Iosso Case Polish

uncle.45 · June 21, 2019, 08:16 AM

I tried the search, but came up empty.
Usually I use corn cob media with just a little NuFinish and dryer sheets to prep straight wall pistol brass.
I don't want to change my process. It works for me, but if another polish would be better, I am willing to try it.
Do any of you have first-hand experience with Iosso Case Polish in your vibratory tumbler?
NuFinish does a pretty good job, but if Iosso's product has any advantages over it, I would appreciate you telling me.
Thanks all!

**Unclenick** · June 21, 2019, 09:01 AM

I have used it. It's a little like a liquid version of automobile polishing compound. Works fine, but so do other products like Flitz's ammonia-free tumbler polish. I think you will find either one is more aggressive than Nu Finish.

I bought a 5 lb sack of food-grade diatomaceous earth at a garden center to kill bugs in my vegetable garden. It also works as a polish. It's a common toothpaste ingredient. Mix some with mineral spirits to disperse it in your tumbling media. You can mix it with Nu Finish, too, to make it work a little faster.

uncle.45 · June 21, 2019, 09:24 AM

Thanks, Unclenick!
I use DE powder in our pool filter.
I think I will make a slurry with DE powder and NuFinish
this weekend after the range. If it's too thick I will stir in some mineral spirits.
This could be just the tweak my usual method needs to turn out clean, shiny brass a little quicker.
I think I will forget about the Iosso polish. I like being able to get NuFinish at Wally World or any car parts store without having to order it anyway.
Thanks again!

50 shooter · June 21, 2019, 01:06 PM

The liquid Iosso is an amazing product, you can go from the worst looking surplus brass to a dull shine in a couple minutes. Then if you feel the need to shine them up more, put them in your tumbler for an hour.

The liquid will also clean the inside of the case and the primer pockets. I haven't used their regular wax that you add to your media but if its anything like their liquid case cleaner, it should be top notch.

**Unclenick** · June 21, 2019, 01:22 PM

I don't recall it getting primer pockets cleaned. Perhaps the formulation has changed. Their liquid case cleaner using sulfamic acid gets brass clean in a couple of minutes, except for the primer pockets, but the drying brass gets some oxide stains, IIRC.

50 shooter · June 21, 2019, 05:24 PM

Did you deprime the brass before dropping it in the Iosso? That usually helps to get at the deposits in the primer pockets.

**Unclenick** · June 21, 2019, 07:44 PM

Oh yeah. LOL. There's no hope otherwise. It still left traces. The only two ways I've ever found to get primer pockets completely clean are stainless pins and ultrasonic cleaning (with patience or a high power density). Everything else leaves traces. Hummer70 says if you deprime at the bench immediately after firing, the carbon is still so soft that most of it falls out as crumbs and that immediately adding a drop of Ed's Red to the pocket then keeps it soft until you can swab it out. Carbon hardens with time.

T. O'Heir · June 22, 2019, 11:38 AM

You can leave the car polish and dryer sheets out altogether and still get clean brass. Being clean is far more important than being shiney.

**Unclenick** · June 22, 2019, 04:39 PM

That's absolutely true. When I shot a lot of .222 Rem loaded in the old Lee Manufacturing Zero Error Target Model loader, I captured the ejected brass and wiped it off with mineral spirits or alcohol on a rag and nothing more. I shot many a 100-yard cloverleaf with that approach. Today my reason for all the polishing and cleaning is semi-automatic. I can find far-flung bright yellow brass in the grass most easily.

My secondary reason is the primer pockets. As I've studied the importance of consistent ignition in primers, I've become less and less sanguine about seating them on residue, and, broadly speaking, my velocity SD's with the same component combinations are consistently lower than they were 30 years ago. Most of that is due to seating primers harder, but the residue is not the same hardness as brass and since it is easy to remove by those means, why not eliminate another variable? Sometime I'll organize a study to see if I can measure the difference, but I've been too lazy, thus far.

June 21, 2019, 08:16 AM	#1
uncle.45 Senior Member Join Date: November 11, 2017 Location: Lakeland, Florida Posts: 134	Iosso Case Polish I tried the search, but came up empty. Usually I use corn cob media with just a little NuFinish and dryer sheets to prep straight wall pistol brass. I don't want to change my process. It works for me, but if another polish would be better, I am willing to try it. Do any of you have first-hand experience with Iosso Case Polish in your vibratory tumbler? NuFinish does a pretty good job, but if Iosso's product has any advantages over it, I would appreciate you telling me. Thanks all! __________________ Shoot Often, Have Fun, BE SAFE!

