pollishing media

[SpeedyR]

whats the difference between corn cob and walnut media? I read somewhere that one was better for the initial cleaning of the brass, and one was better for removing case lube and such after the loading.

I've got a fair amount of media now but I can't remember what it is and it's pretty fine so it gets dusty. I found a 5 gal container of walnut media the other day for $30 and thought I might get that.

how many of you tumble your cartridges after you've loaded them? I could see the media getting into any type of HP bullets and being a pain to clean out... but it would be nice to have nice shiny cartridges if they've been sitting around for a while, or if you have some excess lube still on them. easier than cleaning each one by hand I guess if it's possible...

 

[jglenn]

the nu-finish and dyer sheets works very well along with any media for a better polish and keeping dust down.

 

[VHinch]

whats the difference between corn cob and walnut media? I read somewhere that one was better for the initial cleaning of the brass, and one was better for removing case lube and such after the loading.

Corn cob is better for rough cleaning, walnut is better for polishing. I've used both, and they both work fine.

how many of you tumble your cartridges after you've loaded them? I could see the media getting into any type of HP bullets and being a pain to clean out... but it would be nice to have nice shiny cartridges if they've been sitting around for a while, or if you have some excess lube still on them. easier than cleaning each one by hand I guess if it's possible...

There are mixed schools of thought on this. Some will tell you tumbling loaded rounds can break the powder down into smaller granules and potentially affect the burn rate, others will tell you they've done it for years with no problems. I've never done it, just because I can't see any possible benefit to it. I reload in bulk because I shoot a lot, I couldn't care less if the rounds aren't shiny.

 

[Petro_58]

I use a Corncob or courser Walnut to start and a very fine Walnut (20/30) for finish polishing. If I tumble after I've loaded or just get some older stuff that needs a little shine, the Finer Walnut does great, nothing in the Hollow Points.

 

[Crackerz]

Don't throw away that badly tarnished brass! Try this link's advice, I think you'll be pleased.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=83572&highlight=citric+cleaners

Then get your crushed walnut shells at Petsmart by the 25 lb. bag, some NuFinish, and polish to a lustrous sheen!

 

[glockfan]

Thanks allot to all. I will get the lizard litter and try that first. I will also try the corn cob media from walmart. I have already purchased some polishing liquid from midway usa so I will use it first then try the nu-finish car wax and dryer sheets.

As for the black brass I have very little of it. I would safely estimate that I have less than 50 rounds of it out of the thousands of rounds of brass that I have and I will simply toss it. I always pick up my brass after a day at the range and as most if not all of you already know, you never find all the shells. These are shells I found from previous outings that were exposed to the weather for a long time.

I deprimed a few hundred rounds already without polishing and it seems to me that the dirty brass can't be good for the dies so I stopped. I will polish a few hundred then deprime and see how that goes.

Thanks a bunch for the info and if you have any more suggestions then by all means feel free to add it to this thread. All helpful information is greatly appreciated.

 

[gacajun]

I bought FINE walnut shell media from a local tool shop in Athens, about $25 for a 25lb box. I tumble the brass first and then deprime. I use a Lee 4 turret press but use it in a single stage mode. I mounted my primer pocket tool on my drill press and just spin it and hold the brass up to the drill press. Makes cleaning the primer pockets A LOT quicker. I then prime several hundred casings and store then. I just load the bullets when I need the ammo...use my stash of primed brass as I need it.

 

[SpeedyR]

where did you get the media in athens? headed up there tomorrow and might stop by if it's on the west side of town..

 

[gacajun]

I got it at Harbor Freight in Athens next to the Home Depot. When you enter the store go to the back right hand corner and you'll see the tumblers and media there. I bought one of the 2 drum tumblers meant for tumbling rocks, it tumbles slowly and can run for hours on end. With two drums I can tumble about 350 9mm brass at one time. I run it for about 4 hours and everything comes out good.

 

[wildmantaz]

You can get corncob media at Northern Tool. You have to order it at the store and will be shipped to the store. It is smaller than the Walmart stuff and comes in a large bag about the size of a 40 lb sack of whole corn.

It works great for smaller cases. I use the walmart stuff for large pistol cases.

I ad a cap or two of NuFinish to my Large Midway tumbler.