Does anyone use a tumbler & wet media

[Ray P]

Does anyone use a tumbler & wet media for cleaning brass?

Does it do a better job than dry media in a vibratory polisher for cleaning primer pockets?

I did a thread search, but found only one passing reference to using wet ceramic media for cleaning BP cartridges.

 

[Walkalong]

wet ceramic media

What is it?

 

[Car Knocker]

Ray,

A search on "ceramic" at this site, http://groups.msn.com/BPCR/messages.msnw , will turn up quite a few posts on the subject. The GOEX forum and the Sharps forum would be a couple of other places to look. I've seen quite a few posts on the BPCR boards mentioning that ceramic media does a good job cleaning primer pockets. Lately, I've seen some discussion about drum-type tumblers and ceramic media causing some peening of case mouths. Apparantly vibratory tumblers and ceramic media don't create this effect. There seems to be some divergence of thought on whether the proprietary additives work better than the homebrew liquids.

 

[Walkalong]

Ceramic Media

Found some posts and found it on the net. Is it any better than corncob or walnut with an additive like franklin armory brass polish??

 

[spencerhut]

Cabelas sell the ceramic media and additive. I've used it and it does a great job of cleaning up the really nasty range pick ups, it will literally make a turd shine.
Downside is seperating the media from the brass and then drying the brass. I ended up getting an RCBS media seperator for the former and use the wifes clothes dryer for the later. Once seperated I run the wet cases through the dryer on high heat for 10-15 minutes in a old pillow case, two pillow cases if you don't want brass all over the place.

 

[Shoney]

I use wet media tumbler all the time. It's called the wifes washing machine. When she isn't home. SSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

I put extra grundgey oily dirty tarnished range brass in a nylon stocking and run it on the extra delicate cycle LOL. Dry it and then run it in my tumbler with wallnut.

 

[Sunray]

Wet corn cobs or walnut shells will leave you a muddy mess to clean out of your tumbler.

 

[Ray P]

I use wet media tumbler all the time. It's called the wifes washing machine. When she isn't home. SSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Hmmm. Same rules I followed when oven-baking a barrel for a plum finish.

 

[Hook686]

I use a cheap Harbor Freight rock tumbler, cut up green scrub pads, a couple cups of water, a half teaspoon of low suds laundry powder, and tumble for 2-6 hours, depending upon how shinny I want the brass. Inside the cases, and primer pockets have not been a problem, even after 8-10 scrubbings .... but, then I do not examine those regions closely, just nothing has ever cropped up, as a problem.

 

[ilbob]

When I was a poor student, I did not own a brass cleaner. I used to take a couple hands full of brass and tie them up inside an old sock and toss them in with the dirty laundry. Not polished, but they came out clean. Went right from the washing machine into the dryer with the rest of the clothes.

Only time I had issues was when I was too cheap to use the dryer to dry my clothes. I would put the brass on a cookie sheet and bake it in the oven for a couple of hours at very low heat to make sure the insides were dried out.

 

[USSR]

Ray P,

Here is the hands down best recipe for cleaning brass: spray your brass and walnut shell media with Glass Plus (non-ammonia) glass cleaner. Spray just enough to dampen the media, and your brass will come out bright and clean in just one hour's time.

Don

 

[Ray P]

More good info. Thanks all!