Case polishing questions

[smokem]

Hey all;
I have been using corcob litter to clean cases. Sometimes, it doesn't do the job, even when new. I have been told to use crushed nut shell. Questions are:
* What nutshell to use, what particle size and where to buy it reasonably priced
* What are the differences in different nut shells?
* Can you mix corncob and nutshell in the vibrator?
I have tried vinegar, and citric acid; brass does not come out shiny.
To avoid mess I use the case chucked in an electric drill and hold 1 to 4 ought steel wool to ake them clean and shiny. Messy though.
Thanks for the help;
smokem
syzygy12@verizon.net or respond this forum.

[riverwalker76]

Hey all;
I have been using corcob litter to clean cases. Sometimes, it doesn't do the job, even when new. I have been told to use crushed nut shell. Questions are:
* What nutshell to use, what particle size and where to buy it reasonably priced
* What are the differences in different nut shells?
* Can you mix corncob and nutshell in the vibrator?
I have tried vinegar, and citric acid; brass does not come out shiny.
To avoid mess I use the case chucked in an electric drill and hold 1 to 4 ought steel wool to ake them clean and shiny. Messy though.
Thanks for the help;
smokem
syzygy12@verizon.net or respond this forum.

Wrong forum ..... you are in the buying and selling forum. :groner:

[nightowl]

I have had good luck with "korn kob bedding" comes from the Local Petsmart and I think it was about 8 dollars. I throw in some of the Midway polish occaisionally, and usually add 1 used dryer sheet which cleans the cob and may help with the brass.

[andremajic]

Go to petsmart and buy some crushed walnut shells. It will already be the right size for use in the tumbler.

Petco - www.petco.com
10800 Promenade Lane, Manassas - (703) 257-6373

[rodnocker1]

They sell the crushed walnut shell in the lizard (reptile) bedding/litter area.

Also get you a bottle of "NuFinish" car polish and add 2 capfuls to the CWS. Tumble about 30 minutes or so to get it mixed (if you pour it in straight away with the brass, it will clump up and lodge in the cases).

Oh yeah, what riverwalker said but still glad to help![smilie=s:

[runfiverun]

the citric acid is to help remove the carbon etc from the cases.
if you want truly shiney eye sparkling brass.
de-prime.
use the HOT citric acid.
followed by walnut meda.
then use the corn-cob and nufinish wax.
you can skip the walnut media after the first time, untill the brass gets dirtied again.

[Hardcast416taylor]

If you are buying bulk corn cob get medium grit, this seems to do the best job. Add NuFinish car polish to the tumbler and let run for 1/2 hour before adding brass. I throw in a 1/2 sheet of fabric softner to trap the dust, I do this trick about every 4 load of brass. I use new sheets but have been told to use the used ones from the Frau`s laundry machine. If you are buying pre-packaged media, i.e. Lyman, stay away from the plastic jug of it. You are paying too much for a plastic jug, buy the cardboard box. You are buying more by weight and paying less. I do not mix the 2 types of media, nuts and cob, I either use 2 tumblers or change out the media in 1 for the other.Robert

[Rocky Raab]

Unless shiny makes it shoot better, I can't see the reasoning. Clean and grit-free is all you need to do for functional reasons.

Of course, if you only want it to look great, just never shoot it.

[Char-Gar]

I use the crushed walnut beding from Petsmart. I add a tablespoon or so of Mother Mag Polish I buy at the auto store. Been doing this for years without a problem. Cases come out nice, clean and shiney.

[jcwit]

Here you go

http://www.drillspot.com/tag/blasting-medium/

first two are what you want. I use the 20/40 with excellant results, others like the 14/20. I know for a fact the 20/40 will not clog your flash holes or primer pockets. One or one and a half teaspoons of liquid auto polish per tumbler will give you shinney brass for a long time, depends on how much you polish of course.

BTW shipping is free.

[lwknight]

I bet that the people lik RCBS that sell media in 4 pound boxes for $3.00 or more dollars per pound really hate this forum telling thousands of people where to get media for as low as $0.40 per pound from sandblast suppliers and such as that.

[leadman]

I use Turtle Wax brand liquid buffing compound and 99 cent store car polish mixed according to how dirty the brass is.
Normal grit after firing is about 1/4 to 1/3 polishing compound to wax. Increase the polishing compound for really dirty brass.

[MtGun44]

+1 on NuFinish in corncob. Nothing that I have tried in the last 30 yrs makes the
brass as clean, slick and "nice" as this. Plus it is fast.

mike in co first posted this method.

Citric acid wash is great for really nasty dark brown tarnished brass. There is a sticky
on cleaning with citric acid.



Bill

[Larry Gibson]

Go to the local oriental grocery store and buy a bag of the cheapest long stemed rice. Use that in a vibrator and cases come out nice and clean and very shiny. For really tarnished cases a little Midways case cleaner speeds it up. Let the vibrator run at least 30 minutes with just the rice and cleaner when you first put it in. Use only a very small amount. The rice is cheap enough that you can change it out often but it really does last a long time. Only down side is that the kernals turn black and look like mouse turds on the floor. I've been using it for 30+ years with complete satisfaction.

To delube cases I use pitch free sawdust in a thumbler. 20 -30 minutes does it. I even tumble loaded ammo from the 550B that needs the lube removed. No problem.

With both methods after the media is seperated I lay a large bath towel on the floor and pour the cases in the middle. Then fold the towel side to side leaving it the long length. I grasp each of the ends with a hand and a few swishes back and forth removes some of the media in the cases and and dust of the outside. Easy and quick, no muss no fuss and it works for me.

