Tumbler Media?

[possom813]

What would y'all recommend for tumbling media?

I have about 20k rounds of brass that was just found at a friends house(and given to me) that I need to polish up to trade off for stuff I can actually use:bigsmyl2:

I've looked through it, and it's not terrible bad, but needs to be cleaned up a bit.

I was thinking a walnut media, but it's going to cost more for shipping than the bag of media from Midway, and I don't have anything local(except Gander Mtn, and Midway would still be cheaper with the shipping).

A few folks recommends some type of animal bedding or litter, but I've never messed with that.

Also, someone mentioned some kind of car polish, but again, I've never messed with it.


The tumbler I'm going to be using is a 5 gallon bucket mounted on a slow rpm direct drive motor(I built it the first time about 10 years ago for rocks).

Any recommendations?

Also, I'm not doing any liquid cleaners, I want something I put in the bucket, turn it on and walk away, come back the next day and pull the brass out.

[biggdawg]

lizzard litter from most any pet store is walnut shells that is what i used when i dry tumbled.

here is an example lizzard litter (http://www.petsolutions.com/C/Reptile-Substrate/I/R-Zilla-Ground-English-Walnut-Shells.aspx?utm_source=pricegrabber&utm_medium=comparison&utm_term=96370045&utm_campaign=pricegrabber)

[mdi]

http://www.drillspot.com/products/499763/econoline_526020g-40_40_lbs_blast_media
This is prolly the best deal around and enough to do 20k cases. Walnut shells (lizzard litter) cleans pretty fast but doesn't give that "virgin brass, glossy shine", which is fine with me. Most of thr corn cob I've seen at pet stores was a flake, not the grit used for tumbling/blasting and doesn't work very well for tumbling brass.

[joec]

Or best yet if you have a Harbor Fright in your area buy their Walnut media and it comes in fine (which I use) or course. I find it is even cheaper that the pet store stuff also. I mix it with a couple of table spoons of Franklin Arsenal brass polish or Flitze brass polish. I also through it a lint sheet for driers cut into about 4 pieces. It works really well too.

[Hardcast416taylor]

I agree with ordering from DrillSpot.com for corncob material. The car polish you add to the media is in an orange bottle and is called Nu-Finish I believe. The last homemade tumbler that I made I riveted some pieces of wood on the inside of the drum to agitate the media and brass as it turns. Depending on the amount of media in the bucket, I`d put about 2 capfuls of Nu-Finish per pound of media to start off. Let it mix in before adding the brass.Robert

[DCM]

OK now that you have teased us what kind of brass??

[possom813]

I'm still sorting and waiting on my 30 days to be up. I would've sworn I joined this forum the first time ABT went down, guess I didn't.

But it's a lot, two 50 cal cans full, 2 30 cal cans full, and 2 coffee cans full.

The .22-250, .243, .308, and .30-06 are spoken for(the fellow that I got the brass from wants the .308 and .22-250 cleaned and decapped for himself, and the .243 and .30-06 are for me)

The rest is fair game, and there is everything from .22 hornet to 7mag, and I've run across a couple of .300 RUM and some unmarked cases(looks to be close to .30-06, I'll put the calipers on the unknowns when I get them sorted out)

[GRUMPA]

Usually anybody that buys once fired rifle brass prefers that it be left alone. Once polished there's signs that have been removed, don't ask me what signs I'm talking about but there was a post about it not long ago and most wanted the brass to be dull/dirty or basically as is. Seems most people that sell it clean it up to make more money from it, me I'll pass on the clean stuff and continue with the dull stuff myself.

[possom813]

Usually anybody that buys once fired rifle brass prefers that it be left alone. Once polished there's signs that have been removed, don't ask me what signs I'm talking about but there was a post about it not long ago and most wanted the brass to be dull/dirty or basically as is. Seems most people that sell it clean it up to make more money from it, me I'll pass on the clean stuff and continue with the dull stuff myself.

Right on, never thought about it like that.

I still have to finish up the tumbler for myself and my brass.

I'll probably leave the other stuff alone and sell it as it is.

[DCM]

Usually anybody that buys once fired rifle brass prefers that it be left alone. Once polished there's signs that have been removed, don't ask me what signs I'm talking about but there was a post about it not long ago and most wanted the brass to be dull/dirty or basically as is. Seems most people that sell it clean it up to make more money from it, me I'll pass on the clean stuff and continue with the dull stuff myself.

Big +1 especially for rifle brass, pistol not so much for me but pressures are much lower and they usually can be loaded many more times than rifle.

[possom813]

All the brass is dirty, some dirtier than others(I mean literal dirt, from being stored in and outside storage building for who knows how long).

The brass all came from a good friend of mine and some of it was his dad's and other stuff belonged to his roommate that he had about 12 years ago. He doesn't know which is which.

It's assumed that most of it is once-fired, but he doesn't know for sure, and the prices will reflect that when the post is made.

Hopefully, I should have everything sorted in the next couple of weeks and have a nice list. Some of the brass will have been cleaned and polished, simply because I didn't know folks wanted it dirty, and I wanted to try the lemon juice and water method, then in the oven. That's amazing how shiny it got(after the pink was polished off of it) It's only about 50 cases or so, because I was bored.

[DukeInFlorida]

Here's my two cents worth, and I have been teaching reloading classes for years:

1) Put the media in the tumbler, NO BRASS YET. About 2/3 full.
2) Add a healthy splash of mineral spirits (paint thinner) to the media, and then a capful of NuFinish car polish. The mineral spirits will help break down soot and chamber oils easily, and the NuFinsh will give the brass a bright clean polished look when you are done. Technically, you only need to get soot, and sand/dirt off the brass to make it safe to reload. But, I take pride in the loom of my reloaded brass, and want it to look at least as good as factory brass when I am done. The mineral spirits and NuFinish do that. NuFinish doesn't contain any abrasives, nor does it contain any ammonia. It;s one of the very few synthetic polishes that is OK for use with polishing brass.
3) put the cover on the tumbler, and allow the mineral spirits and NuFinish to tumble for about 15-20 minutes, again no brass yet. If you put the liquids in now, and add the brass right away, the media gets stuck in clumps inside the brass.
4) when the 15-20 minutes of hydrating the media have completed, remove all of the media from the tumbler into a bucket.
5) Fill the tumbler 1/2 full of brass.
6) Pour your hydrated media over and on top of the brass, and hand shake the tumbler bowl to get more media in.
NOTE: It's not the weight of the media pressing against the brass that polishes well. It's the weight of the brass in the tumbler, pressing the media into the other brass, that makes it work better and faster. Filling the tumbler about 1/2 full of brass, and then adding the media allows the bowl to get properly loaded for efficient and fast cleaning and polishing.
7) Put the cover on the bowl, plug the tumbler in, and turn it on. Check for proper media level. The media should just about fill the bowl, leaving a slight gap that allows the rolling action. Add hydrated media as needed.
8) About two hours, using this technique, should get you polished brass that would otherwise take you all night (overnight) to accomplish. The presumption is that you started with recently fired brass. If you have some stuff that's really dark, weathered, etc, it might take an additional two-three hours to get the same results.
9) Don't worry about my technique for loading the bowls. They are rated based on approx number of rounds to get to a weight, and my rough filling level, above, gets you there most of the time. The cheap tumblers use a bronze bushing for the motor spindle bearings. The offset weights on the motor spindle causes that type of cheap motor to wear out quickly (constant use, a year and a half or so). The better tumblers use a real sealed roller bearing for the motor spindle, and will last a lifetime with common and every day use. The Dillon machines have my highest recommendation. They will repair a worn tumbler for a lot less the cost of a new one.
10) I prefer the lizard type pet store media over any corn cob media. The walnut shell is more durable, and seems to handle the liquids better. I find that there are some of the amazon.com sources for the biggest bags of the lizard walnut media that makes it an even better than buying it at your local pet store. Use the corn cob IF you are one of the people who have a NUT ALLERGY. We don't want you getting sick trying to save money polishing brass. If you do buy the corn cob, the drill spot company is the best place. They are an on-line division of Grainger, and the shipment will actually come from a close by Grainger location, usually by the middle of the day after you place the order.
11) I don't ever see the silly (in my opinion) need to use old or new dryer sheets in any of the media. It lasts a long time on it's own. Dispose of it as hazmat material (I take it to my town recyling center, and dump it in with used oil that they collect. They burn it. ) You can dispose of it when it gets sandy and gritty and nearly black. I save some of the older stuff in a separate bucket, to use briefly with some of the muddy rainy day brass I bring home. Make sure that you rehydrate all media (walnut or corn cob) with mineral spirits and NuFinish, as you do NOT want to be accidentally breathing any of the contaminated dust from the polishing process. The real danger is the mercury based chemicals from the priming system.

I would ask the mods to make this a sticky!

[rutilate]

DukeInMaine, this is a great recipe that I was able to successfully use to get started tumbling. How often do you rehydrate your media? For now I'm fine as I dumped too much mineral spirits in and I get something akin to condensation on the top of the lid.

[willy3]

JOEC is right on. Harbor Freight #24 grit crushed walnut is the way to go. Fine enough to not get packed into .22 caliber necks and it will get into primer holes and clean them. About a dollar a pound in 25 pound boxes. I've tumbled 100,000+ cases and still on my first box of media.

