Tips

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Will your media work in a vibratory type tumbler?

A. No, the media and the water weigh too much for the average type vibratory tumblers to get any results.  You need a rotary style tumbler with a hexagon shaped drum or a tumbler with paddles inside. The MJR Tumbler will not work.

Q. How many pieces of Brass can I tumble.

A. The Rebel 17 will hold 4 lbs of brass and the Thumler's Model B unit will hold 2 lbs. of brass.  For estimated quantities see the bottom of this page.

Q. How do you keep the brass from tarnishing or spotting after it has dried?

A. Make sure you occasionally tumble just the Media with soap or Simple Green for a few hours to clean carbon from media.   Use only 1/4 teaspoon LemiShine or less, more is not better.  Try using Cold water to tumble and Cold water to rinse brass and make sure you rinse the brass really good.  Let the brass dry on its own and see if that helps.

Q. The brass is shiny but after a week or two it starts to get darker and doesn't look as shiny.

A. When you clean with SS Media you are cleaning down to the bare brass.  As the brass is exposed to the elements and air it will discolor or oxidize over-time. 

Q. Does SS Media work on Nickel Plated brass?

A. Yes it does.  Typically the tumbling time is about 40%-60% less for nickel plated brass.  Start with shorter tumble time and determine the amount of time from your results.

Q. Do you ship outside the United States?

A. Yes.  Add a product to the shopping cart and you can estimate the shipping cost.

Q. Do I need to dry the Media out when I'm done using it?

A. No. You can store the SS Media wet in the tumbler.  It won't rust.

Q. Will the stainless steel pins pass through the flash holes?

A. Yes, the pins are small enough to pass threw all flash holes.

Q. Will the media harm my brass?

A. No, the media will not harm your brass. It does not work harden, or damage your brass in anyway.

Q. Do I need to use distilled water?

A. No, tap water works just fine.

Q. Do I have to use Lemi Shine?

A. Not necessarily. Lemi Shine is the key to get your brass shiny. If you don’t care too much about the shine, then no. It can also help soften the water, which allows the soap to work better.

Q. Is your Stainless Steel Media Magnetic?

A.  Yes it is.  If you spill any pins you can pick them up using a magnet.  Place a plastic bag over the magnet so you can pull the pins off the magnet. 

Click Here for the Rebel 17 Instructions

Instructions for Rebel 17 Tumbler  click here for 40 lb. Tumbler Instructions

  1. Notice. It takes a few times to get the media broke in. The media is dirty from manufacturing process and has a few burs. Media does not work in a vibratory cleaner
  2. Add 5 Lbs (2.27 kg) of SS media into the drum
  3. Next fill with 1 gallon (3.78 Liters) of cold water. (One gallon)=8 Lbs/3.63 kg
  4. Add your brass into the drum (2-4 Lbs of brass)
  5. Add dish soap. 1 -2 Tbs (15-30 mL) of either Dawn, Ivory, or Joy dish soap
    (if there are no soap bubbles in the water after you tumble, you need more soap)
  6. Add 1/4 Tsp. (1.25 mL) of Lemishine. This is the key to the shine. (Not too much)
  7. Tumble 3-4 hours with the Model B High Speed Thumler’s Tumbler
  8. Pour out as much water as you can without losing any brass or pins 
    (The more you rinse the brass and pins the better your results will be next time)
  9. Fill drum with water, and separate brass by hand or use an STM Media Separator with water.
  10. Rinse your brass off really good with some warm water. (Not getting a good rinse can leave water spots on the brass)
  11. Dump brass onto a towel and let dry. If any pins get stuck in the neck of the brass throw those pins away
  12. Store Stainless Steel Media either wet or dry in drum

Instructional Video

 

Various ways to dry brass

  1. Lay wet brass cases on large towel and fold towel in half and dry by hand then lay towel outside on warm day to air dry for 12 hours.
  2. Place the brass on our Dryer System and run for 45-60 minutes.
  3. Use an air compressor to blow out the insides of the cases and dry the outside of the brass 25-30 minutes.
  4. Use a clothes dryer that has one of those removable racks used to dry shoes or sweaters. Spread a sheet of muslin fabric on the rack, (it has a lip, so the brass won't roll off), put a layer of brass on the cloth, and run the dryer on "high" for an hour.  If using this method, one must be careful to properly size the muslin fabric so that it goes up the side of the rack, but doesn't overlap the rack  thereby causing a snagging hazard with the revolving drum of the dryer.  45-60 minutes
  5. Visit different online forums to read about and share ideas of ways to dry brass.  6mmBR/Accurate Shooter  Sniper's Hide  Predator Masters

How much brass to add?

  • After the water and media is in the tumbler, you have about 2-4 lbs. left for brass. This is for the 17 pound capacity tumbler.
  • 4 Lbs of Brass Equals “about” (for brass not listed below use the caliber close to the same size and adjust quantity accordingly)
  • 300 Ultra Mag 100-125
  • 300 Mag 120-150
  • 30-06  130-175
  • 7mm Rem Mag 120-160
  • 7wsm 120-150
  • .308 150-230 pieces
  • .223 275-300 pieces
  • .45 300-345 pieces
  • .40 410-430 pieces
  • 9mm-410-430 pieces
  • 50 BMG 40-50 pieces
  • .243  190-230