Stainless Tumbling Media a quick product review.
- Thread starter 1967spud
- Start date
I love the stuff. Completely given up on corn media unless I want to clean a batch of new bullets before coating with hBN.
The wet method stainless media cleans brass inside & out in about two hours, even brass that's been fired & cleaned many times before but not as well.
Couple hints:
Don't leave cleaned brass to soak in the solution for long or it'll get dull. Doesn't hurt performance from what I can see but it won't look shiny brite / like new either.
A few pieces of the media I have is just the right length to get stuck sideways in fired 6mm case necks. Be careful you don't load a case with a piece inside a case! I can't think how such a round could be safely fired.
The wet method stainless media cleans brass inside & out in about two hours, even brass that's been fired & cleaned many times before but not as well.
Couple hints:
Don't leave cleaned brass to soak in the solution for long or it'll get dull. Doesn't hurt performance from what I can see but it won't look shiny brite / like new either.
A few pieces of the media I have is just the right length to get stuck sideways in fired 6mm case necks. Be careful you don't load a case with a piece inside a case! I can't think how such a round could be safely fired.
Jay Christopherson
Not An Admin
I just purchased and tried the SS tumbling system for the first time last night. I've been using an ultrasonic cleaner, which works fine except that the timer won't allow me to set longer than 8 minutes at a time so I can't just set it and forget it.
The brass really did come out spotlessly clean- not a speck of carbon anywhere on it. The ultrasonic cleaning can get there as well, but only after repeatedly resetting the timer. Takes about 2 - 3 hours or so in the ultrasonic cleaner which is a significant chunk of day.
The only issue I have with the SS system is media left in the brass- I did the separation (which worked fine mostly), been drying overnight, but now I'm hand checking each case to make sure there is no media left in it. I don't know a better way to check it and I don't think having a tiny piece of SS media in your loaded round is a good recipe for success.
For me, it's a toss up right now- wasting three hours of my day resetting the timer on my ultrasonic cleaner (which is a HF special, but anything better starts to get *really* expensive) or waste a variable amount of my day checking each piece of cleaned brass for stray media.
The SS system is around $250, shipped. A step up in the ultrasonic arena is probably the same or bit more (like $300). I'm going to give the SS system a few more tries, but there's a good chance I may sell it and step up to a better ultrasonic cleaner that allows for longer dwell times. In the end, the brass comes out just as clean either way.
The brass really did come out spotlessly clean- not a speck of carbon anywhere on it. The ultrasonic cleaning can get there as well, but only after repeatedly resetting the timer. Takes about 2 - 3 hours or so in the ultrasonic cleaner which is a significant chunk of day.
The only issue I have with the SS system is media left in the brass- I did the separation (which worked fine mostly), been drying overnight, but now I'm hand checking each case to make sure there is no media left in it. I don't know a better way to check it and I don't think having a tiny piece of SS media in your loaded round is a good recipe for success.
For me, it's a toss up right now- wasting three hours of my day resetting the timer on my ultrasonic cleaner (which is a HF special, but anything better starts to get *really* expensive) or waste a variable amount of my day checking each piece of cleaned brass for stray media.
The SS system is around $250, shipped. A step up in the ultrasonic arena is probably the same or bit more (like $300). I'm going to give the SS system a few more tries, but there's a good chance I may sell it and step up to a better ultrasonic cleaner that allows for longer dwell times. In the end, the brass comes out just as clean either way.
TheBlueEyedBear
'The Nut Behind The Trigger'
I agree with dig. I just ordered mine on Thursday for that reason. Upon close inspection after 30 minutes in the ultrasonic cleaner with CITRONOX the brass looked like new but there was still residue in the primer pocket. Sounds like STM will take care of that.
To aid in ridding the cases of stainless media it helps to turn them upside-down in water (I just fill the drum up with clean water) while agitating them as the water helps the media to orient properly and falls out much faster and just falls back in with the other media already in the drum.
This won't help with the occasional piece stuck in a neck but those are easily spotted while running a flashlight over them prior to loading which is probably a good idea anyway and only takes a few seconds and pulling them out of a few cases with needle-nose pliers goes fast.
Don't leave them tumbling too long 20 minutes and they are already 90% clean and ready to go and about 2 hours total to super-shiney new condition with primer pockets spotless.
This won't help with the occasional piece stuck in a neck but those are easily spotted while running a flashlight over them prior to loading which is probably a good idea anyway and only takes a few seconds and pulling them out of a few cases with needle-nose pliers goes fast.
Don't leave them tumbling too long 20 minutes and they are already 90% clean and ready to go and about 2 hours total to super-shiney new condition with primer pockets spotless.
I've been testing my unit for four months now. The first test left the brass with tiny pock or pit marks on the brass. Not the shiney brass seen in photos. I loaded up the tumbler and just let it run with the SS pins in it for two days. After the SS pins get to thrash around by themselves for two days, they polished off all the sharp edges and do a better job. The pins would work better if they were no longer than .200. Any case necked down to 6.5 or smaller and you have pins sticking sideways in the shoulder junction. Some of these log jams will not come loose when turned upside down in water. They must be manually dislodged and then they will flow out. Shorter pins are the answer. The system does work well after the pins are worn down.
I'm using the STM media in a Lortone QT-12 it works really well. So my cost for the media was about $50. My only concern is dumping the media down the drain when rinsing. After rinsing in the drum I dump the contents into a collender that fits perfectly on the rim of a 3 gallon plastic bucket. I fill with water to about an inch below the rim. Manually agitate the brass and the pins fall to the bottom of the bucket. I have had a couple of cases get a pin stuck in the neck but I visually inspect 100% of the brass after tumbling anyway. It just takes a second to clear the pin. I am amazed at how clean the primer pockets are after just two hours of tumbling. Brass this clean my dies should last forever.
