Cleaning media driving me CRAZY! Help

[pdc]

I'm using Lyman Corncobb Green cleaning media and it leaves a fine residue that I have to wipe off of all my brass. I don't want this stuff in my dies or my rifle. And I don't want to clean brass twice. What do I do? How often should I replace the media? Thanks.:eusa_wall:

[Litt'le Lee]

It's better

[pdc]

I've used walnut before and had the same issue. Should I be using some sort of liquid polish?

[Hefights]

pdc,

Dont feel bad, I had EXACT SAME issue last year, with Lyman green corncob media in the plastic jar. Bottom line up front, you have a bad jar of Lyman media. Either get them to replace it with decent stuff, or order some from Dillon or some other dealer. My whole story below, recommend you read it:

I could not get any helpful responses from the forum I was in because I am sure those in the forum were not experiencing (and never had) the same problem. I had been reloading for years, and just using regular corn cob media from Dillon or Lyman, or bought from a gun show, and it always worked fine. Thus I never had to use any "old timers tricks" because in the past, the normal stuff always worked as designed.

I tried adding Lyman's approved green liquid, and it just gummed up the dust, making things much worse. Beat my head against the wall trying different tricks. Bought some finer grade walnut media from the local pet store, and it really was not satisfactory. Finally, I determined that the Lyman media was defective, and insisted that Lyman send me a new jar. In my case Lyman believed me and stood behind their product. They sent me a new plastic jar of green walnut media. The new jar worked fine - no dust - no problems. The stuff may have a shelf life, or there may just be quality control issues in manufacturing, I dont know for sure, and they did not admit to anything.

One helpful trick I did get on the forum was to add 2 caps full of New Finish car polish to the media in the vibrator, REALLY shines up the brass bright and smooth. Now, based upon my experience, that wont work until you get decent media not full of dust, otherwise you will likely create a gummy mess. Good luck, HTH

[rider]

I'm getting dust with the a new jar of Lyman media; I didn't get any with the last jar.
Maybe I'll tumble the sizing lube off of my next batch of cases and see if that absorbs the dust. The air in my house gets dry during the winter.

[Gunner]

I use walnut and after that i put a polish medium from Frankfort Arsenal wich is made out of corn but it doesnt feel to be dry in the tumbler. You can use a plastic medium too it will work. The walnut works very long i put it sometimes in an bucket and wash it with soap after it is dry you can use it again. I use my walnut media since 4 years.

Regards

Gunner

[Hefights]

Rider, I tried everything to no avail, there was a lot of the dust in the batch I had, would not go away, and the dust was unacceptable for the sizing die. I sure hope that works for you. After a while I began to feel like the problem was me not knowing how to use the stuff, meanwhile my reloading was almost at dead stop for not being able to clean cases, of all things. With a decent quality batch of corncob or walnut media, you dont have to stand on your head to make the stuff work.

[Maury Krupp]

Look in the Yellow Pages for a place selling blasting or polishing media.

Get some untreated corncob or walnut. Corncob gets a brighter shine; walnut seems to work faster. You can usually get a huge bag (20-40lb) for about half of what you're paying for the "special" gunstore stuff.

Then go to a auto parts store or Wally World and get a big bottle of car polish. I like the Nu-Finish in the orange bottle; again a lot cheaper than "special" stuff. Use about a tablespoon per tumbler. It will polish the brass, keep down the dust, and add a bit of tarnish resistance.

Change media when it stops cleaning or gets lumpy.

Maury

[musketshooter]

For petes sake, just put them in an old towel and shake them around. What little is left in the case will cause no harm.

[JimF]

Years ago, I tried RICE!

That's right . . . UNCOOKED RICE!

Get a 5 or 10 lb. bag at your grocery store-- the CHEAPEST you can find!

Cleans and POLISHES your cases like you won't believe!

A side benefit . . . after tumbling, you can store cases away for YEARS and they remain bright and shiny 'cause they have a VERY THIN coat of "rice oil" on them as a preservative!

When rice finally gets filthy, throw out and refill with your CHEAP rice from the bag.

Did I mention it is about the CHEAPEST . . . yet most thorough . . . way to clean cases?

I don't figure to be a cheapskate, 'cause the money I save on case cleaning media I spend on powder and primers!!! --Jim

[joem]

If you have a dust problem and a vibratory tumbler just set the tumbler outside with the cover off and a fan behind it. Run the tumbler and the fan will blow the dust away. Add a little alcohol to the walnut along with a little brass polish and it seems to clean better.:headbang:

[Hefights]

I just happen to be processing a large batch of HXP brass right now. I removed the green Lyman corncob media that has been conditioned by Nu Finish car polish from the vibrator. I put in a fresh batch of media from the Lyman jar into the tumbler. I then tumbled the sized cases (previously polished) only to get the lube off. There was a very slight coat of greenish dust on the cases, which (for petes sake) I was indeed able to get off by rolling around in a towel, not a big deal. This is the good batch of Lyman media they replaced free of charge. The batch I had before left a much heavier coating of dust that would not come off by rolling around on a towel, and probably not by any other means including blowing with a fan. What I had before left a very heavy coating of crap that was not manageable by any means. What I have now is decent media that works fine. If you are getting a fine coating of dust, you can indeed probably manage it by rolling around on a towel or by blowing with a fan. Again, I think it may be a shelf life issue with the stuff they treat it with, but not sure.

[Timberwolf]

Depending on the size of the tumbler, add 1 or 2 used Bounce drier sheets at the start of the cleaning process and after cleaning, about 2 hrs with new media, discard the sheets.:banana100:

[jimb]

Tell the wife you want one of those anticling sheets she uses in the drier after she's done with it. Cut a few small pieces and throw it in the media with the cases. That should do the job.....

[rider]

I tumbled fifty 30-06 cases with the Imperial Sizing Wax left on, and that seems to have taken care of the problem.