Probable idiotic question

[mollinst]

I have no experience with reloading though, I hope to experiment with it at some point. In the meantime, would it be completely asinine to put tarnished *live* ammo in a tumbler to clean it up?

My thinking is that the tumbling speed should be low enough not to allow one cartridge to develop enough ft/lbs to discharge another, but then, I get a creepy feeling that this could also put me in the running for a Darwin award.

Bill

[Bendersquint]

Bill,

Dry tumbling wont impact loaded ammo, most of the ammo manufacturers tumble loaded rounds before packaging.

Just no wet tumbling.

[ronin111]

Some people theorize that tumbling live ammo could break down the powder which could affect burn rate. It's one thing to tumble rounds for a few minutes to remove lube but it's another to run it for an hour or more to remove tarnish. Personally, I wouldn't bother tumbling tarnished ammo as it would only be for cosmetic reasons.

[Bendersquint]

Some people theorize that tumbling live ammo could break down the powder which could affect burn rate. It's one thing to tumble rounds for a few minutes to remove lube but it's another to run it for an hour or more to remove tarnish. Personally, I wouldn't bother tumbling tarnished ammo as it would only be for cosmetic reasons.

I tested that theory a number of years ago with a chrony. I loaded 100 rounds tumbled 50 of them for a week straight and tested them over a chrony i didnt notice any change in velocities at all. Tested with 9mm and 5.56mm.

Not entirely scientific but good enough for me.

[mollinst]

Good then - I'm not completely loonburgers, (not that this particular discussion totally eliminates that possibility), So, which of the myriad cleaning/polishing media available will do a nice job of removing light to medium discoloration?

Bill

[Bendersquint]

Good then - I'm not completely loonburgers, (not that this particular discussion totally eliminates that possibility), So, which of the myriad cleaning/polishing media available will do a nice job of removing light to medium discoloration?

Bill

I used the generic tumbling paste stuff from Frankford Arsenal/Midway or the Lyman stuff.

[mollinst]

"I used the generic tumbling paste stuff from Frankford Arsenal/Midway or the Lyman stuff."

I thought liquids, or partial liquids in the form of "paste", were to be stayed away from, no?

Bill

[Bendersquint]

"I used the generic tumbling paste stuff from Frankford Arsenal/Midway or the Lyman stuff."

I thought liquids, or partial liquids in the form of "paste", were to be stayed away from, no?

Bill

The paste is a polish that embeds into the corn cob or walnut media.

It is fine.

[mollinst]

"The paste is a polish that embeds into the corn cob or walnut media. It is fine."

See? That's what I needed to know - corn cob or walnut media. I'm tellin' ya, I know nothing about this stuff.

Thanks.

Bill

[Bendersquint]

"The paste is a polish that embeds into the corn cob or walnut media. It is fine."

See? That's what I needed to know - corn cob or walnut media. I'm tellin' ya, I know nothing about this stuff.

Thanks.

Bill

Based on my experience and use.....

Corncob is gives a better shine to the brass, walnut is better with more gunk that stuck on it that needs to be removed.

I used corncob more than anything for polishing loaded ammo.

[Abiqua]

For brass I use walnut first to clean then use the softer corn cob to polish.

[Bendersquint]

For brass I use walnut first to clean then use the softer corn cob to polish.

ALot of people do that as well, I prefer to skip the step and do it both at once!

[mollinst]

I appreciate the info guys - thank you. Now, if I can just get my Wife to let me use tumbling clothes dryer... Set on cool, of course.

[Bendersquint]

I appreciate the info guys - thank you. Now, if I can just get my Wife to let me use tumbling clothes dryer... Set on cool, of course.

If only that worked.

[Abiqua]

For brass I use walnut first to clean then use the softer corn cob to polish.

ALot of people do that as well, I prefer to skip the step and do it both at once!

Do you just mix the media half and half?

[Bendersquint]

For brass I use walnut first to clean then use the softer corn cob to polish.

ALot of people do that as well, I prefer to skip the step and do it both at once!

Do you just mix the media half and half?

Nope I just use corn cob and polish, thats it. Skip the walnut portion of it, waste of time in my opinion.

[AMProducts]

I used to do the walnut and then corncob for polishing brass... however some time ago I started just washing the brass in hot soapy water with a bit of acid added to it. I dry it, size it, wash it again (to get lube off) then tumble in corncob, looks like brand new shell casings after that.

As far as cleaning ammo, I've found tumbling live ammo usually doesn't do that great a job of cleaning, I usually prefer to just wipe them clean by hand, you can use regular case polish on a rag, don't use brasso or any other ammonia based cleaner... for two reasons, first, the ammonia can weaken the brass, second they really don't do a good job of actually keeping the brass from tarnishing again. Dillon's case polish does an awesome job of cleaning and protecting shell casing brass. This is part of the reason I use it almost exclusively.

I have talked to the guys over at Berry's who came out with their own case polish last year at SHOT, they were going to send me a sample... never did so I have no opinion, but it's supposed to have waxes in it like the dillon stuff does.