Mineral Spirits/ Nu Finish

[farmerboy]

Gotta find out for myself, got some 38's and 357's tumbling in walnut media and heard so much about using M.S. and nu finish car wax to help so I am trying it and seeing if it does for myself or just hype. I've always had good results without this but my neighbor and friend has the shinest brass I've ever seen in my life. I know this is just cosmetic really but I've always really just wanted to say I done that atleast once, will reply later today with results....

[Sorrowful Jones]

Would be interested to hear about the results. By the way, how much of the mineral spirits and nu finish did you use?

[farmerboy]

splash of mineral spirits when tumbling media only and then added about a cap full of nu finish and ran for awhile by self before adding brass. (Thats basically how I've read about it before)

[jepp2]

I use about a 50/50 mix of OMS and NuFinish. I add them both to one of the squeeze bottles like ketchup and mustard used to be kept in.

The advantages are the OMS helps with the cleaning action and mixed with the NuFinish it allows it to mix in with your media much faster. Straight NuFinish will mix, but you have to tumble it a lot longer before it mixes.

If I just want to clean and not so much shine, I just add OMS to plain media. But realize the OMS evaporates overnight.

[Loader9]

Just so you are aware, Nu Finish has oleic diethanol amide in the mix and is an emulsifier and lubricant. So you're are basically adding a lubricant to the brass. You are also embedding the microspheres that are in the formulation into in the brass. While a lot of folks use it, Nu Finish posts a warning on their website as to adding this slick finish to anything.
We always recommend that you first try Nu Finish on an inconspicuous area, even if you are polishing your car.

Do not use Nu Finish Car Polish on vinyl, plastic trim, simulated wood, rubber or flat paint. Also, do not use Nu Finish on areas like tile floors and bathtubs. It makes the surfaces extremely slippery and could cause injury to others.

It most certainly will make bolt thrust increase and while the gun probably won't blow up in your face, you are going to be causing wear at the lugs and the chances of excessive head space will increase. Use at your own risk.
FWIW, the actual cleaning agent in Nu Finsh is stoddard solvent or as you might know it, dry cleaning fluid. Stoddard Solvent can be purchased without all of the slicky crap in it.

[farmerboy]

I hope it dont make my cases so slippery that they slip out of my hand before I can put them in my gun!!

[Tanker6]

Maybe, but I bet they bead up when they get rained on.

[mapsjanhere]

The use of mineral spirits with a tumbler is flat out dangerous. Your tumbler's motor is not explosion proof, so you're mixing a flammable liquid with a flammable medium over a non-encapsulated motor. Than you turn it on and let it run for a couple hours unattended. I hope your insurance agent is as impressed by shiny brass as you are.

[SQUAREKNOT]

No risk of a fire as the flash point is high and its being dumped on the media.
I use a spray bottle and add it every time I clean cases. I also leave the top on so it does not evaporate. With new walnut media I have had cases that actually looked white, not yellow. Almost freaky clean. It never fails to work and work real well

[Shane Tuttle]

The use of mineral spirits with a tumbler is flat out dangerous. Your tumbler's motor is not explosion proof, so you're mixing a flammable liquid with a flammable medium over a non-encapsulated motor. Than you turn it on and let it run for a couple hours unattended. I hope your insurance agent is as impressed by shiny brass as you are.

1. We're talking about a couple of tablespoons for an entire batch. We're not making a slurry out of the stuff.
2. The motor is encapsulated underneath my tumbler. How do you know his isn't?
3. Walnut media isn't exactly flammable. If it were, the aviation industry wouldn't be using it to clean engine internals.
4. Mineral spirits have a fairly high flashpoint and the concentration of its vapor whether in an open or closed bowl is pretty darn low if the amount used is equal to item #1.

Can you please cite to an incident or two that followed these parameters and their house burned down?

[mapsjanhere]

Tuttle, feel free to count on the 4 degree F mineral spirit's flashpoint is over the 100 F limit for "flammable" to protect you. And you need to read up on the difference between a motor encased in a closed housing (great for flammable, heavier than air vapors to collect) and an explosion proof encapsulation (one hint, the enclosed motor costs more than the best tumbler, so yours doesn't have one either).
And while I haven't seen a tumbler go up in flame, I've seen what happens if someone decides to vacuum up saw dust used to soak up spilled paint thinner with a shop vac.

[Shane Tuttle]

And all that vapor just falls right on down to the exposed motor assy. Yeah, sure it does. The amount of vapor produced from the miniscule amount used as stated isn't going to provide anywhere NEAR the correct mixture to provide an ignition. You never said "explosion proof" encapsulated motor.

Look, it's one thing to be safe. It's another to think just because a tiny spark made by brushes of a motor underneath separated by quite a few barriers is going to somehow likely cause this disastrous fire from such few ppm concentration of a volatile compound is a bit much. Hell, there's more fume concentrate from gasoline, oil, and other chemicals in an auto shop with switches and outlets galore than what we describe for use in a tumbler.

I don't see any epidemic of auto shops majically blowing up on a daily basis in our country of 300 million. Now, I ask again, do you have ANY PROOF of your substantiated claim? And I don't see the same for exploding tumblers with your claim of flammable medium (which I'm waiting for a rebuttal that walnut somehow is a flammable medium).

