I have some .223 Rem & 5.56 Nato green tip ammo that I bought in 2013 from two different places. I bought 1k rounds from United Nations Ammo and 1k rounds from Target sports. and have had them in Cardboard and styrofoam ammo boxes which caused them to tarnish, I think. I have read good things about FLITZ but have only used Nu Finish so I decided to do my own test. I ran 1 hundred rounds in the RCBS Vibrator Tumbler with Nu Finish for 5 hours in Walnut Media and also ran 1 hundred rounds in the RCBS Vibrator Tumbler with FLITZ for 5 hours using Corn Cob Media, and compared to two batches, they are exactly the same brightness and both removed the tarnish, in my honest opinion. For the price I paid for FLITZ which was way more than I paid for Nu Finish, I will use Nu Finish when I tumble my brass. All I wanted it to do it remove the tarnish, both products produces the shine and removed the tarnish, so I will just use Nu Finish. I have also used Iosso and Nu Finish was way better than Iosso. Live and learn is what I always say.
FLITZ VERSES NU FINISH!!
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Flitz has a MUCH harder abrasive in it which is hard enough to put a good polish on stainless and carbon steel. Brass is soft, I agree, there is no need to waste Flitz on brass. For smoothing a tight action or polishing a feed ramp Flitz does an excellent job where nufinish will probably do nothing.
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westernrover
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Flitz is claimed to be non-abrasive. EDIT: actually, it depends on which Flitz product it is. If it is Flitz tumbler media additive, then it does contain chromium oxide, and some other Flitz polishes contain alumium oxide. Nu Finish is a polymer surface protectant. Iosso is an abrasive bore cleaner and Simichrome is an abrasive metal polish. Simichrome is aluminum-oxide based, but traditional green chromium oxide compound usually works well with a motorized buffing wheel on stainless steels.
Nu Finish, as a pseudo-polish and polymer protectant is obsolete. While cartridge brass arguably does not need what any polymer coating provides, there are unequivocally better surface protectant technologies available if one should want to add that. Specifically, polymer protectants with silicon oxide ceramics ("hybrid ceramics") have proven to last far longer before they wear off and they are even easier to apply than traditional polymer protectants.
Personally, I prefer nickel-plated brass cartridges to doting over un-plated brass. Even so, most of my brass is un-plated.
Nu Finish, as a pseudo-polish and polymer protectant is obsolete. While cartridge brass arguably does not need what any polymer coating provides, there are unequivocally better surface protectant technologies available if one should want to add that. Specifically, polymer protectants with silicon oxide ceramics ("hybrid ceramics") have proven to last far longer before they wear off and they are even easier to apply than traditional polymer protectants.
Personally, I prefer nickel-plated brass cartridges to doting over un-plated brass. Even so, most of my brass is un-plated.
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westernrover
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Question: How long can I store LC brass in carboard inserts for bandoliers without corrosion? -- assuming the carboard and bandoliers are very dry and stored in a sealed M2 can with a desiccant.
Moisture should not be a concern provided the cardboard is dry and kept dry (including sealing away any humidity). What about acids in the cardboard? The cardboard I have is from Winchester/Olin/Lake City. I need to make some more inserts for 2 clips (vs. 3), and I imagine I would want to use acid-free cardboard.
Moisture should not be a concern provided the cardboard is dry and kept dry (including sealing away any humidity). What about acids in the cardboard? The cardboard I have is from Winchester/Olin/Lake City. I need to make some more inserts for 2 clips (vs. 3), and I imagine I would want to use acid-free cardboard.
westernrover
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That's right. Corncob media can scour brass pretty well after that long and walnut shell is even more scouring. Neither media needs any additive to polish brass, although neither will do an especially good job of cleaning dirty brass. Additives like the Lyman Turbo, Hornady One Shot media additive, Frankford Arsenal, and the alternative products from the Automotive market like Nu Finish are intended to make polishing faster and to add a protectant layer on the brass (like a "wax" but usually not wax). The Lyman media additive, for example, uses chromium oxide abrasive (the green color is tell-tale, but this can be confirmed on the MSDS), and Nu Finish, is a polymer protectant.
lightman
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I'm currently working my way through a case of Dillon polish but I have used a few of the automotive polishes and have not seen much difference. I reserve the Flitz for when I hand polish single cases, like for my collection.
I also use Iosso, it doesn't shine brass, it removes tarnish fast and leaves a dull shine.
Rinse, place in oven on low, brass is dry in a few minutes. You can be loading brass within 15 minutes from start to finish.
If you want it shiny new, put it in corncob with nu finish for 30 minutes.
Rinse, place in oven on low, brass is dry in a few minutes. You can be loading brass within 15 minutes from start to finish.
