Ceramic media break in?

[Mayor]

I just got off the phone with a jewelry supply company that I buy my plating material from (silver, nickle, gold) and they tell me that ceramic media should be broken in with a 12 to 24 hour tumbling cycle in the "burnishing" compound before it is used the first time.

Have any of you ever heard of this?
What benefit would it provide in our application?

Thanks!
Mayor

[montana_charlie]

Have any of you ever heard of this?
Yep. And I did it.

What benefit would it provide in our application?
Just knowing I followed directions worked for me.

CM

[Mayor]

Yep. And I did it.

Just knowing I followed directions worked for me.

CM

Charlie

You must have been a Military Man:)
Me, a Military Brat.......Question Authority:roll:

But I am serious and my thoughts are that maybe they are having me break in the sharp edges in order to keep the ceramic bits from damaging my soft gold or silver..........and wondering if this is necessary for brass cartridge cases?

Thanks for the bump!
HH

[docone31]

You do not expressly need to run the ceramic for 12hrs, but, I have found it does work better.
Burnishing compound is a liquid. It holds the items to be polished to the ceramic, and it breaks the capillary tension of the water also.
If you are going to do brass cases, I am not sure you will need to break them in. You will not be trying to get a finish like a wedding ring set, or other item. That would need breaking in. I have found the ceramic is too agressive when brandy-new.
Personally, I use walnut media in a vibratory tumbler. I like the satin finish. Mostly it is for cleaning.
If you are going to do gold, or silver, make sure the brass is out of the media! By that I mean in solution also. The flakes of brass, or gold, or silver, will be in the media and burnishing compound. It will be in the bowl of the tumbler. Use a seperate tumbler, and media for each flavor.
For doing that, you will need to break in the media. Burnishing compound is vital when polishing.
I use one media batch for gold, one for silver. I do not mix flavors when I run the polishers. The reason for that is the flakes in the solution will print on the next material. You do not want that. It will make silver grey, and gold will be "off" polish.
Keep seperate. It makes a difference.

[Red River Rick]

Mayor:

As MC mentioned..............do as they recommend. MC put me onto using ceramic media for cleaning.......................I've never looked back. You can't beat the results with anything else out there. I've thrown away all my other types of media I'll stick with the ceramic.

The angle cut ceramic media most guys are using, should be broken in. As you summize, there is some pretty sharp edges, and you'll want to break and round those off. The use of the media is not to abrade, but rather burnish the brass without removing any material.

I've used the angle cut media and now I'm using the 2mm & 3mm ceramic burnishing balls. They work great on bottle neck cases..............without getting jambed.

They are available here: http://www.kingsleynorth.com/skshop/search_results2.php?catID=140

RRR

[Mayor]

Thanks Rick!

And Docone31, you took my statement wrong about silver and gold. I am not polishing jewelry and that's why I was asking about the break in cycle.

I did "ponder" getting the balls (that just sounds wrong) and decided on the angle cut sticks hoping to get better primer pocket cleaning. I would think that the ends would clean the corners better than round balls and don't have the need (yet) for ceramic cleaning of bottlenecks that tight (ok 38-40 and 45-75 should be fine).

By the way I purchased .195 x .353 angle cut sticks for about $14.00 per five pounds.........

[Red River Rick]

Kingsleynorth has the the angle cut polishing media as well. Their small size is approx. 5/32" x 5/16" (0.156 x 0.312) here: http://www.kingsleynorth.com/skshop/search_results2.php?catID=786


What ever you choose to use, you'll be pleased with the results. No need for any harsh cleaners, dish soap works good enough, it only acts a lubricant!

RRR

[cajun shooter]

I think that ceramic is bar far the only media to use if cleaning brass and I followed the directions and broke mine in. I shoot nothing but BP and have two different batches of ceramic that I use. One is the angle cut and the other is a mix of small balls and angle cut. The mix of the two seems to clean my primer pockets better. I find that Dawn with OXY works best for the cleaner to add.

[August]

Brass cases and gold jewelry probably demand different degrees of sophistication.

Throw the stuff in your tumbler and start cleaning brass.

[montana_charlie]

Charlie

You must have been a Military Man:)
Me, a Military Brat.......Question Authority:roll:

But I am serious and my thoughts are that maybe they are having me break in the sharp edges in order to keep the ceramic bits from damaging my soft gold or silver..........and wondering if this is necessary for brass cartridge cases?

I am slow to try 'new things', and my Scots ancestery makes me 'thrifty'.
I read about ceramic for at least a year before ever trying it. Looking for a 'good deal' I scoured the internet comparing prices. I looked at 'suppliers' and 'manufacturers' and ran into the advice (to break the media in) at most locations.

