What Media Do You Use in Tumbler?

[lshel]

What media gives you the best shine - walnut, corn cob, or stainless steel? I use corncob and Dillon's Rapid Polish 290.

 

[Dolomite_supafly]

Kaytee Lizard Litter Desert Blend. It is a very, very fine walnut media. It is sand like and cleans very well without clogging the flash holes.

I also add either Turtle Wax or NuFinish.

Dolomite

[Guest sL1k]

+1 on the Nu Finish. I am planning on making a trip to petsmart for crushed walnut. Right now im just using the cob media that came with my frankford tumbler.

[Jonnin]

Kaytee Lizard Litter Desert Blend. It is a very, very fine walnut media. It is sand like and cleans very well without clogging the flash holes.

I also add either Turtle Wax or NuFinish.

Dolomite

 

On this advice, I am working on a big bag of the stuff.   It *does* clean the brass very, very well and is a great low-cost solution.  It is also the most dusty thing I have yet tried, so you really, really want to add a dryer sheet to it every time you use it and you may even want to put like a big bucket over the tumbler so the dust "rains" down inside a small radius near the tumbler.   And maybe wear a dust mask when you pour it.  Well, you get the idea, its pretty bad for fine dust.

Edited January 4, 2013 by Jonnin

[2.ooohhh]

I'm using stainless after de-priming brass, and then my older vibratory tumbler is eastwood walnut shell media w/nufinish that I occasionally run the finished rounds through to give them a final polish and remove any excess sizing lube that may still be on the cases. I've found the light coat of the wax helps them stay factory fresh looking even after exposure to the elements. I was amazed when I switched to the stainless last spring how well it cleans the primer pockets.

[timthetoolman]

I like walnut but corn cob seems to get things a bit shinier.  Sometimes i mix the two, and add a capfull of brass polish.   They all seem dusty after a few loads of brass.  One trick that has worked very well for me is to cut up a dryer sheet into squares and toss that in the works.  It keeps the dust down a bit and pulls alot of garbage out of the media.

[Guest Fruit jar]

Lizard Litter Desert Blend with Turtle Wax. It cut the dust a lot.

[enfield]

Walnut hull and rouge.

[frankmako]

walnut for me.  pet mart sales a 20 pounds bag of walnut for cheap.  i don't use anything else with it. 

[chances R]

Stainless.......buy it once and done.  Nothing can shine/clean any better.

[LngRngShtr]

Walnut/Lizard Litter for the first pass to clean and remove range dust etc.   then load them up and corn cob to clean lube off and shine em up.

 

2 tumbler bowls bought second at Harbor Freight they have/had a tumbler that looked freakishly like the Frankford Arsenal one I own and was selling the bowls separate..

 

pistol brass usually just gets the walnut or Lizard Litter

 

John

[Guest Retch]

Kaytee Lizard Litter Desert Blend. It is a very, very fine walnut media. It is sand like and cleans very well without clogging the flash holes.

I also add either Turtle Wax or NuFinish.

Dolomite

I also use the desert blend lizard litter.  I mix it with corn cob media at roughly 30/70 LL/corncob media.  For really dirty brass I also add about a shot glass of mineral spirtis spread evenly across the top.  This is in a Frankford Arsenal vibratory tumbler.  This combo works well for me.

[SHARPPOINT]

S.S. hands down..for shine! Comes out looking like new brass. I can clean 1000 9mm/500 .223's at a time in a homemade tumbler. Loading lead, I still use corn cob in my Dillon to get most of the lube off. I would post a pic of my tumbler if I knew how, If you want a pic just sent me an email.