Any tips for when using brass case Polishing Media?

V

VaniB

New member
I have an old 1970's Thumler's Tumbler. I use the original red rouge media that I've rejuvinated numerous times with paint thinner. But I'm tired of the mess it makes to clean the stuff. So, I bought some new corn-cob replacement media, as well as some oak polishing media. I was wondering what I should mix in with the new corn/oak polishing medias if anything. Or do you just use the corn cob/oak stuff pure as it is? If I need to add something, tell me it's a household product that I can find at the HomeDepot, instead of having to special order another product from the internet.
 
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grainger and others sell "blasting media" fine ground corn cob. this is ideal for POLISHING brass. its a 40 lb bag in a box for less than $35( big price increase in the last 2 months was under 25 delivered).
split a box with friends.
add a bit...less than a cap full of nu finish car polish...let it run then add the brass.

do not use walnut( its not oak)..it is for CLEANING dirty brass not for POLISHING....its unlikely your brass falls in the dirty catagory.
i sell brass for a living and in almost 5 years have used walnut ONCE on some brass that had got wet.
the nu finish is available almost every where and is about half the cost of products listed as brass polish( and no it is not a wax)

most brass takes about one hour .....some 2 and very seldom 3.....

mike in co
 
I use the crushed walnut shells with a touch of iron oxide powder and an occasional refresh of Nu-Finish. The brass doesn't seem to know if it's been "cleaned" or "polished".....it just shines after about an hour and a half.
 
Andy, thanks for the help.... but Iron Oxide? Where the hey do I find that locally? I googled it to find some kids making the stuff on YouTube for pyrotechnic purposes! Ok guys, once again I put my lazy ass to work and started looking other places besides BR Central for a quick answer. (dunno why I keep assuming that you guys should have all the answers for me.)

Ok.......
..........if anybody else would like to know one good way to clean brass cases with readily obtainable stuff;

Here's a box of brass before cleaning;

p801822099-4.jpg



and here's a box of CLEANED BRASS using just about any media (ie; rice, corn-cob, oak, lizard litter, etc.) and a cap of Nu-Finish Car Polish, which is widely available at local auto and/or department stores:

p626778023-4.jpg




Regards.
Randall
 
ok, i'll bite
WHAT KIND OF OAK ARE YOU USING ????

and yes there is a difference between getting brass so bright and shiny that you customers ask if it is new, and the flat brunished look of walnut.....

mike in co
 
Vani,
Since you have a Thumlers Thumbler which is a rotary Tumbler and not a vibratory thumbler you are not using it up to its potential. The different soft type media's like walnut, corn cob etc. work just fine in a vibratory tumbler. The Thumlers is actually a "Rock" polishing machine and best used with a wet media.

The best thing for you to do is get some of the Stainless Steele media and clean and polish your brass all in fell swoop. Do a search for the SS media I think McMaster Carr and Graingers both have it, but if not there are a couple of folks selling in to the rifle folks.....

Roland
 
Get a case holder that chucks up onto the case head, ( Sinclair sells them) stick it in a drill press and hold some 0000 steel wool against it.
No need to pick "stuff" out of the cases. So it may take a little longer.....so what ?
 
VaniB - I picked up the Iron Oxide back in the mid seventies when I first got into reloading and was recommended for use with the crushed walnut shells (I got mine at the foundry I worked at, they used it by the ton, added it to core sand to make the inside of a casting smooth). I tried the corn cobs with various polishes but that seemed to take a lot longer so I went back to the walnuts and have been very happy with the results. The Nu-Polish seems to work the best with whatever media.
 
I got a notice from Sinclair a few days ago that they were selling the stainless steel media.
 
NOT ALL THMBLERS ARE ROTARY, THEY ALSO MAKE VERY NICE VIBE TYPE...i have one
my guess is hios is a vibe based on the post.
mike in co
Since you have a Thumlers Thumbler which is a rotary Tumbler and not a vibratory thumbler you are not using it up to its potential. The different soft type media's like walnut, corn cob etc. work just fine in a vibratory tumbler. The Thumlers is actually a "Rock" polishing machine and best used with a wet media.

The best thing for you to do is get some of the Stainless Steele media and clean and polish your brass all in fell swoop. Do a search for the SS media I think McMaster Carr and Graingers both have it, but if not there are a couple of folks selling in to the rifle folks.....

Roland[/QUOTE]
 
get the correct sized ground corn cob media( not large pet bedding material), and you do not "pick stuff" out of the cases.

mike in co

Joe Maisto said:
Get a case holder that chucks up onto the case head, ( Sinclair sells them) stick it in a drill press and hold some 0000 steel wool against it.
No need to pick "stuff" out of the cases. So it may take a little longer.....so what ?
Click to expand...
 
