Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Cotton balls as a cleaning medium

I've begun to add a couple of cotton balls to my vibrator to collect the fines. They work, but I haven't run it often enough to learn that it significantly reduces the amount of dirty dust.
Anyone done this or heard of it?

I seem to recall someone putting dryer sheets in for the same thing, but I could be getting that confused with ridding plastic powder measure holders from static electricity. miles

I tear up pieces of paper towel about 4 inchs square or so and dump 5-6 of those in and they eat up a lot of the dirt in the bowl

Cut up paper towel is what I use as well. Couldn't say how much dust it really picks up but it comes out pretty filthy so must be getting a fair amount.

Small squares of used dryer sheets is what I use. As dirty as they get they must be doing some good.

Yup, paper towel for me as well, if I'm using walnut media, especially that red treated stuff that Lyman sells, super dusty!

I don't use anything with corn cob media, but sometimes put a little mineral spirits in it to get the case polish working again, and that keeps down any dust that would have been there.

I've been using white rice for years and will never go back to Walnut much much cleaner.

Torn up pieces of paper towel, or sometimes 1 inch squares of white cotton flannel. They take out a bunch of walnut fines.

The white flannel?

My wife makes frequent trips to the local fabric store. One day when I was following her around the store, I grabbed a couple yards of flannel cloth. It makes great gun cleaning patches and is actually fairly inexpensive.

dryer sheets for me in the walnut. i use them straight out of the box. i've seen lots of people say to use the ones that have been thru the dryer once, but i have no idea why.

heads up if you use walnut - Harbor Freight has 25# boxes in their blasting media section for cheap.

I'll try the cotton ball trick. I've been using dryer sheets for a while and they do an ok job.

More surface, which is where the fines end up, with the dryer sheets than with cotton balls.

When those Cotten balls get rotten, you can't pick very much Cotten

FYI for Anyone living in or near an area where there is oilfield drilling. Crushed walnut is used in the drilling process as part of the mud mix. I purchase 50 lb bags that are torn and leaking slightly from oilfield supply companies, for $5.00 or so.

50 lbs last along time.

Flyer

I threw mine away, bought a Thumblers tumbler. Cleans brass, coins, to look new. I couldn't go back to walnut and all that dust.