Larry Gibson

[HeavyMetal]

+1 on the rice if you have very dirty case's.

2 years ago I stumbled into a bunch of brass and some of it was very dirty and I used rice and Comet to clean this up.. Used the Comet dry by the way!

After everything was cleaned, rice works very fasts, I used walnut with Nu Finish and then corn cob.

Rocky Rab makes a good point though how "clean" does it need to be to load?

I have always believed that the finished load is a reflection of my attention to detail. I've seen reloaded ammo I wouldn't touch let alone shoot and refuse to have anyone look at my hard work in that way.

I'm not looking for applause when I load up a mag full of 45 but I also don't want to clear 4 spots on either side of me out of fear either!

So "clean" brass is a relative phrase and simply boils down to what makes you feel good.

[Rocky Raab]

Thanks, HM. I banished ANY kind of additive long ago after determining that the residues accumulate in the media and eventually deposit a hard gray crud on brass that has to be laboriously and painfully removed by hand one case at a time. Never again!

I use plain clean walnut to clean, and plain clean corncob to polish on the rare occasions when I want shiny brass. Otherwise, clean is good enough and walnut does the job.

[jcwit]

By the time it starts to leave residue onthe cases it time to replact the media. After all it only costs $ .50 a lb.

[steg]

I always wondered if all that tumbling and vibrating are in fact work hardening the cases at all, any ideas, not trying to hijack a thread...............steg

[pmeisel]

I had heard of using rice but was leery until seeing it recommended by a couple guys with thousands of posts here. I will be picking some up this week, the old walnut shells are kinda dirty.

[HeavyMetal]

Something I learned about Rice, at least the Rice I bought, do not use it on case's smaller than 30 cal!

I did 500 223 case's with the Rice I bought and spent a Saturday digging it out of each case.

I just had to use a carpet needle to break up the log jam in the neck but I had to do it to 500 case's!

So if your shooting small caliber rifle stuff stick to small grained walnut shell for everthing else Rice can be very impressive!

[mike in co]

Unless shiny makes it shoot better, I can't see the reasoning. Clean and grit-free is all you need to do for functional reasons.

Of course, if you only want it to look great, just never shoot it.

well let me ask you a question....does the use of glossy covers on gun rags make the content any better ???....no but it is still done isn't it ??

why do commercial ammo commanies sell polished, highly polished, brass cased ammo ???

cause it looks NEW and PROFESSIONAL.

on your side, no military that i know, requires bright finishes on thier brass cased ammo...but then they have people shooting back at them..and bright shinny objects are a negative in that field.

my reply is that it takes me NO LONGER to produce bright shinny than most people spend getting clean only....and i do sell my brass so shinny counts.

and for those that have missed my 15 earlier posts on the subject....14/20 ground corn cob with or without nufinish car polish....one hour in a vib "tumbler".

mike in co

[Rocky Raab]

Mike, shiny covers and shiny ammo both have a single purpose: to get you to buy them.

I'm neither displaying nor selling ammo so shiny is superfluous. Since you are selling brass, you have a genuine reason to make it shiny.

[geargnasher]

My method, various steps borrowed shamelessly from others: For dirty/corroded brass, boil the cases in a solution of two quarts water, four tsp. powdered citric acid, and about six drops of Dawn dishwashing detergent for about 15-20 minutes. Rinse cases in hot water, shake out in a colander, pour out on a towel and let dry for a few hours in the sun. Next, tumble them in a vibratory tumbler with either walnut or cob, use the appropriate size media for your neecs. I have a special, plain corncob media heavily treated with Meguiar's liquid wax diluted with mineral spirits. I run the media/wax by itself for an hour after the initial treatment to get it distributed evenly and let it dry, then it's good to go for four or five runs of clean brass before needing to freshen up the wax treatment on the media. This leaves just a trace film inside and out on the cases which will prevent corrosion for a pretty long time.

If you do the citric acid treatment, all those tarnish spots will be passivated and the oxides reduced. There may be copper-colored spots where the corrosion was before the citric acid treatement, if those spots are still copper-colored after an hour in the vibe tumbler, they may be zink-depleted, toss the brass. If they polish off, you're ok. I find this to be an excellent way to cull old range pickup brass.

Gear

[jcwit]

Mike, shiny covers and shiny ammo both have a single purpose: to get you to buy them.

I'm neither displaying nor selling ammo so shiny is superfluous. Since you are selling brass, you have a genuine reason to make it shiny.


I do not sell brass nor do I sell automobiles. Do I like shiney brass? YUP!! Do I wax and keep my auto's clean and shiney? YUP!!

Has something to do with pride.

Neither do I fly a dirty, ragged U.S. Flag.


Do these 2 examples have anything to do with brass? In my world they do.

Does flat looking brass shoot just as good as shiney brass? YUP
Does a dirty Car get you there and back? YUP
Does a ragged flag still fly? YUP

Am I impressed by any of the above? NOPE

I think you can understand my point.

[Larry Gibson]

HeavyMetal

Something I learned about Rice, at least the Rice I bought, do not use it on case's smaller than 30 cal!

I did 500 223 case's with the Rice I bought and spent a Saturday digging it out of each case.

I do .22 Hornet, .223 and 22-250 cases all the time. Yes it will stay inside the cases, especially if you tumble/vibrate to soon after putting a polisher in the rice. However, after seperating the media/rice from the cases I put the cases back in the vibrator for about 2 - 3 minutes. That vibrates all the remaining rice out of the insides of the cases. Kind of noisy but it works fine, try it.

Larry Gibson