The Verdict on Ceramic-style Tumbling Media

R

robhic

New member
I just got some used ceramic "thingies" used for lapidary cleaning/polishing. :D It said the edges were worn down and these were more dull, ceramic (look like) pills for tumbling.

I figured for $10, what the heck, and I got them. I also figured that I'd use these after a corn/walnut media tumble as sort of a finishing step. Dull or not, the ceramic is still ceramic so I'd guess it might be good and at worst can't hurt. If it sucks, I'm out $10.

I've seen folks talk about the little pyramidal ceramic (?) media from Harbor Freight. Is it good, better, best from cob/walnut media? Just curious cuz I got the 'stones' now I gotta figure best way to utilize them ... if at all. Thanks!
 
Only thing I have used ceramic media for was tumble coating bullets with powdered moly and I didn’t do that but a few times years ago.
 
I have used ceramic media for it's normal purpose which is deburring machined parts.It works well for that.It comes in different grades and some of it is pretty aggressive.It is normally used as a wet process with water and a cleaning solution.I wouldn't try the stuff I used on cartridge cases.
 
Only thing I have used ceramic media for was tumble coating bullets with powdered moly and I didn’t do that but a few times years ago.
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Did it do anything besides clean up (I am presuming this was the idea...) the coated bullets? Were any casings involved at all?

I have used ceramic media for it's normal purpose which is deburring machined parts.It works well for that.It comes in different grades and some of it is pretty aggressive.It is normally used as a wet process with water and a cleaning solution.I wouldn't try the stuff I used on cartridge cases.
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These said they had been used in lapidary cleaning (rocks and gemstones...) and the ceramics were worn down and rounded. Doesn't sound aggressive. These look like Tylenol capsules. I know I've read some have been used for case-cleaning so I guess I'll give 'em a try.
 
First I heard of ceramics. I wonder if you could mix it with regular media?


Always interested in better cleaning process though what I have works good enough.
 
i have been using ceramic to clean my black powder cases for 15 years,,the stuff looks like little 1/8" sticks about 3/8" long with the ends cut on a 45* angle,,,cleans everything,,primer pockets too,,,cases look new when they come out,,,these are to be used wet,,i put a cap of simple green in the water and put 100 cases in for a few hours,,,maybe 3 hours,,,,water comes out black and nasty,,, but cases come out bright and shinny

these sticks wont work with bottle neck cases,,they get jammed in the case and wont come out without a lot of cussing and stuff,,,lol,,,i am pretty sure they came up with some smaller disc looking stuff for the bottle neck cases

my .02

ocharry
 
The black in the water will include superfine brass particles. The water is necessary to keep the ceramic from clogging up with whatever it rubs off the brass. How aggressive it is, depends on the constituent particle size used to make the ceramic. I have two ceramic trigger sear stones from Brownells with one coarser than the other and I keep them wet with honing oil rather than water, but either works. Figure the media is basically a whole bunch of little sharpening stones. They will gradually wear the brass thinner, but if they are fine enough, that could take a lot longer than the normal life of the brass.
 
Robert,
Since you have already bought the media, give it a go and tell us how it works.

I can tell you from experience the following don't work very well:
Kitty Litter ( clean)
Rice
Sand
Sawdust
Vermiculite granular insulation

Let us know how the ceramic pills do. Size is important in tumbling media, stuff that sticks inside cases is a pain to work with.

Gary
 
I use ceramic beads to clean my brass. I only reload straight wall cartridges. I got a good deal on 10 pounds and they never go bad. My mixture has 3 different size beads that all work together to clean the whole case. They work good, brass comes out clean
 
Ruga Booga said:
I use ceramic beads to clean my brass. I only reload straight wall cartridges. I got a good deal on 10 pounds and they never go bad. My mixture has 3 different size beads that all work together to clean the whole case. They work good, brass comes out clean
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Do they clean out the primer pocket as well? I'd think that would be the greatest challenge. I assume you use the media in a vibratory tumbler?
 