[Larry Gibson]

Just get a bag of cheap short grained rice from the local oriental market. It work very well as a case cleaner and is very inexpensive. I've been using it for years now. Only down side is the grains turn black and look like mouse turds if the spill on the floor.....wife or daughters may get upset about the mouses in the house, garage, or where ever.......upturn to that is it usually is a good excuse to get a quality air rifle to thus defend hme and hearth from those "beasts":bigsmyl2:

Larry Gibson

[Got-R-Did]

Duke In Maine, a Sticky Worthy post if there ever was one. One element to expound on is the mercury issue from priming compounds; since corrosive priming for domestic military and commercial ammuntition hasn't been used for over 70 yrs, the likelyhood of this contaminatioin is low. Perchlorates likewise are rarely found except in the berdan primed foreign ammo and WWII or earlier military stuff. Today's priming mixtures are lead styphnate based and of course are a cause for their own precautions. With the relatively inexpensive costs of trading out the media on a regular basis and the small amounts of brass the typical non-commercial loader works with each year, just discard the media when it gets grungy. I do agree that adding a quartered spent dryer sheet does help with the particulate matter/dust that results from polishing, and the issue of potentially breathing it in. I have asthma and can certainly empathize with anyone sensitive to it. Another suggestion is to add simple isopropyl alcohol to the media along with a small amount of polish as directed by Duke's most informative post. I offer this as an alternative, and it has worked for me quite well. A $.79 pint bottle goes a long way.
Drillspot is the best source I have found as well, and I go through at least one box a year due to the literally 10s of thousands of cases I process. 20/14 grit in the corncob is my preferred media.
Got-R-Did.

[Go Fish]

I am using a fine corn cob for media. My brass shines like new. I purchased a 32 pound bag of it.

[Go Fish]

I bought from drill spot myself and the fine corn cobs work just great. Wasn't the shipping free?

[Got-R-Did]

I believe you are correct Go Fish. Took 3 days for my last order to arrive.
Got-R-Did.

[Love Life]

I tried Duke's method and all I can say is WOW!!! I have been doing it wrong all these years.

[xs11jack]

I have just tried this on saving money on media. I use walnut media and it eventually turned dark grey and dusty. So I built a small wood frame and stapled window screen over it. I took it outdoors and pored the media on the sceen. I hooked up my garden hose and washed the crude off the media and let the sun dry it. I haven't used it yet but it looks like new. The only concern I have is that after a time, it may become worn smooth and not do the job. Well I will load it in the next few days and report what happens.
Jack

[rwrobel]

If you were going to use a liquid. Fill your container with the amount of brass you want to clean cover with water add a few shots of lemmon juice and a small squirt od dish detergent tumble for 20 minutes and your brass will be cleaned inside and out It will look like brand new

Rick

[bulet shotter]

I put a 1/2 cup of rice in my media. Just a little. Works great. If you have some brass that is realy bad this works great. Jerry

[DLCTEX]

When I bought from Drillspot their price delivered to my door was cheaper than Grainger's price if I picked up the store 100 miles away. I believe it is 40# to the bag. It was $18 then and the last time I looked, some time ago, it was $22 shipped. The finer grit doesn't plug primer holes.

[kpep]

I have used corn cob for years. I'm able to get it at a of the local feed mill. Call some in your area, they may be able to get it for you or tell you where you can. Seems like I pay $13-14 per 50# for it. The mineral spirits and NuFinish is new to me. I'll give it a try. I've allways used some kind of polish I get at Midway or some place.

[bonza]

I bought a bag of the lizard litter a few months ago. Polishes ok, but have found it to be very dusty, far more than any other media I've used before.....anything I should be doing to cut down on this?

[SharuLady]

Deleted

[Tamitch]

Has anyone used the tumblers from harbor freight and used the wet method cleaning brass. their thumblers are allot cheaper, of course I don't know how long the last.

[Kydaddy]

Go to your local Grainger and get corn cob lasting media. Same if to better than the reloading media sold and tons cheaper

[Rooster59]

Duke's recipe sounds intriguing. I read about the rice as media a while back but haven't tried it yet. I need new media right now.

Decisions, decisions...

[mikeyd23]

I prefer walnut media to corncob but that is just me, plus I can buy it by the 25lb box at harbor freight. Add a little polishing compound and they shine like new!

[lars1367]

Has anyone used the tumblers from harbor freight and used the wet method cleaning brass. their thumblers are allot cheaper, of course I don't know how long the last. I have the 5lb tumbler. No complaints, other than it is on the small side for the volume of brass I currently processing. I don't suggest the wet method with the 5lb unit; not really designed for it.

[o6Patient]

I've used corn cob and walnut over the years and I prefer the walnut, it could be just
a function of what polish they used in the specific brands I used at the time.

[Sasquatch-1]

I've used corn cob and walnut over the years and I prefer the walnut, it could be just
a function of what polish they used in the specific brands I used at the time.

Go to your local pet store and get a bag of Lizard Litter. It is basically walnut and crushed very fine. I use it and it cleans as good if not better then the stuff you buy from reloading suppliers and is about a third the cost. Also the media does not get stuck in the primer pockets as badly. I put a couple caps of Iosso case polish in every once in a while and the brass is the envy of everyone at my range. [smilie=1:

[miketoombs]

I am interested in the ultra magnum brass.

Mike Tooms

[Case Stuffer]

I bought a bag of the lizard litter a few months ago. Polishes ok, but have found it to be very dusty, far more than any other media I've used before.....anything I should be doing to cut down on this?

Two ways to help with the dust.

If possible run the viberatory type tumbler(?) outdoors about 1/2 full of media for 10 minutes or so with lid off..

Add mineral spirits (paint thinner / kerosence / disel fuel / scented lamp oil) mixed 1/3 Nu Finish ( liquid car polish) with 2 part of prior.

[millsa2]

I have been doing it the wrong way also. Just ordered 40# from drillspot and got some walnut shell from harbor Freight. Thanks

[ACrowe25]

zoomed walnut media + nu-finish wax (just a few drops) does the trick for me! Polished much brass this way.

[jonp]

Anyone use the stainless steel media? More expensive to start but supposed to last a lifetime. Also, is adding the mineral spirits and polish considered "wet"?

[country gent]

Another source for cleaning media is shops that specialize / deal with sand blasting materials. ground walnut, corn cobs, rice and some ceramics are also used for "blasting" and can be purchased very reasonabe by the 50lb bag at these stores. I beleive the last bag of 20/10 grit corn cob was around $15.00 for 50 Lbs. I have considered running a couple bushels of hickory nut shells through the feed grinder to see how they would work for case cleaning. Hickory shells would be a little harder than the walnut hulls I believe. Shelling and gettting the grinder set up would be the time consuming end. thru the grinder would only take a few mins.

[philthephlier]

Just tried the stainless steel wet rotary tumbling method. 2 hours from very dirty to brand new looking brass inside and out. Amazing. All the stories are true. I used the Lortone tumbler, not the Thumlers. I can't say if it is better but I heard some people thought it was a better system I used the 12QT Lortone. Cleans about 160 .223 cases at a time. The photos at the top of the forum home page are legit. Exactly what I ended up with. I'm sold.

[trapper300RUM]

I have 2 tumblers a old Midway 1200 & the Little Smartreloader 737 Nano I use Walnut in one & corncob in the Nano IMO i like the walnut media better it seems to last longer than the corncob does to me anyway

[muskamoot]

I use a double drum rock tumbler from Harbor freight with SS pins.A powder measure spoon (.50) of citric acid dishwasher despotter and a few drops of Dawn detergent.1 lb or so of pins in each drum and about 100 cases with enough water to cover the contents.I change the water after an hour and stop at 2 hrs.Shiny like new inside and out including the primer pockets.I tried dry tumbling with cob and crushed walnut shells first,the pins are expensive,but will last forever.They can be picked with a magnet too.Ebay has the pins in various sizes and amounts.

[rojkoh]

lizzard litter from most any pet store is walnut shells that is what i used when i dry tumbled.

here is an example lizzard litter (http://www.petsolutions.com/C/Reptile-Substrate/I/R-Zilla-Ground-English-Walnut-Shells.aspx?utm_source=pricegrabber&utm_medium=comparison&utm_term=96370045&utm_campaign=pricegrabber)

Problem with this one is if you buy this media packaged commercially, it often has things like Jewelers rouge in it You really don't want that going down the bore of a weapon. If will lap the bore.

[rojkoh]

Just tried the stainless steel wet rotary tumbling method. 2 hours from very dirty to brand new looking brass inside and out. Amazing. All the stories are true. I used the Lortone tumbler, not the Thumlers. I can't say if it is better but I heard some people thought it was a better system I used the 12QT Lortone. Cleans about 160 .223 cases at a time. The photos at the top of the forum home page are legit. Exactly what I ended up with. I'm sold.

Just wrote an article for Sinclair's on this one. Since one of the guys that developed SS media is a friend, we listed everything you need to know and watch out for when using SS media. I just cycled 2600 .308/7.62 cases last month. You have to be careful about the weight of the brass, given that the media is 5lbs, water is 7-8 lbs and you only have about 2 1/2 lbs for the brass. Total weight limit of the Thumbler TUmbler Model B is 15 lbs.

