Vibratory Tumblers

The Quick, Easy Way to Clean and Shine Small Parts


The best kept secret for restoring rusted and tarnished parts, as any professional auto restorer will tell you, is a vibratory tumbler. It’s how OEMs produce a hi-luster finish on small parts. In fact, vibratory tumblers are used by the jewelry industry for polishing precious metals and gems, in large part because they are six times faster than rotary-style tumblers!


So don’t damage hard-to-find, small components with an abrasive blaster, wire wheel, or wire brush. Eastwood takes the worry out of cleaning up small parts with custom-tailored Vibratory Tumbler Kits.  

How do you choose the correct tumbler and media? First, determine the number and size of the parts you want to restore. For parts up to 7” long, choose our 5-lb. Vibratory Tumbler Kit or choose our 18-lb. Vibratory Tumbler Kit for up to 10” long parts. Next determine the media to use. The Vibratory Tumbler Media, plus time, will determine the level of brightness you achieve.


Here are some basic guidelines for successful parts finishing that's as easy as 1-2-3...just follow a few easy rules:

1. The parts-to-media mix ratio should be approximately 70% media to 30% parts.


2. Use the right amount of water when using wet-process media. Too much water hampers vibratory action. The media should be wet, with no standing water in the bowl.


3. Periodically check the progress. Stop when the desired finish has been achieved.

Tip: Add a teaspoon of Metal Wash to wet tumbling media for improved cleaning action.


The material you are cleaning and polishing determines the finishing media you need. Vibratory tumblers are for small parts made of aluminum, brass, copper, stainless steel, steel, or plastics. Eastwood has chosen our media carefully for very fine surface conditioning.


Eastwood’s plastic media are used in precision metal industries. The fine surface finishes achieved in tumbling are ideal for pre-plate, pre-anodize, or decorative polishing. Eastwood’s plastic media provide excellent surface contact for thorough surface refinement with little user involvement. Use over and over again until totally depleted.


For medium cutting action, choose brown pyramid media


For light cutting action, choose green pyramid media


For a hi-luster, choose Dri-Shine® corncob-based media impregnated with a proprietary polishing compound.