Cleaning Brass - Help

[ghostwong]

I have a Dillion CV-500 with corn cob media. On average how long does it take to clean a batch of brass. I fill the bowl up 1/2 way up with 9mm brass and then place the media in it and away it goes. Some times it take 6 hours to get a shiny finish, but when I inspect the brass there are still"carbon and dirty makes" so I let it run for another 3-4 hours, and things are good. Question - is that normal? Also there is a band of black dried goo the has coated the outer diameter within the bowl. I need some wisdom and help, please.

[USN CHIEF]

Once fired brass extremely dirty only takes me about 4 hours and it comes out looking like new in my Dillon CV-500. and sometimes I have let it tumble overnight. Look at the chart for 9mm brass, I think that you only can place like 500 pieces per session.

Are you adding the Dillon polish stuff? Looks like purple in color. If you are not, then that is your problem. If you are not adding polish to your media then you are not going to get that shiny look on your brass.

Once the corn cob turns gray in color and you get them black bands inside of your tumbler, it is time to change the media and clean the inside bowl of your tumbler with a moist rag/paper towel and add new media + polish. Let the polish tumble with the media for about 10 - 20 minutes. Go to the Dillon website and it should tell you all this stuff.

[ocabj]

I use untreated crushed walnut shell from a local bird supply store. I then add Nu-Finish and a little mineral spirits. 2-3 hours is good enough to clean/polish.

[dreyna14]

I use untreated crushed walnut shell from a local bird supply store. I then add Nu-Finish and a little mineral spirits. 2-3 hours is good enough to clean/polish.

+1 on the Nu Finish car polish and pet store walnut media. My last batch of once fired brass polished to a very nice shine in about 1.5 hours total time. Usually it's less, but I actually forgot I was running a batch.

Advice. Get some Walnut media at Petco, add the proper amount to the tumbler, dump in a couple caps full of Nu Finish and let it tumble with no brass for 15 mins or so. I use a chopstick to stir up the media and make sure no polish has caked on the bottom of the tumbler bowl. Use your fingers to break up any clumps. Dump in your brass and tumble. It'll look like new in no time.

[Snapping Twig]

Clean media and some case polish in the mix - an hour.

I dump my brass into the bowl and start cleaning my firearms and by the time I'm done the brass is shiny new.

Older media takes longer to do the work. I like the Dillon case polish too.

Brasso has ammonia which is not good for brass, but having used it I can't say it ever hurt my brass.

[rayra]

Using old crushed walnut, a fresh cap of dillon's case polishing solution, and making the tumbler pretty full with brass, I get quick good results in about an hour.
Have more brass in the tub accelerates the cleaning process as the media is caught between cases. A case just floating mostly free / surrounded by media doesn't get clean anywhere near as fast. Don't bother trying to clean in small lots.

There is absolutely no reason to run it for several hours or even overnight, nor any reason to attempt to make the cases pristine or unblemished. Just get the carbon out and make the outside smooth so it feeds properly. That's it. Anything else is OCD and a waste of money and time.

[C.G.]

You may also look into ultrasonic cleaning, another option that works well for me.

[Sunwolf]

Just add some Lyman "tufnut" to your walnut media as it contains jewelers rouge and abrades away the carbon in no time.

[Teletiger7]

Using old crushed walnut, a fresh cap of dillon's case polishing solution, and making the tumbler pretty full with brass, I get quick good results in about an hour.
Have more brass in the tub accelerates the cleaning process as the media is caught between cases. A case just floating mostly free / surrounded by media doesn't get clean anywhere near as fast. Don't bother trying to clean in small lots.

There is absolutely no reason to run it for several hours or even overnight, nor any reason to attempt to make the cases pristine or unblemished. Just get the carbon out and make the outside smooth so it feeds properly. That's it. Anything else is OCD and a waste of money and time.

Seems like the line between effective preparation and OCD is often crossed in reloading. As a new reloader, I appreciate it when sometime lets me know when something is just a waste of time and unecessary.

[vwynn]

I always wondered. For Ar-15 reloaders.. What if you drop you bolt carrier and head inside to tumble as well? would it clean it nicely?

[pdq_wizzard]

I use walnut media and add about 3 tbs of baking soda. I also size and de-prime then put them in (it seems to clean the primer pockets)

[PistolPete75]

change your media when it get's too dirty. adding walnut media for heavy duty cleaning helps. also the dillon rapid polisher works very well.

i use pet store corn media. super cheap and it works very well.

[ilbob]

I have a Dillion CV-500 with corn cob media. On average how long does it take to clean a batch of brass. I fill the bowl up 1/2 way up with 9mm brass and then place the media in it and away it goes. Some times it take 6 hours to get a shiny finish, but when I inspect the brass there are still"carbon and dirty makes" so I let it run for another 3-4 hours, and things are good. Question - is that normal? Also there is a band of black dried goo the has coated the outer diameter within the bowl. I need some wisdom and help, please.

Corn cob media does not work as well as walnut.

You need to add grit of some sort, such as some polishes have.

Add some strips of paper towel and a few caps of mineral spirits.

I would not get real obsessed with making it pretty. Just get the crud out and forget about pretty.

[SDJim]

Also,

Save your old dryer sheets and cut them into squares/rectangles. I usually cut them into 8th's.

Add with a couple of pieces of paper towel about the same size. I find the dryer sheets help to keep the media cleaner and keep the dust down.

[pshaw54]

i've tried to size and deprime my brass, but always seem to get bits of media in the primer pocket. any way to prevent getting that stuck, or do i just have to dig it out with a safety pin?