What are you guys using in a vibrator tumbler to clean dirty brass? Ive used corncob and walnut and it just gets dusty so fast. The brass seems clean but has a dust to it that needs wiped off. Am i not changing it often enough? Or is it just real dirty brass( i dont think so )
Is ther something better that lasts longer?
Thanks

For really dirty brass, I use SS pins and wet tumble.
For regular vib cleaning, I use walnut hulls with Nu Finish car wax mixed in. Cleans great, keeps dust down to nothing, and coats the brass to keep it shining

I’ll put a used dryer sheet in the tumbler. Catches a lot of the dust and the dirt removed from the brass. It might help you.

Old70

Threw away my vibrating tumbler years ago and only wet tumble. Brass comes out shining like new.

Does that require a wet tumbler?

It does.

I used corn cobb when i first started loading and went to walnut hulls and love it.

If the brass has been shot in a rifle with a suppressor it gets saved up to do the wet cleaning,then blow dry or air dry then tumbled in hulls with some auto polish.

And this is before depriming or sizing.

When I last used a vibratory I used lizzard bedding, it's finer than either corn or walnut and doesn't get stuck in the flashholes. For the last several years I've been using a Frankford Arsenal tumbler with hot water, Dawn dish detergent and Lemi-shine. Gets the brass clean enough to suit me. At the end of three hours I rinse and place on cookie sheets in my oven at the lowest setting (170) for 20 mins..

If I want to stay with dry vibrator what can I do ?

Add polish.

Periodically, empty the medium, discard the fine debris that coats the bowl and refill with the same medium.

Good advice on Lizard Litter, polish and dryer sheets. Couple of other tricks. Put cotton in the bowl, sheet or a bunch of cotton balls. I save all the cotton packing that comes in pill bottles. Catches a ton of dust. And if you’re long on time take the bowl outside and pour the litter back and forth into another vessel. If you have a breeze blowing so much the better. But that can be a hassle. LL is fairly cheap and unless I’m down to my last batch (dirty) and need to run some cases right now I dump it.

Tear it up into fourths and it will work a bit better. Also, I uses Harbor Freight #12 walnut shell blast media. I pretreat mine with Nufinish, but there are lots ofbither cleaners and if I add some yellow bottle Heet to the media it will gather the dust to the bowl sides and then evaporate when you open.

I bought a giant rock tumbler from Harbor Freight for large quanities of pistol cases. I) put several used drier sheets, walnut hulls, Nu-shine car polish, 600 or so45 acp cases and turn it on for over night. In the morning I dump everything into a sifter on top of a five gallon pail. Shake A while then give a final inspection and dump into a bucket for loading. I use a standard size tumbler for rifle brass, lad with walnut hulls and Nu-Shine.

That’s the tumbler I have the big one from harbor freight. I’m going to try the dryer sheets ASAP

Does that require a wet tumbler? [/quote]

No, just a regular vib tumbler. I have a couple of old Midway USA tumbler that are at least 30 years old.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/10885795/1


Just a reminder, there seems to be an issue & recall with some of the older Midway tumblers. There could be others of the same make with a different label
.

I’m not paranoid about problems, but generally am around the house/yard when the tumbler is going.

Wonder what cat litter would do?

Lizard litter from the pet store and McGuire car liquid car polish and wax.been using this for decases.

some people say you can use rice, but I have yet to try it

I have tried rice. It is a soft kernel so does not work as well as wheat which I had access to when I lived in Montana.

So I have emptied the shooting bags that had wheat in them. It will go into my tumbler.

How much wax per lb of litter?

I haven't really measured. I just fill the vibrator half full of litter todd in a couple of hundred pistol cases, and probably four or five tablespoons of Meguiars Cleaner Wax. I let them shake overnight and screen them over a pan.

I do the same after they are loaded also. Feel so smooth and I am sure they feed better, but that's just me
Loaded rounds only shake for an hour or so. Never a problem.

I still have my old Lyman vibrating tumbler (and my rotating tumbler with ss pins).
I use both. There’s plenty of additives one could use with the vibrating tumbler as already noted by many.

The issue I have with those ss pins is sometimes they stick in the necks hard and sometimes they they just stick to the inside of the cases until the cases are dry.

With black powder cartridges the rotating tumbler with ss pins is the way to go, in my opinion.