Polishing brass with car polish

[Charles L. Cotton]

With the significant price increase and ridiculous shipping rates for gallon jugs of Rooster Bright, I've been trying to decide what to use for polishing brass. Based upon the experience of others here, I tried using Turtle Wax car polish. I chose it simply because it I have it on hand and it's cheaper than the better polish and wax I use on the cars.

I set the timer for 3 hrs. and tumbled about 1100 rds of .45 ACP. They came out brighter than they would have with the same amount of polishing with Rooster Bright. They also have a slightly slick feel, so I'm going to try to reload them without using Hornady One Shot. Case lube isn't required for carbide sizing dies, but it sure makes the press run smoother. If car polish makes using Hornady One Shot unnecessary, then this will be an added bonus.

Now I just need to find the cheapest car polish, since there is no reason to pay for more expensive polish. After all, I'm not trying to get water to bead up on my brass. I'll update this post with the results of my reloading tests without the quick drying spray lube.

Chas.

[dukalmighty]

you mean the liquid stuff,also let us know if it as any kind of detrimental effect on the powder

[ShootingStar]

Charles,

I've recently been trying the car wax in the bright orange container. It seems to work pretty well so far, but I haven't used it for more than a couple thousand rounds. It does keep down the dust inside the tumbler and the cases are brighter. Not that I care, but cleaner is usually better. I put a cap full in every other time I tumble cases and let it mix good before I add cases.

I have also heard of using mineral spirits, but when I tried it, it didn't seem to help much and I didn't like the smell. Plus it's flamable so it could pose some fire risk. Maybe I put in too much. Been guilty of that on occasion. :-)

I see that you already thought of using a timer with your tumbler. I used to just let the thing run for hours on end, at least with dirty brass, and sometimes forgot about it. I now use a timer which I think will make the tumbler last longer since it won't run longer than I need it to when I forget to turn it off.

-ss

[nuparadigm]

Car polish sounds good to me. I was on the verge of trying it, myself as I'm running out of my last bottle of Dillon's stuff. Your post pushed me over the edge.

[Charles L. Cotton]

I wish I could find a cheap car polish in gallon jugs.

Chas.

[Houston1944]

Charles, slightly off topic from the polishing subject but you mentioned that you have been using One Shot for straight wall cases. This is what I do with pistol cases to make it easier to load and you do not have to lube.
Get a pair of cotten gloves and just put a few drops of oil in the palm and fingers of each glove. Not much oil, just one drop on each finger and 3 or 4 in the palm. You just want the gloves to have a "light touch of oil". I use FP-10 or Breakfree, but any gun oil will work. Let the gloves set a day or so to distribute the oil. After you remove the media dump the brass in a box and just run your hands with both gloves on thru the brass as if your were hand tossing a salad. Do this for 30 seconds or so and the brass will no longer be dusty from the media and it will cycle thru the machine easier. You really cannot tell the brass has any oil on it but my 650 can sure tell the difference.

I keep the gloves in a box near my tumbler and I cannot remember the last time I had to "re-oil" them.

[jpierce30]

I tried the cotton glove and oil trick. It does seem to make pushing the handle much easier. Thanks for the tip.
And by the way the cheap car wax at Wally World and a mix of corn cob and walnut bedding from Petsmart does great on the case clean up.

[KD5NRH]

Another trick from WalMart automotive; grab a bundle of the microfiber cloths, and as you're getting the brass from the separator, dump a couple handfulls at a time into a cloth, bundle it up and shake. It takes a lot of the dust off the brass, and the cloth is good for at least 500-1000 hulls before you have to wash it. Shake it out over the media bucket from time to time to get the larger bits back into the bucket.

The cloths I'm using are the ones than come on a bundle of white and blue ones for about $5. They're great for other dust cleanups, too, including the at-the-range-between-strings wipedowns on the guns. They can be pretty filthy looking and still do a good job.

[Deaf Smith]

So car polish from Wal-Mart and walnut bedding from PetsMart.

I'll have to try that cuase I have about 500 rounds of .225 and 1000 rounds of 9mm to reload!

The only thing I need more of is American Select. I think Midway has it by the 8lb canister.

[vmo111]

I also put a fabric softener sheet, torn into strips in with the brass. It seems to cut down on dust, keeps the media from getting staticy, and just gives everything a pleasant smell. I get the cheapos, they seem to work just as good. I use Nu-Finish car polish, as it seems to to a just as good or better job than Dillon's brass shine. I use walnut media for 1 hour, and then corncob for an hour. The walnut cleans, and the corncob polishes.

D J

[Charles L. Cotton]

I'll try the fabric softener next load. I've been using car polish for a while now and it does a much better job than what I used to use. It polishes faster, gets the heavy tarnish off better and leaves the brass with a slick feel. The cases seem to come out of the resizing die smoother and easier.

Chas.

[striker55]

I've used Brasso on a rag before I owned a tumbler. Brasso is brass polish.

[bent sights]

"...tumbled about 1100 rds of .45 ACP. They came out brighter than they would have with the same amount of polishing with Rooster Bright. "

You have just demonstrated a fact of life; all polishes are pretty much the same.

[KaiserB]

you mean the liquid stuff,also let us know if it as any kind of detrimental effect on the powder

I have experience with two brands: Turtle wax buffing compound works great, so does Weenol metal polish. I have used both with walnut media for about 3 years and have not had any detrimental issues with primers, powder, or corrosion during storage.

[Target1911]

I also put a fabric softener sheet, torn into strips in with the brass. It seems to cut down on dust, keeps the media from getting staticy, and just gives everything a pleasant smell. I get the cheapos, they seem to work just as good. I use Nu-Finish car polish, as it seems to to a just as good or better job than Dillon's brass shine. I use walnut media for 1 hour, and then corncob for an hour. The walnut cleans, and the corncob polishes.

D J

I still use a light amount of "One Shot" on my cases. It helps my SDB run better.
I added the Nu-Finish the first 2 imes I used the corn cob and I havnt had to add more or change my media yet. It has cleaned about 8000-10000 cases.