Tumbler Media Question

golfnutrlv · September 27, 2011, 02:22 PM

Hi all. Well, finally bucked up and got a case tumbler last week.

Have been using the Lyman Tuffnut Red media, and turbo brite. Gets the brass really shiney.

My question is, is there a creative, less time consuming way to remove the media "Dust" from the brass??

All my brass is redish tinted until I wipe it off, then it's great.

Any ideas out there?

Thanks,

oneoldsap · September 27, 2011, 03:03 PM

Rip up a dryer sheet and throw the pieces in with your media when tumbling . Works great , throw away and add more next time .

Slamfire · September 27, 2011, 03:24 PM

That media has Jeweler’s Rouge in it.

I use it only for tarnished brass.

I run my brass in regular corn cob, now I am adding a tablespoon of water, sometimes Meguires car wax. Cuts the dust down and the brass comes out real polished looking.

Don’t run your brass for days in that red media. I did once. The rouge was horribly impacted on the surface.

Savage32-20 · September 27, 2011, 03:38 PM

From a noob:

I have corn cob media and it works very well with FA brass polish. Usually I let my cases tumble for about an hour and other than an oddball spec here and there everything comes out looking almost new.

I'm going to be adding a sonic cleaner within the next few days as I want to get as much of the carbon from the insides of the cases as well. But that's for another discussion.

dickttx · September 27, 2011, 09:35 PM

The fine (20/40 grit) corn cob media with a little Nufinish car wax works good and is clean. The commercial media with the jewelers rouge in it is really messy.

mrawesome22 · September 27, 2011, 10:08 PM

Zilla Lizard Litter crushed walnut and Nu-Finish.

After a couple hours, the brass has a mirror finish.

Fusion · September 27, 2011, 11:34 PM

Yep, the 20/40 Grit media is what I use also, and I mix in some NuFinish with it. Works well imo, and I usually just let it run overnight.

engineermike · September 27, 2011, 11:36 PM

I too found my cases left a little red rouge on my rags as I wiped them off after being in the TuffNut media. I use fine corn cob with a little Nu-Finish. I hear Graf and Sons makes a good medial additive. I'll try some my next order, but the fine corn cob media cleans out the inside of the cases and is easy to remove.

Sefner · September 28, 2011, 09:28 AM

I use the Tuffnut too. I tumble my brass twice, once in the tuffnut and once in walnut media with polish. Some brass comes out looking better than factory brass and the walnut media remoes the red stuff.

Savage32-20 · September 28, 2011, 09:41 AM

One thing that I did decide after the first run through my tumbler and 1/2 an hour spent picking the media out was to get a kitty litter scoop. I know there are commercial devices that do the same thing but they are more expensive and also require you to dump the media and everything out (from what i've seen).

The kitty litter scoop is $1 at wal-mart and works well at getting all the bullets out. I take them out of the scoop, turn them over, tap the bottom with a small screw driver to knock any media out and then throw them into the pail for decaping & resizing.

(and avoid the temptation to try and use the kitty litter scoop while the tumbler is running. It makes a mess as you push down on one side the media goes up and over the other side.)

PA-Joe · September 28, 2011, 09:49 AM

You can also go to the pet store and buy rodent bedding media. This comes in corn or walnut and cames in different sizes. If you get a smaller (finer) size it will not clog the primer holes as much.

riverwalker76 · September 28, 2011, 10:46 AM

I will give you a few tips that will make your brass shinier than new, and it's cheap!!!!

First off .... I don't use any car related waxes or polishes in my media. A lot of them have petroleum distillates that will yellow or 'orange spot' brass over a short period of time. Most of them CLAIM that they don't have any P.D. in them, but in reality, they ALL do. They all use petroleum distillates to cut or thin the mixture before it goes into the batch.

Next, get yourself some cheap, extra fine, corn cob media. Midsouth Shooters Supply has the best that I've found, and it is dirt cheap!

Then, buy some Flitz Tumbler Media Additive from either Midway or Midsouth.

