Media polish

[clayking]

Does anyone use any easily purchased media brass polishing products for their tumbler? Does brasso work? I've heard some use Turtle wax?................ck

[amamnn]

I use walnut shell with a dash of scouring powder. One cleaning, no contamination.

[clayking]

Does scouring powder polish? Does it contain ammonia?...................ck

[AAshooter]

I have been looking at the Dillon product and have heard good things about it. Unfortunately, I have not tried it.

[Big Don]

I've been using the Midway/Frankfort Arsenal liquid polish for some time now and have been very pleased with the results. You add x amount for the first time to load the media and then follow up with a smaller amount as time passes. You have to add the polish and run the media for about 4 minutes to get it mixed. A little goes a long way. 8 oz for $6.00, 32 oz for $22.00. And, it smells good!

[Shoney]

I use the wallnut shell from the pet store which is intended as floor litter in bird cages. I add 1 tblspoon liquid turtle wax every thousand rounds.

The bird cage wallnut is really inexpensive, cleans and polishes the same as the expensive wallnut. As a result of using the car wax, I have never had to lube a single straight walled pistol case.

[pack1]

I have used the Dillon Blue Polish and it reduces cleaning time with corn cob considerably.

[Lycanthrope]

Corncob and Nu Finish (from your automotive section at Auto Zone...Wal Mart...)

Clean brass in half an hour that doesn't need lubed and repels water.

Why pay more?

[clayking]

Corncob and Nu Finish (from your automotive section at Auto Zone...Wal Mart...)

Clean brass in half an hour that doesn't need lubed and repels water.

Why pay more?

How much Nu Finish do you use per pound or so of corn media?....thanks.

I use the wallnut shell from the pet store which is intended as floor litter in bird cages. I add 1 tblspoon liquid turtle wax every thousand rounds.

The bird cage wallnut is really inexpensive, cleans and polishes the same as the expensive wallnut. As a result of using the car wax, I have never had to lube a single straight walled pistol case.

Never knew there was such a thing in pet stores. I've have to try that the the turtle wax...........thanks...............ck

[amamnn]

Scouring powder is mostly calcium carbonate. BTW, I've never lubed pistol brass in 50 years, wax or no. If you watch for sales at Midway and Graf and Midsouth, sometimes you can beat the Petsmart prices on walnut shell.

A long time ago someone told me that cleaning media does not really wear out or go bad. Of course, mine got pretty nasty looking after a while, like normal so I figured the old guy was just full of gas. I threw it out by the incinerator in back of the barn. As it will here, it rained all over the pile of media for months. I now have a nice clean little pile of media next to the incinerator. Looks and feels like new. I was tempted to try using it again, but I bought 25 pounds of it when it was cheap.

I still have the same load of media in my tumbler that replaced the pile. It's now over 3 or 4 years old. It still works fine. I load and shoot a lot of rounds working up loads for match shooting. I tumble after every shooting. I do occasionally take the tumbler out on a day with a slight breeze and pour the media out into my collecting bucket, letting the breeze blow the dust away. I have to add a little media from time to time because of this, but that box of walnut shell is still pretty heavy.

[clayking]

ammonia????????????

I only asked about ammonia as it can make brass brittle and therefore should not be used to clean it. Many cleaning products contain it.

[Lycanthrope]

How much Nu Finish do you use per pound or so of corn media?....thanks.

Oh, you really can't overdo it. I use about 2 tablespoons per tumbler because I hate to wait for brass. Just mix it well so you don't have ny wet clumps in your casings.

Brasso has ammonia.

[maxwayne]

I have used Turtle Wax for years, even use it on my car.

[sindiesel666]

Does anyone have any scientific proof (or studies) proving or disproving this notion that ammonia supposedly damages/weakens brass?? I have read this on TFL and other sources as well, but you kow what they say about Internet... if it's the it must be the truth, and nothing but the truth.

I'd like some proof though.

[clayking]

Does anyone have any scientific proof (or studies) proving or disproving this notion that ammonia supposedly damages/weakens brass??

