Stainless Steel Polishing Media ?

[billt]

Anyone ever use this stuff? For years I've used nothing but ground corn cob with brass polish added. It works well, but requires a long tumble for best results. I stumbled on to this stuff, and it looks really good!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdvq3Kc_Vm0

I really like the way it cleans the primer pockets as well as the flash holes, and it doesn't get stuck in the flash holes like corn cob does. I'm not sure if you have to use it wet or not. It appears so. I have a Thumlers Model B Tumbler, but I haven't used it in years since I got a Dillon FL-2000. I don't think you can use the Dillon model with wet media. The Stainless Steel media also will never wear out. It's avaliable here:

http://www.stainlesstumblingmedia.com/

I'm going to look into it further, and try to get some more information. If I had more room I would like to get one of those small, motorized cement mixers from Harbor Freight. They have models with plastic barrels that are small enough to be just about perfect for polishing brass with this stuff, and it's obviously no problem to use them wet. Bill T.

[dcloco]

I wonder how clean the inside of the bottle neck rifle cases are?

[EFBell]

There was just a thread on this a couple weeks ago. Look around, I'm sure you will find it.

[OlsenG_360]

I wonder how clean the inside of the bottle neck rifle cases are?

Just as clean as the outside. Seriously, it makes the blingin'est brass you'll ever see.

[billt]

I wonder how clean the inside of the bottle neck rifle cases are?

http://forums.accuratereloading.com/...3/m/2281046731

Here is a link that shows just how well this system works in the INSIDE, as well as the outside of the cases. Pretty impressive results! Bill T.

[rchouser]

I bought 5 lbs of this media. I already had a standard (Not the new high speed) Thumler Tumbler that I tried to use with walnut media a couple of years ago. (That was too messy for what I got in cleaning).
I Add:
1. 1 TBL SP of this LemiShine (my local target carries it).
2. 2 TBL SP of AJAX dishwashing liquid (raided from my wifes kitchen).
3. I Add my deprimed brass to be cleaned. (this really cleans primer pockets so don't bother to run brass with the old primers in it)
4. I put the drum on the bathroom scale and add water to NOT MORE than 15 pounds of total weight and bolt the top down. (this step is because early on, I added the recommended "Gallon" of water and the drum bogged the motor down. When I weighed that drum it was at 22+ pounds. My tumbler is rated for 15 pounds)

With my standard speed tumbler, I run the brew for between 3 and 4 hours. (Never needed more than 4 hours)

CLEAN BRASS INSIDE and OUT. CLEAN PRIMER POCKETS. SHINEY BRASS. 30-06., 6 BR, .223, 260 REM. 45-70.... All Clean.

Thanks rc

[latisimusd]

I wonder how clean the inside of the bottle neck rifle cases are?

http://forums.accuratereloading.com/...3/m/2281046731

Here is a link that shows just how well this system works in the INSIDE, as well as the outside of the cases. Pretty impressive results! Bill T.

Here's a shot of mine after SS media (tbl spoon Lemishine, squirt Dawn, 3/4 gallon hot water, & 4 hours) treatment in my Thumbler:


Fairly impressive stuff and the brass is 'very' clean!

[Exhaust3]

Works as advertised! Hands down the best way I've found to clean brass. I've switched and I can't imagine doing it any different. You will too once you try it! It simply works.

[billt]

This morning I just finished my first, experimental batch of brass with this stuff. (150 rounds of mixed headstamp range pickup .223). The stuff was pretty grungy. I started by running it through my Ultrasonic Cleaner with a mixture of hot water and some dish washing soap to get the grit off so I wouldn't scratch my resizing die. I then full length resized and deprimed it with a RCBS Small Base Resizing Die. After that I ran all of them through my Dillon 600 Super Swage to remove any crimp on the primer pockets. Not all were military, but it was easier to run them all through rather than waste time separating them.

Next I ran all of them through my Giraud Power Case Trimmer. It does a really nice job of trimming them to length, plus it puts a nice chamfer on both the inside, and breaks the burr on the outside of the case at the same time. It's amazing how much brass it removes from just 150 cases trimming them to minimum overall length.

After that I tossed them into the Thumlers Tumbler with 5 pounds of the Stainless Steel Media, a tablespoon of "Dawn" dish washing liquid, and 1/8th teaspoon of "Lemi-Shine". I then filled the tumbler up to within an inch of the top with luke warm water. I then installed the lid, tossed it on the tumbler, and plugged it in at 1:30 PM yesterday afternoon. I decided to let it run overnight because the brass was really dull and dirty, and also because my Thumlers Tumbler has a 1,500 RPM motor. The newer units have the 3,000 RPM motor, and give faster results. I didn't want to rush it, and I wanted the brass to be as clean as possible.

