Tumbling Media
 

What is the best Media To use to clean and Polishes brass? Corn Cobe or Walnut?

RE: Tumbling Media
 

I use both, together. I use a 50/50 mix of the fine walnut bedding and the fine corn cob bedding, both of which can be found at you local Petco (or similar pet store). The walnut is usually found by the bird stuff and the corncob is usually either in the same place or by the small animal stuff. The media that you can get at the pet store is MUCH cheaper than the same product at your shooting supply store, and works just as well. After mixing it in another container (I use an empty cat little jug to mix and store the media), I put an appropriate amount in my tumbler and add a couple tablespoons of Iosso Brass Polish and let the tumbler run empty for 30-60 minutes to mix and dry the polish with the media.

I started out using the Lyman green treated corncob media, but found that that stuff took up to 24 hours of tumbling to fully clean and polish even moderately dirty cases, and it is very expensive. The life expectancy was also very short. After three or four tumbling sessions it's be black as coal and would not longer polish the brass to my satisfaction. The 50/50 walnut/corncob media I use lasts through at least 10 cleaning sessions, costs half as much, and polished twice as fast. If I am tumbling fired cases that never hit the ground, they can be clean and polished to a very bright shine in less than 3-4 hours. Dirtier cases require at most 6 hours to be sparkling clean and shinier than new.

Mike

RE: Tumbling Media
 

I have always used corn cob treated with either Midway brass polish or Iosso brass polish. A few hours in the tumbler and the brass comes out looking better than new!

RE: Tumbling Media
 

I am cheap ,I use untreated corn cob pet bedding 1/8" size .
It takes a little longer and the brass is never as bright.
BUT a 50 lb bag at the local pet store is the same price as 1 package of treated Lyman stuff.
I set a timer to run the tumbler 2-3 hrs while I am at work

RE: Tumbling Media
 

Been using corncob from the petstore for years and it works just as good as the treated stuff . Corncob is all the same its what you put in it that counts .

RE: Tumbling Media
 

I like the corn cob media myself. I treat mine with Dillon 290. Also hearing real good reports about the ceramic media in tumblers.

RE: Tumbling Media
 

It seems to me that the walnut does a better job with very dirty cases, maybe it is more abrasive. and the corncob gives a finer smoother polish. I usually run fired cases through a quick ( 1 hour ) polish with the walnut before depriming in order to take off any big chunks then follow with corncob for 3-4 hours to remove case lube and polish the brass to a new finish. I also use lyman recharger with my corncob media.

maybe labor intensive, but I like to set it up to run while i'm gone. Don't care for the noise. The idea of a timer is a good one.

My brass seems to dull after being reloaded. Is this corrision due to handling? Or am I letting them sit on the shelf for to long (unfortunately true). Does anyone know of a product that "seals" the finished product to keep that "new" look? I take a lot of pride in this and would like shiny shells at the range and dog towns instead of dull.

RE: Tumbling Media
 

I noticed the same thing with mine. Mirror shiny after tumbling but by the time I'd seated the bullets they were looking a little dull. I found that by ensuring the my hands are clean before handling clean brass helps a lot. I'g guess that the brass reacts with oil and/or salt from ones hands that dulls and tarnishes the brass. As long as I wash my hands before handling the brass stay very shiny.

Mike

RE: Tumbling Media
 

Both, walnut first and corncob last for really purty brass.

I have settled on just corncob however.

RE: Tumbling Media
 

Not sure, I believe its the oils from Walnut and corncob. I have not tried it, but some say to wash real good with tarnx and soap wash and dry. Too much trouble for me.