It's also important to watch out for the SS pellets when you take the top/gasket off so pellets don't go down the drain, same goes when emptying out the drum, because surface tension will carry a pellet out with an air bubble. Also is a big help to flush the brass/media twice after to clear out any residual chemicals and brass particles. When done, refill the drum and agitate the cases by the head under water to allow the pellets to exit the case mouth and thereby remove any possibility of surface tension retaining pellets inside the case (it happens). If you uniform your flash hole, be sure to eyeball the flash holes to make sure you don't have any pellets in them.

Or just go to SinclairIntl.com and do a search for tumbling with SS media. Not sure when or if they're put it online yet. But when the guys read it, they wanted it. There's also a list of tumbling times with and without Lemi Shine. I also use it to soak the brass in as I clear out the pellets to help replace the chemical protection used in production to keep the brass shiny. The article also shows you have to get longer life out of the tumbler.

Yes, some of us have been using it for a lot of years, I even tumble .50 cal.

[rojkoh]

I have an ultrasound cleaner I use for gun parts, I won't do brass in it because I don't like chemical residuals on my brass. Crushed Walnut has been used for Decades, but the problem with it is typically it's packaged with Jewelers rouge in it and I won't tolerate that going down the bore of a weapon.

30+ years ago, we mainly used Corn Cob for a lot of reasons. We custom built a rather large tumbler because of the amount of .45acp brass we cycled constantly (we shot typically 1-3000 rounds a month). With a current Dillon (LARGE) vibrating tumbler, corn cob works nicely, especially since the Dillon's are tough enough to take additives like paint thinner to cut crud and bullet lube that's on the outside of a loaded round and can caused problems in a tight chambered pistol. Typically I still do pistol brass in Corn cob/Dillon, but all my rifle brass gets done in a Thumbler tumbler model B (which is 37 years old), with Ivory soap (NOT DAWN) since it cleans gunk and carbon better and Lemi Shine (you can get it at Wal Mart).

Go to SinclairIntl.com and search the knowledge base, if you don't find it, do it again in a week or so.. they ought to have that one up. It gives a full run down on using SS media and everything you want to know about it. Right now I have .45acp in it just to see how it turns out. But I'll most likely hold to my normal corn cob for pistol, SS for rifle. I have tumbled .50 cal brass in it.

[jonp]

Rojkoh: You recommend Ivory over Dawn? Dawn seems to be the detergent of choice for this but I have always wondered why as all detergents work on a common principle although the brand names are better than the store brands requiring less to do the same job.

I worked in a lab doing Western Blot ( extracting and id'ing proteins ) at one point and we always used Ivory Dish Soap to clean the glassware but come to think of it I never asked why Ivory. I just figured if it was good enough for a lab it was good enough for me.

[rojkoh]

Usually anybody that buys once fired rifle brass prefers that it be left alone. Once polished there's signs that have been removed, don't ask me what signs I'm talking about but there was a post about it not long ago and most wanted the brass to be dull/dirty or basically as is. Seems most people that sell it clean it up to make more money from it, me I'll pass on the clean stuff and continue with the dull stuff myself.

Doesn't matter if it's once fired or not. If you tumble it right (I use SS for rifle brass) and then anneal it properly, the "marks" are back. I tumble pistol in Corn cob with no additives, SS for rifle up to .50 cal. Just wrote a thing on it for Sinclair. Covers all the tricks and the results are beyond reproach, but I don't do it the "easy" way because of some of the quirks of using the SS media. TUmbler Tumble with Lemi Shine and you basically get new brass every time.

[Cesure]

I live where there isn't a Grainger, Harbor Freight, PetCo or PetSmart within 120 miles. Some of us like it out here in the sticks. There's a WalMart and a Tractor Supply Center within an hour drive. If I can't get something there, it pretty much has to come by the little brown truck of happiness or when some relative visits from the land of too many people. But there is a feed store and they might be able to grind dry cobs there. How big are these grits?

[nvald1982]

I like walnut media from petco, walmart, reptile letter really works good, but doesn't give a great shine like corn cob media. Don't use corn cob media from petco or petmart. large corn cob was a pain to get of 9mm casing okay with .40 S&W and 45 acp or big casing.(just not with small casing) had to learn hard way

[Sasquatch-1]

I like walnut media from petco, walmart, reptile letter really works good, but doesn't give a great shine like corn cob media. Don't use corn cob media from petco or petmart. large corn cob was a pain to get of 9mm casing okay with .40 S&W and 45 acp or big casing.(just not with small casing) had to learn hard way

I use Iosso case brite with the lizard litter. Has no ammonia so is not harmful to cases. A couple capsfull every once in a while and cases come out nice and shiney on the outside.

[nvald1982]

I like corn cob the best gets dusty faster

[customcutter]

I've been researching the SS pins, but haven't pulled the trigger yet. Did find one bit of information where a certain size is liable to "double up" in the primer hole and get stuck. Don't remember if it was large or small, rifle or pistol, or if they might even all be the same size, but I doubt that. Just something to consider if you're thinking of the SS pin media.

Ken

[Buzzard II]

I threw 2 cups of rice into walnut shells and it worked great. I also use Ivory and lemi shine powder in my hi speed Thumbler B and it works great on grungy PB cases. It even cleaned the furry green ones I found on the bottom of my shooting box.

[David2011]

I live where there isn't a Grainger, Harbor Freight, PetCo or PetSmart within 120 miles. Some of us like it out here in the sticks. There's a WalMart and a Tractor Supply Center within an hour drive. If I can't get something there, it pretty much has to come by the little brown truck of happiness or when some relative visits from the land of too many people. But there is a feed store and they might be able to grind dry cobs there. How big are these grits?

Cesure,

The 14/20 is quite small, polishes well and is too small to get stuck in primer flash holes.

I was going to recommend Drillspot.com for a good price on ground corncob media again but checked the website to make sure my information was correct. I ordered 40 pounds of 14/20 grit 5 or 5 years ago for about $23.00 delivered in a day or two, shipping included. It's now $35.28 for the media + 3 Business Day Shipping at an additional $34.43. Not a great deal any more but that's still under $2/lb.

David

[Cesure]

Thanks, David. I had a visitor from the Detroit area who brought some ground walnut shells. I'll ask the feed store about fine grinding corn cobs.

[David2011]

Cesure,

I like walnut shell for serious cleaning, like really dark brass. For ordinary cleaning like getting my action pistol brass ready to reload, corncob lives a higher polish and works plenty fast. The last walnut shell I bought came from Petco and was about the same size as the reloading company stuff at a much better price. Good luck! I understand the challenges of rural/small town living. Every time I have transferred in my job I end up in a smaller town than the last. I like smaller towns except for the difficulty of buying anything that isn't a mainstream item.

David

[jrebs]

My trusty components dealer recommended a mix of 50% crushed walnut, 50% corncob and I also add a few caps full of Lyman turbo brite polish. I get very good results with about 1-2 hours of tumbling around 150 cases of 308win.

My cases are always a bit waxy and sooty on the outside after firing and the wax makes it much harder to clean, but I still end up with new looking brass:

http://i.imgur.com/gz52yuR.jpg

I only wipe the brass by hand with a rag a lot of the time, but occasionally when I've cycled through my whole set once or twice, I'll tumble it all again for good measure. Can't deny I like a shiny looking piece o' brass!

[harley6699]

Usually anybody that buys once fired rifle brass prefers that it be left alone. Once polished there's signs that have been removed, don't ask me what signs I'm talking about but there was a post about it not long ago and most wanted the brass to be dull/dirty or basically as is. Seems most people that sell it clean it up to make more money from it, me I'll pass on the clean stuff and continue with the dull stuff myself.

I agree with you about buying un-processed brass.. Half the price of processed.. sure you might get some steel or aluminum cases but not that much.. most people who are selling the brass are basicly honests and don't catch everything.. It is like when you as how many are berdan and how many are boxer.. I like to be process them myself.. deprime with a Lee universal deprime die and wet tumble with stainless steel media.. then check the round.. once it is dry I use a vib and corn cob with NuFinish to put a coating on them.. after all that I don't scratch them when I send them up the sizing die..

[Bayou52]

There are several sizes of SS pins. I've used two sizes - the smaller ones (0.041" diameter that came with my tumbling kit) and the slightly larger ones (0.047" diameter that I bought separately). With the smaller pins, 3 -5% were getting double pins stuck in flash holes. With the larger pins, I haven't had a single incident of stuck pins after tumbling several thousand brasses so far.

I'm more than pleased with these results.

[tchepone]

I have always used ground walnut or corn cob, with various additives, for cleaning and polishing my brass. Does anyone have experience using ground almond shells or ground apricot pits? I know Sierra Bullets uses almond shells, (or at least used to) to polish their bullets as the final step before packaging.

[gandog56]

Or best yet if you have a Harbor Fright in your area buy their Walnut media and it comes in fine (which I use) or course. I find it is even cheaper that the pet store stuff also. I mix it with a couple of table spoons of Franklin Arsenal brass polish or Flitze brass polish. I also through it a lint sheet for driers cut into about 4 pieces. It works really well too.


