Stainless Steel Polishing Media ?

[Bill T]

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!

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.

[Williamb]

I use it and it is fantastic. My brass actually looks better than new and that is including the inside as well as the primer cup. Go to snipershide.com and they have 2 different threads on this. One thread is at least 20+ pages.

[Matt Cheely]

Dad has that tumbler and uses ceramic media. I would go to the trouble for rifle brass, but it's a pain to do much pistol brass. I'd rather have 1000 rounds of 9mm done in 2 hours with a traditional tumbler.

[Williamb]

For me it requires less work than using a traditional vibrator and media. It is also a lot cleaner.

Edited October 14, 2010 by Williamb

[jmorris]

There are a few deal breakers for me using SS media in a rotary tumbler for pistol brass.

The first is the amount of brass you can clean at one time. With the rotary tumbler and SS media you have about 2 pounds of capacity left for brass. That 2 lbs adds up to 342 9mm or 60-75 300 mag brass. In contrast my CV-2001 will tumble over 1500 9mm cases per load.

The one that really turned me off was the need to dry cases before loading. Tumble, rinse, separate the media, put in dry box, wait to dry, load. Then have to repeat that process FIVE more times to get the same amount of loadable brass that I can out of my vibratory tumbler.

Not to mention the process then is simply tumble, separate media and load.

[Pat Miles]

Ugh, dishpan hands!

Seriously, I am not unhappy with the process of tumbling in my Dillon with corn cob media so I don't need to try another process. I would like to know how many of the stainless steel rods find their way through a flash hole.

Pat

[M ammo]

It works well, and gets more dirt out of your brass,, inside all of the primer pockets too, and the inside of the brass shines too!

I like getting Bad,, That brass that would never shine up with a normal corn cob or shells,,, old been on the range brown/ black brass and making it usable again.

I don't get them as shinny as in that video, but it works well.

[Bill T]

http://www.pelletsllc.com/

I purchased 15 pounds of Stainless Steel Wire Shot from this place for $70.40 delivered USPS Priority Mail in 3 days. They are very nice people to deal with, and less expensive as well. I just had Hernia surgery yesterday so I'll be out of commission for a while, but as soon as I heal up I've got the Thumlers Tumbler all ready to go. If this works out like I think it will, I'm going to purchase a small electric mixer with a plastic drum, and up size the operation to better suit my needs. I'm thinking along these lines:

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200356929_200356929

If you order the Stainless Wire Shot Media, the size you want is .265 X .040. This size will pass through the flash hole freely. Bill T.

[Bill T]

I would like to know how many of the stainless steel rods find their way through a flash hole.

Pat

Enough to get both the flash hole and the primer pocket itself spotlessly clean. This was my reason to going to it over conventional corn cob, vibratory tumbling with brass polish. It simply does not clean the pockets or the flash hole. Stainless Steel Media cleans the inside and outside of the case to new brass cleanliness. When using a progressive press it makes it much easier to see the powder fill line in a clean polished case, rather than one that is filthy black on the inside. Being able to spot a double charge is a safety reason enough to do it. Not to mention primers seat much easier and more consistently with clean primer pockets. Bill T.

[jmorris]

Enough to get both the flash hole and the primer pocket itself spotlessly clean. This was my reason to going to it over conventional corn cob, vibratory tumbling with brass polish. It simply does not clean the pockets or the flash hole

That would mean you have to run all of your brass through the press twice, doubling the time it takes to load. I assume you also tumble twice? Once to clean off the brass so you can size and deprime without jacking up the die with dirty brass and again so you scrub the primer pocket clean?

Sounds like a lot more hassle than drying off the brass to me.

[Bill T]

That would mean you have to run all of your brass through the press twice, doubling the time it takes to load. I assume you also tumble twice? Once to clean off the brass so you can size and deprime without jacking up the die with dirty brass and again so you scrub the primer pocket clean?

Nothing changes. All of my brass goes from the ground on the range directly into my Ultrasonic Cleaner. I don't like to run dirty, gritty brass through my sizing dies. I then trim if necessary, I then tumble. The process remains the same regardless if I use Stainless Media, or corn cob. The difference is with Stainless Steel Media you don't have to pick corn cob out of dirty flash holes. Bill T.

[jmorris]

So you are getting them wet twice. If it works for you, it sounds like it does a great job.

I run a little simpler operation. I tumble first to clean, then size/deprime, I never wind up with media in the flash hole this way.

I guess the only person that knows that my primer pockets are dirty is me and I’m ok with that.

[Bill T]

So you are getting them wet twice. If it works for you, it sounds like it does a great job.

I run a little simpler operation. I tumble first to clean, then size/deprime, I never wind up with media in the flash hole this way.

I guess the only person that knows that my primer pockets are dirty is me and I’m ok with that.

I've done it that way for quite some time, but found difficulty in seating primers consistently after a couple of firings. Because of the fact I like somewhat clean brass before I go through the resize / deprime operation, I've gone to trying the Stainless Steel Media because it does a better job all the way around, and doesn't require any more time overall if you don't count the drying time which goes pretty fast out here in Arizona, especially in the hot Summer months.

