Brass polish for media

[74man]

What does everyone use for polishing their brass when added to walnut or corn cob media in their tumblers? I use Iosso but would like other ideas for my brass to look like new after tumbling for a couple of hours. Thank for sharing what you use in your tumbler when cleaning your brass for reloading. 74 man
Does anyone here run their finished reloads thru their tumblers to get them clean? I have heard some reloaders run the finished reloaded ammo through their tumblers to remove lube and other marks after handling, can you tumble reloaded ammo?

 

[LiveLife]

NuFinish liquid polish for me. Residual polymer on brass surface seems to help with resizing and keeps brass shiny for a long time.

can you tumble reloaded ammo?

Yes.

On this thread, loaded rounds were tumbled up to 48 hours with inspection of powder to show no breakdown and similar chrono data as untumbled rounds - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...ling-loaded-rounds.498890/page-3#post-6210466

 

[Pat Riot]

I used to buy media and add polish but even though the brass was shiny it also felt gummy or slick…like it had polish on it. I tried running one vibe cleaner with polish in the media then transferring that brass to a vibe cleaner with untreated media to clean off the polish residue then one day one of my vibe units died.
I reevaluated my practice and in the meantime decided to try Lyman green corn cob media. This stuff cleans and polishes with no real noticeable residue. Sure, it costs more but I like it. No fooling around and I get nice clean shiny brass.

Oh, I forgot to say that the polish I used was Mother’s Chrome Polish.

 

[tightgroup tiger]

I use NU-Finish in my wallnut and corncob and yes, I tumble certain live rounds in my vibratory and rotary. I don't tumble live rifle shells in my rotary and don't tumble JHPs at all. Plugs up the hollowpoint.

 

[41 Mag]

Like above, Nu-Finish in both CC and walnut.

Usually run thru the walnut, then size and deprime. After that the CC and into loading trays neck down. Anything left in a primer pocket is punched with a paper clip, and they are loaded.

When you put the polish in, it helps to have your tumbler running and stir with a dowel or similar to break up any clumps or knock any that has stuck to the bowl loose. Run for at least 15-20 minutes before adding brass. Sucks to clean polish outta cases.

 

[Jonny2guns]

Due to allergic to the walnut and corn cob media, I used to use rice treated with a little brasso. Run a few drops of brasso in the rice first, make sure it's dry before adding the brass. Worked great for cleaning and final polish of loaded ammo. Went to wet tumbling and guess I don't care about shiny reloads anymore.

 

[bersaguy]

My process is, deprime dirty with universal decapping die, tumble with walnut and nu-finish, add a few used, cut up dryer sheets for the dust. 3-4 hrs in the tumbler, even grungy brass looks new. And stays that way, I'm loading 45auto bras now that I tumbled in '17, brass is a little more yellow than when it first came out, but still clean and shiny.
As far as tumbling live rounds, sure. I've done it, finished product looks great. 15min or so with 50-100 rounds in the tumbler spiffs 'em right up. I'm now of the opinion that its completely unnecessary, but it does work. Pistol rounds, mind you, I wouldn't run rifle rounds or anything loaded with a stick type powder

 

[bersaguy]

Like above, Nu-Finish in both CC and walnut.

Usually run thru the walnut, then size and deprime. After that the CC and into loading trays neck down. Anything left in a primer pocket is punched with a paper clip, and they are loaded.

/\ Thats about right, I don't do the corn cob, but tumble after depriming. Because of that I have a few decapping pins laying around, I just drilled a hole in my bench and drop one in, pointy bit up. That way I can clear flash holes one handed while using the hand primer in the other

 

[Nasty Canasta]

I've been buying the walnut blasting media from Harbor Freight in a 25 lb box, some Nu-Finish, & I'll throw in a couple used dryer sheets every batch to help keep it clean. 25lbs of the Harbor Freight media costs the same as a 4lb container at a sporting goods store & works great for me.
https://www.harborfreight.com/25-lbs-coarse-grade-walnut-shell-blast-media-92150.html
Be advised that Brasso contains ammonia that can make brass brittle-I wouldn't use for cleaning cases.

 

[JDeere]

I use the treated corn cob media and after the polish wears a bit I add Mothers. I have that on my shelf for waxing the truck and it works just fine. I don't de-cap until after running my brass. It just makes life so much easier than having to clear flash holes. I use to de-cap separately but have gone to sizing and de-capping in the same step. So much easier and one less step...

 

[Seedy Character]

Nu-Finish and walnut / corn cob, in a 2-1 mix.

I deprime everything in my range bag, do not seperate until after cleaning and inspecting.

An occasional flash hole will have media, but it clears easily, during separating and inspecting.

Resizing, the recapping pin clears flash hole, again.

Never had a problem.

 

[rdnktrkr]

I'm doing about what everyone else is, walnut-nufinish-dryer sheets, but I add a cap full of mineral spirits, I change dryer sheets and ready liquids when media starts to look dry and dusty. I started running loaded ammo in corn cob and nufinish when the test that Livelife did showed no difference to the ammo, to remove lube and leave polished brass (no hollow points)

 

[Charlie98]

The only Dillon product I use is their brass polish. It works pretty well.

