cleaning media

parttime · September 18, 2009, 07:30 AM

I have a silly question that has more than likely been asked several times before. Has anyone tried plain FLOOR DRY oil absorbant for a cleaning media in their tumblers or vibrators? If so, what were the results.

CowTowner · September 18, 2009, 07:35 AM

Haven't tried it, but I'm not sure that oil dry/kitty litter (clay) would be a good choice.
The dust created would cause me to pass.

mapsjanhere · September 18, 2009, 08:41 AM

That material is harder than your brass, so it would look like brass treated with 30 grain sand paper. If you try to polish with a hard medium, you need a VERY fine polishing medium, not the coarse chunks. And grinding and sifting to 625 mesh and finer is not trivial or fun.

GeauxTide · September 18, 2009, 08:51 AM

Don't use the dirt.......

NWPilgrim · September 18, 2009, 10:50 AM

Course corn cob or walnut shells found at farming supply or pet centers is pretty cheap. The pet corn cob is not as fine as the reloading specific stuff, but it does a good job, just requires more picking out of primer pockets and small cases.

I like corn cob with a squirt of carnuba wax based car polish run for about an hour or two.

Magnum Wheel Man · September 18, 2009, 11:06 AM

I inherited my father in laws tumbler & media, along with his reloading stuff... ( along with being a long time reloader, he also polished rocks & glass as other hobbies ) so I have a pleathora of polishing media... I don't think he ever used floor dri or kitty litter, but he often used several grades of silica sand, & several additives to the media... but for brass he always used one of several treated corn cob or walnut shell media...

while I think the clay type media could effectively polish the brass, I'd think it would be too dusty as the grains of clay broke up & would require washing of the cases afterwards... the oiled wood shaving type sweeping compound wouldn't accomplish much polishing, but maybe using it after kitty litter / clay type floor dry, would eliminate the need for washing ???

medalguy · September 18, 2009, 06:55 PM

I know the stuff you're talking about and I use it to sweep my garage floor, works great. However, I'm not sure what kind of oil is mixed with it so I would have concerns that the oil might damage the primer/powder since I'm not sure how you could remove all of it. Why noy just use dry cob or walnut media? That works great and there's no concern about any left-over residue inside the case.

September 18, 2009, 07:30 AM	#1
parttime Member Join Date: August 25, 2009 Location: Minnesota Posts: 82	cleaning media I have a silly question that has more than likely been asked several times before. Has anyone tried plain FLOOR DRY oil absorbant for a cleaning media in their tumblers or vibrators? If so, what were the results.

September 18, 2009, 07:35 AM	#2
CowTowner Senior Member Join Date: October 17, 2007 Location: Cowtown of course! Posts: 1,747	Haven't tried it, but I'm not sure that oil dry/kitty litter (clay) would be a good choice. The dust created would cause me to pass. __________________ NRA Chief Range Safety Officer, Home Firearms Safety, Pistol and Rifle Instructor *“Today, we need a nation of Minutemen, citizens who are not only prepared to take arms, but citizens who regard the preservation of freedom as the basic purpose of their daily life......”* President John F. Kennedy

September 18, 2009, 08:51 AM	#4
GeauxTide Senior Member Join Date: April 20, 2009 Location: Helena, AL Posts: 4,424	+ Them Don't use the dirt.......

September 18, 2009, 10:50 AM	#5
NWPilgrim Senior Member Join Date: September 29, 2008 Location: Oregon Posts: 2,346	Course corn cob or walnut shells found at farming supply or pet centers is pretty cheap. The pet corn cob is not as fine as the reloading specific stuff, but it does a good job, just requires more picking out of primer pockets and small cases. I like corn cob with a squirt of carnuba wax based car polish run for about an hour or two. __________________ "The ultimate authority ... resides in the people alone. ... The advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation ... forms a barrier against the enterprises of ambition." - James Madison

September 18, 2009, 11:06 AM	#6
Magnum Wheel Man Senior Member Join Date: July 26, 2006 Location: Southern Minnesota Posts: 9,333	I inherited my father in laws tumbler & media, along with his reloading stuff... ( along with being a long time reloader, he also polished rocks & glass as other hobbies ) so I have a pleathora of polishing media... I don't think he ever used floor dri or kitty litter, but he often used several grades of silica sand, & several additives to the media... but for brass he always used one of several treated corn cob or walnut shell media... while I think the clay type media could effectively polish the brass, I'd think it would be too dusty as the grains of clay broke up & would require washing of the cases afterwards... the oiled wood shaving type sweeping compound wouldn't accomplish much polishing, but maybe using it after kitty litter / clay type floor dry, would eliminate the need for washing ??? __________________ In life you either make dust or eat dust...

September 18, 2009, 08:41 AM	#3
mapsjanhere Senior Member Join Date: August 6, 2009 Location: Albuquerque Posts: 2,832	That material is harder than your brass, so it would look like brass treated with 30 grain sand paper. If you try to polish with a hard medium, you need a VERY fine polishing medium, not the coarse chunks. And grinding and sifting to 625 mesh and finer is not trivial or fun.

September 18, 2009, 06:55 PM	#7
medalguy Senior Member Join Date: August 31, 2009 Location: New Mexico Posts: 1,033	I know the stuff you're talking about and I use it to sweep my garage floor, works great. However, I'm not sure what kind of oil is mixed with it so I would have concerns that the oil might damage the primer/powder since I'm not sure how you could remove all of it. Why noy just use dry cob or walnut media? That works great and there's no concern about any left-over residue inside the case.