NorCalMikie
Gold $$ Contributor
I would suggest that you not use the SS media on every cleaning. I ran a batch of BR cases mixed with some .308 to make a full load.
As I drained off the soapy water mix I noticed gold dust on the edge of the liner.
So, that showed me that "over time" the SS media "will" wear on your brass. Maybe every 4th or 5th cleaning would be good enough? Just something to keep in mind. 
As I drained off the soapy water mix I noticed gold dust on the edge of the liner.
So, that showed me that "over time" the SS media "will" wear on your brass. Maybe every 4th or 5th cleaning would be good enough? Just something to keep in mind. I have been using this for about 4 months now and have noticed no brass residue. To get the primer pockets completely clean is taking 3.5 to 4 hours, I am thinking I may be overloading a bit but the do come out perfect in that amount of time. I have gone to using a screen to dump al the water then I pull the cases out by and dump them back into the tumbler. I lose just a few peices of media every cleaning.
memilanuk
Gold $$ Contributor
Only time I get the gold residue mentioned is on brass that has been recently prepped in some fashion... trim/chamfer/deburred, flash holes or primer pockets uniformed, etc. I'm guessing the pins are knocking off the last little bits of burrs and such... nothing to lose any sleep over.
After reading that warning post I've been filtering the liquid that comes out of my tumbler along with the cleaned brass.
I have yet to find any evidence of brass residue after processing six or seven batches of 80 - 100 cases each, save for the one batch of about 60 that had just been neck turned & flash hole chamfered so I tend to side with Monty. I need run my RCBS rotary for just two hours too, any more doesn't seem to offer much of an improvement.
I've really become a fan of this wet method! I can clean, resize, wash & rinse, then prime & load 100 cases over two 2-hour sessions on the same day. Using denatured alcohol rinse speeds the process; cases get dunked after the first good water rinse, then again after the wash to remove sizing lube. If it's sunny I let the sun do the drying, otherwise it's a 5-minute job to evaporate the alcohol with the cases in my NECO sieve and a heat gun blowing hot air up from underneath.
I have yet to find any evidence of brass residue after processing six or seven batches of 80 - 100 cases each, save for the one batch of about 60 that had just been neck turned & flash hole chamfered so I tend to side with Monty. I need run my RCBS rotary for just two hours too, any more doesn't seem to offer much of an improvement.
I've really become a fan of this wet method! I can clean, resize, wash & rinse, then prime & load 100 cases over two 2-hour sessions on the same day. Using denatured alcohol rinse speeds the process; cases get dunked after the first good water rinse, then again after the wash to remove sizing lube. If it's sunny I let the sun do the drying, otherwise it's a 5-minute job to evaporate the alcohol with the cases in my NECO sieve and a heat gun blowing hot air up from underneath.
NorCalMikie
Gold $$ Contributor
The gold (brass) residue that I saw was from full length sized .308 and neck sized and shoulder bumped BR brass. No turning of any kind. The drum was clean before I started so it wasn't from leftovers. The tumbler batch was run over night so that may have been a contributing factor??
That's the reason I recommended using the SS media maybe every 4th. or 5th. cleaning and not every time.
Still does a super job of getting the cases in clean and like new condition.
That's the reason I recommended using the SS media maybe every 4th. or 5th. cleaning and not every time.
Still does a super job of getting the cases in clean and like new condition.
I don't think your supposed to tumble overnight......heck after a couple hours they should be squeaky clean and even after 20 minutes mine are shiney clean except for the primer pockets (and even then they are ready to go).
In fact I have found that if left to turn much more than a couple hours the dirt seems to come back out of suspension and redeposit on the brass and again this is only cosmetic they are still exceedingly clean save for not shining like new brass.
Also found if your brass is really dirty from several firings you can spin for a couple hours which makes them pretty clean then dump out the grunge and refill with clean water and lemi and Dawn and spin again for 10 minutes then they sparkle like a new penny if that's your goal. Getting them this clean will add considerably to your neck tension so if it's critical on your load pay attention to this part. With a hand die you can really feel the difference and I think it allows the use of a larger bushing to get the same tension.
In fact I have found that if left to turn much more than a couple hours the dirt seems to come back out of suspension and redeposit on the brass and again this is only cosmetic they are still exceedingly clean save for not shining like new brass.
Also found if your brass is really dirty from several firings you can spin for a couple hours which makes them pretty clean then dump out the grunge and refill with clean water and lemi and Dawn and spin again for 10 minutes then they sparkle like a new penny if that's your goal. Getting them this clean will add considerably to your neck tension so if it's critical on your load pay attention to this part. With a hand die you can really feel the difference and I think it allows the use of a larger bushing to get the same tension.
NorCalMikie
Gold $$ Contributor
Just ran another batch of "pretty dirty" BR brass overnight.
Again, found the "gold wave" in the black water and real fine gold dust on the edge of the drum.
The SS media "will" wear the brass over time. How much?
It would take some pretty accurate measureing tools to see any difference but the gold dust (brass) is a good indicator that it wears. I don't think it would be enough to make a difference in the case measurements but keep it in mind when you use the stuff over an extended period of time. Still does a real good job of getting your brass clean.
Again, found the "gold wave" in the black water and real fine gold dust on the edge of the drum.
The SS media "will" wear the brass over time. How much?
It would take some pretty accurate measureing tools to see any difference but the gold dust (brass) is a good indicator that it wears. I don't think it would be enough to make a difference in the case measurements but keep it in mind when you use the stuff over an extended period of time. Still does a real good job of getting your brass clean.
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