dajarrel Posted August 9, 2004 Share Posted August 9, 2004 I believe that if I didn't mis-read it (it's out in the shop) my polish (which is a Midway product) reads to put two tablespoons the media for the initial use and a single tablespoon for each batch after that. (I clean only with corncob media so I don't usually even use polish.) It seems that in reading the previous post that alot of the crud buildup is excess polish. I may have just been lucky, but I have never had to clean the bowl of my tumbler in the last three years. FWIW dj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dead Buff Posted August 9, 2004 Share Posted August 9, 2004 Just to hop on.... I use rice instead of walnut/corn/peanut shells/etc.... These all seem to be a bit dusty and are rather expensive here. I use the cheapest white rice (uncooked please) I can get. Cleans the brass perfectly and you can see when its dirty and needs replacing - turn nasty grey/green..... I put polish in every 4th time (a local product) - tumbler is as clean as day one and always dry.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Larry Cazes Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 Kevin, I keep the lid on all the time and see zero moisture in the bowl. Sounds to me like your polish is the culprit. The dillon blue polish works well for me and leaves no residue in the bowl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin c Posted August 10, 2004 Author Share Posted August 10, 2004 (edited) dajarrel and larry: 6 tsp (6x5ml) is 2 tbs (2x15ml), and actually, I'm using LESS than recommended, since I am pretty sure one bowlful of walnut media weighs more than 1# (mebbe 2?) and I recharge with polish only every three or four runs. All the same, I can't argue that I get crud and you all don't. I'll try a few of your suggestions: cut the run time, cut the amount of polish, and clean the bowl religiously on dumping the load. --- Oh man, that didn't come out quite the way I meant. I mean: clean the tumbler carefully after removing media/clean cases. Edited August 10, 2004 by kevin c Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.40AET Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 Kevin- Do you keep the tumbler inside and run it outside? I did this once last summer and was not happy with the condensation. I filled it up inside at 70 deg F. and then moved the tumbler outside so I didn't have to listen to it while I reloaded. It was 90 out and humid and when I opened the bowl to dump out the media, all of the brass and the inside of the bowl condensed and the media stuck to the cases. I closed it up and ran it again inside and the problem went away. Are you running the tumbler in an air conditioned part of your home/shop? Condensation is a big problem in many other applications and could be causing you a lot of grief. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin c Posted August 11, 2004 Author Share Posted August 11, 2004 Good thought, 40AET, but I'm not sure the problem you're describing applies to my situation. I'm a California resident (pity me...) in a low humidity environment. The tumbler is in my unheated basement, where I store and use all my reloading equipment. The condensation is on the inside of the lid as soon as I take off the lid, which, like the tumbler itself, is warm from my long run times. I'm going to try running fresh media overnight, w/o polish or brass, just to see if the condensation is xs moisture in the media (doubtful, but I'm curious now). Will report back. Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.Hayden Posted August 11, 2004 Share Posted August 11, 2004 Kevin... I think you're over medicating... With Walnut, I don't use polish at all.. I tried it, Dillon told me it was too coarse. So I... 45-60 minutes... walnut then 60 minutes corn cob. With new corn cob, I use 2 cap fuls of the Dillon (or Midway - same size bottles) polish. If the corn cob still has a strong smell of the poslish, I don't add anythign else. After 3-4-5 uses, I'll add 1 more capfull... I never get condenstaion (a little drier east of you though), and I've never had to clean my tubmler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin c Posted August 11, 2004 Author Share Posted August 11, 2004 Yeah, I guess I gotta cut back on the polish and run times - I, like Nolan our favorite hosercam dude, can run nickeled cases in tumbler until the plating's gone. But I do love that shine... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.40AET Posted August 11, 2004 Share Posted August 11, 2004 Yeah-I was kinda reachin' out a little. Oh well. I used to like bright brass as well, but my tumbler is next to the room where I watch TV and it makes me nuts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DRamsey Posted August 15, 2004 Share Posted August 15, 2004 I was astounded at how well 409 worked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin c Posted August 17, 2004 Author Share Posted August 17, 2004 That sounds like a good option, DRamsey, though I've been told not to use it directly on the brass because 409 apparently contains ammonia. Well, I tumbled some fresh, untreated walnut media overnight with the lid on, and there was condensation inside the next morning. So the moisture content of the hulls I am using is, perhaps, part of the problem. My new game plan: tumble with the lid off, for no more than two or three hours (long enough to scrub off the Magic Marker marks I put on), using Midway/Frankford Arsenal polish in judicious amounts, with dryer cloths to cut down the dust accumulation, and to clean the bowl religiously with whatever I have handy that won't melt the plastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
