"IOSSO case polish..."

[exile]

I have been reloading for about five years. In that time I have used Frankford Arsenal brass polish to clean my cases and it has worked well. This week I have cleaned some .45 ACP, .357 Sig, .38 Special and nine millimeter brass with the usual excellent results.

With the last batch of 9mm. cases, I ran out of Frankfort Arsenal polish and began using Iosso polish for the first time. With Frankford Arsenal polish, I usually use untreated walnut hulls for an hour and then treated corncobs for two hours. The results are amazing.

I ran out of FA polish and since I had a gift certificate to Cabela's and they did not carry anything but Iosso, I bought a can of it. With FA polish I used my walnut hulls and corncob media three times and at the end the corncob media is mildly dirty.

I followed the instructions on the Iosso polish to the letter, (a cup and a half of corncob media to 2 tablespoons of polish, although I did tumble for 2 1/2 hours). I just went down to recover my polished brass and got a real shock.

After one use, the corncob media looks like coal dust ( I am not kidding, it is that black). The outside of the cases are polished as usual, but the insides are black as coal as well. In addition, the bottom of my tumbler seems to have a little bit of brass coating the bottom (not much).

To say that I am angry is an understatement. At least this is not once fired starline brass. It is brass from storebought ammo, which I have not purchased in five years. It is twice-fired.

Right now I am tumbling the brass in walnut hulls again, then I will do the whole thing over with untreated corncob media.

My question is, is my brass damaged or weakened? Has anyone else had these results with Iosso or any other polish? Should I load this brass again for a third time?

I have never written a company and demanded my money back in my life, but I am considering doing just that and asking them to compensate me for my (Maybe) damaged brass as well.

I guess I will wait and see what happens once the brass is run through a second time. What I don't want to do is blow up a gun by using brass that is weak from the weird results with this polish.

Did I mention that I am really mad? [smilie=b:

exile

[oneokie]

I followed the instructions on the Iosso polish to the letter, (a cup and a half of corncob media to 2 tablespoons of polish, although I did tumble for 2 1/2 hours).
exile

That does not sound correct. Typo in the instructions?

I use 1 tablespoon of Midway polish to 3 quarts of corncob. Having said that, I did one time use too much of the polish and my results were dirty media and a sticky, gummy blue residue inside the cases.

I cut/diluted that batch of media with 2 parts of new media and had no more problems.

My 2¢

[exile]

Actually the instructions said "two tablespoons of polish per one pound of media" so I may have used too much. I just went downstairs and put a few drops of water in the bottom of my bottle of Frankford Arsenal polish and am running them again with two tablespoons of diluted FA polish (after using walnut hulls first) so I will see what happens. I have always used three tablespoons of FA polish to a cup and a half of corncob media (then used that treated media three times before disposing of it) and had great results.

So, my biggest concern is still, has the brass been weakened by this Iosso polish? I guess no one can really answer that for me, I will just be glad to get the black stuff off the inside of my cases (my biggest fear is that the black residue might react with the powder in some way, so in addition to wondering if my cases are weak, I want to get it completely out of the cases prior to loading them.)

I guess a general question to ask here is, "Can cleaning and polishing cases too much compromise the integrity of the case itself?" or is that even possible? Does that process itself weaken the brass in any way?

As usual, every time I do anything with reloading I learn something, either good or bad.

exile:veryconfu

[sagacious]

That caught my attention too-- sounds like too much polish. Two tablespoons is all I would use for 5lbs of media, instructions notwithstanding.

Iosso case polish is made for cartidge brass, so one doubts that it would hurt it. Polishing the cases for a long time-- even overnight-- should not hurt them, provided that the polish is chemically safe to use on cartridge brass. That black residue should not react with smokeless powder at all, but it'll probably be gone after retumbling in corncob media anyway. Good luck.

[exile]

Good to hear that polishing will not harm the brass, because I just went down to take the brass out and it still has black residue on the inside of the case, and the media was still darker than it gets with Franford Arsenal polish after the third time through. Who knew this stuff would be such a pain! I changed the corncob media and will let it run another 4 1/2 hours until 10:00 p.m., or until my wife divorces me due to the racket from the tumbler.

