Dry media in a wet tumbler

Stats Shooter · March 19, 2017, 10:49 PM

The first Tumbler I bought, and the only one I have is a Lyman wet tumbler. I use 5 lbs of stainless steel pins, Dawn dish soap, and lemme shine. I love that it cleans the cases inside and out and cleans the primer pocket.
It will do 1,000 40 S&w cases, or about 500 .308 cases at a time.

The one issue I have is the tarnish and water spots I have when I do big batches. When I do small batches, I get the rinsed quickly so it isn't as bad, but 1000 take a while and they are clean but tarnished or have discoloration spots. It doesn't hurt anything but I'm anal and don't like it.

I was wondering if I could use dry media in the same wet tumbler to polish the cases? I wouldn't think it would be a problem but just wondering if anyone else ever tried it.

Also, has anyone ever polished loaded ammo?

turtlehead · March 19, 2017, 10:56 PM

I dry the brass bowling ball style with a towel then dump them on a deep cookie sheet for 20 minutes in the oven at 200 degrees. No spots. Quick gratification.

ShootistPRS · March 20, 2017, 12:33 PM

Mississippi,
You can use dry media in any tumbler but I would not want to do wet tumbling and follow it up with dry tumbling because you are unlikely to get all of the moisture out of the tumbler and cases. Any moisture would cause clumping and you might end up with clumps of media inside the case. You can try it to see if it works for you but I would choose one or the other and use it - with any mods to make it work for you.

Stats Shooter · March 20, 2017, 12:43 PM

Quote:

You can use dry media in any tumbler but I would not want to do wet tumbling and follow it up with dry tumbling because you are unlikely to get all of the moisture out of the tumbler and cases. Any moisture would cause clumping and you might end up with clumps of media inside the case.

I would ensure the cases were dry before I put them in with dry media. If I towel them off and let them air dry, it takes 2 days. But, if I put them on a cookie sheet at 150 - 200 degrees in the oven, it takes about an hour.

I think I will try it...what media do yall find polishes the best? Walnut? Corn Cobb?

ShootistPRS · March 20, 2017, 01:42 PM

Walnut is better at cleaning fast but corn cob does a better job of polishing but takes longer. I got tired of clearing corn cob from my cases and went to crushed walnut and haven't had any problems with it. I add a teaspoon of silver polish paste to the media when I put it in service the first time. I use the media until it takes more than an hour to clean the brass (typically the brass is clean in 1/2 hour). After that I wash the media in soapy water, rinse it well and dry it. While the cleaning process is working I put in a washed batch and add a teaspoon of polish. I have no idea how long you can clean and reuse the walnut shells but I have the second batch in my tumbler and another washed batch ready to use.
I don't buy "brass tumbling media", I buy crushed walnut shells for media blasting from the local feed and grain for $15 for 25 pounds. I think my 25 pounds will last for a couple of lifetimes even sharing it with my son and other reloaders.

March 19, 2017, 10:49 PM	#1
Stats Shooter Senior Member Join Date: August 26, 2016 Location: North Dakota Posts: 1,636	Dry media in a wet tumbler The first Tumbler I bought, and the only one I have is a Lyman wet tumbler. I use 5 lbs of stainless steel pins, Dawn dish soap, and lemme shine. I love that it cleans the cases inside and out and cleans the primer pocket. It will do 1,000 40 S&w cases, or about 500 .308 cases at a time. The one issue I have is the tarnish and water spots I have when I do big batches. When I do small batches, I get the rinsed quickly so it isn't as bad, but 1000 take a while and they are clean but tarnished or have discoloration spots. It doesn't hurt anything but I'm anal and don't like it. I was wondering if I could use dry media in the same wet tumbler to polish the cases? I wouldn't think it would be a problem but just wondering if anyone else ever tried it. Also, has anyone ever polished loaded ammo?

March 19, 2017, 10:56 PM	#2
turtlehead Senior Member Join Date: October 20, 2015 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 1,203	I dry the brass bowling ball style with a towel then dump them on a deep cookie sheet for 20 minutes in the oven at 200 degrees. No spots. Quick gratification.

March 20, 2017, 12:33 PM	#3
ShootistPRS Senior Member Join Date: January 3, 2017 Posts: 1,583	Mississippi, You can use dry media in any tumbler but I would not want to do wet tumbling and follow it up with dry tumbling because you are unlikely to get all of the moisture out of the tumbler and cases. Any moisture would cause clumping and you might end up with clumps of media inside the case. You can try it to see if it works for you but I would choose one or the other and use it - with any mods to make it work for you.

March 20, 2017, 01:42 PM	#5
ShootistPRS Senior Member Join Date: January 3, 2017 Posts: 1,583	Walnut is better at cleaning fast but corn cob does a better job of polishing but takes longer. I got tired of clearing corn cob from my cases and went to crushed walnut and haven't had any problems with it. I add a teaspoon of silver polish paste to the media when I put it in service the first time. I use the media until it takes more than an hour to clean the brass (typically the brass is clean in 1/2 hour). After that I wash the media in soapy water, rinse it well and dry it. While the cleaning process is working I put in a washed batch and add a teaspoon of polish. I have no idea how long you can clean and reuse the walnut shells but I have the second batch in my tumbler and another washed batch ready to use. I don't buy "brass tumbling media", I buy crushed walnut shells for media blasting from the local feed and grain for $15 for 25 pounds. I think my 25 pounds will last for a couple of lifetimes even sharing it with my son and other reloaders.