Finally, the drier sheet cut up in little sections has already been mentioned and works very well.

I run all of my brass for around 45 minutes to an hour in the Flitz/Corncob/Drier Sheet media, and it comes out shiny enough to see myself in.

*Note: As you may know ... do not use Flitz Metal Polish or Brasso in your media. It contains ammonia that can weaken your brass and shorten it's life.

You can get all of these ingredients for around $20 to $25 and it will last you forever.

Hope that helps.

jepp2 · September 28, 2011, 02:51 PM

If the media Riverwalker is referring to is this: MidSouth media it is 14/20 sieve size.

My experience is the 20/40 is much less prone to hang up in the flash hole of your brass. You can find it here: 20/40 media

orionengnr · September 29, 2011, 08:43 PM

I know a couple people who bought tumblers from (cough cough) and got the rouge-media as part of the deal...I have read of others.

Everyone I know (and most of those that I have read) came to the conclusion that ditching the red stuff and going with straight corn cob or walnut (or a combination of the two) is the way to go.

engineermike · September 29, 2011, 10:21 PM

Is a combination a 50\50 mix? Just wondering as I have both and might try a mix.

September 27, 2011, 02:22 PM	#1
golfnutrlv Senior Member Join Date: November 5, 2008 Location: Spokane, WA Posts: 1,347	Tumbler Media Question Hi all. Well, finally bucked up and got a case tumbler last week. Have been using the Lyman Tuffnut Red media, and turbo brite. Gets the brass really shiney. My question is, is there a creative, less time consuming way to remove the media "Dust" from the brass?? All my brass is redish tinted until I wipe it off, then it's great. Any ideas out there? Thanks, __________________ ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ VIGILIA PRETIUM LIBERTATIS "The price of liberty is vigilance" America is at an awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards.

September 27, 2011, 03:24 PM	#3
Slamfire Senior Member Join Date: May 27, 2007 Posts: 5,261	That media has Jeweler’s Rouge in it. I use it only for tarnished brass. I run my brass in regular corn cob, now I am adding a tablespoon of water, sometimes Meguires car wax. Cuts the dust down and the brass comes out real polished looking. Don’t run your brass for days in that red media. I did once. The rouge was horribly impacted on the surface. __________________ If I'm not shooting, I'm reloading.

September 27, 2011, 09:35 PM	#5
dickttx Senior Member Join Date: May 29, 2011 Location: Fort Worth Posts: 500	The fine (20/40 grit) corn cob media with a little Nufinish car wax works good and is clean. The commercial media with the jewelers rouge in it is really messy. __________________ Education teaches you the rules, experience teaches you the exceptions (Plagiarized from Claude Clay)

September 28, 2011, 09:28 AM	#9
Sefner Senior Member Join Date: June 24, 2009 Location: Michigan Posts: 769	I use the Tuffnut too. I tumble my brass twice, once in the tuffnut and once in walnut media with polish. Some brass comes out looking better than factory brass and the walnut media remoes the red stuff. __________________ gtalk:renfes steamID: Sefner

September 28, 2011, 10:46 AM	#12
riverwalker76 Senior Member Join Date: February 13, 2010 Location: Kentucky Posts: 993	I will give you a few tips that will make your brass shinier than new, and it's cheap!!!! First off .... I don't use any car related waxes or polishes in my media. A lot of them have petroleum distillates that will yellow or 'orange spot' brass over a short period of time. Most of them CLAIM that they don't have any P.D. in them, but in reality, they ALL do. They all use petroleum distillates to cut or thin the mixture before it goes into the batch. Next, get yourself some cheap, extra fine, corn cob media. Midsouth Shooters Supply has the best that I've found, and it is dirt cheap! Then, buy some Flitz Tumbler Media Additive from either Midway or Midsouth. Finally, the drier sheet cut up in little sections has already been mentioned and works very well. I run all of my brass for around 45 minutes to an hour in the Flitz/Corncob/Drier Sheet media, and it comes out shiny enough to see myself in. Note: As you may know ... do not use Flitz Metal Polish or Brasso in your media. It contains ammonia that can weaken your brass and shorten it's life. You can get all of these ingredients for around $20 to $25 and it will last you forever. Hope that helps. __________________ Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto* - “You cannot invade the mainland United States. There would be a rifle behind each blade of grass.”