If not, I call BS to your statement.

[t45]

Im with Tuttle. I use a small splash of MS and use it with confidence. I tumble out in my garage because the noise is muffled and its more ventilated than my reloading area.

[Sorrowful Jones]

I am curious as to what MS actually does in cleaning brass and whether or not you would notice a difference if you did not use it? MS is basically paint thinner so I assume you guys are using it as de-greaser (of sorts). Given the amount of walnut media used, I would think it would take more than a spoonful to do any good. I have never tried it, so I do not know... just asking.

[Mike Irwin]

I'd be very worried about adding any sort of wax or lubricant to my media on the off chance that it might reduce the ability of the case to grasp the chamber walls and increase back thrust.

During National Matches years ago it was a common occurrence for shooters to dip their bullets into Mobil1 lube before chambering. It helped cut down on the nasty fouling that occurred from cupro-nickel bullet jackets.

It was inevitable that some of the lube would migrate into the chamber and Hatcher notes a number of rifle failures attributed to increased case thrust on the bolt head.

[Sport45]

The motor in my tumbler (Lyman) is a small induction motor. No brushes, sparks or anything like that. It doesn't even have a switch. I put a splash of mineral spirits in mine without worry. I do leave it on the patio because of the noise so if it catches fire it won't hurt anything.

I don't use any waxes in mine because I just want clean. Slippery isn't a good thing with brass.

[jaguarxk120]

In Hatcher's book page's 338 to 343 he talks about tin-can ammunition, the tin plated bullets used at one time.

The tin plating and not the grease was the cause of the blow-up's. Please note though the grease did add to very high chamber pressure's.

The tin plated bullets soldered themselves to the case neck because of neck tension. Also note all components used were NEW and not reloaded ammunition. The case necks were bright and shiney, when tin plated bullets seated into the necks they pressure soldered them selves to the neck.

Testing the bullet pull in this ammo Hatcher found that some cases it took over 600 pounds to remove the bullet.

Also note spent bullets were found down range with cartridge necks still atached and rifling engraved onto the case neck.

[chiefr]

I have done this before, however, I used a Loretone rock tumbler and it worked very well. Another hobby, I engage in is auto paint & body and I do restorations. I have used various 3M polishes to buff and I clean & polish auto parts in my tumbler.
Years ago, before media additives were available, I mixed 3M fine polish, walnut media, & about 100 rounds of brown tarnished 30-06 brass and a little MS in my tumbler & was astounded by the results.

[demigod]

The use of mineral spirits with a tumbler is flat out dangerous.

Thanks for the laugh!!

[engineermike]

I guess adding mineral spirits is ok as long as you are not smoking or lighting up a smoke when dousing your corn cob/walnut media. And as far as slicking up stuff and causing extra wear, I would be using KY before Nufinish. I am pretty sure that water will bead up and run off and that may come in handy while out hunting on wet days.

The first one to have a far or sploshan of their tumbler please post so the rest of us can stop. If your home catches fire call 911 first before you make your post.

Mike

[Doodlebugger45]

I have poured in a teaspoon or 2 of mineral spirits before on a couple occasions with no ill effects. I have only added the car polish one time and that was a very small amount. It did seem to clean my brass faster and they look more shiney. No splosions and my brass isn't too slick to handle. The first time I did it, I checked to see if my finest grain powder would pour into a case and then dump out without any of it clinging to the inside of the brass. No problem.

Just be sure to use them in moderation of course.

One time I had some Hornady factory 243 rounds that I shot and they had a very tough carbon deposit left on the outside of the neck. That carbon wouldn't come off even after hours of tumbling. I poured a little dab of mineral spirits in a bowl and dipped each case in it, just enough to get the neck wet, then put them back in the tumbler after a few minutes of sitting. The carbon came off mostly.

[GWS]

I use 20/40 corn cobb and Dillon polish with a dryer sheet cut up into 1" squares. That's it...dust is not a problem, and the brass will blind you. I guess I don't see the point in using mineral spirits.

Thanks for the laugh!!

Be careful what you laugh at.

A close acquaintance of mine burnt down his brand new house (soon to be moved in to), by leaving mineral spirits-loaded cleaning rags in a plastic pail over night in the new living room. No sparks, no arcs, just spontaneous combustion in a cold (winter time) house. I Don't have one bit of information that leaving mineral spirits-charged media enclosed for a period is really dangerous, but I don't see any reason to test it in my garage. (my bedroom is just above it!)

[Ledhore]

Been using mineral spirits and Nu car finish for the last 15 years, still waiting for the explosion.

[Sport45]

A close acquaintance of mine burnt down his brand new house (soon to be moved in to), by leaving mineral spirits-loaded cleaning rags in a plastic pail over night in the new living room. No sparks, no arcs, just spontaneous combustion in a cold (winter time) house.

That's a not-uncommon case of spontaneous combustion. We have been required to keep used shop rags in closed, metal containers for decades for that very reason.

The splash of mineral spirits we're talking about here has evaporated by the time the brass is clean.

[Shane Tuttle]

My personal theory is the mineral spirits keep the walnut media from building up and allows it to do its job. If anyone has experience in woodworking, it's similar to wetsanding instead of using sandpaper dry.