Since you have already bought the media, give it a go and tell us how it works.
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That was my thought. I know I've seen talk of a pyramidal-shaped ceramic from Harbor Freight. I also think it was said it worked. We'll see....

Let us know how the ceramic pills do. Size is important in tumbling media, stuff that sticks inside cases is a pain to work with.
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My plan and I am only doing pistol cases so stuck media shouldn't be a problem.

I can tell you from experience the following don't work very well:
Kitty Litter ( clean)
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Yep, had some left after my daughter's cat died and decided to add some to see. Bad idea - it did nothing but clog and I filtered it out and tossed it ASAP. Live and learn. :o
 
" Do they clean out the primer pocket as well? I'd think that would be the greatest challenge. I assume you use the media in a vibratory tumbler ?"
Yes they do, but I should mention that the brass had not been fired more than 3x and I cannot clean a whole lot at once since the ceramic is heavy and my vibratory cleaner is only a Lyman 1200. If the brass were very dirty I could see these beads leaving a ring around the inside bottom of case and primer pocket due to their shape. Eventually I will upgrade to tumbler and ss pins.
 

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That's a lot finer than I thought. I have the SS pins and really like how they work although it does take longer (rinsing, drying).
 
Years ago: Ceramic, there was a mad dash for the 'new stuff'; I thought it was too heavy, it slowed down my small viberator tumbles and I was not going to give up the 1,000 case capacity on my big one because? I had a choice, the capacity was 75 pounds, the 75 pounds included the media and weight of the cases.

And for the worst of cases I started with vinegar not as a habit but once for the life of the case because I thought the acid was a bad habit. Before vinegar I used some really bad stuff, it was bad on everything bit great for cleaning old tools and case iron.

F. Guffey
 
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Ceramic or hard resin media is very aggressive when used on brass. It will clean very good, but it leaves a matte finish, not shiny/glossy like many want.
a lot depends on shape and size of the media (in commercial use/machine shop use I've seen media as large as 1" and many smaller than 1/2" and different shapes from rods to pyramids to balls.). I don't use it with any solution, just dry in my rotary tumbler. I have some of the HF resin "pyramids" media and used alone it will get all/everything off the external surfaces of cartridge brass, but is too large to get inside a case. I also use it "straight" for cleaning tools, parts. I have a mix 25-75 of these resin pyramids and corn cob blast media which works well for me and gives a good finish, but I don't want/need a glossy finish except on my 30-06 Garand brass...
 
I may have to espeiment

It seem to me that some crermi or sitaness in with dry would work

As long as it does not clog the case itself, I am used to cleaning out the primer pocket as I tumble it after I have done the prep (a lot of bench rest shooters do not clean each cycle, ergo my experience says its not an issue to lube, size and then clean)

I know I don't have to clean, but I have to remove the lube anyway and I like shiny cases, not a have to but a Like so I do what I like.
 
I can tell you from personal experience, the open pore ceramic will plug up, closed pore ('Fine') will coat with brass, both will need cleaned from time to time.
Both will erode the brass.

Depending on size/shape, they can get stuck in cases.

I used black volcanic sand, which worked OK butt would round over sharp edges (extraction rims) so it wasn't ideal.
The fastest cleaning/polishing by far was water & plastic balls with embedded ceramic, but VERY prone to sticking in bottle neck cases. Cheap, long lived, but open, stright sided cases only...
 
Ceramic or hard resin media is very aggressive when used on brass. It will clean very good, but it leaves a matte finish, not shiny/glossy like many want.
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Interesting. I had added a bit of powdered jeweler's polish to my walnut/corncob mix media. I wondered if it would improve the finish.

First batch came out, as you say, matte finish. Hmmm. :confused: However, when I resized these cases (I tumble after de-capping and before putting back in storage) the cases came out VERY shiny.

Like the polish set it up (?) and the pressure from the die finished it off. Kinda neat but, IMO, kinda odd.
 
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