If you want it shiny new, put it in corncob with nu finish for 30 minutes.
mkl
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Flitz has worked the best for me. The paste has a preservative in it which the liquid does not, according to the web site. Paste in vibrator tumbler will just make balls and not mix well with the media. Just take a tablespoon of Flitz and a cup of media and mix together well in a cup until the polish is thoroughly incorporated with the media. Pour that mix into the tumbler and you will have no "balling" effects.
To be fair, I have never used the liquid, but when I researched it a few years ago it did not seem to have the preservative effect that the paste had. So I stuck with the paste, but cannot comment truthfully on the liquid although it would seem easier to use.
Not a valid test. You used different media.
Was each batch brand new media?
Corn will polish Shine)better than walnut. Walnut works for really dirty brass
I have tried every type of additive and none of them work any better than Nu Finsh which is also less expensive.
The main problem folks have is they do not change the media often enough. It is the cheapest part of reloading, penny's. Buy bulk from Zero and it will last a lifetime.
But no, some say they used the same media for years? Why?
https://www.zoro.com/zoro-select-blast-media-corn-cob-20-to-40-grit-crn3-40/i/G2165387/
Was each batch brand new media?Corn will polish Shine)better than walnut. Walnut works for really dirty brass
I have tried every type of additive and none of them work any better than Nu Finsh which is also less expensive.
The main problem folks have is they do not change the media often enough. It is the cheapest part of reloading, penny's. Buy bulk from Zero and it will last a lifetime.
But no, some say they used the same media for years? Why?
https://www.zoro.com/zoro-select-blast-media-corn-cob-20-to-40-grit-crn3-40/i/G2165387/
ballman6711
Member
I've been reloading for almost five years, and have changed my media twice. As to why, I've loaded just over 4K rounds, so the original lasted about 1500 rounds, the first change about the same, and now the third batch of media has a while to go. I probably could have gone longer between changing media, but instead of cleaning in an hour or two, it would take three or four hours. That's when I change it.
chris
ColtPythonElite
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Old media doesn't work slower because it's dirty or needs more polish added. It becomes less effective when the sharp edges become worn off. When it starts taking longer to do the job, it's time to change it.
FWIW; I do not us any abrasive in my tumbling media. I do add some auto wax but not for it's cleaning/polishing attributes. I add wax (sometimes furniture wax, or JPW) to leave a light film of wax for corrosion/tarnish protection. I experimented quite a bit with tumbling media and additives when I started tumbling (after reloading for 12 years). I tried all the "popular" recipes and several different things for media from beach sand, glass beads, rice, beans, etc., wood chips, ceramic and hard resin tumbling media, crushed charcoal briquettes, BBs (wet and dry), pet litter, walnut and corn cob, commercial dedicated "case cleaning/polishing media" and maybe a half dozen more. Some worked OK and some were a dismal failure and I settled on corn cob blast media 14-20. Blast media is better quality controlled and designed for cleaning metal (pet litter's job is to contain animal pee and poop and can vary greatly). I tried wet tumbling with SS media, but was not impressed. There is a possibility of transferring abrasive from the tumbler to brass to dies. So I use no Fliz, Semi-chrome, Mother's Chrome Cleaner or Jewelers Rouge.
I look at brass tumbling as similar to what I did in a machine shop many years ago. We used 3/8" ceramic pyramids with water in a 200 gallon wobbling "tumbler". The media did the job and finish was determined by the size and type of media and the water was just a "carrier" for the media...
Just sharing what works for me...
I look at brass tumbling as similar to what I did in a machine shop many years ago. We used 3/8" ceramic pyramids with water in a 200 gallon wobbling "tumbler". The media did the job and finish was determined by the size and type of media and the water was just a "carrier" for the media...
Just sharing what works for me...
CQB45ACP
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I also tried those Harbor Freight hard resin pyramids. Used alone on brass, they clean pretty quikly but can leave a full, matte finish on the cases. I have found thar I can add about 10% of the resin media to 90% corn cob media and get good cleaning but can be much better, smooth/shiny finish on the cases. I have tumbled rusty tools and the resin works quite well by itself on steel tools/parts.
westernrover
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This is a good write up. I have the ceramic and the resin pyramids. The pyramids or pellets are used to carry silicon carbide or aluminum oxide particles embedded in the pyramid. They are far more aggressive than corncob or walnut or ss pins. They are used with water to keep the abrasive and metal particles in suspension so the particles don't clog the action -- like wet sanding. The amount of water used is much less than with wet tumbling. Only enough water to form a slurry is used. I use it in a vibratory tumbler, but not one with a plastic shell. It has a rubber shell designed for rock and metal parts tumbling with this type of media. I don't use it for brass cartridges. The original purpose I used it for was pre-polishing cast bronze snap-bolts. I would use it for other small bronze or steel parts.
I'm not sure what failed to impress you with SS pins and wet tumbling. I tumble my brass cartridges for 15 minutes and they always come out looking like-new. They never bring abrasive to the dies and this method does not produce any dust in my shop.
