Brass Tumble Cleaning Media

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  • gungate

    NRA Patron Member
    Apr 5, 2012
    16,729
    Damascus. MD
    Has anyone tried using the ceramic "bio-media" that is used for aquarium canister filters as tumbling cleaning media? Just curious if it will work. I guess I could just try it I can't see any harm in it. Maybe crush some of it first?
     

    trickg

    Guns 'n Drums
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 22, 2008
    14,596
    Glen Burnie
    Is it cheaper than other options? I know that ceramic media is used in wet tumbling, but I don't know how effective it is - It probably gets things clean but may not polish. Is it inexpensive?

    I bought a big 40 lb box of 20/40 crushed corn cob - that's a bit smaller than typical crushed cob media, but it's small enough that it doesn't get stuck in flash holes if I decide to tumble after decapping, and I manage the dust by doing a small drizzle of mineral spirits (about a cap full) and using a torn up used dryer sheet when I tumble. That 40 lb box was cheap from Zoro.com and I'm going to be using it for years to come. That's what I put in my Caldwell shooting bags too - I still have plenty of it left.
     

    gungate

    NRA Patron Member
    Apr 5, 2012
    16,729
    Damascus. MD
    I think it is fairly pricey but I already have it. I guess I will just try it and see. Probably too big to be really effective though.
     

    85MikeTPI

    Ultimate Member
    Jul 19, 2014
    2,699
    Ceciltucky
    If you dry tumble with any ceramic media, it will scratch and haze the brass, not really clean it. Go ahead and test, but use crap brass and make sure you clean it all out good, from the tumbler, separator, etc. or you'll be dealing with scratched brass for a long time.
     

    jef955

    Active Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 26, 2011
    758
    Maryland
    Wet tumbler for me, brass comes out so clean and bright it almost looks silver, looks like jewelery ! But to directly answer your question, no I haven't. I am MUCH happier wet tumbling over media though..
     

    trickg

    Guns 'n Drums
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 22, 2008
    14,596
    Glen Burnie
    Wet tumbler for me, brass comes out so clean and bright it almost looks silver, looks like jewelery ! But to directly answer your question, no I haven't. I am MUCH happier wet tumbling over media though..
    I keep hearing that, and I've come very close to getting into a FA wet tumbler. But here's the thing - I do some post-loading tumbling. 30 minutes to remove fingerprints and case lube. Can't really do that with a wet tumbler, so I can't really switch over completely. Rather than being an either/or, it comes a both/and - I don't want to do that. I'll stick with dry tumbling for now.
     
    Last edited:

    jef955

    Active Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 26, 2011
    758
    Maryland
    That does make sense - and wet tumbling definately wouldn't work for you. I decap, then tumble, then dump them in a pan and set on top of a hot transformer. They're dry in an hour or two. I dump them all in mass and never touch them.

    I'm paranoid about fingerprints too !!!
     

    jef955

    Active Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 26, 2011
    758
    Maryland
    Fresh batch cooking on the grill..
    20220905_143630.jpg
     

    guzma393

    Active Member
    Jan 15, 2020
    736
    Severn, MD
    Wet tumblers are great. Back when I started reloading, I had to choose one or the other. After doing my research, I went with wet tumbling with SS pins since I didn't want to deal with dust and dirty media since I regularly clean a bunch of growdy/gritty looking brass. I actually wet tumble without stainless steel pins, and just use water, citric acid (lemishine), and armorall wax n' shine car soap. I only use SS pins if I want the primer pockets to be cleaned, or to round off the sharp edges of trimmed cases (still need to debur/chamfer if you are doing any precision loading, but running an expander ball/expander through the necks is sufficient in knocking out the bur in the inside and crimping knocks out the bur on the outside which is sufficient for general plinking loads).

    I wouldn't mind grabbing a dry tumbler though. Like what Trickg said, a dry tumbler can be used to post polish finished cases, but I'm reluctant to try it out on powder coated cast reloads as the abrasive media may actually rub off the powdercoat. I'm not really fickle about my brass looking perfect and shiny in the end as it is going to wind up on the ground or get sooted up anyways, but wet tumbling definitely cleans and polishes them so that it's easier to cull defects during the brass prep phase.
     

    trickg

    Guns 'n Drums
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 22, 2008
    14,596
    Glen Burnie
    Wow that is much cleaner than my brass got! I need to try a wet cleaner.
    I get very very shiny brass from dry tumbling. Maybe I just let my stuff go longer than most? Dunno. I use a combination of things in my tumbler.

