Mistral404 Posted December 21, 2004 Share Posted December 21, 2004 Ok, I finally got my large Dillon. As was suggested in a previous post, I used white rice. The brass looks pretty shiny after about 1.5 hours. I may do alittle time tomorrow morning. The rice seems to be be leaving a small fine powder in the brass. If I take a cotton swab I can remove some of it. Has anybody experienced this before? I have not separated the brass from the media I just spot checked some pieces. Any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricW Posted December 21, 2004 Share Posted December 21, 2004 Whatever the powder is, it's a doggone sight better than the clouds of dust I used to get from corncob and walnut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mistral404 Posted December 21, 2004 Author Share Posted December 21, 2004 If I put a little brake cleaner on the cotton swab, the powder is removed and the brass is pretty bright. I did not put any brass cleaner in the rice. I was under the impression there would not be a residue with rice but alas and alec, my novice intentions have gone awry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Larry Cazes Posted December 21, 2004 Share Posted December 21, 2004 I have been using white rice from Costco ($5.00/25lbs) lately with good results. Lots less dust than with corn cob. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njrich Posted December 21, 2004 Share Posted December 21, 2004 try brown rice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dead Buff Posted December 21, 2004 Share Posted December 21, 2004 Been using rice for very long. The only problem I experience is that after about 3-5 batches the rice turns green and them starts to leave a gooey green sticky substance on the brass and in the bowl. At the price of rice I just clean out every three times. My tumbler is real small, so this might be a bit different with other tumblers. I recently also switched to a cleaner burning powder - will let you know if anything improves.... And I will try the brown rice... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mistral404 Posted December 22, 2004 Author Share Posted December 22, 2004 Update. I have finished cleaning about 30 pounds of .40 brass, 120 pounds to go. The rice is getting pretty ugly. This last batch has taken about 2 hours to clean. I "borrowed" some expensive rice (from Thailand) from my wife's cabinet. It runs about $10 for 25 pounds at Costco. I just purchased 25 pound for $5.00 from Costco. I do not use any polishing additives. The brass is coming out very clean and smooth. I went to Petsmart before Costco today. The English Walnut runs about $18 per 25 pounds. So I passed on it. Sportsman Paradaise runs about $15 for a couple of pounds of the Lyman, etc. media. So for me, it is rice. Cheap, cleans the brass. Not dust, the only problem is that the rice sometimes bounces out of the Dillon Media Separator when I am pouring from the Dillon Cleaner. I support Dillon because it is the best and they support our sport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhino Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 If you go to a feed store (not a pet shop) and get chicken scratch, you can get a 40-50 lb. bag for a few bucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokshwn Posted December 28, 2004 Share Posted December 28, 2004 I'm with dead buff. I bought the Costco rice and after a couple of uses I began to get a gummy finish on my brass. I just switched back to walnut as I never noticed too much dust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeeper Posted December 28, 2004 Share Posted December 28, 2004 Try adding a dryer sheet in the rice to get rid of the fine dust. It works pretty good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasonub Posted December 29, 2004 Share Posted December 29, 2004 Here is a way to minimize or eliminate the dust. I put 10 clean patches. When i run out i just cut up an old shirt or an old brief. I then put this on the polisher with a few drops of brass polish the dust and the polish somewhat get attracted to the patches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
short_round Posted December 29, 2004 Share Posted December 29, 2004 As someone who eats rice with just about every meal, there is something that just seems wrong about this whole thread. Rice could be so wonderful that it could clean my gun for me, but it still wouldn't seem right to use it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin c Posted December 29, 2004 Share Posted December 29, 2004 Is that because it seems such a waste of good rice, or that it make you (and me) vaguely nauseous, or that it just is too weird for words... Ron Gunar got me a 50# bag of walnut media for under $10, so rice ain't cheaper for me. And while it's probably true that rice is less dusty, the dryer cloth trick works for me. Anyway, walnut hull doesn't offend my Asian sensibilities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