Tumbling Media

I used to use case polishing media(Corn Cob) in my Hornady vibrator. I switched over to vinegar and water in year 2000. I seldom polish my brass(6PPC) anymore, cant see where it does any good. By the time my 6PPC brass needs cleaning,its time to toss it. When I do clean my brass, for cosmetic reason's, I use an ultrasonic cleaner and a beaker filled with white vinegar and hot water. You can buy these ultrasonic cleaners pretty cheap today. This one was in excess of $100.00 at "Sharper Image" back in early 2000. When they're clean,take em out,place em neck side down in a loading block and let em dry. This is just another technique used by some, to accomplish the same goal.

Works for me.


IMG_2783.jpg



Glenn
 
i agree....volume is a big decision maker in the equation.
i do lots of large lots of brass.....1000 pcs at a time......multiple loads a day
i buy in excess of 600 lbs of brass per WEEK.
my data is based on making brass so bright and shiny, retail customers do ask if it is new.

i want to try some of the ss pins...but only for small lots of my own shooting stuff...

mike in co
 
Joe Maisto said:
Get a case holder that chucks up onto the case head, ( Sinclair sells them) stick it in a drill press and hold some 0000 steel wool against it.
No need to pick "stuff" out of the cases. So it may take a little longer.....so what ?
Click to expand...

While I don't think I'd want to attempt to clean an entire case this way, I do like this idea for steel wooling just the neck and shoulder area. This is especially helpful during the annealing process when it's necessary to start with clean brass to better monitor the color change of the brass with the propane torch.


A couple of hours ago I put a modified variation of your suggestion to trial; In my shop I have a drill press with a 3/8" capacity chuck that sits conveniently on my workbench, and a taller free standing drill press with a 5/8" capacity chuck, tucked in the corner of the room. I quickly readjusted the belts on both power tools to about 1,500 RPM. To my surprise using either of these two drill presses to clean case necks & shoulders with steel wool was a fast and fumble fee process. The bench drill will quickly and easily grip a 223 case, and the larger drill press will grip my 308 cases. (Of course, I don't need two drill presses to do the job. The one larger sized drill press could accept all sized brass cases from .17 cal on up.) The large sized chucks on both these drill presses are hand filling, and it only takes a quick twist or two of the chuck by hand to grip and firmly hold onto the cases during the 5 second cleaning process. Surprisingly the cases are left unscathed, as the chucks leave absolutely no scratches on the cases! Heck, either one of these drill presses can be bought for less money now a days then what a lot of stuff out of a Sinclair catolog would cost you!

image_11232.jpg
 
Just thought I'd take a moment to provide this update; Since my last post with that above drill press illustration, I had discovered that my simple bench drill-press has a chuck that will indeed open up large enough to accept the 308 sized cases too. I didn't think it would open large enough to take a 308 case, and so I initially didn't even try it.

So you may not need to have a 6 foot tall free standing drill press with the larger chuck. These bench drill presses are very common to find for under $100. (Harbor Freight often sells them for $69.) You guys that don't currently own one would find it a very useful power tool to have in your house for general use even when it's not being used to shine up the neck of a cartridge case. Like I said before, it's especially a fast and efficient way (a few seconds) to buff up the neck-shoulder area of a brass case so you can observe the color change process during annealing chores. And it leaves no marks!
 
well its all relative....
say 15 seconds per case( in /out and polish) is four cases per min...is 240 per hour....if your hands can handle the volume.
in the same hour, my tumbler does the work for me, i do 1000 cases, and i have the hour do do other tasks...yep there is time in and out of the tumbler.
the steel wool cost money and does not last long, the corn cob last me all month( multiple loads per day, 5/6 days a week)...5l bs per tumbler $33/8 is $4 per month plus a couple of capfuls of polish.
all relative to the amount of brass one has to do.
mike in co
 
Geeees.... look whose posts it is that are situated before and after my post #16 !! I'm sandwhiched between the only two guys throughout the entire internet that are on my ignore list. (12 years of internet) What are the odds of that? Folks, you have to believe in an intelligent creator and that there is a reason for everything. I think the Lord is reminding me that I need to find another job and spend less time here. LOL ...

.....trying to laugh anyway.
 
yeahh, well, good luck wi'dat ;)

gener'ly liberals have trouble finding humor in their lives......

al
 
since i am on his ignore list and i will not see it...what a freaking idiot!
i subject covered multiple times, in depth,
asks how to polish brass but then posts how he is going to do it and as a suggestion for others...
here is a guy that is in love with himself and his own semibrillant ideas...
i ,for one, am happy to be on its ignore list...
he was not on mine, but i just fixed that...
mike in co
 
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