Best tumbler media?

[jerhyn]

Saw this on amazon, Frankford Arsenal Media Walnut Hull Brass Cleaning Bag, 18-Pound. Which looks like a good deal.

Does anyone know of better media or have seen a better deal? I have heard corn can work, but to me walnut sounds better.

[Banana_hands]

Get lizard bedding from petco. It's cheap and its basically the same thing.

[Loubot10]

This stuff from OldShooter works awesome and is priced right.

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=621214&highlight=Walnut

[Bastard]

Get lizard bedding from petco. It's cheap and its basically the same thing.

^^^this

its cheap and more importantly it is available at just about any local pet store.

for reference this is what you are looking for

http://www.amazon.com/Zilla-11442-Ground-English-5-Quart/dp/B001OVGPH6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1399156112&sr=8-1&keywords=walnut+shell+media

[NorCalFocus]

I was crushed walnut from the pet store as well.

[enzo357]

Switched to the Lizard stuff from Petco. Real happy with it.

['ol shooter]

Stiily's pins in my Thumler, and my little HF tumbler, simply the best.

[UnknownShooter]

fwiw, at the pet store near me, they have crushed walnut shells packaged as "bird litter", and as "lizard litter" - the bird litter was 2x the price of the lizard litter in the same quantity..

[shooterbill]

I buy crushed walnut in 50# bags at my local feed store. Add a little bit of Nu Finish and mineral spirits and my brass comes out shiny.

[stilly]

Stiily's pins in my Thumler, and my little HF tumbler, simply the best.

You are too kind...


When I wanna feel a little taboo, I will run Basmati rice with no water. It does an EXCELLENT job by itself scrubbing the shells clean, BUT, if you decap them first, you will have to deal with rice jammed in your flashholes.

And EVERYONE knows that you gotta protect your flashholes! Don't be letting no rice jam itself up your flashhole. It will not end pretty.

And if you HAVE to use a vibrator (for tumbling) then I will also +1 for the walnut lizard bedding from the pet stores for like 7.99/14qt bag or whatever size it is...

As for tumbling/rotating, Rice is good with little cleanup, but wet process works excellent with pins and acid...

[Spdjunkie]

Posted this a couple times in the past, here is what I use.

- I mainly use walnut media to clean really dirty range brass. Doesn't polish as well as Corn, but is more abrasive . Will leave cases dull compared to tumbling in corn.

If you use the fine walnut pet store lizard bedding straight it will be very dusty, in my experience. You might end up with a fine dark red walnut dust inside the cases if its not treated. Nu Finish & Mineral Spirits mixture works Very Well & I do not get any of that fine dust layered inside my cases.

fwiw:

Dry Tumbling in Corn Cobb Media w/ optional additives-polish will get your brass nice and bright on the outside.
The dulling of the case is from the crushed walnut.

The inside of the case will not always be 100% clean down to the brass without extensive tumbling times. Wet method of tumbling or ultrasonic will get you that.
imho: For pistol reloading, I'm fine with clean polished cases without mirror shine insides, no effective on accuracy I can see.

Here is my method, posted before. copy/paste

1st Tumbler: Fine Walnut [Pet Store Lizard Bedding] w/ Nu Finish; OMS-Odorless Mineral Spirits
[Do not buy the plastic white bottle version; Std. Metal Container]
^ usually for mixed dirty range cases

- 1 1/2x Cap NF + 1 1/2x Cap OMS [Cap Size: Brake Cleaner Can Cap]
Tumble Media for 1/2 Hour Without Brass to get the NF/OMS evenly distributed in the media.
- NF is great to treat the media & do its thing, but imho: OMS helps cut the dust down A Lot

2nd Tumbler: Corn Cobb w/ Cap of Nu Finish + Small amount of OMS
- 1x Cap NF + 1x Cap OMS [Cap Size: Brake Cleaner Can Cap]
- The Treated Corn Cobb is what gets you that shiny brass & this mixture knocks down any dust left from the walnut

* Start with one, on to the next, fill up buckets & set to reload for several sessions
- Usually clean 2K per session while doing stuff around the house.
- Have both tumblers plugged into an Outdoor On/Off Timer: Set it to 2 hours & never worry about forgetting to turn it off.

Note:
- Add 1x OMS approx. 5-6 tumbles, or when the media starts to get dusty. 1x Cap of NF every few months of continuous cleaning.
- Also I don't leave the Treated Media in the tumbler. Read on another forum the OMS mixture made the tumbler bowl brittle when it was left in, cracked. Don't know how/temp it was stored, but $1.00 plastic container & its gtg.

* Wet Tumbling:
- I'm probably going to switch to wet once I set up a case feeder. imho: Less chance of media getting stuck inside of pistol brass. Have caught a few cases with dry media inside, rare but does happen.

[MrElectric03]

Lizard bedding is what I use. At Walmart I picked up a 4lb bag for about $4.

[llazyjs]

I've been using Kaytee walnut lizard bedding from Petco. Tumble for an hour then an tumble for another hour in corn cob treated with about a tablespoon of the Frankford Arsenal brass cleaner. Comes out pretty nice. Have to check the flash holes for media stuck in them but I check all my cases anyway for splits or deformities. No biggie.

[Germz]

I use teeth from homeless, they are pretty willing to hand a couple over for a few dollars, or a McGriddle.

[ptmn]

If you're not going to go stainless, then stop by Harbor Freight Tools and pick up a box of fine walnut media and mix in any quality polish, such as Dillon, Grafs, RCBS, Lyman or even Nufinish.

This is an economical way to some clean shiny brass.