Last updated on November 17th, 2025 at 03:03 pm
PARTS CLEANING AND OTHER SUPPLIES
Your finishing process is only as good as the supplies that power it. Whether you’re deburring, polishing, burnishing, or drying, the right media makes all the difference between a mediocre result and a finished part you’re proud of. We stock a full range of tumbling media and cleaning supplies, from natural materials like walnut shells and corn cob to engineered ceramics, plastics, and steel, each designed for specific applications and results. The key is matching the right medium to your process. Not sure where to start? That’s exactly what our experts are here for.
“Provisions”
The action of providing or supplying something for use.
Just like supplying food for the body, finishing and cleaning processes need “food,” or consumable supplies, to be able to work or function. Parts cleaning is no different than cleaning your dishes at home. Would you wash your dirty dinner plates in just water? Soap does help and rinsing agents remove spots.
Consumable parts cleaning supplies are important because many processes dictate them to achieve and maintain a result. For example, deburring media is like a little particularly-shaped grinding wheel that needs to be dressed to be able to work along with they are made to wear away at a certain rate.
One of the reasons we stress our consulting services and sample part processing is because, with so many industries and applications, there are many different mediums for all the various applications and processes.
Call them what you want, (rock, stones, tumbling media), but all production machines run on one or more of the many supply items available. Different grades and compositions are also available for rough-cut to burnished finishes. Many shapes and sizes of each composition are available. General ceramic media is approximately 85 to 95 lbs./cu. ft., while plastic ranges from 52 to 95 lbs./cu. ft.
Selecting the Right Media
From all of the various selections of tumbling media, whether it would be a pre-formed shape, random sizing combinations or mined aggregate, always beware of media lodging or sticking in part(s). If you can place it in the part and it sticks, it will likely get lodged in the finishing machine process.
Ceramic and Plastic Media
Each type of parts cleaning supply and medium has a definite purpose. For example, ceramic media is denser and more aggressive, ideal for heavy deburring and faster material removal, while plastic media is lighter and gentler, better suited for delicate parts or achieving finer finishes without surface damage.
Steel Ball Burnishing
This is as close to a chrome or buffed polished shine as is achievable in a mass mechanical finishing process.
300-plus lbs. per cubic foot is enough weight to smooth out the hills and valleys on the part’s surface to bring up reflectability. Reflectability is how light is reflected off the part’s surface, or its “shine factor.”
Natural and Specialty Media
Natural media like walnut shells and corn cob maize can do light deburring, polishing or drying.
Specialty options include wood pegs, tacks, rubber, and other soft materials for applications where you need a gentler touch.
Contact us today to find the right media for your specific application. Our experts are here to help you select the best solution for your finishing process.