Cat litter tumbling media????

[markH]

I was polishing some cases today and after 4 hours I expected bright shiny brass but it wasn't. Some were pretty good, others not so much.

So, I wondered if there was anything I could add to the media. I came across a forum where somebody suggested that some cat litter was made from crushed walnut shells and he used it all the time. A little more research revealed that "Natures Calling" cat litter is indeed made from crushed walnut shells, and can be ordered from Pets at Home for £12.00 (4kg bag) which is about 1/4 the price of Lyman.

Gotta be worth a punt.

[acmsarh]

Been useing reptile substrate ( walnut sand ), For year's a damn site cheaper than anything aimed at the reloading market.

[markH]

Whilst doing some other shopping I checked out some cat litter that was made from corn cobs. Even cheaper than the walnut stuff. I believe Lyman media is corn cob based.

[Riffler]

They use walnut shell granules for shot blasting, I believe

[acmsarh]

The stuff I use is walnut sand very fine and does not clog the primer hole , I have another bag that every time I have tried to tumble a couple of hundred cases between 40 to 50 the primer hole's will be clogged up with the media.

[markH]

I'm using the Lyman stuff at the moment which came with the tumbler. At least 50% of the primer holes are blocked. The cat litter stuff will be here some time this week so I'll update when it arrives.

[gtpkeeper]

rice and bit of brass cleaner, when go rice goes black time chuck it out

[markH]

It arrived today. Gave it a quick test and it works a treat.

[aris]

Add a 1/2 teaspoon of polishing rouge powder. Also a squirt of car polish. Works for me.

[sarge4318]

Whilst doing some other shopping I checked out some cat litter that was made from corn cobs. Even cheaper than the walnut stuff. I believe Lyman media is corn cob based.

Lyman make Corncob Green, Tufnut and Untreated Corncob. They also do a ceramic media but I've not tried that.
Tufnut is crushed walnut shells with and without rouge, the rouge makes a right red mess. The Green has a different poplishing compound and is just crushed.

I believe they make an additive to add to either media type and a reactivator.

The ceramic can aparently be added to the other media or used on its own. I have also heard some try it in a wet tumbler.

[aris]

The rouge can make a mess if you use too much. You only need a tiny bit, and the car wax helps too. The brass comes out clean and somewhat lubricated too.

[markH]

I bought some metal polish to add to the walnut cat litter. Initially it made clumps but these seem to break down while the tumbler is doing it's thing. I did 250 .357 mags yesterday and they came out gleaming. Definately better than the Lyman stuff, but to be fair, I bought the tumbler S/H so no idea how old the original media is.