I've got some 30/06 cases I picked up at the range that are pretty dirty. I tried tumbling them with my 'Thumblers Tumbler' but it's taking forever. I'm using corncob media but was thinking of trying some walnut...which one is more abrasive and cleans cases more quickly? I heard one is better for cleaning, the other is better for polishing.

Does anyone have a favorite brand of media, or an additive they've found to be effective? Thanks.

Walnut is a little more aggressive, but corncob shines a bit better.

I'll vote for walnut media, as it's the more agressive cleaner. I don't worry about shine, but am concerned with getting them clean, and doing it fast most of the time, so I use walnut and skip the corncob.

Does anyone have a favorite brand of media, or an additive they've found to be effective? Thanks.

My favorite brand is the stuff sold as bird litter in the pet stores. A 25 pound bag of crushed walnut hull was less than $10 last time I bought some. Add some Midway or Dillon polish and you are set.

Corncob can be bought at pet stores, feed stores, even Walmart. Very cheap way to buy. Same situation as the "gun scrubber vs brake cleaner" thread. If a product has ANYTHING to do with shooting or sports, count on the retail being way above any other application.

Thanks guys.

How often do you replace your media?

I have two tumblers...one contains a super fine silica sand and the other contains corncob with a polishing compound mixed in. I tumble all my deprimed brass in the silica sand for 45 mins and it gets all the crud, inside and out, off and does a fantastic job of cleaning out primer pockets. I then sift out the sand ensuring ALL of it is removed. After, they spend a couple hours in the corncob media till polished to a bright shine. I know alot of people dont like using silica sand in tumblers becuase they say it can get in your dies, barrels, etc...but if the cases are deprimed and you take care to remove any remaining sand, this is the fastest way ive found to get near factory new cases. As for replacing media...the silica sand has cleaned in excess of 15,000 cases of various calibers and still works fine. The corncob doesnt see dirty brass and ive been using the same bunch for the past year and its still polishes great.

I have 2 tumblers also. The Lyman is a vibratory and I mix 3/4walnut and 1/4corn cob and add some smashed up jewelers "ZAM" or "Fabulustre" polishing compound. A little goes a long way. That way I can pre-polish silver/gold (I am a jewelry designer on the side) or use it to clean brass. It has done well for many years...I keep adding media/polish when it gets low.
The rotary tumbler can do 500 38 spl cases, so it doesn't get used often...it also takes longer than the Lyman.

Years ago I bought ground pecan shells on Ebay, they are in between corncobs and walnut shells they do a good job both cleaning and polishing the brass. I add midway polishing compound a couple times a year.

I bought 3Lb Lymen corncob AU$22. Wont be throughing that out in a hurry.

How often do you replace your media?



Media doesn't really wear out, it gets loaded up with dirt and debris. You can extend the usefull life of media by cleaning it. I use strips of paper towel about 1 inch by 4 inches. Put three or four strips into the tumbler when it is running, and leave them for a couple of hours. You will be amazed at how much dirt they pick up. Won't make it like new, but will extend the life considerably.

I've got some 30/06 cases I picked up at the range that are pretty dirty. I tried tumbling them with my 'Thumblers Tumbler' but it's taking forever. I'm using corncob media but was thinking of trying some walnut...which one is more abrasive and cleans cases more quickly? I heard one is better for cleaning, the other is better for polishing.

Does anyone have a favorite brand of media, or an additive they've found to be effective? Thanks.



There are two attractive options...one is a pet store...they sell crushed walnut shells....add some silicone car polish to the tumbler...ensure that the polish does not have ammonia in it...

the other option is the same stuff as sold at hobby stores....usually sold in 50 lbs sacks....it is about 12-15 bucks for a 50 lbs sack...

I picked up some crushed walnut hull at Pet Smart. They have it packed as litter for lizard cages. Also as bird cage litter. They also have corn cob as litter. What is the brand of silicone car wax referred to above?

I get my walnut shell at the local feed store. Runs $10.00 per 50lb bag. When it starts to wear out I add 2 caps of "BRASSO" and let it run 10 or 15 min to mix. Ifin you dont like the amonia in brasso try a couple caps of liquid car wax. I just bought a new bag of shell last month, as finally ran out of the other one after 8 years.

Gun Runner

Try using a wet media deprime shells 1 or two tablespoons of concentrated lemon juice the kind your wife uses for cooking and a squirt of any kind of dish detergent fill with water to cover hulls and tumble for about 1/2 hour you won't believe how clean and shinney your brass will be looks brand new

"...tumbling them with my 'Thumblers Tumbler' but it's taking forever"
I started cleaning cases with one of those tumblers, and found them to be quite slow- not unusual for me to run the tumbler over nite.
The vibrating type cleaners are a bunch faster, IMO.
As to media, I agree that walnut is a bit faster cleaning than corncob, but corncob polishes a bit better. So, what do I use?
Whatever I get a good quantity of on sale :)

I've got some 30/06 cases I picked up at the range that are pretty dirty.
A lot of good advice from the guys but maybe your first question should be "Are these cases safe to reload and fire?" Some brass left in the open will oxidize severely and is not, IMHO, worth salvaging especially rifle brass that will be subjected to high pressure. I would reuse once-fired factory brass that still retains a shine. That said, if you feel the brass is safe, try a paste wax like Flitz with the case chucked into an electric hand drill. Some brass stains are so stubborn that they will only come off with an abrasive such as fine steel wool or wet paper. Vibratory or roll tumblers just won't cut it no matter how long you tumble. For routine cleaning, I use walnut for case prep and finish with corncob mixed with a polish additive prior to putting them through the dies.

Does anyone have a favorite brand of media, or an additive they've found to be effective? Thanks.

For years I used the "red" crushed walnut media. It cleaned quick and put a really high gloss shine on the brass, very nice. Down side was that is was dirty to work with and it's large particles made cleaning brass somewhat of a chore. Last year I switched to Franklin arsenal walnut cleaning media from Midway. Although it doesn't last as long as the red stuff, it can be rejuvenated quickly by adding some of their liquid cleaner and it's a whole lot easier to work with as far as getting the media out of the cases etc. Especially when cleaning smaller cases like .223 and the like, this media is a heaven sent.

I mix the corn with the walnut works for me, but the "car wax" thing has always been in the back of my files. I will give it a try.
Jim

Bon Ami withouth ammonia a bunch of it with pet store corn cob media does a fantastic cleaning job and cheap. I've tried 000 steel wool for the oxidized stains on brass and that seems to work well. My all time favorite is walnut media with the red rouge in it. For polishing it would be corn cob with polish in it.