How Often Brass Polish

[ssharp]

How often do you guys put the polish in the media when you tumble brass? Before each time, every few times, never? Why? I am using a Hornady tumbler, Berrys walnut media and brass polish. I will most likely be looking into different brand media and polish. Any suggestions there would be cool too.
Thank you very much for the input!

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[Spray-n-pray]

I give it a little squirt of Flitz in every batch.



No, I was not being dirty........

 

[Mark W.]

I am currently trying out a new media mix. In my vibratory cleaner. 1/2 Walnut Kitty litter (a larger mesh then commonly used about like a BB to a BB and a 1/4 sixed chucks) Mixed with Lyman Red Rouge coated Walnut (finer mesh and coated with red rouge buffing compound) It does leave a red residue inside the cases. But I will be running the brass through a cycle with pure fine corn cob media to polish and clean.

I'm currently doing a very dirty batch of about 2500) 30M1 brass and the aggressive new media is taking about 5 hours to get them really clean.

Some of the brass is so dirty that I have tossed maybe 25-30 due to spots that won't polish out or even cracks. Some of this stuff looks to be old out in the woods pickup. But 98% or it is coming out really nice and after the Cob should look better then new.

The Kitty Litter is a New product out on the Market I got mine from PETCO 6lb bag for $12.99.

 

[deadshot2]

I am currently trying out a new media mix. In my vibratory cleaner. 1/2 Walnut Kitty litter (a larger mesh then commonly used about like a BB to a BB and a 1/4 sixed chucks) Mixed with Lyman Red Rouge coated Walnut (finer mesh and coated with red rouge buffing compound) It does leave a red residue inside the cases. But I will be running the brass through a cycle with pure fine corn cob media to polish and clean.

You really ought to consider the Stainles Steel Pin media. Filthy military range brass with burn marks from annealing go in and 4 hours later come out just as clean and shiny as when they were new. Only ONE step and the media lasts forever. It also cleans the INSIDE and Primer Pockets. No more cleaning necks with a brush and no more primer pocket scraping.

The pins are available for a lot less here than STM Stainless, Zinc, Aluminum and Copper Cut Wire Shot - Pellets, LLC

Just think, a permanent media, no dust, no second process, at least two additional processing steps eliminated.

 

[mjbskwim]

Can you use the SS dry? Last thing I want is to have to dry the brass.

 

[joe k]

No, you need to use the SS with water. To dry the brass, I simply put it in a colander, cover it with a plastic bag, and balance it atop a boot dryer. There are more high tech methods, but mine works for the small batches I am doing.

 

[AMProducts]

Wet tumbling and washing brass is the best way to get ugly brass clean. Even if my brass isn't particularly grungy I still wash it first. This really removes an amazing amount of crap from the brass. My cleaning solution of choice is about 1:8 CLR:Hot water.

The best way I've found to dry brass is to get an old cracker tin, ammo can, or something else you can cut a big hole in, and put a bunch of other holes in, stuff the brass inside, and then stick a hair dryer in the big hole. Right now I use an old 20mm ammo can, I fill it up with .223 brass, and within about 30 mins the brass is hot and dry.

The irony of the pin media is how well it cleans the primer pockets, unfortunately I want to clean my brass before I run it through the sizer, and then run it through a corncob tumble before reloading it.

To answer the question of the OP, I don't add polish every time, usually I do when it starts to take too long to tumble a load of brass, or the brass isn't looking as shiny as I want it to. What I do every time though is add a tablespoon of mineral spirits to the media, as this dissolves the wax present in some of the tumbling polishes and makes it so it will deposit itself on the cases better. I usually use the dillon rapid polish, thus far it is the best tumbling compound, I took a look at the Berry's Polish at SHOT this year, and it looks very similar, and is significantly cheaper than buying from dillon (sounds familiar doesn't it!). I would imagine you should have the same experience with the berry's polish I have had with the dillon, unfortunately I still have a few cases of the dillon polish left, so it will be a while before I give the berry's a try.

 

[deadshot2]

Can you use the SS dry? Last thing I want is to have to dry the brass.

As others responded, no you have to use water. I don't find the drying process to be an issue at all. My last rinse is with water as hot as I can get it from the tap. Put the cases on a large bath towel, form it into a hammock, firmly holding each end, and shake it back and forth like you'd polish a bowling ball. All the excess moisture is shaken off and the remaining moisture evaporates. I then do a final inspection, neck size with a Lee Collet die, and then trim. By the time that's done the cases are all dry and ready for loading.

AMProducts- I decap all my brass with a universal de-priming die before I put it in the wash. For my .308, if I need to F/L size I do it in two steps. First a Redding Body Die and then the Lee Collet Die. My cases have less than .001" runout when I do it in two steps and over three times that if I use a sizing die with expander on de-priming rod.

For Pistol and other calibers, I have an old Lee Progressive. I use a universal de-priming die and a piece fo vinyl tube connected to my Dillon Casefeeder on one end with the other to a short piece of Lee case holder tube. I decap everything other than the .308 using this old press and then clean it in SS pins. I've found that that's all the old Lee Progressive press is good for.