Tumbler Question

[Sni-per]

Hey.... I have my first ever load of brass in my vibrating tumbler, along with some walnut media. I ran my cases through the press and de-primed and sized them first. I'm not sure that step was necessary, but I was having some fun with my press.

My question is: Does anyone add any kind of a "cleaner" to their walnut media, or should I only run it dry? If my plan is to run the cases in corn-cob media after the walnut, is there some cleaner polisher that works best to make my brass look new? And will it ruin the media?

Also, while de-priming my brass, some of the rounds were kind of tough to resize. Should I be lubing them every time?

I am a newbie to reloading and tumbling brass, and maybe a bit too fussy about how they look when I'm done.

 

[RugerOldArmy]

I add a tablespoon or so of Mineral Spirits, and a cap-full of 'NuFinish' car wax to new media. That will help give you very shiny brass. More isn't better. Walnut is better for stained brass, corncob is better to make mirror-shiny brass.

If you have carbide dies, and are sizing straight-walled cases, you don't need to lube, yet some lube lightly regardless for smooth operation.

If you have steel dies, or bottle necked cases, you need to lube before sizing. I recommend the alcohol and lanolin lube. It will leave the brass a bit sticky. I put loaded cartridges on an old bath towel, and rub them a bit with the other half of the towel, to get rid of the lube, but some tumble, and some aren't concerned.

Hope this helps.

 

[carbine85]

I use lizard liter and sometimes add Nu Finish. You can add most any liquid cleaner / polish and get good results. I don't care if my brass is shinny with bling. Clean brass shoots as well as shinny brass and it all looks dirty after you shoot it.
I usually drop my brass in a mixture of Simple Green and just let it soak for a while, resize and then tumble for about 1-2 hours.

 

[HexHead]

Don't resize your brass before you clean it. Why contaminate your dies with dirty brass?

 

[Gadawg88]

Pistol or rifle brass? Most people that dry tumble do it before resizing and decapping. That keeps crud out of your dies, your handling clean brass instead of dirty brass and it keeps media out of the flash hole. Not the end of the world though. Just check the flash holes before you prime and remove any stuck media with a small punch.

I add one capful of NuFinish car polish to my corn media when I change it out and again maybe every fifth or sixth batch. As RugerOldArmy said, more is not better. Make sure to run the tumbler WITHOUT BRASS in it for about 10 minutes after you add the polish to avoid nasty clumping. The polish is not really necessary, but it does give it a little extra shine if that floats your boat.

You must lube rifle brass before sizing or you will get a stuck case. If you have carbide pistol dies, which most are, you do not need to lube pistol brass. I don't, but some do. Purely personal preference.

 

[RugerOldArmy]

Don't resize your brass before you clean it. Why contaminate your dies with dirty brass?

Good point, with a new reloader! I didn't even think to mention it.

 

[mdi]

This question has been answered both ways nearly equally since I've been looking at reloading forums, so you'll have to decide which works best for you. Some say deprime first so the primer pockets get clean but some say de-priming first gets carbon and primer dust on your press (abrasives). Some say you can ruin your dies if you don't polish your brass first (BTW, always lube every case before you size it), but I reloaded for 12 years before I got a tumbler, just wiped each case with a solvent dampened rag, and nope I didn't ruin any dies, and yep, I could spot all defects.

I'd say try nekkid media before you start adding stuff, and if that isn't shiny enough try one of the suggestions above. I do both, tumble in plain walnut and tumble in corn cob blast media with a bit of auto polish (my 45 ACP and 30-06 M1 brass needs to be shiny so I can spot the empties in the dirt, rocks, and trash on the ground at my "range").

 

[joem1945]

I add alcohol solvent to the walnut shells along with some Dillon case polish.

 

[Sni-per]

mdi....that is why I was hoping to get my brass nice and shiny. I shoot at a grass range, and sometimes finding my casings can get a bit difficult, so shiny is better.

Thanks everyone, for the info. I'm trying to get everything ready to try to reload a few rounds this weekend. I'll be playing bachelor for the weekend, and this will give me something to do while the wife is away. Keep me from doing something stupid

I am, however, hoping to be able to have time for a few brewskis with my neighbor.

 

[CMV]

I use the Harbor Freight Walnut media. Pretty cheap for a big box esp with a 25% coupon. Until recently I thought they only stocked 'fine' media. But they also carry 'coarse'. The 'course' doesn't polish as well and will get stuck in flash holes easily. I've never had the fine walnut media from HF get stuck in a flash hole.

I'm very happy with it. I tried other types of media, but went back to the HF fine walnut. I don't care if something else gets brass a little shinier or costs a couple bucks less. It lasts a decent while before breaking down & becoming excessively dusty or taking forever to get stuff clean and i never have to poke it out of flash holes. No idea what other stuff costs but $25 ($18.75 w/ coupon) for a 25# box is pretty reasonable since a box that size lasts a long time.

I've tried adding a little car polish and notice zero difference with or without. I have noticed that a little mineral spirits will help old media keep working a little longer but noticed no difference trying it with new media. Just plain old walnut does a pretty good job. A used dryer sheet ripped into a few strips really makes a difference in keeping the dust in check. The other thing that I found that works well when the walnut is getting real dusty is to take a microfiber cloth & put it in the separator basket with the brass. Takes a few more spins & shakes, but the cloth gets any of the fine powdery dust that clings to the brass.

 

[thecoyote]

I do a cleaning "two step"....First cleaning with walnut media treated with Flitz......then, second cleaning with dry corncob media......They shine like little jewels

 

[joem1945]

You may find a rotary tumbler does a better job but it takes longer to clean your cases. I like Thumblers brand because they are quiet and can run overnight.