I'm not trying for "surgically clean brass" (which you noted). Never have. Currently I, 1) wash it in weak acid, 2) resize it, 3) tumble the lube off in walnut media and 4) call it a day.
If I can get similar results tumbling in the alluvial deposits (sand contaminated with a highly absorbent red clay) then I could start using it myself (
and get the prestige of saying I source my own tumbling media), but I could then get some lab tests comparing it with corn and walnut and explaining why it works so well, put up some you-tube demonstrations and start a mail-order business for it as a new tumbling media. As several people have already said, polishing brass is a frequently (
and often passionately) discussed part of the reloading process, so people looking for something new different and (
arguably) better might be persuaded to choose Katy Branch brand media. If that took off it could provide employment for a couple of people who currently don't have decent job prospects.
It's all ultimately self-serving for me. I have a neurological impairment. I will be living in a county that constantly flirts with bankruptcy. The county seat is 7 miles away from the farm and the county hospital can be reached in 15 minutes on a good day. If the hospital goes bankrupt and has to shut down, then the nearest medical care for me will be an hour away. Getting something - anything - started that can employ people is the key to keeping the county alive and making it possible for me to continue to live there and have my private shooting range.[/QUOTE
Good luck in your quest,