I polish my brass by tumbling the cases in walnut media. Yesterday, I tackled a batch of very old .243 brass that was very tarnished and very dirty. After 18 hours or so, the results are only Okay.

Now my question: I seem to remember, perhaps from an old issue of Handloader, that some guys add Bon Ami or Bar Keepers' Friend to their polishing media to hasten the process. Does anyone do this? Has anyone even heard of it? Perhaps I was only dreaming.

While I have not used Bon Ami or Barkeeper's Friend, I have used Lemi Shine and Mother's Mag Wheel Polish. Both work well and reduce tumbling time significantly. I usually eyeball approx. two Tbsp. of Lemi Shine, 5-6 pea size lumps of Mother's. With the Mother's I turn the tumbler on and let it run 5-10 minutes to distribute the polish thru the media before adding my brass. BTW I use one or the other, not both at the same time.

I use Mcguires fine polish and wax that you can find at most auto stores.
Does a fantastic job and leaves a very slight coating so they stay that way for a long time.
After I have finished reloading them, I put them back if for a little touch-up.

W. Bill

Shouldn't be tumbling ammo after it is loaded.. It can be a detriment to the powder.

Any proof of that?? Not saying you are wrong, I just have never seen any proof that it is true.

I think that is an old wives tale, myself. I've never found any evidence of it.

I use Dillon case polish in my tumbler. A bottle lasts several years.

I do it in �-hour sessions to remove lube from brass.

An interesting read:
http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_6_42/303242_.html&page=1

Flitz metal polish makes a good additive also

I use Turtle Wax polishing compound also available at auto stores.

W. Bill and Ed:

When you guys use the auto polishing compound, how much do you add to the tumbler? Let's say that I want to tumble 50 pieces of brass in, say, 5 cups of walnut media. I'm guessing you use something like a butter knife to add the dollop of compound. Or is the paste thinner, like hand lotion?

Gunswizard, thanks for the tip. As soon as I get all this info straightened out, I'm on my way to AutoZone.

Sorry to be a burden. I've been reloading since 1968 and have never used a polishing accelerator.

Many reloading manufacturers have additives that work well with media and are not expensive.

You can also add a tablespoon of powdered Red Jewelers Rouge to amplify your media. It's a standard additive that works well. Rouge is very fine but will polish corroded brass to a high sheen in an hour or two.

You can use more aggressive abrasives that work faster. Rouge and many other types of powdered abrasive media in different grits are available at a local lapidary store.

Do you guys add anything to the tumbler dry media from a pet shop like Lizard bedding? I have Flitz and thought about adding this to my dry media. I think I read somewhere that tumbling in dry media first and then deprime and then tumble again in dry media with additive to get polished brass. I would hate to have to buy two tumblers!

Has anyone tried the ISSO stuff? I read that some people use this on their brass to get it shinny. Presumably with a old rag?

I have brass that is pretty dirty and the tumbler really does not get it shiny.

There's no need to guess about how much to add.
It's on the label:
http://www.flitz.com/tumbler-media-additive/

I bought rubbing compound on clearance, use maybe a couple spoon fulls at a time.