Does Harbor Freight have any corncob media? I like corncob better than walnut. While corncob takes a bit longer to clean the cases, it will put a much shinier finished product.

If I want a REALLY good cleaning job I use a wet rotary tumbler and stainless steel media. That gets out exterior heavy tarnish better and cleans out the black carbon build up in the primer cups and inside the cases a vibratory tumbler would not even touch. And the stainless steel pins never wear out and are infinitely reusable. Look at my before and after pictures here.

Before:
77963

After:
77964

Primer cup clean!
77965

[jonp]

Just got a 5lb harbor freight tumbler on sale for $50. Im going to try what I haveon hand. Rice, bought 3 25lb bags on sale for $10 each last year, acetone and flitz. We will see

[waco]

getting ready to try dukeinmaine's method.

[jonp]

getting ready to try dukeinmaine's method.

Using Dukeinmaine's method with my new tumbler:

79379

[bulet shotter]

I did this by accident, Had some buffing compound(turtle wax Brand) that I left the lid loose on for way to long,and this stuff got like a rock. I thought about tossing it out. And idea come to me,how about taking a hammer and busting this stuff up into powder and putting it in my tumbler,with my media. I always let it tumble over night. This is some of the brightest brass I have ever seen. Jerry

[Taylor3006]

Have always had great luck using NuShine and cob media. Got dirty quickly so started washing brass first with Dawn and hot water, then rinse, then a short dip into acid bath. I use the Lemishine now, love it. Just started using ground walnut and NuShine, results are really good and no more picking out cob from primer pockets! Going to try the turtle wax idea, I use it to protect the finish on the exposed metal of my guns. Sounds promising for the brass.

[jonp]

Just got a 5lb harbor freight tumbler on sale for $50. Im going to try what I haveon hand. Rice, bought 3 25lb bags on sale for $10 each last year, acetone and flitz. We will see

Tried the rice with mineral spirits not acetone. Didn't work very well and left a residue cake around the edge of the tumbler. I had to wash it out with Dawn and hot water. Used Dukeinmaines method with nufinish and mineral spirits in corn cob and that worked very well.

[Johnny_V]

I recently built a wet tumbler similar to the one that is sold buy Biggdawg Tumblers (http://biggdawgtumblers.net/). I use stainless steel media (.041"), Dawn (one good squirt), and Lemi Shine (one teaspoon). I tumble all my brass for 2 1/2 to 3 hours and it all comes out looking factory new. I am selling my Hornady M2 and the media from Franklin Arsenal as wet tumbling is the only way to clean brass (in my opinion). I can do about 450 .223, or 1000 9mm or 40cal, or about 300 .308's in one load. Posted are some shots of the processed brass (all pictures are random, not selected pieces).

Johnny V
NRA Endowment Life Member

[2571]

Apricot pit for very dirty brass. Most abrasive companies will give you 1-2# sample pkg, free.

Nutshells fromChristmas will work. My wife keeps the shells for me. Holiday season produces about one RCBS vibrator bowl for me each year. This material works more slowly but is a lot cheaper than pet litter. :>)

[Psypher]

I'm quite sure this has been covered, but....


I stumbled into a 50 pound bag of crushed walnut and a 50 pound bag of crushed corn cob at a local pet store. They couldn't get rid of it in bags that size, so they sold it to me below cost if I bought both bags just to get it off their inventory.

I've run the same media mix for roughly 3 full 5-gallon buckets of brass with no issues. I added a tube of Flitz to it a few runs back and liked the results.

[Psypher]

Just got a 5lb harbor freight tumbler on sale for $50. Im going to try what I haveon hand. Rice, bought 3 25lb bags on sale for $10 each last year, acetone and flitz. We will see

Watch the Harbor Freight tumblers, they often wind up with loose wires and the bowls aren't very sturdy (depending on which one you get). For the extra money it made sense to buy name brand. However, if HFT offers the replacement guarantee option on the tumbler that's not a bad choice.

[realllynow]

i have been using rice in my tumbler since ive started reloading and i like the way it works. leave the tumbler running for 2 1/2-3 hours and the brass looks new.
for the really dirty brass i use sand for about ten mins to an hour (depending on how dirty the cases are) then switch em into the rice.
For small volume cartridges i just use lees case trim shell holder and a piece of 000 steel wool. works like a charm but is time consuming in large amounts.

[jcwit]

i have been using rice in my tumbler since ive started reloading and i like the way it works. leave the tumbler running for 2 1/2-3 hours and the brass looks new.
for the really dirty brass i use sand for about ten mins to an hour (depending on how dirty the cases are) then switch em into the rice.
For small volume cartridges i just use lees case trim shell holder and a piece of 000 steel wool. works like a charm but is time consuming in large amounts.

MMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm OKay!

Just when did you start reloading?

[fguffey]

MMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm OKay!

Just when did you start reloading?

For the worst of cases I use vinegar for a maximum of 15 minutes for the life of the case meaning I do not make it a habit. Before that? There was cleaning and pickling, then there were short runs, I can clean 20 cases with spinners faster than I can tumble, and there are those times when I am at the range and want to show off with cases that have bling.

F. Guffey

[Sasquatch-1]

But can you be casting or reloading or some other beneficial activity while your cases are tumbling? If you are only doing 20 cases at a time then I can see hand cleaning. I usually do 100 to 200 at a time so it would take quit a while to hand clean every case.


I can clean 20 cases with spinners faster than I can tumble,
F. Guffey

[fguffey]

But can you be casting or reloading or some other beneficial activity while your cases are tumbling? If you are only doing 20 cases at a time then I can see hand cleaning. I usually do 100 to 200 at a time so it would take quit a while to hand clean every case.

I go or we go to the range, something does not work, instead of groups I get patterns, something like a rifle shooting like a shotgun, I have no clue what someone else would does, I make case spinners, I said I can clean 20 cases with spinners in less time than it takes to tumble. I have no problem with calling another reloader and explain I am at the range with a rifle that does not like anything, point, he lives closer to the range, this cuts down on turnaround time. He also uses spinners for short runs or he has cases that require days to clean when tumbling.

I can spin the cases and clean or he can, we will load another 20 rounds and get back to the range, pay once and shoot all day, leaving during the day does not require the shooter to start over.


I understand I-Go, WE-Go and YOU-Go sounds like a Yugoslavia auto that is no longer made, and yes, while tumbling it is not necessary to watch the tumbler in action, when multitasking? I have at least 7 rifles in various stages of being built. When one of the rifles makes make it to the range and disappoints, I get focused and intense.

F. Guffey

[jonp]

Watch the Harbor Freight tumblers, they often wind up with loose wires and the bowls aren't very sturdy (depending on which one you get). For the extra money it made sense to buy name brand. However, if HFT offers the replacement guarantee option on the tumbler that's not a bad choice.

Been using it for a little while now and so far no problems. For the money I'm pretty happy but I don't do large volumes everyday either.

[giericd]

hi guys, I'm new to reloading and even newer to casting. i've only casted 30lbs of lead so far but havent been able to load any yet...powder shortage. i did however just clean aprox 8,000 .223 cases and 1000 .40s&w cases. got the standard corncob media but noticed on e-bay stainless steel media. the same night i read a post about using "000" steel wool to give your brass a jeweled shine which got me thinking. when i got home i dumped my tumbler of the 1st 150rds and after 9 hrs they looked great. when i put the media back in i threw in 2 hand fulls of my kids Quick silver BB's and since my tumbler has the bolt in the center that goes threw the lid all the way to the floor i pushed a few pices of "000"steel wool over the bolt. now the bb's work with the media and as the brass circulates through the tumbler they rub the steel wool. the result was once fired old military brass comming out looking perfectly new in a few hours. awesome results!! and the way i will continue to use the tumbler- hope this tip helps

[Blublister]

I have been tumbling in a vibratory RCBS tumbler for years. I want to go to wet tumbling because I like the eye blinding shine and the fact that it cleans the inside of the case and the primer pockets.

I am currently building a homemade rotary tumbler with a 5 gallon drum and a geared down wiper motor. I have no doubt it will be able to drive somewhere between 30 and 40 lbs.

Has anyone ever tried to make their own ss media pins by cutting welding wire. (not the flux core ones) I know how ridiculous this sounds but I am seriously considering it.

Reasons listed bellow
1) I am cheap as hell
2) Cant get it anywhere in SA
3) Postage to SA would be more expensive than pins
4) I would be willing to sit and cut for a whole day if I have to just so I can get started
5) The amount I need to keep 5 gallon tumbler happy

Please feel free to tell me I'm crazy. I know the edges would be rough. Can i tumble the pins only for a day to debur them and would it really matter? Maybe line the inside with sanding paper to debur pins. And remove sanding paper when pins are up to par and rinse.

Thanks

[DreamSniper]

I'd just do the sweet three.
wallnut for the dirty range brass
corn cob to polish
and or stainless pins

[ravelode]

I use corncob and Flitz, but I'm changing over to corncob, Nufinish, & mineral spirits after i use up the Flitz. I have two 40 lb bags of CC from a buddy at a water dept. They use it for media blast cleaning brass valves. if the bag gets torn they cannot use it, so lots of bags get "damaged" by the forklift[smilie=1:

[Jal5]

Don't do what I did this afternoon: walnut and too much NuFinish and mineral spirits. The media got really wet and the end result was a mess of black goo clinging to the plastic tumbler bowl. On the other hand the tumbler needed a good cleaning anyway, and its done now.

