Tumbler media, Walnut, Corncob, or mixture?

[jepp2]

My preference is for nice and clean brass with a good shine.

I can use either crushed walnut hull, or corn cob. In your experience:

- what cleans cases best?
- what produces the best shine?

I had read that walnut cleans better, and corncob shines better. But then I read the opposite is true? I have plain walnut hull with no cleaner on it, and some walnut hull with the red oxide on it. The corn cob I have has been treated (Lyman).

Thanks for your input and I do plan to use NuFinish and mineral spirits with it.

[PCJim]

I haven't found anything that cleans the initial gunk off the brass any better than the walnut with 2-3 tablespoons of paint thinner. My pistol brass gets one tumbling before seeing my dies - walnut with paint thinner. Rifle brass gets two tumblings - walnut with PT for initial cleaning, walnut with NuFinish to remove the lube after depriming/resizing. I have noticed that with the NuFinish treatment, the brass seems to retain the shine. Keep in mind that is a subjective comment, without any objective data to back it up.

[albsch]

I mix the cob with the walnut at about 50/50 and add a couple of capfulls of Nu Finish car polish. Two hours later they look like new.

[BigJimP]

I think the walnut shells do a better job / and it doesn't break down as much or get as dusty as corn cob.... but it isn't like one is 300% better than the other either / its really just a personal choice.

I'd recommend you try both - see what you think.

[geocole]

I like lizard litter , It is a real fine crushed walnut shell. I load .223 and never need to dig out the media.
I use one cap full car polish and run it for 30 minutes before tumbling brass.

[Mark whiz]

I concur with the fact that in my practice, I've found that Walnut is best for deep cleaning and treated Corncob polishes really nice. I do treat my walnut with a cap or so of paint thinner or mineral spirits every so often just to clean the media, but that's all I do to the walnut. The corncob gets a little polishing media every 2 or 3 uses of the tumbler.

[billcarey]

I use untreated walnut and let it tumble for several hrs. Been doing it this way for about 20yrs. I started out using corn cob but somewhere along the way changed to walnut and can't remember much about the corn. It may depend on the type tumbler too. I use the old fashion round drum rock tumber type instead of the modern vibrator type. Vibrators are too loud for me and the rock tumbler makes no noise except for the brass tumbling.

bc

[RickV]

I have seen other threads that talk about buying both corncob and walnut at pet stores. What exactly should I look for, what do the pet stores call it?

[millerwb]

At WalMart, the Walnut is bird cage litter I think. It works well. I changed from CC to the Walnut a month ago. It cleans better and faster than the CC for me.

[ZeSpectre]

I like lizard litter , It is a real fine crushed walnut shell. I load .223 and never need to dig out the media. I use one cap full car polish and run it for 30 minutes before tumbling brass.

That's essentially what I do now as well.

Fine Crushed Walnut shell (Kaytee Walnut Bird Litter from Petco)

A squirt of car polish (Meguiar’s "cleaner wax" liquid polish) to "season" the walnut for use, but make sure it's well mixed with the media before you put any brass in or you get clumps stuck inside your brass.

Torn up squares of either USED dryer sheets or blue shop towel (seems to absorb a LOT of the gunk and dust and makes your media last longer and your brass come out with less dust).

I typically run it all in a vibratory tumbler for about 2 hours though I've had some nasty range brass that I've run as long as four hours. (I have an outlet with a timer attached so I can set it and walk away).

[#1 Moses]

I really Like Lymans greenish corn cob mix. It last a long time and does a nice job,

[CrustyFN]

I like walnut from the pet store best. I add 1/2 cap full of Nu Finish car polish to every batch and a used dryer sheet or paper towel cut into ten pieces. After two hours they come out looking close enough to new for me. The walnut will last a long time. You can probably get a couple of years out of $5 worth easy.
Rusty

[hardhit]

Iv been experimenting with autosol metal polish it’s used for polishing chrome brass copper ect, I polished a piece of 308 brass using a rag, when done this way it brings brass cases to a very high luster so I though id add some to my tumbler and see what happened. The problem is it’s a fairly thick paste so in a old cup and put it in the microwave for 5 seconds and it melted into a very thin cream constancy perfect for poring, with the tumbler and media turning over I poured in small amounts around the bowl, it blended in nicely after about 5 min,
I dumped in some lightly tarnished brass and left for 30 min.
when i stopped the tumbler the brass had a very light coating on it, similar to what new media does to brass.
So I got a piece of rag and gave it a quick buff and it took on a bright luster just as good as the piece I polished earlier in fact I could not tell the two apart.