    Flitz media additive
    Dillon media additive
    Mineral spirits
    Mineral spirits mixed with Nu Finish
    Used dryer sheets

    I use mineral spirits and dryer sheets to help keep the dust down, but I think that the media additives and Nu Finish act as a brass polish. I'll add a bit every so often, and I'll change out/add in some more crushed corn cob on occasion. This gets brass more than shiny enough IMO.

    I've never been overly concerned about clean primer pockets. I don't tend to get really grungy primer pockets anyway, and it's not necessary to clean them - the decapping pin clears the flash hole and there's never enough stuff to keep a primer from seating, so I've never understood why some guys are so wrapped around the axle about making sure primer pockets are clean and shiny because it really doesn't matter.
     

    jef955

    Active Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 26, 2011
    758
    Maryland
    I get very very shiny brass from dry tumbling. Maybe I just let my stuff go longer than most? Dunno. I use a combination of things in my tumbler.

    Flitz media additive
    Dillon media additive
    Mineral spirits
    Mineral spirits mixed with Nu Finish
    Used dryer sheets

    I use mineral spirits and dryer sheets to help keep the dust down, but I think that the media additives and Nu Finish act as a brass polish. I'll add a bit every so often, and I'll change out/add in some more crushed corn cob on occasion. This gets brass more than shiny enough IMO.

    I've never been overly concerned about clean primer pockets. I don't tend to get really grungy primer pockets anyway, and it's not necessary to clean them - the decapping pin clears the flash hole and there's never enough stuff to keep a primer from seating, so I've never understood why some guys are so wrapped around the axle about making sure primer pockets are clean and shiny because it really doesn't matter.
    I just like the look of new/nused brass. A friend of mine loads everything he shoots, powder coats his bulllets too. If he doesnt load it he doesnt shoot it, and I don't think he's ever cleaned a case ever in his life. And everything he's ever loaded goes bang. If nothing else he's taught me it's not really a nessasary step, but I like doing it. Plus I have an ample space at work that I can get away with doing it while saying out of the way.
    For solution I use about a teaspoon (if that much) of hornady brass case cleaner. I've done about 4 gallons of brass and bet I haven't used 2 ounces of solution. I run the tumbler for 4-6 hours.
     

    trickg

    Guns 'n Drums
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 22, 2008
    14,596
    Glen Burnie
    I just like the look of new/nused brass. A friend of mine loads everything he shoots, powder coats his bulllets too. If he doesnt load it he doesnt shoot it, and I don't think he's ever cleaned a case ever in his life. And everything he's ever loaded goes bang. If nothing else he's taught me it's not really a nessasary step, but I like doing it. Plus I have an ample space at work that I can get away with doing it while saying out of the way.
    For solution I use about a teaspoon (if that much) of hornady brass case cleaner. I've done about 4 gallons of brass and bet I haven't used 2 ounces of solution. I run the tumbler for 4-6 hours.
    I've never understood the guys who don't tumble at all. Seems to me you'd have to clean your dies every other time you turned around.

    I'd like to try wet tumbling sometime. From what I've been reading, even the SS pins aren't necessary UNLESS you also want clean primer pockets - that just sluicing around in the wet tumble juice with other pieces of brass for a few hours is enough to get everything pretty darned clean. I just don't like the idea of having to figure out some way to dry everything out once it's done - it seems like it's extra work for only a little bit of payoff, but until I've actually done it, it's hard to say whether or not I'd find that it's worth it.
     

    85MikeTPI

    Ultimate Member
    Jul 19, 2014
    2,699
    Ceciltucky
    I've never understood the guys who don't tumble at all. Seems to me you'd have to clean your dies every other time you turned around.

