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What's the best all around media additive for cleaning and polishing brass?

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Rafterman191

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I have a Lyman tumbler with, I think plain walnut (maybe cob) shell media in it now. I want to get the brass cleaner and polished but what's the most efficient way to do it? I was given this reloading set up by my brother in law and the media came in a unmarked plastic container is why I am not sure what it is. I am sure cleaner brass would give me more consistent results.
 
I use Nu finish car polish in corn cob media and it will put a shine on brash after a couple of hours.
 
Flitz
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I didn't know they made a media polish. When I first saw 'flitz', I thought you were talking about the little 2" tube of metal polish.:confused: I'll give that stuff a try. Thanks!

I've been using polish by Barry's and Dillon. They seem to work about the same.
 
I use a 50/50 mix of corncob and lizard litter - with a little liquid car polish now and then - used cut-up dryer sheets for the dust.

I don't really think having the brass 'clean and shiny' improves the round's performance i n any measurable fashion. The brass just holds the bullet and powder - the barrel controls the bullet and the powder gives it the push away from the brass. I tumble clean my brass before loading to get any crud off - and usually long enough to make it sort of shiny again. But I can't say I fret much over it.
 
I use the liquid auto polish currently Nu-Finish simply because I have so much partial bottles available to use up.

I'm sure Flitz would work fantastic, after all who am I to question rcmodel, he's usually spot on.

I do use Flitz for my other hobby, collecting and refurbishing old double edge razors.
 
For many years I used Dillon and Frankford Arsenal polish with good results.

When reloaders posted NuFinish with good results, I tried various liquid car polish and found NuFinish to do a better job of cleaning the brass surface.

All the car polishes seem to leave residual coating that helps with resing (kinda like case lube) which is a plus for me.

Since I always have NuFinish around the garage, it's what I use now.
 
RandyP said:
I don't really think having the brass 'clean and shiny' improves the round's performance i n any measurable fashion. The brass just holds the bullet and powder - the barrel controls the bullet and the powder gives it the push away from the brass. I tumble clean my brass before loading to get any crud off - and usually long enough to make it sort of shiny again. But I can't say I fret much over it.
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The cleaner the brass is, the easier it is on the resizing dies (no matter which caliber).

Dan
 
Nu-Finish and corn Cobb or walnut. Clean brass is easier on the dies. I also clean the loaded stuff to get the sizing media off. To each his/her own. But I like it shinny. Nu-Finish works better than anything I've EVER used, and I've tried them all.
 
Thanks all. What about Brasso? It's something I have now for my drum cymbals :)

ETA: Never mind I see it's ammonia based and bad for brass if you want it to remain pliable.
 
Thanks all. What about Brasso? It's something I have now for my drum cymbals

ETA: Never mind I see it's ammonia based and bad for brass if you want it to remain pliable.
Click to expand...

If the ammonia is allowed to evaporate there is no harm to using Brasso.
 
jcwit said:
I use the liquid auto polish currently Nu-Finish simply because I have so much partial bottles available to use up.

I'm sure Flitz would work fantastic, after all who am I to question rcmodel, he's usually spot on.

I do use Flitz for my other hobby, collecting and refurbishing old double edge razors.
Click to expand...
restoring WHAT? ....not the blades I hope. :)
 
I use 24 grit crushed walnut shell from Harbor Tool and Nu Finish. They may not function any better, they sure do look purdy fresh from the tumbler.
 
Quote:
Wonder what this stuff is? the guy claims brass will look new or better than new in only an hour of tumbling.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/180736147321

He refers to it as a powder so I'm guessing it's "jeweler's rouge" aka. "red rouge". Rouge is basically iron oxide (rust) and is mildly abrasive.
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Yes, I bought some a couple of years ago and that's all it is.
 
+1 Flitz polish for standard tumbling.

If you want brass that looks brand new then try stainless steel media in a rock tumbler.
 
I have only used Lyman corn cob media for years (nothing added to it). I can clean and polish approx 9000 cases from a 6 lb. container of media (I use 2lb. at a time and change about every 3000 rounds).
 
The Flitz additive does an excellent job, but that little bottle is too pricey for continuous usage for my taste.
 
I only reload a few hundred every month or two. I don't own a tumbler. I reload for 380. By mistake, I left a few spent cases in my pants one day and ran them through the wash. They came out sparkling clean. Inside, not really. Outside was beautiful.

So now I just plop them 100 or so into an old sock, pin the sock closed, and throw the socks into the wash with some laundry detergent and a bit of Borax. I choose "extra rinse" on my washer and use cold water. No spin cycle. They come out rather nice looking. I usually run an empty rinse cycle through the washer afterwords to wash out any lead residue.
 
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