[CrustyFN]

Iv been experimenting with autosol metal polish it’s used for polishing chrome brass copper ect,

Do you know if it has ammonia in it? Ammonia is bad for brass.
Rusty

[hardhit]

No it has no Ammonia!
It is used to polish brass and copper similar to Flitz Metal Polish. But I cant get that product, so I use autosol metal polish, as mentioned it’s a paste that I melt it in the microwave for 5 second’s to a light cream it work’s great!!!

[pacomdiver]

i use tuffnut from cabelas and it works great

[wncchester]

There is so little difference that it makes no difference.

[mkl]

I've had very good results with a 50/50 mix of walnut & corn cob.

I add about 2 teaspoons of Flitz metal polish to the media when I first make it up.

The Flitz not only gives an nice shine, but also has some kind of anti-tarnish agent in it which seems to keep the cases bright over longer periods of time.

Note according to the Flitz web site, only the paste form has the anti-tarnish agent; the liquid does not. Premix the paste in about 1/2 cup of media using a spoon to mash into the media. When well mixed, add the 1/2 cup to the other media in your tumbler. If you don't premix, the paste will tend to ball up instead of being evenly distributed throughout the media.

[marsofold]

Walnut chips are available in bulk from places like Eastwood that sell automotive painting supplies. They sell them in 50-Lb sacks...

http://www.eastwoodco.com/jump.jsp?i...emType=PRODUCT

[fxdc]

Ok got new corn cob rbcs brand added half of their polishing agent to 2lbs of the 4lbs I got... Added some of the nastiest 45acp cases I had, hoping for good results but got just so so results!

Had no Nu finsh car polish I saw I had something I use on my Harleys from Eagle One called NEVER DULL wadding polish.... No Amonia.... For use on all metals is what the can said, soooo I torn off 6 small pieces of it and put them in my vibratory and 2hrs later BETTER THAN NEW ! Blew me away....

So next test is with pet store walnut lizard bedding and the NEVER DULL POLISH, the Untreated walnut cleans better that corn cob but won't polish so adding pieces of NEVER DULL WADDING will take care of that problem..... And if that works, I'll move on to try RICE AND NEVER DULL. I will also post those results with the walnut findings.

Happy case Cleaning!!!

[TheNatureBoy]

Not at all concerned about the brass being nice and shiney. Just clean and functional. Corncob because it isn't as messy as walnut.

[mohr308]

I'm using the crushed walnut from the pet store, I was using Lyman's green corncob, but it gets pretty dusty and I don't like that. The walnut doesn't stick in the primer pockets either and cleans them better than cc will.

[jj320]

I use corn cob know but i think i will try the rice for a change

[m&p45acp10+1]

I use walnut. I do not are about shine. I want clean, with no stuff sticking in the flash holes. I use a bag of fine walnut blasing media I bught at Harbor Freight. A 25 pound bag cost me less than $30. Well over three years later I still have over 15 pounds left. I have cleaned well over a million cases in that time. (I clean brass that I pick up, and use it for trades with a few people that I know.)

[Misssissippi Dave]

I bought a 40 pound bag of 20/40 corncob from Granger some time ago. I still have plenty of it left. I have used Dillon brass polish with it and it works. I have just let a batch run over night and it works very well. I have used NuFinish and the cases stay new looking for quite a while. Turtle Wax doesn't stay new looking quite as long as NuFinish but it does help to clean things faster. With a dryer sheet in the bottom of the tumbler (vib type) and NuFinish I end up with a bowl that looks better than new.

You can use corncob alone just make sure it is very fine. It might take longer to clean and polish but it will get the job done. Walnut should always have a dryer sheet in the bottom to help control the dust. Dryer sheets seem to allow the media to last longer before it gets too dirty to get the job done.

Soap and hot water will work too with a little effort. You just have to make sure things get completely dry prior to use. There are plenty of things that work to clean brass. I depends on what you want to use and what is available.