Polishing Bullets

[30yrcaster]

I made some bullets for someone at our club and he remarked there were some marks on them from the dies. Years ago I tried to polish them with walnut or corncob media and the kernals got stuck in the open tips. I usually just wash and rinse them for myself.

Anyone know how the BR guys like Getner, BIB etc polish theirs? I've bought some of them in the past and they are mark free, shiny and no media stuck in the open tips.

Thanks!!

[ccook23]

I made some bullets for someone at our club and he remarked there were some marks on them from the dies. Years ago I tried to polish them with walnut or corncob media and the kernals got stuck in the open tips. I usually just wash and rinse them for myself.

Anyone know how the BR guys like Getner, BIB etc polish theirs? I've bought some of them in the past and they are mark free, shiny and no media stuck in the open tips.

Thanks!!

The dies themselves should/will not leave any marks on the bullets. I use Corbin dies and swage - and I dont have any "marks" from the dies themselves.

Clint

[Mountain Prepper]

The dies themselves should/will not leave any marks on the bullets. I use Corbin dies and swage - and I dont have any "marks" from the dies themselves.

Clint

Light fold marks ar not that uncommon.

I have had some good luck with the stainless steel media and the water method.

If there is a lead tip it will get damaged.

Best option is to polish the jackets before you form them and clean with alcohol to remove the lube.

Even tarnished (as long as the surface is not rough) they shoot the same, ugly or not.

[Dryball]

A lot of times you get marks from jackets or swaging dies that have too much lube in/on them. The marks are from the hydraulic pressure created by the lube. BT Sniper has a method of shining up the boolits. It's in one of his threads but if memory serves...soak them in a little mineral spirits (to remove lube). Put them in a clean vibe tumbler with a pack of Lyman's ceramic media, a touch of Dawn and some lemi-shine or citric acid, and some bb's (if you want your boolits copper colored). Add only enough water to make things damp. Close up and vibe away for a while (not sure on time).

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

Time is between 1 and 2 hours. No more than 2.

[ricklaut]

I polish my formed bullets in SS pins, Lemishine & a squirt of dish soap (after removing the lube with acetone - a lesson learned after getting some really weird colored bullets from residue lube after it built up). At first, I was only tumbling for about an hour - and they looked really good. Then, I accidentally left the tumbler running overnight - they looked even better.

So, I compared the marks on the bullets in the first batch with those on the second batch - there seemed to be a decent amount of difference, with the firing pin mark and headstamp being more subtle on the the second batch. I cranked a couple of batches through for 24 hours.... better yet. I'm almost curious enough to see if the marks can be polished further off with longer tumbling. Not curious enough to have tried it yet though.

These bullets are hollow points - no exposed lead (as stated above, exposed lead won't fare well).

[BT Sniper]

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?181682-Secret-to-making-better-more-accurate-bullets!&highlight=

here is what I do!

BT

[supe47]

For smaller batches. Ceramic media, Dawn and Lemi-shine.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=74094&d=1371767289