21 shooter Posted August 18, 2004 Share Posted August 18, 2004 I get the same crud build-up in my Dillon tumbler. I have been spraying window cleaner on it. I wil let it set for a few minutes if it is really bad, but usually a minute or so and it wipes out with a paper towel. I have not noticed any difference in performance in the ammonia or non-ammonia types, so I use the non-ammonia cleaners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin c Posted August 18, 2004 Author Share Posted August 18, 2004 Seems that the secret is not to let it build up, if the combo of media, polish, run time, etc., predisposes to the build up in the first place. Kevin C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Larry Cazes Posted August 18, 2004 Share Posted August 18, 2004 Hope the open hours will be done with very good ventilation, maybe outside is best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin c Posted August 18, 2004 Author Share Posted August 18, 2004 Hope the open hours will be done with very good ventilation, maybe outside is best. Good idea, though my basement area is pretty well ventilated. And if I leave the lid off outside, then I might have to worry about rain or the neighbor's cats. Lid on, lid off, still haven't decided for sure. Oh well, I'll just wipe the thing out. Happy reloading, all! Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hank Ellis Posted August 30, 2004 Share Posted August 30, 2004 In moving stuff around my reloading area, I just happened to have new media sitting next to my old media. Major difference in color. Figured the media was worn out and decided to dump out the old and put the new stuff to use. Besides, the brass wasn't getting as clean than it used to. My tumbler was getting this black grunge in the bowl and considered cleaning it using the techniques on this thread. However, I had charged the tumbler with new media and brass and fired it up. Totally forgot to clean the bowl. Oh well, catch it when this cycle is over. When I dumped the brass into the separator, the bowl was as clean as if I had scrubed it down. Is it possible that the black grunge line in the bowl is an indication that the media should be changed? FWIW: Dillon 500 tumbler. Walnut reptile bedding for 1 hour with no additives. Corn cob for 2 hours with a capful of Dillon polish. Plenty clean for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin c Posted August 30, 2004 Author Share Posted August 30, 2004 Well, one of the posters on this thread sez he hasn't changed the media in his tumbler in many, many moons. If the grunge is gone, where is it now? I figure it's got to be in the media now, and will eventually come back out. I really don't know anymore. The anecdotal reports in this thread are all over the place in terms of clean vs. dirty bowls, run time and polish effects, types of media. I just changed my media and got buildup on the third run. I'm just going to do what I need to to: 1) get the brass clean, and 2) keep the tumbler clean. That seems to be cutting the run time a bit, cleaning the bowl and changing the media regularly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nolan Posted August 31, 2004 Share Posted August 31, 2004 Kevin, An old thread here advised throwing a used dryer sheet in the tumbler along with the dirty cases to absorb some of the dirt to help keep the media clean longer. Since I don't use dryer sheets I started using a half sheet of "Grab-it" unscented dry dusting cloth with each tumbler load of brass. So far it works better than the dryer sheets. Grab-It Nolan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin c Posted September 1, 2004 Author Share Posted September 1, 2004 Yeah, I do that regularly, Nolan. It helps some, but not enough. I think I just have to be more conscientious in cleaning the bowl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shred Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 I just noticed that my otherwise-spotless Midway tumbler bowl (new walnut media + polish got it that way) has a patch of caked on gunk in one out-of-the-way spot. If it doesn't grow any, I may just leave it there. Interesting how it can build up and stay there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin c Posted September 3, 2004 Author Share Posted September 3, 2004 Well, here are some observations on cleaning several batches of brass with new walnut media charged up with Frankford Arsenal polish, starting with a clean bowl, using dryer cloths to trap dust particles, and leaving the lid on for twelve hour runs. First two or three runs left a clean bowl, at which point the media is beginning to darken in color, presumably from the dirt and polish residues, and beginning to stick inside flashholes, which means that it is being rounded off some and is creating dust. I can see the dust in the dryer cloths. Next run I left out the cloths, and got a cloud of dust when dumping the media into the separator. Then I added more polish (just a spritz) and decided to leave out the cloths and leave on the lid on w/o letting the moisture evaporate by running the tumbler lid off. Immediate buildup occurred, worsening on subsequent runs, with or without, but much worse with, every addition of more polish and especially with putting the lid on immediately and if I left out the dryer cloths. I think that prior comments here that I am using too much polish are on the money - the combo of fine media dust and dirt from the brass plus dirty and worn media overcharged with polish seem to set up for the grunge, which seems to stick heavily if the media is "damp" (though I swear it doesn't feel that way at all). I think that the media is reaching a saturation point for the polish, and the rest ends up lining the bowl every subsequent addition. Keeping the media fairly dry and using the cloths to remove some of the fine stuff, the buildup takes longer. Allowing runs with a higher moisture content from the added polish turns the dust into a sticky mud. Less polish, shorter run times, more dryer cloths, lid off, and clean the bowl .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Larry Cazes Posted September 3, 2004 Share Posted September 3, 2004 Kevin, why have you chosen walnut media? 12 hour runs? I run corn cob and dillon polish and get great results in 2-3 hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dream Posted September 4, 2004 Share Posted September 4, 2004 how polished is the brass after 2-3 hours? mine seems to clean in that time but not polish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin c Posted September 4, 2004 Author Share Posted September 4, 2004 Walnut because I can get it cheap, and it cleans aggressively, and I occasionally have pretty grungy brass. 12 hours mainly because my timer is on the fritz, and I just leave it running either overnight or while I'm away at work. Also, I really like my brass gleaming, and the longer runs get it that way. It is true that the brass is actually clean after just a couple hours, and that running six times longer mostly trades aesthetics for one sixth the usefulness of the media, and, as is now evident, causes more media dust per run. But hey, that's me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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