Good question. Far too much dis-information on the net. From what I see, it is not good for brass, but I'm willing to bet, unless there is alot on the brass, and let alone for a long time, that it likely won't hurt much. But, to be on the safe side.....................ck

http://www.hghouston.com/coppers/brass73.htm
http://www.rmtech.net/Anhydrous%20Ammonia.htm

[clayking]

Does anyone have any scientific proof (or studies) proving or disproving this notion that ammonia supposedly damages/weakens brass??

Good question. Far too much dis-information on the net. From what I see, it is not good for brass, but I'm willing to bet, unless there is alot on the brass, and let alone for a long time, that it likely won't hurt much. But, to be on the safe side.....................ck

http://www.hghouston.com/coppers/brass73.htm
http://www.rmtech.net/Anhydrous%20Ammonia.htm

[sindiesel666]

Thanks Clayking, that is more than sufficient proof of what ammonia does to brass. Finally someone with some backing to their statements....

[Ausserordeutlich]

Pour a little Sweet's on a piece of brass and see for yourself. Since there are many great products that don't contain ammonia, what's the purpose of using a cleaner that contains ammonia?

[sindiesel666]

Ausserordeutlich, I never advocated use of ammonia-based cleaners for brass prep. I merely wanted to see if anyone out there had firm proof of alleged damaging/weakening effect of ammonia on brass. I just hate it when armchair commandos propagate and perpetuate all kinds of myths on the Internet without a shred of proof or evidence. :barf:

I myself use Frankford Arsenal polish with walnut media. Works great for me.

[benedict1]

A standard lab experiment in freshman chemistry is to dissolve copper in ammonium hydroxide, an excellent source of free ammonia. The copper dissolves very well forming a deep blue-green solution of the copper-ammonia complex.

Brass contains copper. Leaching the copper out with ammonia will weaken the brass. Eventually it will become brittle, lose its tensile strength and the case will fail. The reason it is so susceptible is that brass is really not a chemical compound, it is a solution of the two metals, copper and zinc, in each other. So that metallic copper is very easily found and dissolved by the ammonia. Go here for a discussion of some of the properties of brass.

http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasc.../chem03403.htm

DON'T use cleaners with ammonia. You may get away with it for awhile but it will eventually cause a problem.

[Toolman]

I've used ground corn cob and Flitz (both from Midway) for about a year and that mixture works well for me. Cuts my cleaning time by 50% and the brass looks like new. Label says no ammonia either.

[Wild Bill Bucks]

I change media every christmas, when the local grocery stores get in their supply of walnuts, pecans, and almonds. It's the only time of year that I seem to get them. I will sit and watch TV and crack nuts for 2 or 3 weeks and put the hulls in an old bowl. After I get enough to replace my polishing media, I put the hulls in a canvas towel, and mash them with a hammer. I use a little brasso polish every other time I tumble. This doesn't cost me much and will polish as good as any media out there.
I'm with Amamnn, good to blow out the dust every so often, keeps the media working better.

[gwalchmai]

I merely wanted to see if anyone out there had firm proof of alleged damaging/weakening effect of ammonia on brass. I just hate it when armchair commandos propagate and perpetuate all kinds of myths on the Internet without a shred of proof or evidence.

Yes, ammonia DOES weaken brass. And dihydrogen oxide kills thousands of people every year.

As is too often the case on the web, someone takes something out of context and misapplies it. I've talked to many old-timers who drop a capful of Brasso in their tumbler and have never had any case failures they could attribute to it. The ammonia concentration is just too small to matter, despite the dire predictions of web stormcrows.

That said, I use NuFinish/Mineral Spirits in my media and am very happy with the results.

[sindiesel666]

Yes, ammonia DOES weaken brass. And dihydrogen oxide kills thousands of people every year.

As is too often the case on the web, someone takes something out of context and misapplies it. I've talked to many old-timers who drop a capful of Brasso in their tumbler and have never had any case failures they could attribute to it. The ammonia concentration is just too small to matter, despite the dire predictions of web stormcrows.

That said, I use NuFinish/Mineral Spirits in my media and am very happy with the results.

gwalchmai, thanks for seeing what I was getting at here. I'm sure ammonia does damage brass if you dunked the brass and left it in a bucket of ammonia, but in small quantities (such as in Brasso) I just don't see how it can do a whole lot of anything.

And yes, water does kill a lot of people each year!!....