out. No big deal if you forget, as it will dry out in a couple days regardless.

..............Buckshot

[Box13]

I put in 5 or 6 small strips torn from a cotton towel and run a batch of brass.It will blacken the towel strips and the media will clean up considerably.I use corn from lyman and it will actually turn from black to green again if I leave it over night...Robin

[Lloyd Smale]

go to your local feed mill and ask for pet bedding. You can get walnut or corncob there in bulk cheap enough that it isnt worth bothering trying to get the last mile out of it. Theres lots of lead contamination in old tumbling media and i dont think id want to put it in the wash machine or take a chance breathing the dust.

[Calamity Jake]

go to your local feed mill and ask for pet bedding. You can get walnut or corncob there in bulk cheap enough that it isnt worth bothering trying to get the last mile out of it. Theres lots of lead contamination in old tumbling media and i dont think id want to put it in the wash machine or take a chance breathing the dust.

I agree 100%.
I get 50# bag of fine walnut at the local sand blasting supply, about $25.

[Wally]

Yes, one can use new media, but my method cleans the brass nicely and at virtually no cost. I will try using a paper towel next time to see it if absorbs the dust...some advocated using dryer (sofener) sheets.

[jonk]

I'm cheap but not that cheap. I'll just spring for new when it goes south.

My media goes through 2 phases. First, I use it for polishing sized brass and removing lube. When it starts to get ratty from that I use it to clean before sizing. When it won't even do that, I toss it.

[Sprue]

Just to experiment, a couple weeks ago I decided to wash my media. I dumped it into a 5 gal bucket of warm water and dish detergent. Stirred it for a while then rinsed in the same manner.

After a thorough rinse I placed the media onto a fine metal screen and let dry for a couple days.

At this point I haven't tumbled anything with it yet.

I just had a hanker'n to try it as I had the free time......

[Wally]

Sprue

It'll be interesting to see if that worked out for you--I'd imagine so.

[dragonrider]

I like buckshots idea, I have been washing my media for years but I use one leg from a pair of panty hose, >>Cautionary note here, do not take your wifes last pair of hose for this purpose<<. I pour it in the leg and tie it off, put in the sink with water and detergent and swish it around for a while then rinse several times. Then I hang for a few days and then put on a cookie sheet and dry it thouroughly in the oven.

[mold maker]

When I was buying media from reloading suppliers, I tried everything I could to make it last. I washed, added treatment, added fresh, and anything else I could think of. All I was doing was throwing good time and money after bad.
Like stated above, If you look at the pet supply and sand blasting supply outlets, you will find the package size, and price that eliminates the aggravation. Using fresh media shortens the tumbler time, and the exposure to lead contaminates in their most dangerous form.
I also found "Nu Finish" car wax to replace the expensive additives in cob for a long lasting bright shine. It's locally available, (Wally World) and cheaper than specialty polish.
Save your time for shooting, and your cash for powder and primers. No use wasting either, in a tumbler.

[jameslovesjammie]

I will cut up a used dryer sheet into smaller pieces and toss it in my tumbler. It really takes care of the dust. When you are separating the brass and media, it stays in the sifter and you just pick it up and put it back in the tumbler for the next use. When it gets too nasty, you throw it away and get a new sheet.

[Gray Fox]

I use the used dryer sheets, too. I cut one up into roughly 2x2 squares and put it in with each batch of dirty brass. With each batch the sheets come out in the case screener really filthy and I toss them. It may just be me, but the brass seems to have a nicer finish, too.

[bruce drake]

my brass are softer and without static cling after I use the dryer sheets to clean my media. +1 on the sheets.

Bruce