Polishing media for tumbling brass

[Allen]

I have a common Thumlers Tumbler model B and a Frankfurt Arsenal vibrator tumbler. How many pounds of SS pins would you recommend for the model B? The link for the pins from Midway is for 5#, to me that seems to be more than needed. Perhaps I could put half of a bag in each tumbler.

[13Echo]

I use walnut in a vibrator cleaner with two or three capsfull of mineral spirits and a heaping tablespoon full of BonAmi poslish. Works well even with my black powder cases and only requires one or two hours unless the cases are really badly tarnished or corroded. The bits in primer pockets don't bother as I inspect every case before reloading and a toothpick takes care of any problems. Even so the bits are loose and will dislodge when seating a primer and the primer flash isn't going to be bothered by such a slight obstruction. What the walnut doesn't do is clean the primer pockets as clean as the SS or ceramic media.

Jerry Liles

[Maury Krupp]

Wet tumbling with SS pins in a Thumlers Model B has gone mainstream enough that there's probably a reason the pins come in 5lb bags

But since you don't really need the full gallon of water listed in the normal recipe maybe you don't need the full 5lb of pins recommended either

I don't know how well pins will work in a vibratory tumbler. Being heavy I suspect they'll just sit in the bottom of the bowl. Even if they move around I doubt they'll be very effective without the soap and water to wash away and suspend the crud. If you try it and it works let us know.

Wet tumbling gets cases as shiny as new but mine don't stay that way long. I've tried various things and techniques but I think it's the local water. Since dull brass really blends in with the desert landscape I've started to do a quick tumble in corncob and NuFinish as a final step. That way they stay shiny and are easier to find. Any media in the flashhole gets punched out by the universal decap die in Station 1 of my Dillon 550.

Overall for me, wet tumbling really only has one thing going for it: clean rifle primer pockets. That's enough of a labor and tedium saver to justify the additional rinsing and drying time it takes. I still dry tumble all my pistol brass.

Maury

[richard pries]

do you de cap them first if so that will plug the pocket . i clean them first then start the reloading process

[mikld]

I purchased some plastic "pyramids" tumbling media (used for commercial parts cleaning) but it was a bit too aggressive and left the brass with a matt finish. I now use 10-1 mix of corn cob blast media and the plastic media. Cleans fast, gives a fairly good shine, and does not need any additives...

[richard pries]

Berrys makes a product you put in with your media, it is a liquid that shines the brass up like new