a warning about Dillon brass polish...

[ManFromMontana]

Chalk it up to a learning experience...or just stupidity on my part...

I have one of those Thumlers Tumblers (the big Red one) which has a rubber liner inside. Love the tumbler...works great.

Lately I've been tumble cleaning pistol brass with SS pins, Dawn soap and Lemi Shine. Has been working great...so of course I decided to make it even better by adding a capful or two of Dillon Rapid Polish 290. After reading the directions...seemed simple enough. Away we go.

What I DIDN'T know was that it is petroleum based...hence it doesn't like rubber. dang. All of the brass was completely black as well as the steel pins. Washed the brass afterwards...didn't help. Yuk. Black ink-water everywhere. What a mess.

Tumbled a second time (after cleaning up all the black water) and brass is back to good again...in fact the best looking brass I've ever cleaned due to having been tumbled twice. Whew.

But anyone who has a tumbler with a rubber liner, beware of adding the Dillon polish to your recipe.
View attachment 951820

 

[Dudedog]

Been there,
I decided to try to toss some car wax in my Lyman Cyclone wet tumbler to get more shine, ended up with a grey mess, pins cases.....
Lots of 409 and elbow grease later I had it cleaned up,
BAD BAD BAD idea.....

I went to open it up thinking I would have beautiful super shiny brass and when I saw what was there

 

[GW Staar]

That's the only Dillon product I use.......in my dry tumbler!

 

[Charlie98]

That's the only Dillon product I use.......in my dry tumbler!

Same here... excellent results.

I used to use the Midway branded brass polish until it wasn't available any longer... that worked even better than the Dillon.

 

[Master Blaster]

Dillon polish Works great with corn cob in a dry tumbler. I don't belive its intended for wet tumbling.

 

[Johnnyd]

Most car polish work well with dry media. Be aware that some create dust. I've used Nufinish and Dillon's rapid polish and they don't create dust.

Most car wash with wax work well wet tumbling.

 

[Hondo 60]

Nu Finish is great in the dry tumbler (with 20/40 Corn Cob - doesn't stick in flash hole)
Just a pinch of lemishine & Dawn in the wet tumbler.

Oh and, wet tumbler doesn't like my case lube either
(lanolin & 99% isopropyl alcohol)

Just my 2¢ worth
Your mileage might not vary.

 

[jmorris]

I have never tried the Dillon polish wet.

How about a photo of the results to make sure I never do? Not that I don't fully trust it makes a mess, just morbid curiosity.

 

[JJFitch]

To be fair this thread isn't about Dillon Brass Polish but about using any product as designed!

Just about every forum has stories about the misuse of products, tools and components!

Geeze,

 

[jmorris]

Sure Dillon doesn't sell wet tumblers or SS media but the instructions on the bottle don't say not to. Rather just 3-4 cap fulls onto your media.

I think this is why things like cigarette lighters have warnings on them to not expose to heat/flame or use near face....the job they are intended to do.

 

[ManFromMontana]

Here's what the bottle reads:
"Shake well. Pour three to four capfuls of Dillon Rapid Polish directly on the polishing media in your tumbler."
I took "tumbler" to mean tumbler...not vibratory polisher. It also did NOT specify, "Dry tumbler". So...there ya go.

 

[Dudedog]

How about a photo of the results to make sure I never do? Not that I don't fully trust it makes a mess, just morbid curiosity.

I didn't take a picture of my car wax in wet but all the cases and the pins where covered with a grey slime.
The cases did not even look like brass.
Grey slime inside the drum as well.
I should have took a pic as it was bad,.couple hours to clean up the mess.
I don't know if that is what the OPs looked like but I would guess pretty much the same mess, and it was a mess.....
Sure not what I was expecting when I opened the it up.

 

[GW Staar]

Here's what the bottle reads:
"Shake well. Pour three to four capfuls of Dillon Rapid Polish directly on the polishing media in your tumbler."
I took "tumbler" to mean tumbler...not vibratory polisher. It also did NOT specify, "Dry tumbler". So...there ya go.

In their defense, when that polish was created and first labeled, the only wet polishers were rock polishers......and the only case polishing media sold was corn cob or walnut hulls. Stainless steel media came a long time later.

 

[Riomouse911]

My only issue with the Dillon polish is its tendency to glob up into a blob of media and polish that sticks to cases if I pour it into the cleaner with cases inside and then run it.

If I put it in, let it dry, then clean the cases... no blobs.

Stay safe.

 

[lightman]

Thanks for the heads up! I use the Dillon polish and a few others of the same type in Corncob. But it was just a matter of time until I put some in my wet tumbler!

 

[kelbro]

Hopefully it didn't cause damage to the rubber drum. How did you neutralize it?

 

[roval]

i have the large dillon tumbler and i use the dillon polish on my corn cob. the tumbler has a rubber gasket to seal the cover and another rubber piece that is atop the central column so that the tumbler cover doesn't rattle. i have not had any issues with the rubber deteriorating.