Sand for Tumbler Media

[keys85]

Has anyone thought of using sand? Would this work? Pros/Cons?

Not that I would use sand, however, the thought crossed my mind when I realized how plentiful and free it is as well as how I have cases so tarnished they are black. To get them remotely looking like brass, I must tumble them in corncob for 2 days straight. When I thought that I wish I could just sand blast the cases and speed the process up (emotional thinking here), I thought, hey, wouldn't tumbling in sand work more effectively than corncob because of all the rough edges of the granules?

[Mal H]

Bad idea. Sand will pit the brass cases something fierce. They might look good with that sandblasted finish, but after one shooting, I think they'll soot up like never before and then will be even harder to clean. I don't know what effects the less-than-smooth brass might have on case sealing in the chamber when firing, could be a bad effect.

I doubt that the strength of the cases will be compromised if done only a few times, but repeated cleanings just might.

I have never seen cases so tarnished that it takes two days to clean them. Are you using any polishing compound in the corncob?

Are you using a vibratory cleaner or a tumbler? You did plug it in, right? (That reminds me of the old chain saw joke ...)

If your cases are getting overly sooty, you should look into raising the pressure of your loads.

[Don H]

Walnut shell is more aggressive and faster working than corncob but it won't leave cases as shiny.

[maggys drawers]

Glass bead blasting media doesn't work, or rather it works too good. I put some range pickups in some walnut and tossed in a handful of glass bead blasting media and tumbled them for a couple hours. They were really clean, but had very fine matte finish that was pitted. They went into the scrap bucket, the media went into the trash and that was the end of that experiment.

I would imagine sand would be that bad or worse.

[James R. Burke]

Mal H is right. It probably would look good the first time, then your going to have a real problem.

[keys85]

I have no problem tumbling MY brass, and loads aren't causing soot. The problem I have is getting range pick-up brass clean to the point to where they can be fired, and then tossed in for about 2 hours to come out nice and shiny. Some of the brass I pick up has been sitting outside for a while and the cases are dark brown, almost black. If I spin the brass by hand in some steel wool, I can then toss them in and they clean up. But the process is time consuming. If I can get the tarnished cases cleaned the first time, they will clean up. It's just that initial cleaning that is needed to remove that dark tarnish. I use flitz polish in my tumbler. They eventually come out shiny but take a LONG time compared to brass I have already once cleaned. I don't like mixing my nice clean shiny brass with the dull tarnished cases.

Some of the range pick up brass almost appears as if it had been tarnished badly, then sprayed with lacquer. Indoor range brass I have no problems with.

[fireroad]

I find walnut shells, changed regularly, with a healthy dose of brass polisher (I use cabelas house brand that came with the tumbler) works wonders on the cruddiest of brass. It seems to work best when I let it run overnight and after the fourth batch (probably because there is now 4 times the recomended amount of polisher mixed in the walnut). YMMV....

[Storm52]

I put a couple capfuls of Nu-Finish car wax in corn-cob. I've heard of some using rice with success. I had a neighbor years ago that used a 5 gallon bucket with hot water and Simple Green with brass in a mesh bag. Let it soak for 30 minutes and repeat, then rinsed. He tossed the brass on towels on his picnic table in the sun. Worked great but he didn't concern himself with shiny, just cleaned.

[Tuzo]

Sand, to be geologically accurate, is a certain particle size. Walnut media diameter runs from 0.25 to 1.5 mm which is equivalent to medium to very coarse sand. Most people equate sand to silica (Florida Gulf Coast beaches) but sand can also be carbonate (New Jersey beaches composed of mollusk shells with a bit of silica thrown in). Silica sand is highly abrasive to brass and will pit brass casings. What is worse is very fine sand grains become imbedded in much softer brass and convert the casing to a sanding cylinder. That is not good for the health of sizing dies.

Avoid the temptation to use free sand and stick with slightly more expensive walnut media that can be bought in pet supply stores.

[Inspector3711]

That is not good for the health of sizing dies

Not to mention the chamber of your firearm.

[PCJim]

Keys, get yourself some walnut media from either Walmart or Petsmart (sold as Kaytee bird cage litter), add 2-3 tablespoons of paint thinner and tumble 15 minutes to mix around before adding your brass. Two hours later your brass will be very clean and shiny.

Forget the sand idea. You're asking for trouble as previously mentioned.

[lphil]

Has anybody ever thought to use anything like tarn-x to remove tarnish from their brass? I know you can't use it in a tumbler because it is a liquid, but you can pour it in a bowl and dip your brass in it to remove the tarnish. I'm just thinking out loud here.

[keys85]

I added some paint thinner (mineral spirits) to my media one time. I did not notice that it helped clean the brass any more effectively than running the tumbler without it.

Even if you rub down a case with paint thinner, it doesn't de-tarnish it one bit. It'll take dirt or grime off, but doesn't remove tarnish.

[snuffy]

The problem with sand is; how will you be entirely sure you got it all out of the INSIDE of the case? A chunk hidden or stuck on the inside will be blown down the barrel of the gun. Will it do damage? You bet it will. And what if a bullet gets a chunk embedded in it? Talk about grinding compound!

I find it amusing the different stuff people try to make into tumbling media. I can understand the temptation to be frugal, trying to save money, but this is one area where it pays to use what is supposed to be used.

[zxcvbob]

Has anybody ever thought to use anything like tarn-x to remove tarnish from their brass? I know you can't use it in a tumbler because it is a liquid, but you can pour it in a bowl and dip your brass in it to remove the tarnish. I'm just thinking out loud here.

I've given really awful brass a quick soak in water with a little ammonia added then tumbled as usual. It does a good job, but not something you'd want to do to a piece of brass more than once or twice (might not be a good idea at all for rifle brass.)

[Swampghost]

I'm thinking of getting back into reloading. Just how important IS cleaning your brass? I don't remember my Dad or Uncle ever doing it back in the '50's and 60's. This is probably another topic.

[Tuzo]

Swampghost (interesting name),

I have talked to several revolver shooters who rarely, if ever, clean fired brass and are content with their reloads. Most reloaders clean fired brass to 1) remove any contaminants that may damage resizing die walls; 2) remove residue from case interior; and 3) polish cases for a pretty look.

#1 and #2 are the reasons I tumble my spent cases and #3 is merely an extra benefit. Used to tumble my recovered brass for 3-hours but now tumble for 1-hour. Range pickup brass is washed and then tumbled until clean and polished - about 2-hours.

A $30 vibratory tumbler has been going strong for over three years and I consider it a worthwhile investment for the purpose of keeping expensive resizing dies in like new condition.

[A_Gamehog]

then use steel wool on the case as it spins, they look brand new or better after 10 seconds. Thats after I tumble in the Walnut mix. If you are only doing a small amount it's very easy to remove any tarnish or hard powder residue left after tumbling. IMR powders in semi-hot loads around the necks are hard to clean.

[Travelin' Man]

Has anyone here ever used an ultrasonic cleaner to clean cases, it wouldn't polish them shiny unless you add something like Tarn-X to the water or cleaning liquid.

If you don't know what an ultrasonic cleaner is, it is something that is commonly used in jewelry stores to clean jewelry and precious stones. The reason I ask is that I have a large capacity ultrasonic cleaner in my factory (we manufacture carbide tipped saw blades and use it to clean the blades after brazing and prior to sand blasting) that can easily fit two big baskets of cases.

[keys85]

I've heard of something a while back as to why not to use an ultrasonic cleaner. I forget why...but I think it has something to do with it damaging the zinc alloy in the brass.