Inovatec MachineryYour Best Tumbling Media for Brass Manufacturer in China

Tumbling Media for Brass

The primary purpose of bullets polishing is to remove gunpowder marks and dirt while restoring the shell to its original shine. The process of brass shell polishing is simple.

You either put the brass shells in an industrial vibratory tumbler machine or a rotary barrel machine, put the vibratory tumbler media for brass and compound in, and run for 1-2 hours.

1. Stainless steel pin media can remove the hard and heavy oxidation layer on the brass bullet surface. Stainless steel pins are durable and long-lasting. The pin-shaped media is the best stainless steel tumbling media to remove the oxide layer.
2. Porcelain media is non-abrasive tumbling media that shines bullet parts in a short time. It is a wet process that cleans and polishes brass parts at the same time.
3. Corn cob and walnut shell media are the dry tumbling media. They function as dry polishing tumbling media. Corn cob and walnut shell media are biodegradable media and cost-effective.
4. Plastic tumbling media is used for brass parts’ smoothing and light deburring. It creates a smooth surface ready for electroplating and anodizing. It is also referred to as synthetic tumbling media.

Besides brass bullet shells, brass tumbler media is also for brass fittings, brass sanitary parts, brass contact points, brass coins, etc. Also, brass polishing media works the same function for copper and bronze.

Inovatec has over 20 years’ experience in process development for brass parts’ deburring, polishing, and cleaning. We have the expertise to select the right tumbling media for brass. If you want to improve the part surface, finishing automatically at an affordable price, shoot us an email. Send us an inquiry and get a quick quote now!

Tumbling Media for Brass FAQ Guide

1. What are the tumbling media for brass?

Stainless steel pins, corn cob, and walnut shell are the most commonly used tumbling media for brass.

2. How do I know which tumbling media for brass is right for me?

You can choose any of the above tumbling media for brass depending on what you are trying to achieve.

The corn cob media is great when your brass parts are not heavily tarnished.

You can use corn cob media for cleaning brass.

The walnut shell media comes into play when the brass media is heavily tarnished.

It’s also great when the brass has not been cleaned for many reloads.

Finally, the stainless steel media is useful when you have a rotary media tumbler and you want to clean your brass.

It is one of the best rotary tumbler media for finishing brass in a rotary tumbler machine.

It’s very efficient and cost-effective.

3. Is tumbling media for brass different from other media?

Technically, no.

The term ‘media’ covers a huge spectrum of elements when it comes to machining.

Brass is a soft metal so it requires a different approach for tumbling.

In that sense, you can say that tumbling media for brass is different from other media.

4. What is the purpose of using tumbling media for brass?

You can use the tumbling media for brass for a variety of purposes.

Cleaning, polishing, burnishing, and deburring are all possible with tumbling media for brass.

5. What can I tumble using tumbling media for brass?

It’s very obvious that you’ll be tumbling brass parts using tumbling media for brass.

You can tumble a variety of brass parts starting from flat metals to complex designs.

6. Should I tumble brass wet or dry?

Brass is one of those things that you can tumble dry.

For that matter, brass is mostly tumbled dry.

Just put the brass parts in your vibratory tumbler or rotary tumbler, load the brass parts, pour the media, and walk away for a few hours.

However, if you want to do wet tumbling, you might need to use a special cleaning solution developed for the brass.

7. How do I choose my tumbling media for brass?

This question has already been answered.

You can choose any of the tumbling media for brass depending on the condition of your brass.

8. Will any of the tumbling media for brass damage my parts?

No. None of the tumbling media for brass is harsh enough to damage your parts.

But if you use the wrong media size on your parts, you will either run out of media or slightly damage your brass.

9. Do I need to use any special lubricants?

No special lubricants or cleaners are necessary for brass cleaning.

You can find the formula for a specialized cleaning solution only.

It’s mostly a combination of water, dish soap, lemon juice, ammonia, and vinegar.

10. What is the media-to-parts ratio for tumbling brass?

It depends on the size of your tumbler and the amount of brass you are looking forward to tumbling.

With brass, you can’t really go wrong with the amount unless you use too little amount.

11. My tumbling media for brass has sharp edges. What do I do?

It’s very unlikely to find sharp edges in tumbling media for brass.

However, if you do find sharp edges, it takes only a few hours of tumbling to get rid of the excess material.

You have to tumble the media separately.

12. Can I deburr with tumbling media for brass?

Deburring is mostly required for gun brass.

You can deburr using the generic tumbling media for brass.

13. What tumbling media for brass to use for rounding edges?

Any of the three commonly used tumbling media for brass will do.

Stainless steel tumbling media is the fastest way to achieve the desired result.

But you can use whatever you want.

14. How long to tumble brass parts with tumbling media?

The primary purpose of tumbling brass parts is to clean them.

It depends on how much shine you want.

The timeframe for tumbling brass parts can vary from a few hours to even days.

15. Can I tumble jewelry with tumbling media for brass?

Yes. The stainless steel pins are a great option when it comes to jewelry tumbling.

16. Will my brass tarnish after the tumbling?

Brass is an alloy metal. Meaning it is a combination of two different metals.

So, when brass is exposed to oxygen, brass will tarnish over time.

17. What size of tumbling media for brass should I buy?

You need to be really specific when buying tumbling media for brass.

You should use small media for small parts and large media for large parts.

It’s advised to avoid putting different size parts and media in the same batch.

The risk of lodging becomes significantly higher.

18. What shape of tumbling media for brass should I buy?

Tumbling media for brass are usually smaller in size.

As for natural tumbling media like corn cob or walnut, the media comes in grain shape.

As for the stainless steel parts, you cannot go wrong with the pins.

19. Do I need to clean the tumbling media for brass before I start tumbling?

It’s not necessary. You can’t clean walnut shell or corn cob media.

You can, however, clean stainless steel tumbling media for brass if you wish.

20. How much media do I need for one cycle?

It depends on your batch and the size of your tumbling machine.

21. Can I polish my parts with tumbling media for brass?

Tumbling media for brass is primarily used for polishing. So, yes, you can polish your parts with tumbling media for brass.

22. Can I ball burnish my parts with tumbling media for brass?

Burnishing and polishing are very similar applications.

So, yes, you can burnish your brass parts as well.

23. Can I use tumbling media for brass on rotary tumblers?

The stainless steel tumbling media for brass is only suitable for use in rotary tumblers.

24. How much do tumbling media for brass cost?

Natural media like corn cob granules and walnut media are very cheap and affordable.

Stainless steel tumbling media for brass is more expensive, faster, and results in a better-looking batch of brass parts.

25. Are tumbling media for brass abrasive?

Yes. All tumbling media for brass come with soft abrasives.

26. What media I cannot use as a tumbling media for brass?

You can use any media you like to tumble brass.

But the results won’t be satisfactory.

27. Does the density of tumbling media for the brass matter?

Particularly for brass, it doesn’t.

Then again, it might if you’re dealing with any special project.

28. When do I use corn cob media?

Corn cob tumbling media is perfect when the brass is in good shape.

29. When do I use walnut shell tumbling media?

Walnut shell media does a great job with heavily tarnished brass or uncleaned brass.

So, you can use walnut media for cleaning brass parts.

You can go for fine or coarse walnut shell media.

30. When do I use stainless steel pins?

You can use stainless steel pins on brass under any circumstances.

It’s faster and does the job better.