[jonp]

Don't do what I did this afternoon: walnut and too much NuFinish and mineral spirits. The media got really wet and the end result was a mess of black goo clinging to the plastic tumbler bowl. On the other hand the tumbler needed a good cleaning anyway, and its done now.

My first try with this formula ended up with a black goo also. Good cleaning and a little less Mineral Spirits seemed to work well. I found that with mineral spirits the walnut seems to work better than corn cob for me.

[mummer1973]

I agree with you grumpa. Now that i am thinking about it you never know what they cleaned it with? Did they use ammonia based product to get it really bright?
Though i dont think once would hurt? Does anyone know if brasso used once would weaken a case?

[typz2slo]

hi guys, I'm new to reloading and even newer to casting. i've only casted 30lbs of lead so far but havent been able to load any yet...powder shortage. i did however just clean aprox 8,000 .223 cases and 1000 .40s&w cases. got the standard corncob media but noticed on e-bay stainless steel media. the same night i read a post about using "000" steel wool to give your brass a jeweled shine which got me thinking. when i got home i dumped my tumbler of the 1st 150rds and after 9 hrs they looked great. when i put the media back in i threw in 2 hand fulls of my kids Quick silver BB's and since my tumbler has the bolt in the center that goes threw the lid all the way to the floor i pushed a few pices of "000"steel wool over the bolt. now the bb's work with the media and as the brass circulates through the tumbler they rub the steel wool. the result was once fired old military brass comming out looking perfectly new in a few hours. awesome results!! and the way i will continue to use the tumbler- hope this tip helps

I use the BB method myself but havent tried the steel wool. That may be my next experiment. Did you use the whole pad or separate it and wrap it around the post?

[SteveK]

I like this. It sounds like good common sense. I agree, it should be a sticky.

[SSGOldfart]

My first try with this formula ended up with a black goo also. Good cleaning and a little less Mineral Spirits seemed to work well. I found that with mineral spirits the walnut seems to work better than corn cob for me.

I did great with walnut, but mixing the Nu-finish with corncob
Caused couple wet clumps left in the bowl so I'll try again tomorrow morning

[Jesse Early]

Pretty much anything with some corncob and walnut shell. Throw a little automotive wax in there, a little goes a long way, and a drier sheet to keep the dust down. The problem you will run into is separating the media from that much brass. one of the lymann media separators works great.

[Walstr]

Greetings all;

I didn't read ALL the threads, but see a large % of y'all advocate the use of polish ot the tumbling media. I also did at first, until I read somewhere that:

"... polished rifle brass prevents it from "gripping" the chamber wall during ignition, thus not reducing the forces upon the bolt as the system was designed. Rifle brass should be 'clean', but not 'pretty'. Long term effects are apparent as the lugs begin to swage from the excessive hammering."

Pistol brass is not a player in this game. Good luck & play safe.

Wally

[jonp]

Where did you read that Wally? I'd like to check it out

[southeastreloading]

As far as polish versus unpolished for selling (I have a small shop in FL) most 90% want the brass sized deprimed cleaned and polished yes I get a couple cents more for them but not sure its worth all the extra time a one man shop puts into it

[shooterbob]

I noticed today that there is a cat litter made from walnut media available. I haven't checked prices, but might be good

[500MAG]

As far as polish versus unpolished for selling (I have a small shop in FL) most 90% want the brass sized deprimed cleaned and polished yes I get a couple cents more for them but not sure its worth all the extra time a one man shop puts into it
Can't explain why, but it prefer mine dirty and un fooled with. Just part of the whole process I enjoy getting it from range ground to loaded ammo.

[Weaponologist]

Being Retired, If I had a source for range brass I would have the time to totally prep brass. I have in the past even tried doing that. I had accumulated some military lake city 5.56 brass. I Cleaned, Sized, Swaged, Trimmed, and Primed them but really didn't seem to be able to sell them. So I think most people do want there brass as it is when picked up off the range. So they can inspect it for them selves. I wouldn't mine having it cleaned and ready to load if it came from someone I could trust but in the end I guess it really comes down to cost too.. Being Reloaders or Casters we just don't want to pay for something we feel we can or should do our selves... No matter how cheap the service is...

[mike daniels]

wallnut media is what i like

[Psypher]

I prefer walnut media to corncob but that is just me, plus I can buy it by the 25lb box at harbor freight. Add a little polishing compound and they shine like new!
I picked up crushed walnut and corn cob dirt cheap at a pet store that didnt wnat it on inve tory in 50 pound bags.

lizzard litter from most any pet store is walnut shells that is what i used when i dry tumbled.

here is an example lizzard litter (http://www.petsolutions.com/C/Reptile-Substrate/I/R-Zilla-Ground-English-Walnut-Shells.aspx?utm_source=pricegrabber&utm_medium=comparison&utm_term=96370045&utm_campaign=pricegrabber)

[Morten]

I'v been using Stainless media for a couple years now, far superior to Ultrasound, rice, corn, walnutt and so on.

45ACP before and after 4 hours in SS tumbler
118340

[Jackpine]

I have also used lizard litter, with Nufinsih, but have found it is so fine that I get an awful lot of dust when separating it. I solved part of that problem by having the Bride save dryer sheets and putting one or two of the used sheets in with brass. It collected a lot of the dust. A few weeks ago I was with the Bride at Petsmart when she was buying catfood, and was looking thru the lizard litter trying to find some that was a little courser. I asked a young clerk if they had anything using walnut shells that was courser. The manager overheard our conversation and asked if I was using it for brass tumbling. I answered yes, and he said, "Oh, you want the Blue cat litter. He proceeded to get me a bag, cut it open and show it to me. He said that he sells a lot of it to reloaders. (he was a shooter) It is actually Blue Buffalo brand labeled "Naturally Fresh."

I found after getting home and dumping it, that was generally what I considered a perfect coarseness, but did have a small amount of fines mixed it. I had a fairly large wire kitchen strainer in the shop. I poured it full, shook it around over a pan that caught the fines in less than five minutes had it separated. I get almost no dust with this. I still throw in a dryer sheet to pick up what little dust there is. I think I paid $10 or $12 for the 14 pound bag.

Jackpine

[rogerstg]

It is actually Blue Buffalo brand labeled "Naturally Fresh."

Thanks for the info, but there's a bunch of different types of that brand of cat litter. I'm guessing that you've got the plain Jane "non-clumping product", yes?

[Jackpine]

Re the Blue Buffalo brand, it says "Quick Clumping" in big letters at the bottom of the bag and "natural cat litter" in small lettering under that.

Jackpine

[rogerstg]

Thanks Jackpine, that helps. I'm due for some new media.

[ReloaderFred]

You'll be a lot better off ordering this: http://www.zoro.com/g/Blast%20Media/00054305/None

You can't beat the price, and orders over $50.00 ship for free.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[gunfreak]

I use a mixer of lyman, walnut and rice. I also have an ultra sonic that I use vinegar and dawn.

[jednorris]

Sounds great, I will have to give it a try.

[qkdraw44]

hi all, i clean LARGE amounts of pistol brass in a 5 pound plastic bucket in a clothing dryer. i stuff in blankets so the bucket does not bang around. this is not our regular dryer (the wife would shoot me). been using it for 20 years. only problem is i can only set the timer for 60 min. so i must reset it. i tried throwing in some small steel plates to agitate the brass more, it did not get the job done any faster. i run it 2 hours.

[Swede44mag]

I bought an Extreme Tumblers Rebel 17 I use water, Dawn dish soap, Stainless Steel pins & LemiShine. There is directions on YouTube of how to use their tumbler to clean your brass. What I like about the system is I don't have to breath the dust from the walnut media. It cleans the inside, outside and the primer pockets. What I don't like is my well water is hard even with a water softener system and it leaves water stains on the brass.
Some don't like to wet clean their brass but I don't like the idea of sand from range brass being mixed in my walnut shell media and the possibility of lapping the rifling out of a barrel with any fine sand left in the cartridges.

I would appreciate your comments on the wet cleaning stainless steel pin system.

[MOA]

http://i857.photobucket.com/albums/ab136/nitroexpress450400/Mobile%20Uploads/20150214_080214_zpsvl5ngkr1.jpg (http://s857.photobucket.com/user/nitroexpress450400/media/Mobile%20Uploads/20150214_080214_zpsvl5ngkr1.jpg.html)

http://i857.photobucket.com/albums/ab136/nitroexpress450400/Mobile%20Uploads/20150214_080220_zpsecjfk7ql.jpg (http://s857.photobucket.com/user/nitroexpress450400/media/Mobile%20Uploads/20150214_080220_zpsecjfk7ql.jpg.html)

http://i857.photobucket.com/albums/ab136/nitroexpress450400/Mobile%20Uploads/20150214_152310_zpslfa5kyjj.jpg (http://s857.photobucket.com/user/nitroexpress450400/media/Mobile%20Uploads/20150214_152310_zpslfa5kyjj.jpg.html)

http://i857.photobucket.com/albums/ab136/nitroexpress450400/Mobile%20Uploads/20150214_152342_zps5wraxphw.jpg (http://s857.photobucket.com/user/nitroexpress450400/media/Mobile%20Uploads/20150214_152342_zps5wraxphw.jpg.html)

http://i857.photobucket.com/albums/ab136/nitroexpress450400/Mobile%20Uploads/Screenshot_2014-12-31-04-36-33_zps7375e30e.png (http://s857.photobucket.com/user/nitroexpress450400/media/Mobile%20Uploads/Screenshot_2014-12-31-04-36-33_zps7375e30e.png.html)

A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS, SOMEONE ONCE SAID, THEY WERE CORRECT.

