So, What's the Big Deal With Stainless Media?

[bbqncigars]

IIRC, the 300 series of stainless is non magnetic while the 400 series is. Go here for more info.

[DiscoRacing]

Someone send me your dirty brass to polish... Im running out of my own...

I could do it a second time... but its so clean already.

[capreppy]

What quantity of pistol brass is the media & tumbler capable of doing?

Say 500 pieces of .45ACP at a time?

Once done, how long will they stay "shiny". Are they prone to tarnish? What can be done after (or during) to prevent tarnish in the long term?

[DiscoRacing]

you can do aprox. 750 .45acp at one time..

...as far as tarnish they will still tarnish like if you used any other means of polishing....

..they will stay shiny until they are exposed to the elements
...dirt, moisture, oil,,,etc,,,etc

to prevent tarnish in the long term... buy nickel

[capreppy]

Thanks for the info.

I'll give this some thought and may give it a try.

[Incognito]

Were these cleaned with SS media? Nope. These were soaked in Lemi-Shine for about 12 hours, then tumbled in walnut for
2.5 hours. Now I'm not saying that SS media is not all it's cracked up to be, I'd love for my vibratory tumbler to blow up in order
to justify getting a rotary. I'm just illustrating that you can achieve comparative results alternatively. BTW, none of the brass
had their primer pockets cleaned besides tumbling.

The four on the left are tumbled (after soaking), the four on the right have only been soaked.

[DiscoRacing]

I'd love for my vibratory tumbler to blow up in order
to justify getting a rotary.

LoL... Yeah... well... I didnt wait for mine to blow up... I just got the rotary anyway.

(I dont want my guns thinking that Im gonna wait till one blows up, before I buy another one)

[Brian Pfleuger]

Originally Posted by Incognito

These were soaked in Lemi-Shine for about 12 hours,

Pure Lemi-shine, or a solution?

[Incognito]

It's sold as a powder. I use about one teaspoon per quart diluted in very hot water. It seems to loosed up the carbon so tumbling requires less time and works more effectively. You can also use Lemi-Shine in the wet tumbling/SS media method. BTW, you want to dry the brass before tumbling in dry media.

Some people apparently use citric acid or vinegar to do the same thing. I tried the LS and it worked good for me, so it's what I use now.

[Brian Pfleuger]

Cool. I'll try that, thanks. Results like stainless, for "free"... sounds good.

[DiscoRacing]

I tried both the powder and liquid lemi-shine...and it did not work as well as dish soap and lemon juice.

[Incognito]

Perhaps I should have put "results may vary"

Don't get me wrong DiscoRacing, I have no doubt that SS media works extremely well, better than any vibratory tumbler with crushed hulls does. My only dilemma is spending the money on something that I really don't need, but certainly would want. Everytime I see pictures of nice shinny pristine brass, it's definitely hard not to be tempted to switch.

Maybe I'm just self justifying for keeping my old "outdated" Harbor Freigh clunker, lol.

[DiscoRacing]

NO harm, no foul

... Just tried all three...and what they sent me didnt work as well as the soap/juice...

..My reply was only meant to inform

[Brian Pfleuger]

If it doesn't work, I'm blaming you, Incognito.

[Incognito]

Hey, if it doesn't work, put it in your dishwasher. No more unsightly water spots

[Cascade1911]

I saw someone mention keeping a magnet handy in case of pins inside the case. I thought stainless was not attracted by a magnet. Am I missing something here? Just interested. Thanks.

IIRC, the 300 series of stainless is non magnetic while the 400 series is.

Most 300 series stainless can be non magnetic while 400 series stainless will be somewhat magnetic. In 300 series stainless the magnetic permeability is controlled by the amount of ferrite vs austenite in the steel and depending on the chemistry of the steel it can be quite magnetic. A common misconception is that 300 series stainless that is more magnetic must have more carbon but actually the reverse is true. Carbon is an austenite former and makes the material less magnetic. (while I'm not a metallurgist I am an engineer in an investment casting foundry and deal with this issue constantly).

[Sevens]

DiscoRacing said:

Can you fit your grimy thumb in that sonic cleaner?!
(just kiddin', man!)

[maillemaker]

Discoracing:

Thanks for the link.

What kind of media did you actually buy? There are so many to choose from on that web site.

Thanks!

Steve

[DiscoRacing]

Sevens... some days I actually have to work
I mean thats why the digits were dirty:barf:

Steve... Just talk to Kevin...or Kathy... and tell them that you want them to tumbler brass and they will know...

they are cylindrical spheres and are .041 diameter by .265 long

[serf 'rett]

The Big Deal is it works really well!

Saw the photos of the Lemishine soaked brass, but what was missing was a third set of brass which had been tumbled with water, dish soap, Lemishine and stainless media for 1-2 hours.

If the third group was included - the difference could be easily seen. Been there, done that.

In our shop, we use a magnet to determine if our shaft material is 400 or 300 series.

Any of the metal's folks want to comment on the possible effects of prolonged soaking of brass in an acidic solution such as vinegar, lemon juice, Lemishine, etc.? I left some brass in the tumbler barrel overnight once and the brass was discolored and appeared etched when examined with a 20X loupe.

[downlow411]

If you want to have dry brass in a couple of minutes, about 30 minutes before you empty your tumbler boil some water in a pot large enough to place your preferred strainer (metal) full of wet clean brass and let the brass heat up for about 60 seconds, remove the strainer with the brass and shake off excess water and when the brass is cool enough to handle there will be no water left.

[serf 'rett]

Got to try that boiled brass drying method!

[Brian Pfleuger]

I wonder if boiling it won't clean it better anyway.... I'm going to try Lemi-shine and boiling water followed by walnut media and Flitz.

[Xfire68]

Wow Brass Soup! What's for dinner? LOL

I have been using SS media for some time now and have tumbled a bunch of brass in it. I went back to my vibratory tumbler this week as someone wanted dirty brass. I could not just let the brass go out without cleaning it a little and I placed it in there with 50/50 walnut and corncob and after 2 hours I took them out decapped them all and put them in the rotary tumbler and SS media as I was just not going to let them look like that!:barf:

You can't get your brass as clean using vibratory tumblers and corncob or walnut no matter how long you run it in the tumbler.

Is this for everyone? I will say no. First not everyone is reloading lots of ammo and has the time to clean there equipment of the dirt and carbon left on their reloading presses. Corn media does work in those cases. If you want your brass clean inside and out and this can be important in rifle cases? Then you want to step up to the next level of clean and get a rotary tumbler and SS media.

[wwmkwood]

I've bought from Xfire and he may have sold me into the SS crowd.