Thanks for the responses.

exile

[mtgrs737]

Thanks for posting your experiances! That is what I like about this forum, you can learn from others and not have to endure the pain of learning the lessons yourself.

You may be able to clean out the black residue from the inside of your brass with paint thinner and then rinse in hot water with dish washing soap like Dawn to remove the thinner residue before drying and re-polishing in fresh untreated corn cobb media.


Let us know what works, I'm sure others have traveled down this road.

[winelover]

Been using Iosso polish to rejuvinate my walnut media in my Tumbler's Tumbler for years with satisfactory results and long case life. The key is MODERATION--- "more ain't always better"!

Winelover

[oneokie]

One more thought. Was the word tablespoon spelled out or abbreviated-tbs?

[captaint]

Yeah, I use 2 tablespoons in a vibrator full of corncob.... Love the Iosso stuff. I'm sure good ol car polish works just as well. enjoy Mike

[AZ-Stew]

I've used Iosso for a couple of years. No complaints, but I don't expect the insides of the cases to be as shiny as the outsides, regardless of method. Doesn't matter to me and doesn't make any difference in the resulting handloads. I use walnut media and, yes, it gets dirty. Put a little of the Iosso and a little of the Frankford on a clean cloth and use one finger to polish a bit of the outside of one of your cases. The Iosso will leave a dark spot on the cloth and will shine up the part of the case you rubbed. I've never used the Frankford, so I don't know what it will do. The Iosso is very mildly abrasive (so is toothpaste) and removes a microscopic amount of the brass as it polishes. that's what makes the dark spot on the cloth. Don't worry. You'd have to tumble your brass continuously for a year or more to damage it. I'll bet that if you leave your brass in the machine over night (put it in the garage or on the back porch where the wife can't hear it) that the insides of the cases will shine up, too.

Regards,

Stew

[94Doug]

Add some dryer sheets to help take out the "Black effect" You'll be amazed at how black the sheets come out after tumbling.

d

[exile]

Thanks for the idea. After 8 1/2 hours of tumbling, I finally got the brass to look like the rest of my brass, but I may do it again with a dryer sheet just to see how that works. Thanks again.

exile

[DLCTEX]

You change media after only three uses? I use mine until it is just too dirty, like maybe 20 times. I do add Nu Finish car polish for an additive and add some when the cases take a little long to shine up.I also use a little mineral spirits to keep the dust down. I now clean the brass with a citric acid solution before tumbling and the media stays clean much longer, plus I don't have to tumble as long to get a real shine using corncob only.

[MtGun44]

Two tips.

One: tear an ordinary paper towel into strips. One direction it tears straight due to fiber
direction, the other it zig zags. Drop into tumbler, the dirt gets caught in the towel, throw
it out to clean media.

Two: use on capful of Nufinish liquid car polish in your media. Nothing works as well.
I got this from Mike in Colorado and he is a pro at brass and this makes a WONDERFUL
polish, quickly and leaves the brass just feeling slick and clean and looking new.

Bill

[WallyM3]

I don't use dryer sheets around my shop because the ingredients are unfriendly to the glues I use. They threaten the bond in bamboo rods.

So, based on the discussions here, I cut or tore up a paper towel sheet into 'bout 4 pieces and shoved it into the media in my Dillon 2000.

Bada bing! What a difference!

It seems that dirt has a greater affinity for the paper than anything else in the soup. And the sides of the bowl are clean even after tumbling the nastiest brass.

My avoidance of the silicone (spelling) is based on my own peculiar requirements, but it's prolly OK for others.

One can both dilute and regenerate most polishing media by adding an ounce (or a few dribbles) of mineral spirits to the whole thing, tumbling exposed to the air for a bit, then proceeding with the the usual routine.

[exile]

What great information. Thanks guys. With all this wisdom, shouldn't there be a "Sticky" on brass cleaning?

exile

[Shiloh]

THe Iosso brand works very well. I also use Nu Finish car polish in the orange bottle from Wal-Mart. Works very well also. It is a lot more economical as well.

SHiloh

[exile]

Shiloh, how much of the Iosso polish do you use? Anyway, my brass is in the tumbler with corncobs and a paper towel. I am looking forward to great results.

exile

[John Guedry]

Maybe you got a bad batch? I have used it and not had anything like you describe happen. I don't ever dump out media till it "just don't get the job done".

