[greatzippy]

I know most of you would say corn cob or walnut media for cleaning cases but I was wondering if anyone uses anything other then that.?.? I've seen a lot of liquid cleaners online for one but was really interested in opinions in this stuff;



Ceramic Porcelain Polishing Media

 

[Round Gun Shooter]

Minute rice

 

[G56]

Just be aware that the ceramic is a polisher, not a cleaner.



The regular medias are dual purpose to some extent, the ceramic is strictly for polishing.



Walnut works best for cleaning, but it will polish to some extent.



Corn cob is best for polishing, but it will also clean, not as well as walnut though.

 

[greatzippy]

Just be aware that the ceramic is a polisher, not a cleaner.



The regular medias are dual purpose to some extent, the ceramic is strictly for polishing.



Walnut works best for cleaning, but it will polish to some extent.



Corn cob is best for polishing, but it will also clean, not as well as walnut though.

Thanks for the info ... did not know that. May sound like a dumb question but can Walnut & Corn cob be combined in a single cleaning run?? I would guess it could be.

 

[Dan Burwell]

Maybe I am just too cheap but I don't think I have paid that much for all the media I have ever purchased. Of course I don't change my media but once maybe twice a year

I think my method works pretty darn good. I use corn media with some Frankford Arsenal polishing additive. I put an outdoor timer on my tumbler and let it run for 6 hours, brass cannot get any cleaner or shinier

Now I don't do this in the house, I built a little brass cleaning hut out of plywood in the back that has 4 walls and a roof. I did this after hearing some stories about tumbler fires and I wanted to reduce my lead exposure also (the dust is supposedly really loaded with lead).

 

[IAShooter]

[quote name='G56']Just be aware that the ceramic is a polisher, not a cleaner.



The regular medias are dual purpose to some extent, the ceramic is strictly for polishing.



Walnut works best for cleaning, but it will polish to some extent.



Corn cob is best for polishing, but it will also clean, not as well as walnut though.

Thanks for the info ... did not know that. May sound like a dumb question but can Walnut & Corn cob be combined in a single cleaning run?? I would guess it could be.[/quote]



I use 1/2 corn cob and 1/2 walnut. Works great and I only tumble one time.

 

[greatzippy]

I put an outdoor timer on my tumbler and let it run for 6 hours, brass cannot get any cleaner or shinier

Wow ... 6 hours, is that about normal or just something you do?? I wasn't expecting that much time for a cleaning.



Maybe I might get a larger cleaner then, I was going to get the CV-500 Vibratory Case Cleaner for $99 that comes with the press package .... would the extra $65 for the CV-2001 be worth it then if it takes so long??

 

[Dan Burwell]

That is way longer than most. I use the timer and do it while I am doing other things around the house. I just set it and forget it. I started that after I forgot it one time and went out shopping with the wife came back and the wife asked what all the racket was out side, I found some really clean brass. I figured i better put a timer on it so I wouldn't accidentally leave it on over night and burn something down.



6 hours is likely totally unnecessary but I like shiny stuff

 

[G56]

Walnut shell will clean the brass in about an hour, corn cob will take about 2 hours to do the same thing. I bought some of that Frankford arsenal additive one time to try, I wasted my money, if didn't do anything, while a little bit of Flitz will work wonders.

 

[greatzippy]

That makes me feel better ... I can deal with 1-3 hours. I bought both Walnut & Corn ..... figure I'll mix it about 75% Walnut, I'm more concerned about clean then shiny.



Either way I like the idea about the timer, I'll prob get one at home depot or something. That's a good tip I hadn't thought of.

 

[raz-0]

the ceramic stuff is overkill by a lot. Plus you do NOT want to put up with the noise form it. I say this having done some work for a jewelry maker who used a lot of BIG vibratory tumblers to polish up his cast pieces using cermic and mettalic media.



LOUD. And specificly not so good at cleaning. He'd also use it to put a polish on things after antiquing the recesses, but you got a whole different result without the black gunk in there. Much shinier.

 

[Morphire]

...a little bit of Flitz will work wonders.

Which Flitz do you use? The tumbler medial additive or just one of the metal polishes? I'm trying to figure out which to order. Thanks!

 

[Mousekiller]

lol

I use about 2/3 corn cob to 1/3 walnut.. both easily purchased at the local Petsmart or other pet stores.. or.. you can get it from Farm supply houses to i've heard. Some folks even grind the corn cob down some to make it finer..



You want clean and polished brass, use NU Finish car polish.. stuff works awesome.. not much needed.. tumble about 1-2 hours max..



Also try sticking an old Dryer sheet in the tumbler, it really helps keep the dust down..



I have a Frankford arsenal tumbler.. cost about 60 bucks.. can do couple hundred cases at a time.. more then enough.. You don't need a really huge tumbler unless your looking at doing large quantities of brass.. maybe you pick it up at a range or something like that and sell it on ebaby



Good luck.



Jeff.

 

[G56]

[quote name='G56']...a little bit of Flitz will work wonders.

Which Flitz do you use? The tumbler medial additive or just one of the metal polishes? I'm trying to figure out which to order. Thanks![/quote]

Back in a previous life I sold industrial chemicals, one of the side items was Flitz so I had some samples to play with, I got a bottle of Flitz Liquid Metal Polish and used that for many years, it worked great, now they package some as Flitz Media Additive, I would almost take a bet it's the same product with a different name on it, that's a common marketing practice, buyers want something made specifically for their need. A lot of times the specialty label is sold for a higher price, Flitz sells it for the same price.



The old standard Flitz is a paste, I never tried it (in a tumbler) but think it would be too thick to work properly in media.