adding polish to your media ?

R

rebs

New member
using a vibratory case cleaner with crushed walnot shells, how do you add polishing media ?

I put it in by the tablespoon full slowly but it turns into clumps. Any way to avoid the clumps ?
 
I use a Lyman 1200 Pro tumbler with ground corncob media and add a teaspoon of NuFinish car polish every 2nd or so use. The media lasts a long time but it's too coarse to clean a deprimed case because it'll foul the pocket and hole. Friends use ground walnut and don't have that problem so I'm going to switch over when I run out of my current stuff.

The NuFinish is petroleum based and waxless and doesn't leave any residue on the brass.
 
I use corncob media and add Flitz. I let the tumbler run without cases for several minutes to spread the polish throughout the media and all the clumps disappear. I've never used walnut before. Maybe it just clumps up with polish and won't go away?
 
I put it in by the tablespoon full slowly but it turns into clumps. Any way to avoid the clumps ?
Click to expand...

I use NuFinish and also get some clumps but they quickly break up and disappear. I have heard there is a Turtle Wax mix which works better but have yet to try it. Anyway any clumps I get are quickly gone in a few minuets.

Ron
 
Pour the polish in while the tumbler is running. Yes there will be lumps, but they will break down as the media circulates (I've used NuFinish, Turtle Wax cleaner & polish, Turtle Wax Liquid, Scratch away, and a couple other auto polishes, all work. I also tried flake carnauba wax, but I got wax balls along with my brass).
 
I'm new but "Santa Daughter" got me a Frankford Arsenal vibrating tumbler for Christmas (after I gave her the links to get the right stuff). I'd read about adding polish and so I started slowly. As the tumbler ran (without cases) and using crushed walnut PLUS jewelers' polish (so the seller on eBay said...), I let it run a bit as he instructed. I let it run about 10 minutes and added some cases.

Let the cases tumble for 1 hour but not impressed. :( So I added a little Simonize Liquid Car Wax and let it run. THESE cases looked good.

So I added more cases and it took about 3 hours (.38 spl + .357) a friend gave me that were DIRTY. After 3 hours they looked excellent. Almost new and shiny like it. Did some less-dirty 9mm cases + .45acp that I had shot and collected and after about an hour +/- they were clean. Walnut shells plus a LITTLE liquid polish (good quality) seems to work for me....
 
I challenge you to skip the polish and let the vibrating cleaner (crushed walnut) do it's work for a minimum of 2 1/2 hours. Don't forget the used dryer cloth to help collect the soot.
 
I like Lizard Litter for media.

Turn it on, add a couple of capsful of Nu finish and a capful of mineral
spirits. Let it run 10 minutes or so, add brass and a dryer sheet torn in
strips. I do the Nu Finish/mineral spirits every fourth load or so.

One of my better buys is a little timer that plugs into the wall, and the
cleaner plugs into it. OFF, ON, 1 HR, 2 HRS, 4 HRS, 8 HRS.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Digital-shu...ereo-outlet-/171231599188?hash=item27de32da54

Before the timer I have left it on all night a time or two---nice shine!

2 Hrs does it for most, 4 hrs for the really grungy stuff.
 
I use Flitz with crushed walnut shells (pet store stuff). I don’t measure it, just drizzle in a tablespoon or so while the vibrator is running. There’s no way that I know of to avoid clumps, but I break up the bigger ones with my fingers and then let it run 10 minutes or until I see no more clumps and then dump the brass in and add some used dryer sheet strips.
 
Run the tumbler media with NO Brass, add / drizzle in the polish and let run for 15 minutes to break down the clumps.

I added polish with the brass, to corn cob, and ended up with rabbit pellet looking clumps inside cases. Yuck.
 
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T'Oheir should be along any minute to tell you polish isnt necessary.:D

Turn er on and squeeze. The brass will help break up the clumps, though I do try to avoid the polish landing on the brass as the polish/media tends to remain a ball if it lands in the case mouth.
 
I take a little liquid car wax and drizzle the bottom of my tumbler bowl when I put new corn cob media in. I let it run for about 5 minutes than I add my brass. This seems to prevent any clumping.

I have tried the dryer sheets but it seems to work when I use the low end kitty litter. I have found the 15 pound corn cob media from Harbor Freight to be low dust and the right size for polishing.

My cleaning process is to throw everything in the tumbler and tumble with well used media to clean the grime off the casings (about 1 hour). After the initial clean I will sort and put away the well used media. When I get ready to load I will use the car wax/corn cob media for about 2 hours on the brass.
 
I really liked the results with odorless mineral spirits (still did it outside) but the rubber seal around the lid got wrinkly. It eventually went back to normal but I think long term it wouldn't last too long.
 
I challenge you to skip the polish and let the vibrating cleaner (crushed walnut) do it's work for a minimum of 2 1/2 hours. Don't forget the used dryer cloth to help collect the soot.
Click to expand...

Newb question: I read about polish and those first cases were very dirty so they needed all the help they could get, but I never saw anything about dryer sheets until just now. Tear 'em in strips seems like a good idea but don't they shred or tatter and get mixed in with the media torn up or not? Wouldn't that screw up the media after a while? Do you have to filter it out some way eventually?

I also went to eBay and got one of those timers referenced/linked above. That seems like a good idea for unmonitored tumbling.
 
I agree with MarkGlazer; try tumbling w/o auto polish. I do use car wax in my tumblers sometimes, but not to clean, as I've found the wax/polishes don't add anything to cleaning. I started tumbling "pre-web" so I usually just used nekkid walnut media. But, I do like a very thin coating of wax to add a small amount of shine and protect the brass from tarnish. I have tried nearly everything I could think of as a tumbling media (beach sand, rice/dried beans, pet litters, cat litter, wood chunks, ceramic and or plastic pieces, and commercial blast media, plus a bunch of stuff Ican't remember right now.). I have found commercial corn cob blast media to work better than anything I tried (and yes it is different than pet shop corn cob stuff). I settled on http://www.drillspot.com/products/499763/econoline_526020g-40_40_lbs_blast_media. For polishing all it takes is time and the only brass I get shiny, bright polish is my 30-06 and 45 ACP. Shiny brass is easier to find in the dirt, rocks, trash at my "range" when flung from my semi-autos...:D
 
I have tried nearly everything I could think of as a tumbling media (beach sand, rice/dried beans, pet litters, cat litter....
Click to expand...

How did that work? I have some cat litter left over after the cat died... :(

I've been considering things to do with it. Not getting another feline.
 
Robhic, two things. No, the dryer sheets don't disenigrate. I just cut them in quarters. Easy to find and pull out. They are filthy so I only use them once. Secondly they must be used. A new one will muck things up.
 
The dry sheet collects a good portion of the dust/ soot residue, not 100% but a great deal. I change my media (Zilla) once each year as a matter of habit. You don't need to shred the sheet.

I find that when you let the brass clean for at least 2 1/2 hours, it's shiny and can be slippery. I'm not obsessed with the state of the brass per se, just want it clean, especially the flash-hole, which it does quite well.

robhic - I understand that cat litter is excellent for absorbing paint for disposal. Supposedly it turns the paint into a solid which can then go to the dump. I intend on trying this method next year if we decide to sell our house and move as I have a number of cans I won't need or want. Don't trust my word, heard this way back, check the net to validate.
 
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