Consistent primer seating is really important for me because I reload for 2, Springfield M-1A's, and they are very prone to slam fires if the primers protrude above the case. It takes a little more time resizing and depriming in a separate operation, but I don't know of any other way to end up with really clean brass without any excess resizing lube on it. Also, once you've got everything resized, deprimed, and clean and polished, the cases go through a progressive press like butter, and allow a much better "feel" of what's going on during the progressive reloading cycle. A lot of guys I know who just wipe down their loaded rounds end up with dirt all over their brass because it's all but impossible to get all of the lube off unless you wipe down each individual round with alcohol, and that takes as long or longer than simply going to a 2 step process.

The key to all of this is to do it in a high enough volume to make it worth the time. Messing around with a couple of hundred rounds at a time isn't worth it. This is why I'm looking into a small electric mixer. I also shoot .50 BMG, and while I don't reload that caliber as of yet, I will as soon as I accumulate enough brass. There is no way a Thumlers Tumbler, or even a Dillon FL-2000 can accommodate enough .50 BMG brass in a single load to make any of this worth while. Also with the .50 BMG cartridge, clean primer pockets and flash holes are almost a necessity because seating force is much higher. I think the best feature of the Stainless Steel Media is it's long life. The stuff never wears out, and is self cleaning. The more you use it, the cleaner it gets. The opposite is true with Walnut and ground Corn Cob. Bill T.

[jmorris]

I find in mix brass the head stamp has more to do with primer seating than anything else. I have also found primers to be more sensitive when seated well (or at least as they should be seated). In my experience high primers are less likely to be ignited than one well seated.

I agree once they are sized they do go through the press with less effort, as you are not moving metal; however, I always feel more effort if they are not lubed. New rifle brass that is perfectly clean often is a PITA coming off the expander if not lubed. You don’t have any “feel” when using a 1050 as everything happens on the down stroke but having the lube present still makes the process smoother. After the rounds are loaded there is lube present on the case but all you have to do is chunk them back into the tumbler and set the timer for 30 minutes or so.

The longevity is a great bonus of the SS media and I like the idea of a larger mixer. The rub is, having enough media to tumble 1500 9mm cases a load would cost $220 not counting any equipment, detergent or dryer. That’s a lot of corncobs.

[M ammo]

I just went to SS,, and wet tumble,,,

I can make bad range brass, good to use,,

and on rifle brass, I small base size,, trim it,, and then tumble it,, it gets the lube off,, AND,, I did not have to Chamfer the cases,, they got all cleaned up,, wile tumbling,, , made me happy to have less processes..Prepping brass,,

I lay them out on a towel in the barn and, tomorrow morning,, they will be dry and ready to load,,

The Other Jim Morris

[Mike in CT]

Sounded like a good deal, until I saw that a new tumbler is required!

Mike

[Intel6]

I was interested until I saw how much brass you can do at one time.

With the amount of shooting & reloading I do, the process could never keep up with me and my clean brass requiremnts.

Neal in AZ

[NOT QUITE RIGHT]

Check snipershide forum but I would not use the stuff. By the time you add the water lemi shine and the media you only have less than 2lbs left for brass in a 15lb tumbler and you can't go to bed while it is cleaning

[Bill T]

Check snipershide forum but I would not use the stuff. you can't go to bed while it is cleaning.

Why not? I let it clean overnight all the time. This is 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.

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. I'll try to get some pictures up later this afternoon when they're finished drying.

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. Remember, this was range pick up brass. It was filthy, dirty, and totally grungy inside and out. Even the inside of the case rims shine like new brass, and they were completely black!

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

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! No other method I have tried will clean brass this well. Especially the inside of the cases and primer pockets. You cannot distinguish it from new brass! Bill T.

[Bill T]

Double post elminated.

Edited January 19, 2011 by Bill T

[Bill T]

These are a few more photos that show the inside of the primer pockets. Not too well focused, but they came out spotless as well. Remember, this was filthy, grungy range pickup brass. Most of it was caked with dirt when I picked it up. Bill T.

[charliez]

Here's an 18lb wet vibrating tumbler from Harbor Freight $199.-

http://www.harborfreight.com/18-lb-vibratory-bowl-with-liquid-drain-hose-96923.html

I'm thinking you might be able to use less media and put in more brass with experimentation.

Has anybody done that?

Edited January 21, 2011 by charliez

[guns_and_labs]

I use SS in a tumbler for my rifle brass. I run it through a decapping die, toss it in, and let it run. Then I use a dehydrator to dry it overnight. Works like a charm, clean primer pockets, clean brass inside and out. I love it.

I don't use it for pistol brass, yet.

[Bill T]

You cannot use a vibratory tumbler with Stainless Steel Media. You have to use a rock tumbler like the Thumlers Model B. The Stainless Steel Media is too heavy to vibrate, and must be used wet. A vibratory type tumbler will not provide enough agitation to properly clean the brass. Bill T.

[Graham Smith]

You have to use a rock tumbler like the Thumlers Model B.

I spoke with the owner of Thumlers Tumblers about the possibility of using one of his vibratory tumblers for SS media and he said not to do it. The only way is in a rotary tumbler with SS and water. And you really need the high speed model or it will take too long and will wear the motor out.

He said that the expert on this is StainlessTumblingMedia