September 27, 2011, 03:03 PM	#2
oneoldsap Senior Member Join Date: September 16, 2009 Location: I live in the foot of the Green Mountains of Vermont Posts: 1,602	Rip up a dryer sheet and throw the pieces in with your media when tumbling . Works great , throw away and add more next time .

September 27, 2011, 03:38 PM	#4
Savage32-20 Member Join Date: September 3, 2011 Posts: 80	From a noob: I have corn cob media and it works very well with FA brass polish. Usually I let my cases tumble for about an hour and other than an oddball spec here and there everything comes out looking almost new. I'm going to be adding a sonic cleaner within the next few days as I want to get as much of the carbon from the insides of the cases as well. But that's for another discussion.

September 27, 2011, 10:08 PM	#6
mrawesome22 Senior Member Join Date: November 9, 2005 Location: Ohio, Appalachia's foothills. Posts: 3,779	Zilla Lizard Litter crushed walnut and Nu-Finish. After a couple hours, the brass has a mirror finish.

September 27, 2011, 11:34 PM	#7
Fusion Senior Member Join Date: August 13, 2010 Posts: 429	Yep, the 20/40 Grit media is what I use also, and I mix in some NuFinish with it. Works well imo, and I usually just let it run overnight.

September 27, 2011, 11:36 PM	#8
engineermike Junior member Join Date: March 14, 2010 Location: Oklahaoma City Posts: 538	I too found my cases left a little red rouge on my rags as I wiped them off after being in the TuffNut media. I use fine corn cob with a little Nu-Finish. I hear Graf and Sons makes a good medial additive. I'll try some my next order, but the fine corn cob media cleans out the inside of the cases and is easy to remove.

September 28, 2011, 09:41 AM	#10
Savage32-20 Member Join Date: September 3, 2011 Posts: 80	One thing that I did decide after the first run through my tumbler and 1/2 an hour spent picking the media out was to get a kitty litter scoop. I know there are commercial devices that do the same thing but they are more expensive and also require you to dump the media and everything out (from what i've seen). The kitty litter scoop is $1 at wal-mart and works well at getting all the bullets out. I take them out of the scoop, turn them over, tap the bottom with a small screw driver to knock any media out and then throw them into the pail for decaping & resizing. (and avoid the temptation to try and use the kitty litter scoop while the tumbler is running. It makes a mess as you push down on one side the media goes up and over the other side.)

September 28, 2011, 09:49 AM	#11
PA-Joe Senior Member Join Date: June 9, 2010 Location: NEPA Posts: 909	You can also go to the pet store and buy rodent bedding media. This comes in corn or walnut and cames in different sizes. If you get a smaller (finer) size it will not clog the primer holes as much.

September 28, 2011, 02:51 PM	#13
jepp2 Senior Member Join Date: December 24, 2008 Location: Loveland, CO Posts: 1,476	If the media Riverwalker is referring to is this: MidSouth media it is 14/20 sieve size. My experience is the 20/40 is much less prone to hang up in the flash hole of your brass. You can find it here: 20/40 media

September 29, 2011, 08:43 PM	#14
orionengnr Senior Member Join Date: July 9, 2004 Posts: 5,177	I know a couple people who bought tumblers from (cough cough) and got the rouge-media as part of the deal...I have read of others. Everyone I know (and most of those that I have read) came to the conclusion that ditching the red stuff and going with straight corn cob or walnut (or a combination of the two) is the way to go.

September 29, 2011, 10:21 PM	#15
engineermike Junior member Join Date: March 14, 2010 Location: Oklahaoma City Posts: 538	Is a combination a 50\50 mix? Just wondering as I have both and might try a mix.