I got up at 3:30 AM this morning because I've got an early dentist appointment, (6:30 AM), and I wanted to get the brass out of the tumbler, rinsed, and drying before I left. THE BRASS CAME OUT BEAUTIFUL! Without any exaggeration the stuff is cleaner and shinier than new brass. The primer pockets and flash holes were absolutely spotless, and the cases shined inside and out.

The only issue I had was partly my fault. The video on this stuff shows them using a Frankford Arsenal Media Separator. Cabela's has them and they're not that expensive. I was going to go pick one up yesterday, but I was too lazy. Melanie and I had a few glasses of wine each, and I wasn't going anywhere. The media separator allows you to float the Stainless Steel Media out of the cases by tumbling them partially submerged in the provided bucket you get with the separator. This is important otherwise the surface tension of the water will cause the media to stick to the sides of the case. I only had 150 cases so I just ran them under a light stream of tap water and it worked fine. I'm going to get the media separator because it would be a PITA to do that with a large batch of several hundred cases.

This is the way to go if you want really nice clean brass. I'm still in the experimental stage with this stuff. Next I want to find a method and tumbler for large amounts. It all sounds more involved than it really is. The actual cleaning of the brass itself is an all but effortless process. Prepping the brass is always a pain, but you have to do it if you want good reloads.

This is about the best I could do with my crappy little Sony Cybershot. But it shows how well this media works.

[img width=600 height=449]http://i812.photobucket.com/albums/zz50/billt460/StainlessSteelPolishingMedia004.jpg[/img]

[img width=600 height=449]http://i812.photobucket.com/albums/zz50/billt460/StainlessSteelPolishingMedia002.jpg[/img]

[img width=600 height=449]http://i812.photobucket.com/albums/zz50/billt460/StainlessSteelPolishingMedia007.jpg[/img]

[img width=600 height=449]http://i812.photobucket.com/albums/zz50/billt460/StainlessSteelPolishingMedia008.jpg[/img]

[img width=600 height=449]http://i812.photobucket.com/albums/zz50/billt460/StainlessSteelPolishingMedia009.jpg[/img]

[img width=600 height=449]http://i812.photobucket.com/albums/zz50/billt460/StainlessSteelPolishingMedia010.jpg[/img]

[img width=600 height=449]http://i812.photobucket.com/albums/zz50/billt460/StainlessSteelPolishingMedia013.jpg[/img]

[img width=600 height=449]http://i812.photobucket.com/albums/zz50/billt460/StainlessSteelPolishingMedia015.jpg[/img]

[img width=600 height=449]http://i812.photobucket.com/albums/zz50/billt460/StainlessSteelPolishingMedia014.jpg[/img]

The photos show the cases drying in the Sun, and also show how clean the Stainless Steel Media gets the inside of the cases, as well as the primer pockets. It also shows the size of the Stainless Steel Wire Shot used in the process. I just wish I had taken some "before" photos, so you could see how bad they were before I started. If you look closely you can see it even polished the burrs on the inside of the flash hole! Bill T.

[Exhaust3]

That's how they look every time!! Well worth the price of admission! ;D

[knickia]

Newbie Metalurgy question:
is the impact from the media enough to work harden the brass some ?

[billt]

I've never seen or heard of any evidence of that. The agitation that takes place inside of these tumblers is not very vigorous. It is a slow process. I would suspect the cases banging into each other would be more suspect of that than the media itself

[ChipEckardt]

I bought the media and the tumbler. Works great. Did have to pull several pins that were wedged in the primer pocket. Looks like ultrasonic is getting better as well.
http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/...-from-hornady/

Chip

[billt]

I bought the media and the tumbler. Works great. Did have to pull several pins that were wedged in the primer pocket. Looks like ultrasonic is getting better as well.
http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/...-from-hornady/

Chip

I had 4 cases out of 150 that had 2 media pins in the flash hole. They weren't in tight. I simply tapped the case on the table and both pins dropped out. Flash holes are .080, or there abouts. The pins are .040 in dia. Under perfect conditions if 2 pins manage to get into the flash hole they can wedge themselves together.

I would check into where the new larger Hornady Ultrasonic machine is manufactured. Odds are it's Chinese like their smaller model. If that's the case you should be able to find it for half the price they're charging. That is the case with their original model. Bill T.

http://www.harborfreight.com/25-lite...ner-95563.html

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct...tNumber=992327