TUMBLER, WATER, DAWN, LEMISHINE, STEEL PINS, THE ONLY WAY I CLEAN MY BRASS. WISH THEY HAD THIS 30 YEARS AGO.

[NileCitySlick]

I use the same system with a difference (I shoot a lot of BP too):
I like clean shiny brass. (I drop my BP cases in a water bottle until I get around to cleaning them.) I do wet tumbling of the cases with stainless pins in water + a shot of Dawn dishwashing liquid plus a teaspoon or so of LemiShine after decapping really does a good job of cleaning them. No residue of BP or anything else in the case or in the primer pocket. After a 3 hour spin in the tumbler, I pour off the dirty (I mean dirty) water, add some baking soda and fill it up. A few shakes then into my media separator with clean water (or maybe some more baking soda in it). The baking soda counteracts the acidity in the LemiShine. I dry them in a paint roller pan (I like the slant to drain water). To speed things up, I use my heat gun to really warm up the cases. Some people put them in the oven at a low temp.
I like the results. Very clean cases that are easy to reload.

[MOA]

Great idea on baking soda. Walmart sells it cheap too.

[Pee Wee]

yea, on the baking soda, great tip

[donald duck]

Go to Pet smart and get a bag of pet litter, crushed walnut, I use it for first cleaning. after sizing I use corn cob to put shine on my brass. works great.

[Sam Casey]

Using a Lyman tumbler & Lyman walnut media. After 2 hrs outside of cases are bright & clean. Red dust residue inside cases, however. Pretty thick. Guessing it is caused by media dust sticking to residue of cast bullet lube. Steel wool on old bore brush chucked in drill cleans that but adds a step. How do I cut down on dust? Different media? Some thing I should add?

[Nlvmike]

Sam, I have found a lot of great ideas on this thread, and I would not venture to tell you which is the best, but I would be glad to venture which is the worst. I hate that Lyman walnut media with the red rouge in it. The dust is darn tough to clean out, and it gets everywhere in the process. I keep a pretty clean bench, and it is the enemy. If I noticed that it got the brass any shinier than plain corn cob, that would be something. It isn't. Just use the same tumbler with cheaper lizard media or Grainger corn cob. I think you will like it.

[flyingmonkey35]

+1 for lizzard bedding and nu Polish.

Add a quarter of a dryer sheet to collect dust.

[swmass]

White rice.

[Ovationdave]

This maybe a stupid suggestion, but did you ever try a final rinse with a touch of the Jet-dry stuff that is supposed to remove water spots on dishes? Just a thought......

Dave


I bought an Extreme Tumblers Rebel 17 I use water, Dawn dish soap, Stainless Steel pins & LemiShine. There is directions on YouTube of how to use their tumbler to clean your brass. What I like about the system is I don't have to breath the dust from the walnut media. It cleans the inside, outside and the primer pockets. What I don't like is my well water is hard even with a water softener system and it leaves water stains on the brass.
Some don't like to wet clean their brass but I don't like the idea of sand from range brass being mixed in my walnut shell media and the possibility of lapping the rifling out of a barrel with any fine sand left in the cartridges.

I would appreciate your comments on the wet cleaning stainless steel pin system.

[Chuck26287]

Does the baking soda stop the brass from going lightly tarnished after the wet tumble with the pins?


I use the same system with a difference (I shoot a lot of BP too):
I like clean shiny brass. (I drop my BP cases in a water bottle until I get around to cleaning them.) I do wet tumbling of the cases with stainless pins in water + a shot of Dawn dishwashing liquid plus a teaspoon or so of LemiShine after decapping really does a good job of cleaning them. No residue of BP or anything else in the case or in the primer pocket. After a 3 hour spin in the tumbler, I pour off the dirty (I mean dirty) water, add some baking soda and fill it up. A few shakes then into my media separator with clean water (or maybe some more baking soda in it). The baking soda counteracts the acidity in the LemiShine. I dry them in a paint roller pan (I like the slant to drain water). To speed things up, I use my heat gun to really warm up the cases. Some people put them in the oven at a low temp.
I like the results. Very clean cases that are easy to reload.

[phidelt208]

Im interested in the baking soda trick as well? I just started the wet tumbling WOW is all I can say the brass looks new. It is a lot more work though.

[cowboy60]

I've tried walnut but it is just too dusty.
I have settled on wet tumble first, then tumble with corn
cobb, polish and a dryer sheet will collect what little dust there is.
They look better than brand new, inside and out.
Forgot to mention the wet tumble is with ss pins, dawn and citric acid.

[2011redrider]

I use the Frankford Wet Tumbler for its 30 lb capacity. I used Armor All Wash n Wax instead of the Dawn. Helps it from tarnishing and leaves a little wax behind that helps with sizing too. Keep the dry tumbler around for rifle brass after sizing to remove the lube. Been dry tumbling some bargain pulled and plated bullets lately from American Reloading. Got the Harbor Freight Walnut and a 40 lb bag of corn from Zoro a few years ago, think that will last a lifetime!

[Talon300]

Started on building a wet tumbler. Just picked up 10# of SS media from Bullseye Reloading for $65.50. Also found it for $7/# at 300aacbrass.com. These were the cheapest places that I could find for SS media.
Need to redeem the rest of my plastic and glass to put in another order.

[Talon300]

Have used the corncob and walnut media for years. I got 10# of the walnut media from Petsmart. Found that rinsing then drying the walnut helps with keeping down the clinging dust. Also add some Lyman media conditioner.

[Idaho Sharpshooter]

Ever notice how much difference there is in some companies shipping charges? I was going to order some walnut and corn cob media earlier today until I went to checkout and saw the shipping costs.
$35 to $40 bucks, more than the media itself.
Being a bit on the frugal (ok, cheap) side, I called both companies to ask why. If you go up the ladder, you will find that most companies use one shipping company over another, and hardly anyone wants to talk USPS. They get kickbacks, but not from the PO. The PO just charges about half the going commercial shippers, and in many cases that can double your actual cost.

I politely asked them to use USPS Priority Mail, and both refused. I then politely informed to take me off their mailing lists. Pet Smart here I come...

Rant finished.

Rich

[Sasquatch-1]

The other thing nice about the Lizard Litter is it doesn't get stuck in the flash hole like the stuff meant for tumblers.

[Birdhuntnu1]

A simple tumbler media is just plain dry sawdust.

[country gent]

If there is a building supply or contractors store near you (even some farm supply, hardwares and such) they have corn cob and walnut by the 50 lb bags and in diffrent grits also. Its untreated but can be treated with Iosso brass polish, Dillons version, or some others out there. I think I gave less than $20.00 for the last bag of corn cobs I bought. Corn cobs and wal;nuts are used for blasting on some materials. The Local andersons for years sold them and had a store display of the diffrent grits but you had to go to the outside pick up to get them.

[shafer44]

I use the nufinish, haven't tried adding mineral spirits, I will try that.

[BrutalAB]

I use rice. I think I got the idea from this forum when I started reloading, but honestly don't remember where I got the idea. I buy a 50 pounds bag of it, scoop some out to eat. [enough that I feel I get my 15 dollars worth of food, or whatever it cost] then the rest I consider free tumbling media. I realize that it is not the most cost efficient, fastest or best, but it works for me. I don't worry about trying to maximize it's life or anything. Just a simple no thought solution. Sometimes I give it a squirt of wd40 if I'm feeling like it, but its honestly not needed.

[1_Ogre]

Over the years I do a combination for case cleaning. First I deprime, then give them a good 3hr run in the pin tumbler with 1/4tsp of LemonShine (from Wally World) and 3-4 "DROPS" of Dawn. After the 3hr they get a good rinse then into the oven at 170deg for an hour or so. After that, they go into the dry tumbler with Walnut media and NuFinish. The NuFinish gives them a good coating to retard any tarnishing. Then it's off to the races, primer pocket swaging (if needed), sizing, then trimming. After this, they go back into the dry tumbler for another hour or so to ensure the sizing and trimming portions get another NuFinish treatment. Lot of work? YES, nice looking brass, DEFINATELY

[MOA]

Just get them cleaned up in a general sense. You know get the mud, dirt, spider webs, ect, ect, off the brass. Sort it by mfg and caliber, and most of the rest we will do ourselves.

[David2011]

ARMetals,

MOA is spot on. Many reloaders prefer to see brass before it's polished. Defects are easier to spot prior to polishing.

[mold maker]

You will get a better price for all one head stamp, but it increases the time involved tremendously.
Most sell it separated only by caliber.

