Dry tumbling media

[Sasquatch-1]

I have in the past washed and reused dirty walnut tumbling media. I use plain water. No soap. and when done place the media in an old pillowcase suspended from a basement floor joist to drip and dry. I am curious if anyone else does this?

[Dancing Bear]

The media will wear down and be less aggressive after so many cycles. Go to Grainger or other supply outlet, buy a big bag of media and be happy.

[Sig]

I agree with DB. It gets worn out. Just bought 40lbs for $42.00 from Zoro. Free ship when you spend $50.00

[Outer Rondacker]

Few years back in the old house I found the mice had got into a bag of rice. I felt bad about just tossing it in the trash so I thought what else could I use it for. Works good to clean brass in the vibratory. Last a while and you can still feed the compost pile as it loves carbon.

I have not washed media as I only use water and dawn dish soap to clean brass for years now.

If it works for you keep with it no mater what anyone thinks.

[45_Colt]

There is someone else here that washes the media. He uses a lot so it makes sense to wash & reuse. IIRC, after washing he lays it out on a window screen (search keyword hint?) to dry in the sun.

45_Colt

[TNsailorman]

I use lizard litter from Wally world because it is vry fine (ground walnut shells) and does not get into the flasholes and because it is cheap in a large size bag. james

[Dusty Bannister]

I often use the dry media to give a primary cleaning to brass to make sorting by HS easier. Shine is not the goal at this point, just make it easier to read the HS. It gets pretty nasty, so will wash it in hot water and Dawn, rinse, drain and dry in the sun in a large shallow pan. Over time, it becomes a mix of cob and walnut hull. Wearing down just means it gets into the corners a little better. For "pretty", I use the wet solution for cleaning the cases.

[country gent]

Ive never washed media. But I do rotate it in its life, NEW is used for clean brass that needs a shine up this lasts a long time and is well treated with polish by the time its moved down. NEXT this media is moved down to brass thats been fired and dirty from the firing. It is used ere and still very good well treated and going strong. Last it is used for really grungy range brass by now its still okay but this is normally the last use, not so much because its not good but because the range brass has added so many impurities in the form of sand gravel grass and other things to it.

When I start a batch the media is added to the vibrator and started 4 ounces of alcohol is trickled in then a 2 cap fulls of Iosso polish and its left to run for 15 mins. Then the brass is added. The media slows as it ages it breaks down and gets smoother,

Think of it like sandpaper, It dulls and loads up the grit breaks down slowing its ability to cut. Almost acting like a finer grit or two.

[TNsailorman]

When my media gets dirty, I spread it onto bare areas of the lawn or garden. Makes great turf builder. james

[gloob]

Yeah, I've done it, in a pinch.

Since I stopped adding polishes, like Nufinish, my media lasts a lot longer. I bought some chromium oxide powder, and I add a little pinch of it when the brass isn't getting shiny.

The polish is what was gunking up my media and ending its useful life, prematurely. When black waxy buildup started to stick to the cases, that's where my media needed replacement or cleaning. I might have been overdoing the polish, but a rinse with water flushed out the buildup whenever I wanted to tumble brass and didn't want to drive around or wait for new media to be delivered. The black gunk washed right off with water, in a large plastic bag. Then I'd squeeze out the bag, and pour out the media in a thin layer under the sun, to dry.

The chromium oxide powder doesn't add the gunky greasy/waxy component to build up in the media. I find sprinkling a little bit of water over the media, in the moment, will improve the shine and reduce the tumbling time, without the buildup. Just don't overdo it while bottleneck cases are in the tumbler!

[dale2242]

I toss mine when it gets dirty.
I have a lot of walnut shell media.

[15meter]

Harbor Freight walnut media is cheap. Last box I bought 4-5 years ago was ~ $20 for a 25 pound box. Still have another 4-5 years to go before I'm out.

It's untreated, I use NuFinish car polish bought off Amazon. Before first use I charge it two or three times with a couple of ounces of polish. Dribble it into the media, let it run for a couple of hours, outside in the sun if I get lucky enough. After the 3 chargings and allowed to completely dry, it's ready to polish brass. Every other polish cycle I'll add a cap full or two of NuFinish to recharge the walnut shells.

Plus a fresh dollar store dryer sheet to absorb the dust. The dryer sheets and the polish cost more than the media.

I figure I polish between 5 and 10 thousand cases a year. A $25 box of media going for 8 years, works for me.

Never thought to wash the media. When I pitch it, it's pretty black and nasty looking. It's ready for the compost pile.

[elmacgyver0]

I went to wet tumbling and never looked back.
Better for your lungs too.
When I did dry, I used walnut media.

[Longfellow]

Harbor Freight also has bulk shell media. Too inexpensive vs the price of my time to clean it.

[lotech]

Proper brass cleaning media is cheap. A five gallon bucket will last a long time. Throw away media after about twenty-five or so uses. I've found the use of additives works but may shorten the life of the media.