sand as tumbler media?

[woodsie57]

Disapointed in my first run with walnut shell media in a rotary tumbler. A 5 hr. run did very little,as far as removing tarnish\corrosion. Probably could get the same results wiping the cases on my shirt tail. These are .357 cases, probably been reloaded 2 or 3 times, and they are of varying vintage, some probably 4 or 5 yrs old. Stainless media would work,but I have a bag of sand in the garage that would probably do a fine job also, if I don't run them too long. Nobody seems to do this, though, and there's probably a good reason- What might that be?

 

[jcwit]

Sand in and around your reloading equipment? Say it ain't so.

 

[JetGirl]

Disapointed in my first run with walnut shell media in a rotary tumbler.

Let me guess... you used "treated" media, so you didn't add any polish.
If this is the case, re-try your efforts with a splash of polish (add to media and let it run five minutes or so before tossing in the brass...)

 

[Six Shooter Steve]

One drop of that sand gets to your reloading dies and well it ain't gonna be good

 

[woodsie57]

Thanks JC, Jetgirl, Steve- I will avoid making that mistake! Will try the polish option; been looking for a good reason to visit the new Profire location anyway!

 

[Mephitical]

Was you tumbler overloaded with brass? Is it old dirty media? I use walnut media and have good results with it and some polish after a few hours...5 hours it would look like new.

 

[woody131]

I think the sand would break down fast and dust real bad leaving a film on the brass. I bought a used tumbler off a guy once and it had some mixture in it that I couldn't quite make out. I ran it for awhile to try it out and my conclusion was that it had sand mixed in. Definitely not the way to go.

 

[Six Shooter Steve]

Don't go buy some fancy expensive tumbler polish. NU Finish car polish works great. I'm not a walnut media guy but should help out considerably. I prefer corn Cobb as it shines better than walnut.

 

[ljk]

there's a big difference between tumbling media(Walnut shell, Corn Cobb) vs. abrasive.

 

[Leo]

Don't go buy some fancy expensive tumbler polish.

+1

I ran out of Frankford Arsenal and Dillon case polish, both products showed very satisfactory performance. I ran down to the local auto parts to get some old fashioned Dupont #7 polishing compound. (I must be old, the only one in the store that ever heard of it was the old bald guy that drives the delivery truck) They did have Turtle wax polishing compound, and it works fine. Cheap too.

 

[Jarhead77]

I use corn cob and white diamond polish in mine. Works great!! Never run it more than an hour and get excellent results.

 

[Classic]

I started with the ss media, soap and water this year. Best result ever and I'll never switch back.

 

[Tomt]

Does the White Diamond Polish come in a bar or powder. If it is the bar type how do you disperse it in your tumbler?

 

[Jarhead77]

White diamond is a liquid polish. I just add a tablespoon every 4th or 5th run.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Corn cobb and either White Diamond or Nu Finish. I leave it run for several hours as I am out doing errands on the weekends. My brass hurts the eyes.

*disclaimer* I am still a reloading noob (noobish)

White Diamond Polish:

White Diamond Multipurpose Metal Polish and Sealant 01: Shop the best Metal/Wheel Cleaner/Polish at Advance Auto Parts

 

[HoughMade]

I can't speak to reloading, but when I built a tumbler for my mechanical exploits (Mechanical Engineering 010- 2 Wheeled Adventures for Liberal Arts Majors), I cheaped out at first and used sand for fine rust removal....and it did virtually nothing. I then went to tumbling media from Harbor Freight, followed by crushed walnut shell reptile bedding for a smoother finish. Granted, I was using it for steel, but the sand sucked....big time.

 

[woodsie57]

Thanks all for the benefits of your experience- no sand! Will pick up some polish, maybe some corn cob stuff

 

[Lunati]

Just like everyone mentioned, I went to Petsmart and bought a 30LB bag of crushed walnut bedding then I add a teaspoon of Nu Finish for each run. Only takes 30 mins - 1 hour for it to look great.

 

[JetGirl]

Will pick up some polish, maybe some corn cob stuff

Do yourself a favor...
Pick up walnut AND corn cob and do a half/half mix. Put a couple tablespoons of polish in there (I've been using this with great results), and cut up a dryer sheet to stick in there each time, too...it'll extend the life of your media and cut the dust when you take the lid off the tumbler.
Before & After (2hrs running);

 

[jblomenberg16]

OP, sounds like you've talked yourself out of the sand, which is a good decision! Something else to add to the conversatin is that proper separation of the tumbling media is key after your've finished polishing the brass. Not only willthat prevent media causing fouling in your dies, but could also prevent bigger problems in your guns.

A few years ago, I was chatting with some of the top M1 Garand Shooters at the Camp Perry National Match. I was then (am still) a noobie to the M1 Garand competitions, so was shooting a completely stock rifle, but shooting my own hand loads. We got on the topic of brass preparation, and they gave me some advice to stay away from completely dry corn-cob or walnut media. Their comments were that any left over media residue on the outside, and inside, of the brass could lead to chamber and throat errosion.

They've almost all switched over to wet tumbling with SS to help alleviate that issue (they are also shooting very expensive, custom match grade barrels on purpose built rifles). I'm still using my corn-cob media with polish as recommended by a number of folks here, and just make sure that the cases are not overly dusty prior to loading. I don't have any data to back up their claim, but it certainly sounds plausible.