[John 242]

+1 for Nufinish car polish. I tried the Frankfort Arsenal case polish and it worked fine but I quickly used up the little bottle. I bought a bottle of Nufinish and I've had for over a year now. I've even used some of it on the pick up... imagine that.
My brass looks new after a couple of hours in the tumbler with walnut media. I rarely change my media. I just add more Nufinish and let it run. When the black dust builds in the media I add slightly damp paper towel to the media and tumble it for a while. The dust and crud sticks to the paper towel. I only change media when the build-up of back crud is so bad that the damp paper towel won’t get enough crud out to produce clean brass.
By the way, mechanic’s hand cleaner works great when used to clean the bowl of your tumbler to get the accumulated off.

[kbstenberg]

Have any of you found that the sootie residue on the outside of your cases after you fire them is tackie. I was thinking that the New Finish is what is causing the stickieness.
Kevin

[cbrick]

Interesting, Iosso is all I've used for many years and I have never experienced anything like you described. I don't measure the Iosso, just dripple some into the media with the tumbler running and I probably use too much, no problems though. Leave it run with the lid off until it's dispersed and there are no clumps, 15 minutes? I use only corn cob media and tumble the brass for one hour, comes out looking great. I occasionaly add a bit of Iosso after about 8-10 tumblings to keep it working well.

I rarely replace the corn cob media, only after it starts getting really dirty and starts taking more than the 1 hour to get the brass clean and properly shiney. The paper towel trick I will try, learn something new everyday here.

Paper towel, who'd a thunk? :coffee:

Rick

[AZ-Stew]

Have any of you found that the sootie residue on the outside of your cases after you fire them is tackie. I was thinking that the New Finish is what is causing the stickieness.
Kevin

It's boolit lube blown back along the case wall during firing. I get this residue even on un-polished cases.

Regards,

Stew

[billyb]

I agree with Stew. Bill

[exile]

Maybe I got a bad batch, but all told it took me 10 1/2 hours of tumbling to get my brass looking like what it looks like after 2 hours with the Frankford Arsenal polish. I don't like to say never, but I don't believe I will use this stuff again.

exile[smilie=b:

[pcmacd]

I have always used an ounce or so of mineral spirits in my very large Lyman tumbler to a) keep the dust down, and b) make the case polish mix in quickly.

Tumbling media will have lead styphnate in; this is found in primers.

I used to inspect factories for a major workman's comp company. I learned there that the salts of lead (such as styphnate) are the worst possible things to ingest; they are immediately drawn into your bloodstream. Clean, non-oxidized lead bullets can be swallowed whole; your body won't get much from that. But a lead salt! Dear lord, they are NASTIFUL NASTIFUL NASTIFUL.

Don't get primer or tumbling media residue in your eyes, mouth, nose, or on your tobacco.

[M-Tecs]

Six year old thread but interesting. I've used IOSSO on at least 50,000 rounds of brass. I really like it.

[big bore 99]

Been using their bore polishing compound and like it. Also like Midway brass polish in the tumbler with a light squirt of Zippo lighter fluid to help clean the corncobs.

[mdi]

Well, I figger tumbling brass is the most talked about but least important part of reloading. But, I'm not "anti-shiny, virgin looking brass", I just don't do it. I used ISSO when I got into rifle reloading but with my "minimalist" thinking I discovered plain old corn cob blast media, but the ISSO worked just as described. Not sure but, I don't think there's any ammonia in it.

For me time is the determining factor in how shiny my brass gets, if I need shiny, I just leave the brass in the tumbler longer. I leave my 30-06 and 45 ACP brass in a bit longer because shiny brass is easier to find in the dirt/grass/trash at my "range". I've tried a ton of different things to use for tumbling and a bunch of additives too, from rice, cat litter, wood chips, beach sand, glass beads, with auto polish to carnauba wax flakes. Some worked, some didn't. But I just settled on plain cob blast media with an occasional teaspoon of auto wax, or mineral spirits. Part of the "fun" of reloading is trying different things to find what works best for you/your needs, sometimes they work, sometimes the don't...;)