 

[dartor]

I've been buying the walnut blasting media from Harbor Freight in a 25 lb box, some Nu-Finish, & I'll throw in a couple used dryer sheets every batch to help keep it clean. 25lbs of the Harbor Freight media costs the same as a 4lb container at a sporting goods store & works great for me.
https://www.harborfreight.com/25-lbs-coarse-grade-walnut-shell-blast-media-92150.html
Be advised that Brasso contains ammonia that can make brass brittle-I wouldn't use for cleaning cases.

I too use NuFinish and HF walnut shell but I use the fine grade. I deprime my brass on a universal deprimer before tumbling. I see your link is for coarse grade. I've found coarse grade plugs up the flash holes. I do a vigorous shake separating the media from the brass and the flash holes are free of media.

 

[Laphroaig]

The only Dillon product I use is their brass polish. It works pretty well.

I threw in a bottle of that along with a bigger order. It works good. I rotary tumble with corn cob. I'll never live long enough to use it all up.

 

[Charlie98]

I threw in a bottle of that along with a bigger order. It works good. I'll never live long enough to use it all up.

I used to use the Midway brand polish... it worked better than anything. When that was discontinued, I found the Dillon. I change out my walnut media pretty often, so I have to recharge the new media... so I go through a bit of it. I buy 2 bottles at a time.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

NuFinish in bulk corn cob and maybe a cap full of mineral spirits to hold the dust down..

 

[LiveLife]

NuFinish in bulk corn cob and maybe a cap full of mineral spirits to hold the dust down..

I do not have dust issue with Harbor Freight fine grit walnut media treated with NuFinish.

 

[Rule3]

Be advised that Brasso contains ammonia that can make brass brittle-I wouldn't use for cleaning cases.

I wish this Internet fable would be put to rest forever!
Yes, Brasso contains a tiny bit of ammonium hydroxide.
A whole 2-3 % by weight!
So put a teaspoon or tablespoon into a whole batch of corn or walnut and how much is actually getting on a piece of brass??

It is like the fable that vinegar (acid) will leech the brass which has been proven (by chemists) to be false. Yet people use citric and other acids???

Even if Brasso is used straight out of the can and rubbed with a fine linen, caressing each case individually it is not gonna hurt the brass.

Here is the SDS showing the contents.

https://mbyc.net/MSDS/Brasso-Polish-MSDS.pdf

I use space age synthetic polymer Nu Finsh

 

[mdi]

Nothing except a very little auto wax. Polishes are fine abrasives and I have no need for residual abrasive on my brass to work it's was onto my dies or my guns. I use wax for a very light film on my brass to prevent tarnish and to add a very light lube.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I do not have dust issue with Harbor Freight fine grit walnut media treated with NuFinish.

Maybe walnut isn't as dusty as corn cob.

 

[snuzzo29]

I have been using Berry's Brass Bright and been happy with the results. I'll buy more when I use up this bottle.

 

[LiveLife]

Maybe walnut isn't as dusty as corn cob.

I think the amount of dust reloaders experience with tumbling media whether walnut or corn cob depends on how it was processed and packaged.

I remember buying walnut/corn cob media from gun stores/shows in the 90s and had to run the tumbler for long time in the wind with cover off to vent the "dust" but in recent years, walnut/corn cob media I bought from gun stores/shows looked cleaner and really had no issues with "dust" (Maybe they are "pre-sifted" for dust before being packaged?). And fine grit (24) walnut blasting media from Harbor Freight looks as though they were washed and I had no dust issue.

Many who used "lizzard litter" from pet stores used to complain about dust but in recent years, even they reported having less dust issues.

 

[Nasty Canasta]

I'm guessing this perfect storm of conditions is what started the whole ammonia on brass issue:
Season cracking[edit]

Cracking in brass caused by ammonia attack
Brass is susceptible to stress corrosion cracking,[35] especially from ammonia or substances containing or releasing ammonia. The problem is sometimes known as season cracking after it was first discovered in brass cartridges used for rifle ammunition during the 1920s in the British Indian Army. The problem was caused by high residual stresses from cold forming of the cases during manufacture, together with chemical attack from traces of ammonia in the atmosphere. The cartridges were stored in stables and the ammonia concentration rose during the hot summer months, thus initiating brittle cracks. The problem was resolved by annealing the cases, and storing the cartridges elsewhere.

I agree that using a few drops of Brasso in tumbling media won't do any harm. I'll continue to use the NuFinish & keep the Brasso for polishing the bric-a-brac.

 

[LiveLife]

I used 3-in-1 oil for everything and we used Brasso in the Army to polish everything.

But when introduced to Simple Green and BreakFree CLP, I switched and stopped using degreasers and other lubricant for many things tool and gun related.

And when I saw NuFinish polish commercial, I stopped waxing/buffing my cars with traditional paste wax and also found it to be very effective for polishing brass cases with residual polymer on surface helping with resizing and preventing tarnishing.

After moving to our coastal retirement spot where everything rusted, based on long-term weather tests and product label, I switched to WD-40 Specialist.