I have 250 cases that cost me almost a buck apiece, and the brand is no longer available.
If I am going to put them in a 'grinder' to get the crud off, you can bet I'm going to do my best to keep from making them gradually disappear.
If that means following the instructions provided by the people who make and sell the stuff...

...well, do what you think is best, Brat.

CM

[badgeredd]

By the way I purchased .195 x .353 angle cut sticks for about $14.00 per five pounds.........

Please share your source. The only reason I haven't tried some yet was the price of the stuff. Yep I am a bit frugal...or tight...your choice.

Edd

[montana_charlie]

The only reason I haven't tries some yet was the price of the stuff. Yep I am a bit frugal...or tight...your choice.
The media Rick linked to in Post #7 is the ceramic spheres.
If you want angle-cut cylinders, Kingsley North has them here...
http://www.kingsleynorth.com/skshop/search_results2.php?catID=786

9-0013 and 9-0014 are the 1 and 5-pound packages, and the media is a bit smaller than what Mayor bought.

If your tumbler is rated at '12-pounds'...or (perhaps) '15 cups'...or if it holds 'about a gallon'...you will probably be tickled with four pounds of ceramic.

CM

[Mayor]

I am slow to try 'new things', and my Scots ancestery makes me 'thrifty'.
I read about ceramic for at least a year before ever trying it. Looking for a 'good deal' I scoured the internet comparing prices. I looked at 'suppliers' and 'manufacturers' and ran into the advice (to break the media in) at most locations.

I have 250 cases that cost me almost a buck apiece, and the brand is no longer available.
If I am going to put them in a 'grinder' to get the crud off, you can bet I'm going to do my best to keep from making them gradually disappear.
If that means following the instructions provided by the people who make and sell the stuff...

...well, do what you think is best, Brat.

CM

Charlie

No harm meant......thought you would see that my reply was "tongue in cheek"

Here's my flow chart:

Salesman tells me something - ask question - get reply to do as told - ask question with different terms hoping to get answer to my question

While I do appreciate your knowledge you did not share it with me in your original post. I do thank you for taking the time to contribute and with your help and others I now know (and hopefully some other uneducated members do also) that the break in is not to "seal" the media or maybe to wear it out so they can sell me more, but rather to save my cases from possible damage.

Yours
Mayor

[cajun shooter]

Bought mine from Buffalo Arms

[badgeredd]

The media Rick linked to in Post #7 is the ceramic spheres.
If you want angle-cut cylinders, Kingsley North has them here...
http://www.kingsleynorth.com/skshop/search_results2.php?catID=786

9-0013 and 9-0014 are the 1 and 5-pound packages, and the media is a bit smaller than what Mayor bought.

If your tumbler is rated at '12-pounds'...or (perhaps) '15 cups'...or if it holds 'about a gallon'...you will probably be tickled with four pounds of ceramic.

CM

Thanks MC, that sheads new light on the idea for me.

Edd

[Mayor]

Please share your source. The only reason I haven't tried some yet was the price of the stuff. Yep I am a bit frugal...or tight...your choice.

Edd

Try Rio Grande:

http://www.riogrande.com/MemberArea/ProductPage.aspx?assetname=3391615&page=GRID&category%7ccategory_root%7c118=Finishing+Equipment +and+Supplies&category%7ccat_118%7c292=Tumbling&first_answer=61

This is a pretty good deal om a tumbler also:

http://www.riogrande.com/MemberArea/ProductPage.aspx?assetname=202211&page=GRID&category%7ccategory_root%7c118=Finishing+Equipment +and+Supplies&category%7ccat_118%7c292=Tumbling

[John Boy]

Mayor, the 6 pound rotary tumbler at Harbor Freight beats them all on price! You can buy 2 six pound rotaries for under the price of the 6# one at Rio
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=65840
Have a 3 and 6 pounder .. .the rubber drums 'take a licking and keep on ticking'

[montana_charlie]

In my opinion, the small diameter of those 3-pound drums make them poorly suited to cleaning rifle cases...even though they do well with little stones used in rings, necklaces, and ear rings.
While a tumbler doesn't really need to be expensive to be useful, I do think the drum needs to be a minimum of five/six inches in diameter.
The Lortone units on this page provide a visible example of what I mean.
The 45C is a four pounder with enough space inside for a case to tumble freely on any random axis. It is about the smallest that I believe to be efficient with rifle brass.
The QT-6 is only a 'six-pound' machine, but the drum diameter is 7 1/2 inches.
http://www.kingsleynorth.com/skshop/search_results2.php?catID=818&keys=&start=10&count=25

CM