STAINLESS STEEL MEDIA Reviews & Ratings

I have been using this product since day one; reloading since 1967, I pride myself on the quality of my reloads, using these pins with a solution {I make my own; trade secret} the cases, be in 32 ACP to 450 Alaskan come out clean, and look brand new; primer pocket as well.

These pins work well as advertised. I use them in my Thumler's Tumbler and I get clean, almost brand new looking brass. The cases are clean inside & outside along with the primer pockets (I remove the primers before tumbling). I dump the cases and the pins into the tumbler and fill the tumbler about 3/4 full with water, add a squirt of Dawn dishwashing detergent and a small palm size full of Lemi Shine, tumble them about 4 hours and get very clean brass. Then I put everything into my media separator and separate the pins from the brass. One word of caution. After cleaning & drying the brass, inspect each shell case one by one. I discovered that I found a pin got caught horizontally inside a .45 ACP shell case and also vertically inside of a large primer pocket. I also found a pin stuck horizontally inside a few .223/5.56 NATO shell cases and a pin sticking out vertically from the primer pocket. I also suggest that you buy a Frankford Arsenal Transfer Magnet. These pins wind up going everywhere. They get into every little nook & cranny. Other than this problem, they work great and I will never go back to tumbling with dry media again.

For separating wet brass from wet SS media, I found using a flour-sack kitchen towel to cover a strong magnet is quickest. The media stays off the magnet, and when the cloth is pulled from the magnet the media drops onto an aluminum cookie sheet for oven drying. After decanting most of the water, work the cloth-covered magnet around the brass & media a couple dozen times. The magnet also removes the media from flash holes and inside cases. Rinse and dry the cleaned brass.

I've been using for a couple of years now. Makes your brass literally look like new. As others have said Dawn, Lemi Shine and check your primer pockets/flash holes. After rinsing and shaking out I put the brass on a tray and put in a 180 degree oven for 20 min. It comes out bone dry,but not too hot,and ready to reload.

The only thing that I could add to the other excellent reviews is, to remember that the stuff being cleaned (especially the primer ash) is contaminated with lead. Therefore the wastewater will also have some lead in it. Remember to ALWAYS wear gloves when seperating the brass from the water.

I have been reloading for over 35 years now. I have used every kind of brass polishing method know. Corn cobb, walnut, numerous types of additives, sonic cleaning. None will clean the primmer pockets and insides like these SS pins. As suggested by others, check for stuck pins in the flash holes. If sizing before cleaning, pistol cases will not be a problem because you are probably using a carbided sizer. However if cleaning a rifle case that requires sizing lube, take notice! Be sure to use a water soluble sizing lube. A petroleum based lube will not allow the pins to make surface contact with the brass, and will create a slick mess that is extremely hard to clean off. Also I have noticed that if I am to generous with the dawn, the brass does not clean as quick or completely. Just a couple of table spones full is enough. This process worked so well that I sized and retumbled my complete brass collection (about ten 5 gallon buckets full). I even experimented with brass from the range that had been stomped in the mud and left for several years. They were completely black. After polishing, you can't tell them from cleaned once fired pieces. So far I have just about worn the rubber drive bushings off of my two tumbler's tumblers. To sum it up, yes I have and will continue to recommend this product! I have never had a process to come close to the finish that this media accomplish.

Wow! This does not make the cases look like they been polished, it makes them look like new cases. I used a rotory tumbler and added water and a little dish soap and tumbled them for 2 hours. It is a little expensive but you don't have to buy corn cob or walnut media and polishing liquid any more.

I specifically ordered this cleaning media to review for my blog fans and followers. I have been reloading for a little over two years now and have a good amount of experience with brass prep. To me, brass prep can be one of the most important steps of the reloading process. Up to this point, cleaning the brass was always the part about brass prep that I dis-liked the most. I have used both rotary and vibratory tumblers with all different types of cleaning media. Corncob, walnut, pet bedding and wet medias are just a few of the types of cleaning media that I have tried and used to get that dirty brass clean. Most cleaning media on the market today has a short life especially when being used with really soiled and dirty brass. A few uses and you gotta toss it out and spend money to buy more. In addition to the media, often times I found myself adding polish or some type of additive to make the brass shine like new, even after cleaning the media. Really? All this just to clean brass? If you like your brass to all be uniformed and if you have pride in your work, then yes. Well I slowly started seeing posts and pictures on several firearms forums of a newer type of cleaning media, stainless steel media. I decided to give it a shot as everything I heard about it was nothing but positive. When I first got the media, I was not really sure about it or how it worked, so the best way to find out was to use it! Because I had done my research prior to ordering and using the media, I knew a few hints and tips from the start. DO NOT USE THIS MEDIA DRY. If you use it dry it will create a nasty dust that will be hard to clean up and you will do more work to clean everything up, than doing it right the first time. After scouring the net, I found that most reloaders use some type of dish soap, hard water remover and water. I tried a few methods, as I wanted the absolute best results for my brass. I found a very simple solution for a way to clean the brass everytime. Using the RCBS Sidewinder tumbler, I simply add one gallon of very hot water into the drum, add the brass, stainless steel media, one tablespoon of Dawn dish soap and a 1/4 packet of Lemi-Shine. I then allow the brass to tumble for four hours or maybe longer for extremely soiled brass. The stainless steel media are very small diameter steel rods that roll around outside and inside the brass. They are also small enough to get into the primer pocket and clean it out. I recommend resizing and depriming the brass first, that way the cleaning media can be used to its full potential. After using this media, I can say that I have never seen any other media get the brass as clean as it does. I will never use any other type of media again. I have cleaned several large batches of brass and the end result is always the same...extremely clean brass inside and out. Granted the inside of the brass will usually not get as clean as the outside do the nature of what happens inside when a case is fired, but the inside looks nice and shiny! You have to try this media. Cleaning up after is fairly simple, although I do recommend some sort of 5 gallon bucket and attachable sifter which makes it easier. Only one down side to this media is that it cannot be used in vibratory tumblers. You gotta get this media and try it, you will be amazed!

It doesn't get any better or easier to perfectly clean brass cases. Follow the instructions that come with a Thumbler's Tumbler. Very hot water, ABUNDANT amount of dish soap and you can cut the cleaning time to 30-40 minutes. Rinse with hot water and softener. Be careful with certain manufacturer's cases. I have pitted some of the sides of some cases in one instance. Do not use on Nickle Plated Cases. The biggest CON is that it will ding up the case mouth a little so you will need to touch them up. Not a big deal. Otherwise it will definitely make reloading much more fun!

Fewer hassles with this media, resilient. Effective for cleaning and polishing brass before reloading. Complete and thoroughly cleaned and polished brass when used in a good tumbler, with a good detergent and a good water softener. Top quality and the best way to go, can not imagine anything better.