June 21, 2019, 09:01 AM	#2
Unclenick Staff Join Date: March 4, 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 21,063	I have used it. It's a little like a liquid version of automobile polishing compound. Works fine, but so do other products like Flitz's ammonia-free tumbler polish. I think you will find either one is more aggressive than Nu Finish. I bought a 5 lb sack of food-grade diatomaceous earth at a garden center to kill bugs in my vegetable garden. It also works as a polish. It's a common toothpaste ingredient. Mix some with mineral spirits to disperse it in your tumbling media. You can mix it with Nu Finish, too, to make it work a little faster. __________________ Gunsite Orange Hat Family Member CMP Certified GSM Master Instructor NRA Certified Rifle Instructor NRA Benefactor Member and Golden Eagle

June 21, 2019, 09:24 AM	#3
uncle.45 Senior Member Join Date: November 11, 2017 Location: Lakeland, Florida Posts: 134	Thanks, Unclenick! I use DE powder in our pool filter. I think I will make a slurry with DE powder and NuFinish this weekend after the range. If it's too thick I will stir in some mineral spirits. This could be just the tweak my usual method needs to turn out clean, shiny brass a little quicker. I think I will forget about the Iosso polish. I like being able to get NuFinish at Wally World or any car parts store without having to order it anyway. Thanks again! __________________ Shoot Often, Have Fun, BE SAFE!

June 21, 2019, 01:06 PM	#4
50 shooter Senior Member Join Date: August 6, 2002 Location: SoCal PRK Posts: 986	The liquid Iosso is an amazing product, you can go from the worst looking surplus brass to a dull shine in a couple minutes. Then if you feel the need to shine them up more, put them in your tumbler for an hour. The liquid will also clean the inside of the case and the primer pockets. I haven't used their regular wax that you add to your media but if its anything like their liquid case cleaner, it should be top notch. __________________ I see the world thru bloodshot eyes Streets filled with blood from distant lies The dogs of war never compromise, No time for rearranging.

June 21, 2019, 01:22 PM	#5
Unclenick Staff Join Date: March 4, 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 21,063	I don't recall it getting primer pockets cleaned. Perhaps the formulation has changed. Their liquid case cleaner using sulfamic acid gets brass clean in a couple of minutes, except for the primer pockets, but the drying brass gets some oxide stains, IIRC. __________________ Gunsite Orange Hat Family Member CMP Certified GSM Master Instructor NRA Certified Rifle Instructor NRA Benefactor Member and Golden Eagle

June 21, 2019, 05:24 PM	#6
50 shooter Senior Member Join Date: August 6, 2002 Location: SoCal PRK Posts: 986	Did you deprime the brass before dropping it in the Iosso? That usually helps to get at the deposits in the primer pockets. __________________ I see the world thru bloodshot eyes Streets filled with blood from distant lies The dogs of war never compromise, No time for rearranging.

June 21, 2019, 07:44 PM	#7
Unclenick Staff Join Date: March 4, 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 21,063	Oh yeah. LOL. There's no hope otherwise. It still left traces. The only two ways I've ever found to get primer pockets completely clean are stainless pins and ultrasonic cleaning (with patience or a high power density). Everything else leaves traces. Hummer70 says if you deprime at the bench immediately after firing, the carbon is still so soft that most of it falls out as crumbs and that immediately adding a drop of Ed's Red to the pocket then keeps it soft until you can swab it out. Carbon hardens with time. __________________ Gunsite Orange Hat Family Member CMP Certified GSM Master Instructor NRA Certified Rifle Instructor NRA Benefactor Member and Golden Eagle

June 22, 2019, 11:38 AM	#8
T. O'Heir Senior Member Join Date: February 13, 2002 Location: Canada Posts: 12,453	You can leave the car polish and dryer sheets out altogether and still get clean brass. Being clean is far more important than being shiney. __________________ Spelling and grammar count!

June 22, 2019, 04:39 PM	#9
Unclenick Staff Join Date: March 4, 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 21,063	That's absolutely true. When I shot a lot of .222 Rem loaded in the old Lee Manufacturing Zero Error Target Model loader, I captured the ejected brass and wiped it off with mineral spirits or alcohol on a rag and nothing more. I shot many a 100-yard cloverleaf with that approach. Today my reason for all the polishing and cleaning is semi-automatic. I can find far-flung bright yellow brass in the grass most easily. My secondary reason is the primer pockets. As I've studied the importance of consistent ignition in primers, I've become less and less sanguine about seating them on residue, and, broadly speaking, my velocity SD's with the same component combinations are consistently lower than they were 30 years ago. Most of that is due to seating primers harder, but the residue is not the same hardness as brass and since it is easy to remove by those means, why not eliminate another variable? Sometime I'll organize a study to see if I can measure the difference, but I've been too lazy, thus far. __________________ Gunsite Orange Hat Family Member CMP Certified GSM Master Instructor NRA Certified Rifle Instructor NRA Benefactor Member and Golden Eagle