Additive to tumbling media

[no_problem]

What, if anything, do you add to your walnut tumbling media ?

I have heard that adding a little paint thinner gets the crud off of those really nasty cases. But I am not sure if the paint thinner will attack the plastic of the tumbling bowl.

 

[mscott]

I just use a little Nu-Finish car polish with every batch of cases in pet store walnut. I have a timer set for 2 hours and get real nice brass.

 

[glockgod]

I use Brasso in crushed walnut media-works well.

 

[<SLV>]

+1 to Nu Finish. Wipes to a nice shine. However, sometimes it leaves some staining around the neck of the case. I have a feeling that the Nu Finish will keep the cases looking fresh in long-term storage, but I haven't been using it long enough to tell yet.

I've heard that the amonia in Brasso can make the cases brittle. I'm not an expert on this -- just something I read.

 

[stubbicatt]

NuFinish is good, Flitz tumbler additive is also good.

 

[rcmodel]

Flitz is the best I have ever used, but it is expensive.

Brasso should not be used, because it contains a good percentage of Ammonia.

Ammonia is not good for cartridge cases, or so I have been told for about 50 years.


rcmodel

 

[jpwilly]

I put some of the stuff from Cabelas in there and it works good. I haven't tried anything else becuase I haven't run out of that yet...it came with the tumbler.

 

[realbuffdriver]

I add a capful of NuFinish car polish to each load, and about every fourth load, I add a half capful of mineral spirits. The MS seem to keep dust down. I also drop in a couple of dryed out hand wipes. I use the hand wipes at the range to clean up before coming home and then dry them out for use in the tumbler to absorb the dust.

Cheers,

RealBuffDriver

 

[jcwit]

Nu Finish rocks. Works in corn cob too.

 

[jeepmor]

I've tried Nufinish and Flitz in walnut media, both excellent. For the dollar, NuFinish is the way to go.

Old dryer sheets catch the dust and crud very well. Don't use new ones, the dryer stuff on the sheet will goo up on the sides of your bowl and require mineral spirits and elbow grease to get it off. Yep, I tried it. The dryer sheets still worked really well too.

For really stubbornly stained brass, Lyman Turbo Polish with the red rouge in it works great. But it is another tumbling product, not an additive.

 

[Rustynuts]

Would dried out baby wipes work? (CLEAN dried out baby wipes!)

 

[revolverman357]

Nu-Finish and a little mineral spirits with pet store corn cob material.

 

[Walkalong]

I use Franford Arsenal brass polish and it works great

 

[USSR]

Glass Plus non-Ammonia glass cleaner sprayed on the brass and media while in the tumbler, cuts the tumbling time substantially and cleans the brass real good. I use a tumbler to clean, not polish.

Don

 

[neal7250]

Has anyone used the Dillon Rapid Polish 290?

 

[WNTFW]

I tried the Glass Plus non ammonia & it did not do much. Maybe the problem was my media already had other additives in it.

I also took Nu-finish & tried mixing it with the Glass Plus - didn't mix well. The mineral spirits mixed with the Nu-finish - which smells like it had it in the first place. I'm one that believes Nu-finish will help protect case against oxidation/tarnish.

What I do is add the Mineral Spirits to the Nu-Finish & replace the cap with a flip open type. (Johnson's baby Shampoo) Then shake & add when needed. I find the media tends to need less as it becomes more saturated. I'm not giving media time to dry out. tumbling back to back batches. maybe on the summer it will be different.

I do not cut up my dryer sheets - just poke them over the center rod & let them drape into the bowl. They stay in the bowl when I dump the cases/media.

Later,
WNTFW

 

[jameslovesjammie]

I use Dillon Rapid Polish all the time. For years we used treated media, and it worked well. Then I bought a bottle of Rapid Polish and it blew me away!

I think it's really just car polish with blue dye in it. When I'm out of polish, that's exactly what I'm going to try...car polish.

I also use crushed walnut from the pet store for my media. They're excellent for pistol, but tend to get stuck in rifle cases. For them I use regular media.

 

[aka108]

I used some Dillion Polish until the bottle was gone. Now just use a little mineral spirits in new walnut media to cut the dust.

 

[Roccobro]

Only mineral spirits and paper towel squares. Did a few loads without any MS and the brass started coming out "grungy" after 4 hours in. An extra big dose of MS the next load and the walnut looks like new again. A sheet of paper towel is cheap and keeps the dust and dirt out of the media really well.

Tried some cheap car polish at first, but didn't notice anything different. I don't think I like *really* shiny cases anyways.

Justin

 

[Mark whiz]

I only use mineral spirits to "recharge" the media about every dozen loads. I pour in the Spirits and add a bunch of 1" dryer sheet squares and let it run an hour or so. This cleans the media of most all the accummulated crud. Then I'll add a polish of some sort (Flitz, Frankfort Arsenal, Nu-Finish - whatever I have at the time), tumble for 30 minutes and then start adding the brass.