[dragon813gt]

You will get a better price for all one head stamp, but it increases the time involved tremendously.
Most sell it separated only by caliber.

Exactly, I personally would not separate by manufacturer. I'd separate military from commercial brass and that's it. The time it takes to separate by headstamp is considerable.

[1_Ogre]

For Walnut media, the best buy I've found is at Harbor Freight. 25lb bag for like $22. Throw a little NuFinish in and it gives the brass a nice coat to retard any tarnishing. This is all done AFTER a good 3hr bath in the pin tumbler (1/4tsp LemiShine & 3-4 "DROPS" of Dawn). After the pin bath, rinse good, run the brass through a regular media separator tumbler to remove the pins, put them in the oven at 170deg for an hour or so, then into the dry tumble (walnut media + NuFinish) and you should have brass that looks factory new. Timely but well worth it. I don't like tarnished dingy brass when I reload.

[David2011]

Some among us think nice shiny brass is a waste of time and have made some pretty disparaging comments about those that like shiny brass. I polish mine in fine corn cob blasting media plus mineral spirits and Nu-Finish because it satisfies me. Maybe it's the Neanderthal in me. I really don't care if anyone notices. Besides, logic says smooth brass should feed easier.

[Paul_R]

Here's a great deal: Corn cob media - $39.99 for 50 lbs and free shipping to your local Home Depot!

http://www.homedepot.com/p/ALC-50-lbs-Corn-Cob-Blasting-Abrasive-40125/206941121

[MOA]

Wow, I had no idea they had this stuff. I now use a s/s tumbler, but I still have my Lyman 1200 so nice to know our alternatives.

[Paul_R]

I use it to clean lube off of finished ammo. I wet tumble dirty brass.

[mdhillbilly1]

I use it to clean lube off of finished ammo. I wet tumble dirty brass.
Use RO/DI Water to wet clean removes chemicals from the water that leaves marks of water stains.


Sent from my LG-H830 using Tapatalk

[Shiloh]

40# of 20-40 corncob ran less than $25. Ordered it and picked it up at Grainger so no shipping. Years ago that was. More money now but I have a lifetime supply. Look around yo can probably fine it for less or a lesser quantity.

Shiloh

[lightman]

A few years ago I ordered a 40# bag of corncob from drill spot.com. I think it was about $25 shipped. It actually shipped from Granger. I think its more now, but buying in bulk from companies that sell blasting media is the cheapest way to go. I use DukeinFlorida's method. A cap full or two of mineral spirits and a cap full of your favorite liquid car polish, run it enough to get them mixed up and dump your brass in. For years I used an old square commercial fry basket to separate the brass and media but I finally bought the Dillon separator.

Many different things will work for media and over the years I have used most of them. Rice, rice still in the shell, wheat, sand, corncob, walnut, ceramic media, metal shavings, ect. I just keep coming back to corncob.

[Gunners Mate]

Stainless Steel tumbling Media, 3 table spoons of dawn, 1 tea spoon of Lemi Shine, 1 Teaspoon of Cream of Tartar, to 1 gallon of water. Lube, resize, deprime and wet tumble or just deprime with universal deprimer then wet tumble and resize. This is hands down the best recipe I have found for cleaning brass in 30 years of reloading. I dry my cases with a towel first and then on 203545plastic board

[jeffs4wheeler]

I have used lizzard litter from pet stores .

[TNsailorman]

+1 on the lizard litter. Seems to polish a little better and quicker than crush walnut media. james

[Bama]

http://www.drillspot.com/products/499763/econoline_526020g-40_40_lbs_blast_media
This is prolly the best deal around and enough to do 20k cases. Walnut shells (lizzard litter) cleans pretty fast but doesn't give that "virgin brass, glossy shine", which is fine with me. Most of thr corn cob I've seen at pet stores was a flake, not the grit used for tumbling/blasting and doesn't work very well for tumbling brass.
Walnut grit add about 1table spoon per gallon of grit of Nu Finish car polish plus about the same amount of mineral spirits. Let tumble for 15 minutes before adding brass. It will clean and give that shinny new brass finish

[Tom W.]

I tried rice a few years ago. I finally dumped the dirty rice into the garbage can and the rest I fed to the birds.. Then I bought a bucket of untreated corncob media from Midway. I still have some, but will soon have to order some from Home Depot or see what Harbor Freight has available...That and some more Nufinish....

[Kimber1911]

Stainless pins wet tumbling is amazing, brass comes out like new.

[doulos]

Just used some stainless pins for the first time ever in my Thumbler. Brass came out very good. Even the primer pockets. A little bit of a pain though separating with just the media separating pan I have. Good stuff.

[b2lee]

Stainless pins for me in a Hornady tumbler set for 2 hours and I walk away. When done I rinse, shake, rinse...and then pour off water and put brass and media in a Hornady media separator. The one with the plexi top so I can spin that bad boy really fast and pins don't go flying all over me and the floor. When done there are zero pins left in and I put the brass into a 5 stack cheap Walmart food dehydrator for say an hour...even though after about 15mins there isn't any water left.

Brass comes out flawless. I decap all brass before I do this. It does help to have carbine or titanium tipped dies to keep the squeaky clean brass from being a little tough to push through.

[fast ronnie]

A couple of things I have only seen once on this thread.

I have been using SS pins for several years, now.
I de-cap using a Lee de-capping die. If you hit a Berdan case, it doesn't break the pin, just pushes it up and then you reset and go on.
As has already been stated, this gets the primer pocket clean while using the SS pins. I hate cleaning primer pockets.

I made my own tumbler from 6" pvc and cut strips from another piece and glued 6 strips inside to agitate. Drum is about 2 feet long. I do about 5 or 6 hundred .38's or .45's at a time. I have 5 lbs pins, 1 teaspoon of citric acid and 1 teaspoon of ArmorAll Wash and Wax Premium. The citric acid is the same as Lemishine. I purchased 2 lbs of it from Amazon for $10. The ArmorAll works better than the Dawn and leaves a better finish because of the wax. It sizes easier, and remains shiny for years. I've tried the NuFinsh, but like the ArmorAll much better. I don't think the NUFinish has a wax which is what KEEPS the brass shiny. I tumble for 2 hours, then use a Dillon case separator filled to the top with water. This does two things: 1, it rinses the dirty water off, and 2, it releases the pins from sticking in the cases. I use a bath towel and work them back and forth a couple of times which gets most of the water out. I then leave the brass in the sun for a couple of hours on cookie sheets when the weather is nice. Doesn't overheat the brass that way. (I ruined a whole batch of brass drying in an oven)
The only thing I have used my Thumblers bowl for in several years is cleaning the lube off the outside after sizing.

[gypsyman]

Use about a 50-50 mix of corn and walnut. Put in a couple spoonfuls of Flitz media additive, if out NuFinish car polish works pretty good. Seen the brass that was polished with pins and Dawn, real shiny and clean. Just not sure if I want to get into that after 40+ years.

[kevin c]

Wet tumbling with SS pins makes the interior of the brass gorgeous, but the hassle factor is too high for me. I'll wet tumble without pins for clean enough and no media dust to inhale.

[Conditor22]

I don't see the hassle with SS pins. Deprime first the wet tumble with pins.
when done tumbling I dump everything into a crank type media separator, a few cranks and all the SS pins are in the bottom of the separator.
The brass is shiny clean inside and out and the primer pockets are clean AND ---NO DUST :)

[sparky45]

GRNPS has it nailed. Great results everytime and NO HASSLE!!!

[frodo]

Just used some stainless pins for the first time ever in my Thumbler. Brass came out very good. Even the primer pockets. A little bit of a pain though separating with just the media separating pan I have. Good stuff.

I have been using this method and it works great for me
you need
a 1 gallon plastic bucket
a kitchen strainer [moma gonna get mad]
a pair of panty hose

on the bottom the bucket
put the strainer in the panty hose
pour every thing into the strainer
the water goes into the bucket
the pins go through the strainer into the panty hose,,and that is what i store them in
the bling bling is in the strainer just shake,,,to remove pins


243223

[onelight]

I have been using this method and it works great for me
you need
a 1 gallon plastic bucket
a kitchen strainer [moma gonna get mad]
a pair of panty hose

on the bottom the bucket
put the strainer in the panty hose
pour every thing into the strainer
the water goes into the bucket
the pins go through the strainer into the panty hose,,and that is what i store them in
the bling bling is in the strainer just shake,,,to remove pins


243223
Thanks for posting that I have been trying to think of a strainer for pins the hose is a great idea !

[rmantoo]

I have been using ss pins in a thumblers tumbler for about 10 years. This year in January, I stopped using pins, at all. I hate the hassle of separating the pins from brass, and whenever I end up with 9mm and 40 or 45 randomly in other batches, pins end up in between the cases, and I lose a few whenever I separate them...

So I tried Guntaps "Brass Shine," and "Brass Juice." Brass Juice with no pins is all I'm using from now on.

It's $20 for 32 ounces, drain/septic safe, and you can reuse it at least 5-6 times...so each load comes out to about $0.08.

