Author Topic: Stainless Steel Polishing Media ??  (Read 17051 times)

billt

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Re: Stainless Steel Polishing Media ??
« Reply #20 on: October 05, 2010, 06:38:11 AM »
Well, yesterday I ordered 15 pounds of this stuff. I got it from here:

http://www.pelletsllc.com/

The guy was super nice to deal with. I explained what I wanted it for and he seemed very interested. I gave him a few websites to check out so he could see for himself how this stuff was catching on in a really big way. He only charged me $70.20 shipped for the 15 pounds. I got out my old Thumlers Tumbler and cleaned her up and oiled it. It still runs like a top. If this stuff works as well as I think it's going to, I may invest in one of those small, electrically powered cement mixers from Harbor Freight. The kind with the plastic drum. It would be perfect for doing large amounts of brass, or .50 BMG brass as well. If anyone is intrested, this is the product number for what you want:

SCW-40X.265

I've got a bunch of .223 / 5.56 MM range pick up brass that looks pretty nasty. I'm going to resize and deprime it, then run it all through my Giraud Power Case Trimmer. After that I'll give it the Stainless Media polishing treatment. If this stuff comes out like new, anything will. When I get the stuff I'll try to post some pics of the results.  Bill T.

billt

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Re: Stainless Steel Polishing Media ??
« Reply #21 on: October 07, 2010, 08:18:27 PM »
My 15 pounds of Stainless Steel Wire Shot just arrived USPS Priority Mail. Melanie picked up a small bottle of Dawn and a bottle of Lemi-Shine today at Wal-Mart, so I'm ready to go! I got the Thumlers all cleaned up, oiled, and ready to go as well.

I've got a few hundred .223 cases I'm going to resize and deprime, then I'll run them through my Giraud Power Case Trimmer next week. After that I'm going to try the new Stainless Media. I'm looking forward to this. The cases I've got are mixed headstamp, range pick up brass. They have annealed necks. Next Thursday I've got to go in for Hernia surgery, so I'll be laid up for a while. I'm hoping to do this Monday and Tuesday before. I'll try to take some pics before and after. I still have to get some kind of media separator. This is a good video that demonstrates the entire process, and shows the results.  Bill T.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-6SOiWE8Hc

Rastus

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Re: Stainless Steel Polishing Media ??
« Reply #22 on: October 23, 2010, 05:44:20 PM »
How did it go?

My 15 pounds of Stainless Steel Wire Shot just arrived USPS Priority Mail. .......
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billt

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Re: Stainless Steel Polishing Media ??
« Reply #23 on: October 23, 2010, 06:33:34 PM »
I haven't used it as of yet. I've been pretty sore this past week from my surgery. Hopefully by the end of next week I'll give it a shot. I'm anxious to see how it works.  Bill T.

billt

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Re: Stainless Steel Polishing Media ??
« Reply #24 on: November 04, 2010, 06:30:55 AM »
This morning I just finished my first, experimental batch of brass with this stuff. (150 rounds of mixed headstamp range pickup .223). The stuff was pretty grungy. I started by running it through my Ultrasonic Cleaner with a mixture of hot water and some dish washing soap to get the grit off so I wouldn't scratch my resizing die. I then full length resized and deprimed it with a RCBS Small Base Resizing Die. After that I ran all of them through my Dillon 600 Super Swage to remove any crimp on the primer pockets. Not all were military, but it was easier to run them all through rather than waste time separating them. Next I ran all of them through my Giraud Power Case Trimmer. It does a really nice job of trimming them to length, plus it puts a nice chamfer on both the inside, and breaks the burr on the outside of the case at the same time. It's amazing how much brass it removes from just 150 cases trimming them to minimum overall length.

After that I tossed them into the Thumlers Tumbler with 5 pounds of the Stainless Steel Media, a tablespoon of "Dawn" dish washing liquid, and 1/8th teaspoon of "Lemi-Shine". I then filled the tumbler up to within an inch of the top with luke warm water. I then installed the lid, tossed it on the tumbler, and plugged it in at 1:30 PM yesterday afternoon. I decided to let it run overnight because the brass was really dull and dirty, and also because my Thumlers Tumbler has a 1,500 RPM motor. The newer units have the 3,000 RPM motor, and give faster results. I didn't want to rush it, and I wanted the brass to be as clean as possible.

I got up at 3:30 AM this morning because I've got an early dentist appointment, (6:30 AM), and I wanted to get the brass out of the tumbler, rinsed, and drying before I left. THE BRASS CAME OUT BEAUTIFUL! Without any exaggeration the stuff is cleaner and shinier than new brass. The primer pockets and flash holes were absolutely spotless, and the cases shined inside and out. I'll try to get some pictures up later this afternoon when they're finished drying.

The only issue I had was partly my fault. The video on this stuff shows them using a Frankford Arsenal Media Separator. Cabela's has them and they're not that expensive. I was going to go pick one up yesterday, but I was too lazy. Melanie and I had a few glasses of wine each, and I wasn't going anywhere. The media separator allows you to float the Stainless Steel Media out of the cases by tumbling them partially submerged in the provided bucket you get with the separator. This is important otherwise the surface tension of the water will cause the media to stick to the sides of the case. I only had 150 cases so I just ran them under a light stream of tap water and it worked fine. I'm going to get the media separator because it would be a PITA to do that with a large batch of several hundred cases. This is the way to go if you want really nice clean brass. I'm still in the experimental stage with this stuff. Next I want to find a method and tumbler for large amounts. It all sounds more involved than it really is. The actual cleaning of the brass itself is an all but effortless process. Prepping the brass is always a pain, but you have to do it if you want good reloads. Remember, this was range pick up brass. It was filthy, dirty, and totally grungy inside and out. Even the inside of the case rims shine like new brass, and they were completely black!  Bill T.


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Re: Stainless Steel Polishing Media ??
« Reply #25 on: Today at 06:49:51 PM »

billt

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Re: Stainless Steel Polishing Media ??
« Reply #25 on: November 04, 2010, 12:03:54 PM »
This is about the best I could do with my crappy little Sony Cybershot. But it shows how well this media works.



















The photos show the cases drying in the Sun, and also show how clean the Stainless Steel Media gets the inside of the cases, as well as the primer pockets. It also shows the size of the Stainless Steel Wire Shot used in the process. I just wish I had taken some "before" photos, so you could see how bad they were before I started. If you look closely you can see it even polished the burrs on the inside of the flash hole!  Bill T.

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Re: Stainless Steel Polishing Media ??
« Reply #26 on: November 04, 2010, 01:40:42 PM »
Wow! VERY shiny inside and out. I wonder though, how hard is it on the brass?
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billt

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Re: Stainless Steel Polishing Media ??
« Reply #27 on: November 04, 2010, 01:50:03 PM »
Wow! VERY shiny inside and out. I wonder though, how hard is it on the brass?

Not hard at all. It dimensionally checks the very same as when it went in. It only removes dirt, not brass.  Bill T.

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Re: Stainless Steel Polishing Media ??
« Reply #28 on: November 04, 2010, 03:06:50 PM »
Excellent report, Bill...thanks for the info.....I mentioned this stuff to a friend and he is definitely interested because he owns a range and gets a lot of very dirty brass and is thinking of starting to load range loads for a few friends.
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