This is why I don't like Walnut Tumbling Media

[Dixiedog1]

I like the speed of cleaning my cases with my Lyman walnut tumbling media but I don't like all the residue left behind. To do a little visual on the amount of residue left on the brass I tumbled 100 pcs of brass with 2 new dryer sheets in my Lyman walnut that had been used twice before....I ran the brass for a little over 1 hr and then ran it through my separator for 5 minutes tossing the heck out of it. Then I brought it in and ran those same 100 pcs through my Hornady Magnum ultrasonic cleaner with 2 capfuls of the Hornady brass solution and the rest plain old tap water.


Here's the cleaning solution I poured out of my Hornady Magnum ultrasonic cleaner

The Hornady brass cleaner is light green and the only other thing in there is water....all that brown crud is leftover media dust.

No wonder all my casings were always scratched up so badly.

 

[5spd]

Want to get rid of walnut media dust:
Put media in 5 gal bucket, a tad of liquid soap wash around a few times and rinse a few times, put a screen over bucket & drain out water, lay out media on old towel or bed sheet & let dry.
I wash my walnut media when it gets pretty dirty from brass & have not had dust for many many years now.
I use no additives either.
I also have not had to buy media for 15ys this way....yea it takes a bit of time, but no big deal.

 

[ab_bentley]

Also, what are you using as a polish in your media? If it's Rouge Polsih, over time that can build a layer. Adam

 

[SShooterZ]

I do mine the other way around. Ultrasonic cleaner, resize, then tumble. Comes out sparkly clean.

 

[bigwheeler]

You do know tumbling in walnut or corn cob does not clean the inside of
the cases, yes? Try cleaning your cases in the ultrasonic first then run them
through the tumbler, then back through the ultrasonic and you will get
viable results of how much the media is leaving on the cases.

 

[sully2]

I dont get the dust with reptile bedding as the media. I used to with "factory walnut" media though

 

[Dixiedog1]

Originally Posted By: bigwheeler You do know tumbling in walnut or corn cob does not clean the inside of
the cases, yes? Try cleaning your cases in the ultrasonic first then run them
through the tumbler, then back through the ultrasonic and you will get
viable results of how much the media is leaving on the cases.

Yes I am aware of that, I wanted to see exactly how much crap was left behind after they were as good as my tumbler could get.

 

[lyotehunter]

i use the stainless media and they look great primer pockets and all,i believe they are a sponser

 

[lazy1]

+1 for the Stainless

 

[SShooterZ]

Originally Posted By: sully2I dont get the dust with reptile bedding as the media.

That's what I've been using also and have been very happy with the results.

 

[pyscodog]

OK, for use dummy's, whats Reptile Bedding? I assume you buy it at a pet shop?

 

[SShooterZ]

This stuff here: http://www.amazon.com/Desert-Blend-Lizard-Litter-Crushed/dp/B00106WZO2

or

http://reviews.petco.com/3554/102881/zil...ews/reviews.htm

 

[bigwheeler]

Originally Posted By: TURBO6046I

The Hornady brass cleaner is light green and the only other thing in there is water....all that brown crud is leftover media dust.

No wonder all my casings were always scratched up so badly.

You definitely worded it to say it was media left overs. It's not, it's powder residue,
Whatever lyman may coat their media with and media dust. Mostly powder residue
I would guess. Has nothing to do with your cases being scratched.

 

[Dixiedog1]

Originally Posted By: bigwheelerOriginally Posted By: TURBO6046I

The Hornady brass cleaner is light green and the only other thing in there is water....all that brown crud is leftover media dust.

No wonder all my casings were always scratched up so badly.

You definitely worded it to say it was media left overs. It's not, it's powder residue,
Whatever lyman may coat their media with and media dust. Mostly powder residue
I would guess. Has nothing to do with your cases being scratched.

What powder is red? There was media most definitely in the drained cleaning solution.

When I ultrasonic clean all my casings throughout the entire reloading process there are no scratches, once I bring the tumbler into it there are a ton of light scratches in my casing, I'm not sure how you can be so positive the media debris isn't causing scratches but I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on that one.

 

[bigwheeler]

I have been using ultrasonic for 15 years, and tumble after the cases are
prepped. It is the way to go, until recently, now there is stainless media
which is even better.

 

[Bigdog2]

Sounds a bit like making a "mountain out of a mole hill". I haven't read anything here that tells me of any real advantage to any of this, other than "it looks better". Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a case that shines as much as the next guy, but at what point are we just killing time.

 

[Dixiedog1]

Originally Posted By: Bigdog2 Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a case that shines as much as the next guy, but at what point are we just killing time.

The ultrasonic is quite a bit quicker, to tumble my brass it takes several hours for it to be clean. I sort my brass in lots of 100 so I dump a 100 pack of brass in the ultrrasonic at a time....30 minutes later it's clean, I rinse the cases off and use a hair dryer to dry the cases....total time is under 45 minutes and I can load the cases. My brass is much cleaner and it's done faster as well....seems like win win to me.


In the future I may look into the stainless media, it looks interesting but I'm curious about how long it takes....I've heard estimates ranging from 1 hr to 6 hrs.

 

[kdc2136]

ayone ever put it in a wash bag and throw in the washer?.

 

[billt]

These are 2,500 .223 / 5.56 MM cases I just got finished prepping from Brassman Brass out of Las Vegas. He had a deal going for $110.00 for 2,500 delivered. I ran them through the dishwasher first as they were quite dusty. I then resized and deprimed. After that they all went through my Dillon Super Swage to remove the primer pocket crimp as most all were military cases. I then trimmed them to minimum overall length on my Giraud Powered Case Trimmer.

I tumbled them in fresh ground corn cob with a combination of Flitz liquid polish, Flitz paste, (about a tablespoon full), and Dillon Rapid Polish. After a 7 hour tumble they came out as you see. There was zero residue on this brass after tumbling. All of it was absorbed by the corn cob media itself.

Normally I like and use Stainless Steel Media, but I'm not set up as of yet to wet tumble large amounts of brass. I have a Thumlers Tumbler and can only do small amounts at a time. I'm thinking of going to one of those small, electric cement mixers like those that are avaliable from places like Harbor Freight and Northern Tool. They are inexpensive and can handle 2,000 to 3,000 cases at a crack easily. The photos below are some range pick up .223 I ran through the Stainless Steel Media. These cases were filthy and you can see how well they turned out both inside and out. They are cleaner than new brass. Bill T.

 

[billt]

Originally Posted By: kdc2136ayone ever put it in a wash bag and throw in the washer?.

I've been washing brass and shotgun hulls in the dishwasher for over 30 years with excellent results. I use those zippered mesh bags they sell at places like Wal-Mart that women use to put their bras and panties in before putting them into the washing machine.

I use the hottest "pot scrubber" wash cycle with no drying heat. After they are finished I spread them out on a terrycloth towel outside in the Sun to dry. It is better if you can resize and deprime first as the water can drain out better, but if the brass is really dirty I'll wash first because I don't like getting a bunch of abrasive dust and dirt in my resizing die. Bill T.