Advantages (for me): 1. No more separating pins 2. Faster. I only tumble 30-45 minutes for regular brass, and 75 for black, aged range brass. 3. So far, I've rerun each load at least 5 times...a few 6, and I'm going to try going a few more.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/tATocuGEuLuiLwF38

https://photos.app.goo.gl/j5gdbX5ApTZzkU6G7

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ev45x74ZP8zVHGHK6

I'm never going to use the ss pins again, as long as either of these products remain available.

Maybe I should add: I don't have any kind of relationship with either of those companies...I was just tired of ss pins and figured there had to be other guys out there in the same basic boat... figured I'd share.

[Kenstone]

I have been using this method and it works great for me
you need
a 1 gallon plastic bucket
a kitchen strainer [moma gonna get mad]
a pair of panty hose

on the bottom the bucket
put the strainer in the panty hose
pour every thing into the strainer
the water goes into the bucket
the pins go through the strainer into the panty hose,,and that is what i store them in
the bling bling is in the strainer just shake,,,to remove pins
243223

Nice...
I use paint strainers from Home Depot instead of pantyhose though 8-)
2 for $4: https://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-5-gal-Elastic-Top-Strainers-2-Pack-11573-36WF/202061360
I have a wire waste basket from the dollar store for the strainer and a 4 bucket cleaning line with paint strainers in the 1st two to catch the pins.
The last (4th) bucket is a mixture of water and Armorall auto wash and wax, used to protect the shine and lube for resizing.

The 1st bucket is empty with a paint strainer bag in it, then the wire basket, because the tumbler water/brass/pins are dumped into it.
The 2nd and 3rd buckets are 3/4 filled with rinse water with a paint strainer in the 2nd to catch any remaining pins, and the wire basket is moved/agitated up/down in baskets 1-2-3-4...done.
243735
So that's $5 at the dollar store (1 wire basket, 4 buckets) and $4 at home depot for the paint strainers.
works for me,
:lol:

[wildphilhickup]

SOT of Texas, and Oklahoma too I think. They sell everything associated with metal finishing. Walnut and Corn Cob is CHEAP! I pay $18 for a 40 pound bag.

[wildphilhickup]

Never, Ever clean brass with SS pins, unless the brass has been de-capped. A friend, (ex-friend now), gave me a few thousand 9mm brass that he had cleaned. I bent and broke a few decapping pins. I was puzzled as to why that was happening. ??? I then found a SS pin stuck inside a case, inside the primer hole. DUH!

[wildphilhickup]

I use a Harbor Freight LARGE Vibratory Polisher for cleaning brass. (Not a fan of wet cleaning, because I load 50,000+ rounds a year)

*** Bee careful of the "cleaners' you mix with the walnut or corn cob if using this polisher. Some solvents will "eat" the plastic.

[wildphilhickup]

I bought a Dillon brass separator in ~1990 and I still use it to this day.

[deboog93]

walnut bedding from Petco. local and cheap and same as what reloading supply places sell.

[44magLeo]

I use ceramic beads for tire balancing. Can these be used to tumble cases?
Leo

[trapper44shooter]

I used those walnut hull tumbling media & it did a excellent job

[warren5421]

Anyone use T&B Bullets ammo brass Stainless Steel cleaning Media chips for wet tumblers? Dose the unique shape of this media prevent clogging up primer pockets, flash holes or necks as they say?

[pan957]

I bought a 50lb. bag of corn cob media from "Best Cob" about 6 years ago. When dirty I wash it in a 5 gallon bucket with a good splash of simple green and very hot water agitated with a paint mixer propeller thingie in a drill. I rinse it twice and lay in out in the hot sun on old window screens to dry. Even nasty black media returns to a tan color with this method. At this rate it will take me 10 years to go thru a bag!

[Kenstone]

I bought a 50lb. bag of corn cob media from "Best Cob" about 6 years ago. When dirty I wash it in a 5 gallon bucket with a good splash of simple green and very hot water agitated with a paint mixer propeller thingie in a drill. I rinse it twice and lay in out in the hot sun on old window screens to dry. Even nasty black media returns to a tan color with this method. At this rate it will take me 10 years to go thru a bag!

Wow, that's a lot of effort to clean and reuse something most would throw away, especially with having a 50lb. bag of new media.
Have you considered your exposure to lead during that cleaning routine?
jmo,
:neutral:

[pan957]

I tumble a lot of brass and was going thru a 50 lb. bag every 2 months. I wear rubber gloves to avoid heavy metals and use a Walmart big strainer during the rinsing process. This thread is about using alternative methods to enhance our hobby. My wife says I'm cheap, I prefer to call myself frugal!

[Kenstone]

I tumble a lot of brass and was going thru a 50 lb. bag every 2 months. I wear rubber gloves to avoid heavy metals and use a Walmart big strainer during the rinsing process. This thread is about using alternative methods to enhance our hobby. My wife says I'm cheap, I prefer to call myself frugal!

Good to know
I use these strainer bags, give them a try:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-5-gal-Elastic-Top-Strainers-2-Pack-11573-36WF/202061360
:mrgreen:

[JSnover]

I just picked up a bucket of ceramic beads from a cosmetic plant. They measure .045" and look like they'd work pretty well.

[jason367]

Bird bedding from petco. Walnut.

[varmintpopper]

This may have been mentioned earlier, the need to sort the cases by size before tumbling to avoid smaller cases getting stuck inside larger cases.
Also, If had barrels of cases to tumble I would use a portable cement mixer to do the job.

Good Shooting

Lindy

[RCL]

Walnut media from Harbor Freight is what I have been using lately.
I really just want my brass clean and don't worry too much about shine.

[Binky]

I have used walnut ( the last I got was acquired from a drilling rig before I retired from oilfield supply ) I have used corn cob that I bought years ago from Gil Hebard Supply. I tried wet with ss pins ( what a pain in the rear). Sold the pins to someone I didn't like. Mostly now I just use the water, soap and citrus. Works almost as well as the same process with pins but is way less work. All worked. Some better than others. I guess what ever you use, that makes you happy, is the right way for you.

[pa.frank]

You can get every kind of media in every size imaginable here......

https://www.kramerindustriesonline.com/

[D.Bullets]

What would y'all recommend for tumbling media?

I have about 20k rounds of brass that was just found at a friends house(and given to me) that I need to polish up to trade off for stuff I can actually use:bigsmyl2:

I've looked through it, and it's not terrible bad, but needs to be cleaned up a bit.

I was thinking a walnut media, but it's going to cost more for shipping than the bag of media from Midway, and I don't have anything local(except Gander Mtn, and Midway would still be cheaper with the shipping).

A few folks recommends some type of animal bedding or litter, but I've never messed with that.

Also, someone mentioned some kind of car polish, but again, I've never messed with it.


The tumbler I'm going to be using is a 5 gallon bucket mounted on a slow rpm direct drive motor(I built it the first time about 10 years ago for rocks).

Any recommendations?

Also, I'm not doing any liquid cleaners, I want something I put in the bucket, turn it on and walk away, come back the next day and pull the brass out.

I use steel pins and Grocery store Barley here are some pics.
314191
314192

[45fan]

You can get every kind of media in every size imaginable here......

https://www.kramerindustriesonline.com/

Wow, just checked out this site for some SS pins……5lbs for the super low price of $399! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!

[gnappi]

My media lasts a L-O-N-G time because I just want clean brass not shiny but most often seek out walnut media.

I'll try the dryer sheet method to keep down the dust!

[steveu]

I have been wet tumbling since the mid 90’s, started with steel shot then went to ceramic. The best additive I’ve used was cabelas tumble bright. When that disappeared I used other concoctions that were just ok. Then found Frankford Arsenal cleaner and it worked well, but not as good as the tumble bright did on BP cases. A friend recommended Shooter 2 cleaner and it works great, much better than the other alternatives for me. A little goes a long way, but you can’t use it for nickel plated cases.
Cheers,
Steve

[Wooserco]

Years ago when shooting competitively a fellow shooter was loading for himself, his wife, daughter and son. Thousands of rounds of brass a year. League shooting on three days a week, 600 yd. practice on Saturday afternoons. Matches every Sunday (50 rds. + sighters for league x 3 days x 4 shooters. 20 rds. + sighters for 600 yd. practice. 88 rounds per shooter every Sunday). He had a ton of brass to process and reload.

He had set up a cement mixer with a non metallic drum to tumble brass. He bought is corn cob media from the local feed store in 50 lb. burlap bags. Used a hardware cloth screen over a mortar mixing tub to separate media from brass. He spent all winter loading for the next season, all on a single stage press.

[jss227]

Years ago when shooting competitively a fellow shooter was loading for himself, his wife, daughter and son. Thousands of rounds of brass a year. League shooting on three days a week, 600 yd. practice on Saturday afternoons. Matches every Sunday (50 rds. + sighters for league x 3 days x 4 shooters. 20 rds. + sighters for 600 yd. practice. 88 rounds per shooter every Sunday). He had a ton of brass to process and reload.

He had set up a cement mixer with a non metallic drum to tumble brass. He bought is corn cob media from the local feed store in 50 lb. burlap bags. Used a hardware cloth screen over a mortar mixing tub to separate media from brass. He spent all winter loading for the next season, all on a single stage press.

That's some serious dedication. And a lot of free time.