About media, again

[gamestalker]

Yep, another media thread. But this time it's a good one.

So last time I was discussing media, it was about how to get the inexpensive stuff from HF, and how to get it working well. So I tried adding a cap full of Nu Finish to the media, and the results were so, so, but ultimately it was still pretty ugly even after a full day of tumbling, obviously with the lid on.

So with nothing to loose, I increased the amount of Nu Finish to 2 cap fulls, then 3, but it didn't seem to make any difference. So I went out and bought a couple jugs of the Lyman walnut and kind of forgot about the 5 gal. bucket full of HF. It's been sitting there uncovered for at least a few months.

This afternoon I tossed some ugly 7 mag and ,270 brass in the tumbler, but I thought, why contaminate my good media with lube, and instead just use the HF stuff I had treated with Nu Finish for that purpose. So after about an hour or so, I decided to swap the media out with the good stuff, but when I dumped it in the colander, the brass was looking really good, not completely polished up yet, but incredibly clean looking and some what shiny.

So I decided to let it run for another few hours to see what happens, which at this point it's been tumbling for about 4 hours, and it's awesome looking.

My only question now is, did letting it sit exposed to the open air under my bench some how effect how the Nu Finish impregnated the media? Did it need to cure or something? I now have enough good media to last me for a long time.

Has anyone else experienced anything similar?

GS

 

[243winxb]

Nu Finish-all that's left is abrasive material?

The STODDARD SOLVENT may have evaporated. Stoddard solvent is a petroleum distillate mixture of C7-C12 hydrocarbons. http://www.primeautomotive.com/msds/nu_finish_wax_msds.pdf Like i have a clue.

 

[Rule3]

What HF media? Walnut?

What Lyman Media, Corn, Treated Corn, Tuff Nut??

Walnut scrubs and does not shine as well as Corn, I just mix both 50:50 add my Nu Finish and all is well. Every once and a while add a few caps of mineral spirits (aka Stoddard solvent) Near surgical quality

Can't believe I am typing on another media thread.

 

[Potatohead]

I think you need to wash or "winnow" it

 

[Potatohead]

Speaking of the darn devil (winnowing) there's the man himself! (rule 3)

 

[moxie]

Also 50:50 walnut:corn & a tad NuFinish.

 

[mgmorden]

I do half a cap of Nu-finish in my batches. Brass that didn't look that bad to start with will come out looking great.

If it was already tarnished it'll come out clean and smooth, but the tarnish doesn't come off. Such cases have always still shot just fine for me though.

I've been wanting to try SS pins or Ultrasonic lately but getting setup for those is a tad expensive. I'm already setup with a standard tumbler and I can get enough media (crushed walnut) to fill it 4-5 times from the pet store for $8.

 

[Schwing]

Back when I used a vibratory tumbler with walnut media, I would put a cap full of mineral spirits in the tumbler each batch. That was the cleanest I had ever seen my brass back then.

I've been wanting to try SS pins or Ultrasonic lately

Then I got the Frankford Arsenal rotary tumbler and SS pins... Boy was it worth the cost!

 

[Rule3]

Speaking of the darn devil (winnowing) there's the man himself! (rule 3)

Saving the winnowing for when we have advanced media topic thread!

 

[gamestalker]

Please excuse my ignorance, but what is winnowing? Is that something a farmer would do with grains or something?

It is Lyman walnut media, as I stated in my OP. The HF media is also walnut, sorry, I failed to mention that.

I just wondered if anyone might know why letting it sit exposed to the air may have some how helped. Doing so definitely had some type of effect, I just don't why. But at least I now have a very good supply of good usable WALNUT media.

GS

 

[Rule3]

Please excuse my ignorance, but what is winnowing? Is that something a farmer would do with grains or something?

It is Lyman walnut media, as I stated in my OP. The HF media is also walnut, sorry, I failed to mention that.

I just wondered if anyone might know why letting it sit exposed to the air may have some how helped. Doing so definitely had some type of effect, I just don't why. But at least I now have a very good supply of good usable WALNUT media.

GS

I should let Potatoehead handle this.

Yes it is exactly what you said. Folks that have dust in there corn (or walnut) Go out on a windy day and pour your media from one bucket into another slowly.

The dust and fines blow away. Yes, it works.

Try some corn media your brass will shine more, I have no idea why letting it set made it work better? I think is a delusion or somethng

 

[orionengnr]

I think you added way too much Nu-Finish, and I'm surprised that the media din't clump up.

I think that letting it sit for a while allowed the carrier to evaporate...that leaves, in essence, a polishing powder that dusts the media lightly.

I throw in 1/2 to 3/4 cap worth once every 6-12 batches. A little goes a long way. After tossing in the Nu-Finish, I let the tumbler run for 20 minutes or so to let the carrier evaporate. Then I throw in the brass and the drier sheets.