short_round Posted December 29, 2004 Share Posted December 29, 2004 Is that because it seems such a waste of good rice, or that it make you (and me) vaguely nauseous, or that it just is too weird for words... Maybe ... I wonder if our Italian friends would blink if someone suggested macaroni or if someone more mid-western would think it weird if I loaded up my tumbler with cheerios. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skywalker Posted December 29, 2004 Share Posted December 29, 2004 Maybe ... I wonder if our Italian friends would blink if someone suggested macaroni SR, unless you don't pretend to cook them (after tumbling) and have me as dinner guest, I guess it'll be fine with me... BTW, whatever works is ok by me. I've tried rice, it works and in my case it lasted a lot before getting dark grey or black (no gum), but I find brown Lyman media (walnut?) to be the most effective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cking Posted December 29, 2004 Share Posted December 29, 2004 Anybody ever tried peanut shells? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin c Posted December 31, 2004 Share Posted December 31, 2004 I'd guess that they'd be a bit too soft for good cleaning action? Another question: Is the really coarse corncob you can buy in pet stores (sold as litter) going to work? Mebbe so big (granules the size of a .22 short) that there wouldn't be any scrubbing action? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynn jones Posted December 31, 2004 Share Posted December 31, 2004 I'd guess that they'd be a bit too soft for good cleaning action?Another question: Is the really coarse corncob you can buy in pet stores (sold as litter) going to work? Mebbe so big (granules the size of a .22 short) that there wouldn't be any scrubbing action? the pet store corn cob stuff works great and is cheap. lynn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.Hayden Posted December 31, 2004 Share Posted December 31, 2004 Cheap! My ears perked up. Can you polish with the coarse, or is it just for cleaning? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynn jones Posted December 31, 2004 Share Posted December 31, 2004 Cheap! My ears perked up.Can you polish with the coarse, or is it just for cleaning? i use it for both. besides i thought it was all the same process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin Orr Posted December 31, 2004 Share Posted December 31, 2004 Be great if we could do a bulk purchase through one of the vendors represented on the Forum from a Wholesale Supplier of Polishing Grit. Probably cut the cost way down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.Hayden Posted December 31, 2004 Share Posted December 31, 2004 I know this has been discussed ad nauseum.. Lynn.. do you add polish, and for how long? All Corn cob? MerlinD - look around, locally walnut is cheaper here than the lowest they offer.. about $.025 (12.99 for #50) a pound, and I think kevin c is getting 50# for $10? Corn cob is the same, but they only have the coarse, so I haven't tried it yet.. Now... I'll give it a shot.. I'd like to just have a one step process.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mistral404 Posted December 31, 2004 Author Share Posted December 31, 2004 I have increased the rice to brass ratio. More rice than brass by a 3 to 1 ratio. I get about 60 pounds of brass cleaned with about 15 lbs of rice. The cheap Costco rice is holding up pretty well. The cleaned brass once reloaded and fired, actually stays pretty cleaned. The next go-around of cleaning should be a lot quicker. I have just start to use the rice to clean my rounds after they are reloaded. I still have a little lube left on them. As Brian recommended I am using One Shot. This stuff works pretty well. I have been know to leave the lubed brass in the hopper for a few days before I reload. Even in my very very cold garage the lube works. I will probably need another bag of rice soon. So many buckets of brass and so little time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynn jones Posted December 31, 2004 Share Posted December 31, 2004 Lynn.. do you add polish, and for how long? All Corn cob? BerKim, i use the large dillon tumbler and the dillon case cleaner. i put about a third of the bottle each time i clean brass 500-600 rounds. i put in enough corn cobb to cover the brass and leave it on for about 2 hours. i use the same corn cobb for about 3 cleanings. lynn p.s. i think i'll try the rice just to see the difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin Orr Posted December 31, 2004 Share Posted December 31, 2004 MerlinD - look around, locally walnut is cheaper here than the lowest they offer.. about $.025 (12.99 for #50) a pound, and I think kevin c is getting 50# for $10?Corn cob is the same, but they only have the coarse, so I haven't tried it yet.. Now... I'll give it a shot.. I'd like to just have a one step process.. Damn... I need to get out more often - to Walmart??? ehhuugggg. I have been using crushed walnut and corncobb mixed about 50/50 forever now and it does a good job. I have been adding 1/2 bottle of Dillion case cleaner every 5 loads and change my media about every 10 loads - does not seem to lose much of its cleaning ability in that time frame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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