Does SS media ever wear out?

[03psd]

I have been using my Extreme Tumbler Rebel 17 tumbler with good results but slowly my brass has been coming out less and less shiny. I have probably used it on maybe 2000 .308 cases (maybe 20 tumblers full) so far. I have tried cleaning just the media as the instructions state using Simple Green for 1 hour. It really doesnt appear to have made much of a difference. I did tumble a couple of 25mm OD painted steel cases to clean them up a bit. I dont know if that has worn out or dulled the SS media.I dont know how SS pins could "wear out" but there is a huge difference in how my brass used to look and how it comes out now. I use 3 tablespoons of Joy and 1/4 teaspoon of Lemishine since day 1. 3-4 hours run time. Suggestions please.

 

[Hawk in WY]

Tumble the pins only with Dawn and Lemshine and report back.

 

[03psd]

Tumble the pins only with Dawn and Lemshine and report back.

Alright. Done. 3 hours with Dawn and Lemishine only. Water was seriously greyish black when I dumped it out. I rinsed the media 4 times till the water was very clear and I couldnt see any signs of remaining soap.

 

[Hawk in WY]

Do that one more time or until the grayish black is gone and your pins will be like new.

Good luck.

 

[03psd]

Do that one more time or until the grayish black is gone and your pins will be like new.

Good luck.

When I first got this tumbler I wanted to see what it could do and threw in some really nasty 60 year old Isrealie brass that was almost completely dark brown. then when I tumbled the 25mm cases it removed a bunch of the OD paint. Im guessing this garbage I tumbled is what gummed up my pins. Needless to say, I am now just tumbling newer brass fired from my rifles that dont enven hit the dirt or brass I need to remove the sizing lube from. No more nasty brass.

 

[3rdfocal]

I've probably tumbled 3-4000 rounds with the same steel pins and they're still working like new. I use a harbor freight rock tumbler with a few ounces of water and a few drops of dawn for about 4 hours or so. I just wash the canister and pins out with fresh water a bit after taking the brass out. The ends of my pins are still really sharp looking, not dulled over. Seems like they'll last a very long time.