wet walnut shell on rotary tumbler for stainless steel

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dormopoco

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Im sorry for my bad english I'm Italian.

I write here because there are many cultured and wise people.

Here is the question: I have to polish small objects in 304 stainless steel, I would like a mirror finish. I purchased walnut shell (SMARTRELOADER Extreme Brass Polishing Walnut Media) and I inserted it, together with water and sidol, in my rotating tumbler.

Do you think it could work?

I tried without liuqidi but my rotary tumbler turns too fast. With liquids instead it seems to work well.

If you need, I send a video.
 
I think it would work eventually, but I feel it would take a significant amount of time.

Usually a couple hours for a soft material such as brass.

A stainless material that is in the lower RC range 28/32, may polish. If the material has been heat treated to a high hardness (50-60 RC), it is doubtful that walnut will do much of anything.

If walnut doesn’t work, it may be beneficial to use a standard rock polishing program, with progressively finer polishing media.
 
I would NOT add water to the walnut mixture, would make a very bad sludge, and soften the walnut hulls. If you say you tumbler is spinning to fast fill it up more with the media to limit the amount of movement. Depending on where your finish is at now, you would probably benefit by using a media harder than walnut hulls. Using polishing media over different grades would be a very good choice. If you have machining marks on the parts, glass beads might be a good choice to start off with. It breaks down to fine glass powder so don't breath the dust.
 
I thank you all! very very much!

I put two videos here.

Before treatment as mentioned above (water, sidol, walnut shells):

After about 6 hours of rotation.


They seem to be brighter. Walnut shells to the touch are still hard. At least for now.
 
Either water and pins alone or walnut alone, not together. If you mix you may wind up with mushy walnut paste...
 
I thank you all! very very much!

I put two videos here.

Before treatment as mentioned above (water, sidol, walnut shells):

After about 6 hours of rotation.


They seem to be brighter. Walnut shells to the touch are still hard. At least for now.

I suggest you add some type of abrasive powder to your slurry mix.
Something cheap/common like comet or Bar Keepers Friend, etc.
Both of those are used to "polish SS sinks, worth a try for little cost,
:D
 
K.I.S.S. Plain crushed walnut shells or corn cob blast media will do a good job cleaning, polishing brass. If you want, a teaspoon of auto wax/polish is all that you need for good cleaning and a light film of wax to retard tarnish. If you want shinier brass, just leave the wobbler/tumbler on longer...

I do not use nor suggest any abrasive like rough, polishing compound etc., not necessary and I wouldn't want to have to clean my cleaned brass to remove all traces of an abrasive that may get transferred to my dies...
 
K.I.S.S. Plain crushed walnut shells or corn cob blast media will do a good job cleaning, polishing brass. If you want, a teaspoon of auto wax/polish is all that you need for good cleaning and a light film of wax to retard tarnish. If you want shinier brass, just leave the wobbler/tumbler on longer...

I do not use nor suggest any abrasive like rough, polishing compound etc., not necessary and I wouldn't want to have to clean my cleaned brass to remove all traces of an abrasive that may get transferred to my dies...

You didnt read all of the OP did you??

The guy is wanting to polish small parts in 304 stainless steel.....not brass for loading
 
Yeah, I reread the OP, and yes I missed the idea of polishing metal, other than brass, in a reloading forum. But polishing stainless steel in a brass cleaner/wobbler/tumbler is a bad idea. Al the steel (stainless or otherwise) have been processed in a large, 100 gallon "wobbler" in a soapy solution, ceramic tiles and the parts did not get polished, just an even smooth, but dull finish. Bartender's Friend or Comet for polishing SS is just silly...

In reloading forums cleaning, polishing cased is the most talked about, but least important process pertaining to reloading...
 
Yeah, I reread the OP, and yes I missed the idea of polishing metal, other than brass, in a reloading forum. But polishing stainless steel in a brass cleaner/wobbler/tumbler is a bad idea. Al the steel (stainless or otherwise) have been processed in a large, 100 gallon "wobbler" in a soapy solution, ceramic tiles and the parts did not get polished, just an even smooth, but dull finish. Bartender's Friend or Comet for polishing SS is just silly...

In reloading forums cleaning, polishing cased is the most talked about, but least important process pertaining to reloading...
Why such a grumpy attack response, a simple oops would have been sufficient.
Apparently you missed the "in my rotating tumbler" part too, and why ""Bartender's Friend or Comet for polishing SS is just silly"" when you suggested adding car polish, another abrasive, to a vibe tumbler :uhoh:.

""polishing cased is the most talked about, but least important process pertaining to reloading"" but you seem to always post about it, just offering the same old/dated suggestions :(.
Did you ever consider some of the suggestions offered here are from the poster's prior experience in polishing stuff other than cases?
You blow them off as "silly" just because it's something you have never done, that's what's "silly".
Welcome to my ignore list...
:D
 
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If you're polishing 304 stainless steel, you need something harder than the steel to polish it. There are ceramic media available for polishing stainless steel. Walnut shells will not be productive. You can use silicon carbide grit and ceramic media for cushioning. There is also ceramic media shaped like a pyramid that has grit embedded. To get a mirror polish you will need to use several different levels of grit, beginning with coarse and diminishing to very fine.
 
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Why such a grumpy attack response, a simple oops would have been sufficient.
Apparently you missed the "in my rotating tumbler" part too, and why ""Bartender's Friend or Comet for polishing SS is just silly"" when you suggested adding car polish, another abrasive, to a vibe tumbler :uhoh:.

""polishing cased is the most talked about, but least important process pertaining to reloading"" but you seem to always post about it, just offering the same old/dated suggestions :(.
Did you ever consider some of the suggestions offered here are from the poster's prior experience in polishing stuff other than cases?
You blow them off as "silly" just because it's something you have never done, that's what's "silly".
Welcome to my ignore list...
:D
Thanks for the ignore list add. "You didn't read my post, did you". I'm familiar with metal working as I started when I was 12-13 and have been a machinist/mechanic for well over 50 years, so I know a bit about what I post. You obviously missed the second sentence in my last post including "vibrating" and rotary units. You also don't know much about metal polishing as you lump Barkeepers Friend, Comet and auto polish in the "abrasives" category, Comet is the only "abrasive" in the group, and a very, very, very mild abrasive. FYI, the "abrasives" used in auto polish are mostly clay, and will not cut any metal, just remove old powdered paint. Yep, I remind some that way too many folks talk about, and spend time on something as simple, basic as brass cleaning ("old dated" suggestions? I used sonic cleaners 25 years ago and found them "too complex" for many new reloaders, and I reply often with my tried and true methods. Too many people on forums add their overly complex methods/theories to threads from new reloaders that are simple, basic questions, maybe to show us how smart and sophisticated they are?).

Yeah, my reply was in kind from the snarky "You didn't read all the OP did you??" post. Thanks again for adding me to your ignore list so you won't get any logical, experienced info from me (I don't post anything I'm not sure about). Now, where's my ignore list...
 
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Here is the question: I have to polish small objects in 304 stainless steel, I would like a mirror finish.
Like @labnoti posted, it will take several stages of polishing with progressively finer grit to have a mirror finish. It's similar to woodworking where you start with a coarse sandpaper and work through finer grits until you get to the finish you want.
This YouTube video shows a mirror finish but on a flat surface:


Now the real question is, what kind of wine came with that wine cork in the background of the first video????
 
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