Brass Polishing Compound - Refresh?

[Toforo]

Using the corn-cob media, about how often do you "refresh" it with the polishing compound of your choice?
(I use NuFinish)

Do you add a little everytime you use your tumbler?
Every other time?

I'm sure there's such a thing as "too much" and/or "too often" when adding the polishing compounds - but what are the effects, side-effects, bad effects (and what do you look for) ?

One of my friends and local "co-reloader" refreshes his corn-cob media with polishing compound every time he uses his tumbler with a fresh load of brass......
Which is what brought up this question, lol.

"Books" and others say "about" every other load....

Thoughts? Comments? Experiences? Warnings?

Thanks!

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I add a little NuFinish with every batch.

 

[jcwit]

I usually do not add till I notice it takes longer to clean/polish the cases. Adding some each time will clog your media quickly IMO. This is one place where less is more, don't forget the used dryer sheets also.

Something else I might add is a couple of hundred plus cases will clean/polish better than 25/50 cases.

 

[JO JO]

used dryer sheets ?

 

[rodregier]

Dryer sheets are alleged to remove some of the crud that is floating around in the corn cob, extending it's usage life.

 

[jcwit]

used dryer sheets ?

Cut up used dryer sheets will take the dirt out. As in soot from the powder ect. it sticks to the dryer sheet and helps the media stay clean.

 

[JO JO]

learn something new everyday
thanks

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Paper towels will work just as well as dryer sheets.

 

[LiveLife]

I get most of my brass from an indoor range and they usually come clean tumbled in walnut media with polish in about 20-30 minutes.

When I used to tumble dirtier brass from outdoor ranges, I tumbled them first in old walnut media (BTW, walnut is very hard and don't get worn, just dirty) first to remove most of the black fouling/dirt then tumbled them in clean walnut media with polish (about 1-2 hours).

I usually add a capful of polish when needed. I am more concerned with clean cases, not super bright polished brass. Some people add polish with every load or every other load.

If you put too much polish, especially in dirty media, media will get clumpy and you will end up with dark spots on cases or dirty smeared cases. I keep my media on the dry side as I can always add more polish.

 

[jcwit]

If you put too much polish, especially in dirty media, media will get clumpy and you will end up with dark spots on cases or dirty smeared cases. I keep my media on the dry side as I can always add more polish.

This was what I ment in my post #3.

You put it much better bds.

 

[Maj Dad]

bds, jcwit & others are correct: too much will give you headaches trying to clean the crud off cases (a batch of gunked-up 5.56 will teach much better than the advice of others). If I start with a new batch of corncob, I add 2 capfuls (about 30cc/1 oz) of NuFinish or Midway/Dillon/whomever case cleaner, then let it tumble with the lid off for at least 30 minutes, maybe more depending on my paranoia at the time. The used dryer sheets are something I now wonder how I got along without: they pick up the dust and little brass bits and the media stays clean. I cut them into about 1"x2" strips and put 6 or 8 in each batch.

Having been burned on this several times I have finally learned that plain media is preferable to media with too much cleaner, and a little goes a long way. Everyone says it, and I dare say everyone who does speaks from experience. Take it from us: "a little dab'll do ya"...

 

[FTG-05]

Anyone use Turtle Wax as a case cleaner/polisher? I read that on another forum here recently.

Thanks,

 

[LiveLife]

I tested several car polishes with varying results. I did include Turtle Wax in my testing, but it did not work any better than the cheapest liquid polish I got from Walmart. If you want to go cheap, you could even go with the liquid polish from the Dollar store.

Most petroleum based liquid car polish seemed to work OK with NuFinish working better than most. NuFinish seem to clean grimy/really dirty cases the best as other liquid polishes like Turtle Wax seemed to just put a shiny finish. Imagine a dark/grimy but shiny case?

I also tumble rusty dies and tools in walnut media with NuFinish and it does a good job of removing rust and polishing the surfaces.

 

[Wolfman Bill]

Afternoon Toforo

Personally I very seldom add more brass polish. I start out on new media using a mix of about ½ coarse corn cob and ½ walnut using a capful or so of Nu Finish and an equal amount of auto polishing compound.
From there I use it about 4 or 5 times the add about ½ ounce of mineral spirits every 4 or 5 uses or so (not very much, only takes a little bit). That mineral spirits really helps the media work, keeps the dust down, and works a treat to clean the cases of old powder and crud.
I usually cut up a piece of paper towel into 2” squares then fold that in half and add to the media. When the paper towel squares look dirty I just throw them out and add more.
Maybe at the 2000 case mark I will add another cap of NuFinish and cap of polishing compound.

Can’t say for sure how many runs I get on a shaker of media but I use it about every other day and change the media every couple of months.