Tumbling Media Question.

[bullet8542]

Is there any advantage to using "Pre treated" media? Or using the additive?


I have always used a two step process for cleaning brass.


1. Tumble with corn cobs.

2. Iosso bucket and bag "wet method".


Folks have been telling me I am wasting time with the Iosso and I should just use treated media or use the additive.

Any opinions?

Thanks

 

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

Depends on what results bring you to the point you're happy with the brass.

I just use corn cob media treated with Nu Finish car polish I buy for 4 bucks a bottle at the dollar store. Once the media gets good and dirty, I wash it with soap and water, hose it down, then let it dry on a towel. Save lotsa money that way.

After it's dry and clean, it's ready to go again.

Hope this helps,

Dave

 

[50 Shooter]

You are wasting your time. You don't need to tumble your brass before or after using Iosso. You can drop most brass into Iosso and pull it back out within 1 minute and you're done. If it's really tarnished you can leave it in longer or use some steel wool on it while it's still wet.

I mostly use Iosso on surplus .50 brass as it's always dirty and has some tarnish. If I feel I want a brighter shine to it I'll throw it in the tumbler for about an hour.

 

[Sheldon]

I tumble in plain crushed walnut with a couple capfuls of polish, to cut down on the dust, for a couple hours at the most and I'm done. I don't get all worked up on having brass that shines like new. It is just not that big a deal to me. I want it clean enough to spot defects, like cracks in the case mouths, and to keep grit/dirt out of my dies.

 

[The Bushmaster]

I use a very finely ground corncob and chromium oxide. It does a great job without any other additives and lasts a long time. It doesn't get rid of the blackened interior of the case or shine the primer pocket (it won't plug up the pocket. It flows right through it), but who cares about the inside 'cause when the bullet and primer are installed who can see the inside.

 

[dmftoy1]

My personal experience has been that the "untreated" with some polish added to them lasts longer than the "pre-treated" corncob. (just my .02)

Regards,
Dave

 

[Indy]

My experience with pre-treated media is it doesn't last very long. I use corncob media and treat it with turtle wax from WalMart for two bucks a bottle. One bottle last for a couple of thousand cases, maybe more.
Indy

 

[Paul "Fitz" Jones]

walnut and corn cob

As a long time commercial police reloader using up to cement mixers my tumbling is simple.

For a 15 pound rock tumbling drum I use walnut of a diameter I bought a ton of years ago with a gallon jar capful of common paint thinner, after loading the ammo through my automated loaders, for a 15 pound tumbler quantity I would use a gallon jar capful of ordinary kerosene poured on the corn cob media. It takes the bullet lube off and leaves a protective finish on the brass and lead bullets that has lasted on my ammo stash for years.

This is what commercial reloaders do. I learned it from my commercial reloader mentor who bought a million primers per order and used an 18 wheeler to deliver his reloads all over California to the biggest law enforcement agencies. He swore me to secrecy until he sold his business to a group in Japan for a million dollars and is somewhere in the world now in his yacht.

Decades ago jewelers rouge was the rage as the thing to do and different additives come and go as the younger generations think newer is better and the old folks know nuthin.

The men who make commercial additives do so for beginners and laugh all the way to the bank and the magazines have to have something newer and better to talk about to sell the magazines.

I advertised my Fitz pistol grips in the Guns and Ammo Magazine years ago and an editor confided in me that when magazine monthly sales dropped all they had to do was to place a picture of a fancy Luger on the cover to raise their sales whether or not they said anything about the luger inside the magazine. But they did get a few calls about where is the story about the Luger.

 

[Ares45]

50/50 walnut & cob, 1oz Nufinish car polish + 1oz mineral spirits, tumble for 1hr. good as new.