brass cleaning media?

[They_Call_Me_Riggs]

I use the RCBS walnut and corn.. I do about half and half in my Dillon tumbler. I also add some capfuls of the Dillon polish every other time.

 

[M1Amen]

skip the vibratory and go with stainless steel media in a rotary tumbler. you'll never look back. no lead dust, and the brass is actually clean without any residue left on it.

 

[BAR64]

Do the steel media often get stuck in the primer holes or pockets? I saw a youtube of that setup and was impressed with how clean the pockets come out. The guy was picking what looked like twisted steel pins out of a few of the cases. And then there is the drying time...

I just use a Harbor Freight 5#er with walnut shells. Never tried towels or dryer sheets or additives, but I'm going to try some on my next batch. Thanks for the tips!

 

[Vdub5818]

Generally when going the stainless media/rotary method its best to decap pre tumble. Or at least thats how i understand it. I just run either crushed walnut from petsmart treated with a bunch of dillon case polish or ill just use white rice. The rice cleans fantastic believe it or not and polishes very well.

 

[Trader Jordon]

I used the walnut media that you can buy in 100 lbs bags. Its pretty cheap and if you get a buddy or to to go in a 100 lbs lasts forever. I add about 1/4 cup of mineral spirits with my walnut media every 3rd load or so. It helps keep the dust down and produces clearner brass. From time to time I add turtle wax in the green squirt bottle from Wally World. It all depends on what brass I tumble. When I use the wax it is only a little squirt I would say a teaspoon at most. But I find the mineral sprirts to increase the life of my media by about 50 percent.

 

[M1Amen]

For every few hundred cases I tumble, I get a case with pins stuck in the primer pockets. It is not a big deal. Just push them back out and set them aside to go back in the tumbler. I will never go back to a vibratory tumbler.

Take a look at my post for the 30-06 brass I am selling and you can see some pictures. The cases are free of fouling inside and out, the primer pockets are free of fouling and the brass comes out as bright and shiny (both inside and outside) as the day it left the factory. And there's absolutely no black tumbling residue as I run them through my dies. I don't worry about replacing media or cleaning the media because the pins cannot get dirty and never wear out, and I do not have to try to come up with tricks like cutting up dryer sheets. I do not have to worry about dust either. You cannot compare this method to a vibratory tumbler.

 

[YOTESHOOTER]

Go to the auto parts store buy a big bottle of the green bottle of turtle wax does a great job and also will make your media last 2-3 times longer. When the media looks a little dirty put some more turtle wax in and run your brass.

 

[Afterburn]

I like using the Hornady magnum sonic cleaner. Cleans the primer pockets and everything is spotless. Then I tumble them in corn Cobb for about 1/2 hour if I want that extra unnecessary shine.

 

[RET E-7]

Quick citric acid bath then tossed into the tumbler with some lizard litter from petsmart.
More than clean enough for all my needs.

Tom

 

[BAR64]

I put a little Flitz in my last batch - cut tumbling time in half with 3 pea-sized daubs. Not sure what dryer sheets do to help, but I saved a couple to cut up and add in next time as well.