    I'd like to try wet tumbling sometime. From what I've been reading, even the SS pins aren't necessary UNLESS you also want clean primer pockets - that just sluicing around in the wet tumble juice with other pieces of brass for a few hours is enough to get everything pretty darned clean. I just don't like the idea of having to figure out some way to dry everything out once it's done - it seems like it's extra work for only a little bit of payoff, but until I've actually done it, it's hard to say whether or not I'd find that it's worth it.
    Yes, I've wet tumbled 5gal buckets in a cement mixer without SS pins. Mostly to clean off the headstamps enough to sort them for later 300bo processing. I only do it when it hot/dry outside and air dry them on a blanket on the patio furniture. (after spin drying out the excess water)

    Inside I use my Thumbler and usually with SS pins, but only on newly minted 300bo brass or my precision rifle brass. I have a food dehydrator for drying those.

    As (I think ) mentioned, wet tumbling doesn't work well to get off hornady paste case lube or lanolin as they're water resistant. I've had luck wet tumbling Redding paste case lube. I still clean off case lube in a separate vibratory using corn media. Other fired brass is cleaned in walnut with dryer sheets and NuFinish.

    Finally I mentioned in another thread that wet tumbled brass (300bo) had a very rough time seating GINEX primers, they were TOO clean. I had to throw them all back in the corn media for a few hours and then the tight GINEX primers slid right in..
     

    jef955

    Active Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 26, 2011
    758
    Maryland
    I've never understood the guys who don't tumble at all. Seems to me you'd have to clean your dies every other time you turned around.

    I'd like to try wet tumbling sometime. From what I've been reading, even the SS pins aren't necessary UNLESS you also want clean primer pockets - that just sluicing around in the wet tumble juice with other pieces of brass for a few hours is enough to get everything pretty darned clean. I just don't like the idea of having to figure out some way to dry everything out once it's done - it seems like it's extra work for only a little bit of payoff, but until I've actually done it, it's hard to say whether or not I'd find that it's worth it.
    One thing I've noticed regarding drying - it can leave spots or EVENTUALLY cause I guess its corrosion? I give them a good shake about every 30 minutes or so to knock the water out of the primer pockets. They usually dry in about 2 hr. I let them sit on a hot transformer which helps really speed it up. I also use filtered water from the fountain, since I'm the plummers crack extrordinaire that changes it ! pretty easy process actually, and I usually dont have a spot anywhere.
     

    gungate

    NRA Patron Member
    Apr 5, 2012
    16,729
    Damascus. MD
    One thing I've noticed regarding drying - it can leave spots or EVENTUALLY cause I guess its corrosion? I give them a good shake about every 30 minutes or so to knock the water out of the primer pockets. They usually dry in about 2 hr. I let them sit on a hot transformer which helps really speed it up. I also use filtered water from the fountain, since I'm the plummers crack extrordinaire that changes it ! pretty easy process actually, and I usually dont have a spot anywhere.

    Maybe spread them out in a pizza pan and put them in the oven on like 150 for an hour?
     

    jef955

    Active Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 26, 2011
    758
    Maryland
    Either of those would work well I'm sure - It's just convenient for me, that I have a nice warm electric room with 3 transformers, that stay plenty hot at my disposal while managing other duties as assigned of course :)
     

    PaFrank

    Member
    Apr 2, 2020
    75
    Has anyone tried using the ceramic "bio-media" that is used for aquarium canister filters as tumbling cleaning media? Just curious if it will work. I guess I could just try it I can't see any harm in it. Maybe crush some of it first?
    You can get just about every possible type of tumbling media from this outfit. and I mean everything. I prefer the crushed walnut, i think it last longer than corn cob.
    Here is the link>>>https://www.kramerindustriesonline.com/product-category/tumbling-media/
     

    PaFrank

    Member
    Apr 2, 2020
    75
    One thing I've noticed regarding drying - it can leave spots or EVENTUALLY cause I guess its corrosion? I give them a good shake about every 30 minutes or so to knock the water out of the primer pockets. They usually dry in about 2 hr. I let them sit on a hot transformer which helps really speed it up. I also use filtered water from the fountain, since I'm the plummers crack extrordinaire that changes it ! pretty easy process actually, and I usually dont have a spot anywhere.
    Yes, that depends on your water.. My water sucks. Loaded with calcium and who knows what else.. we don't even drink or cook with it. only washing. a gallon of distilled water costs about a buck and will solve that problem.
     

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