 

[Reefinmike]

I use HF media, whenever things arent coming out really pretty after a couple hours, I add a lot of nufinish. atleast two caps worth. things come out looking like ss tumbled brass

 

[gamestalker]

I had a pretty good idea of what ya all were referring to, but I've never heard it referred to as winnowing. I've never really tried that, I usually just add cotton balls or pieces of cotton cloth then run the tumbler, adding fresh, and removing the dust filled pieces as needed, until the media is desirable.

I started out with about a 1/2 cup of Nu Finish, but things weren't improving, so I continued adding more and more, until I finally gave up and bought the Lyman media I've always used. And I did let it run with the lid off to allow the Nu Finish to dry.

I can tell you one thing though, when I open the tumbler to check on the brass, there's a bunch of crystalline looking material, kind of looks like mica dust. Either way, it works good now.

GS

 

[Rule3]

I had a pretty good idea of what ya all were referring to, but I've never heard it referred to as winnowing. I've never really tried that, I usually just add cotton balls or pieces of cotton cloth then run the tumbler, adding fresh, and removing the dust filled pieces as needed, until the media is desirable.

I started out with about a 1/2 cup of Nu Finish, but things weren't improving, so I continued adding more and more, until I finally gave up and bought the Lyman media I've always used. And I did let it run with the lid off to allow the Nu Finish to dry.

I can tell you one thing though, when I open the tumbler to check on the brass, there's a bunch of crystalline looking material, kind of looks like mica dust. Either way, it works good now.

GS

You used a 1/2 cup of Nu Finish in the tumbler???

That would be a mess! Use about 2-4 cap full in brand new media and let it mix for a while with no brass. I dilute it a bit with mineral spirits so it liquifies and spreads around better,

 

[Hondo 60]

I started out with about a 1/2 cup of Nu Finish

1/2 a cup??

1 cAp full is all you need.
1/2 a cup is waaaayyyyyy too much.

 

[Ex]

I like how the NuFinish leaves a tarnish resistant surface!

But, for my badly tarnished brass, I've found nothing that works better than Turtle Wax Mag Wheel and Chrome polish. Has just enough abrasive (like jewelers rouge) to really scrub the tarnish off. Has the benefit of being very economical.

I've used Dillon polish, Mothers, NuFinish etc. Try the Turtle Wax.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I use bulk corn 20/40 corn cob that comes in feed sack and a little Nu Finish. My brass shines like new.

 

[LiveLife]

I use bulk corn 20/40 corn cob that comes in feed sack and a little Nu Finish. My brass shines like new.

+1. I used to use coarse grit walnut (12/14) bought from gun shows and results were so so with a lot of dust. When I switched to fine grit walnut (20/40) with NuFinish, results were much better and my brass came out cleaner faster with better shine (I think smaller granules with more surface area doing a better job of rubbing the brass surface). I currently use Harbor Freight 24 grit walnut media and there is no dust with very good cleaning/polishing with NuFinish (but plan to test Mineral Spirits next). I use walnut to clean my brass with good enough shine for range use and corn cob to polish for mirror like shine.

I started out with about a 1/2 cup of Nu Finish, but things weren't improving, so I continued adding more and more, until I finally gave up

Yup, way too much NuFinish. With new media, I add 1-2 CAP (not CUP) of polish and run the tumbler til all the clumps are gone (I am impatient so I stir the media with a stick while the tumbler is running to expedite the distribution of polish). I prefer to keep my media on the "dry" side and only add additional polish every 2-3 loads or when I see cleaning/polishing time extend (indoor range brass takes 20-30 minutes to clean with light polish using Berry's tumbler loaded to 80%).

 

[gamestalker]

Thanks for the advice everyone.

Next time I need media, which probably won't be until the turn of the century, I'll give some of those methods a try. Actually Ex, I still have a bunch that hasn't been treated yet, perhaps I'll pick some of thet Turtle was Chrome polish a try.

I tried some stuff my son uses when he paints cars once, it worked really well, but I found out it had ammonia in it, so I stopped using it.

Maybe I'll try dumping the entire bottle of Nu Finish in and see what happens Wow, where did my brass go, and where did all this brass dust come from? then

GS

 

[ku4hx]

I use NuFinish and walnut lizard bedding. The bedding works extremely well and is the only media I've used since 1970 that did not get stuck in the primer or flash hole. It is a little dusty regardless of what the package clains. http://www.petco.com/product/102881/Zilla-Ground-English-Walnut-Shells-Reptile-Bedding.aspx

I hate gunking up the cap so I use a Tablespoon measuring spoon ... 1Tbsp works well for me.