I am building a large vibratory tumbler similar to what unabiker has and need it for polishing steel. I need to do a few steel motorcycle frames for chrome plating.
What medias would be the best to get it from sandblasted to preplate(or I dont mind doing a color buff I just would like to cut out around 80% of the hand work)?
Would ceramic triangles, then plastic triangles(with soapy water)followed by corncob(soaked in metal polish then dried) leave me in good shape? Anybody?

I did a little tumbling for jewelery , didn't much like the results for the application. IMO there is not many good subs for color buff at all. Your plan sounds good in principal, but personally I would check with a couple of "experienced" media vendors to verify.

there 's my free advice for what it's worth.

I have been deburing part's on a smaller scale for most of two years started with a homemade bowl made out of a wide tire on the rim with a motor mounted in the center with a counter weight on the shaft and the legs mounted on rurer mounts now I have a two cf. tub type Ive used ceramic triangles on steal it work's well but a large quonity gets heavy I think you need almost three times the volume of meida as the frame would take up I have used lava rock from the home store it goes away fast but it is agressive thirty min. or so will strip the milscale off of hot roled steal you will want to use some kind of liquid to help wash the meida away something with a rust inhibiter would be good plastic work's best ol Aluminum . Good luck

Looks like its going to cost me around $600 in media alone. The machine $100(I already have most of it laying around)any way not going to do it at that cost. Ordered the greaseless sanding compounds and wheels from caswell yesterday and going to do it with the buffer. Thanks anyway folx.

Last week I managed to scrounge a used tumbler from the local Acklands store here, it's maybe 12"x18"x18" internally. It's a rotating square box with maybe 75 lbs of what looks like 3/16 stainless rod cut at around a 45 degree angle, each piece is maybe 1/2" long overall. It's in an enclosed half barrel that used to have varsol to keep the media clean and wash away grit and cleanings, etc. They used to use it to clean up connecting rods and similar small parts back when they used to rebuild motors 'in store', probably twenty years ago..
It hadn't been used since then, and when I was in getting a serpentine belt to upgrade on old South Bend lathe, I saw it under a pile of lumber in a corner..
Price was right, 'get that junk out of here now if you want it'

couldn't ask for better...:)

enjoy

Valddy
You got a deal that size for the automotive ind is around $1500.00 I have one a little smaller with the media you discribed use it to clean bolt"s valve spring's And pushrod's I have a tub finisher {Top Line}Ive never tried the ceramic in the rotery .I have several supplers of media If i can find an address I will PM you I always like the Get it out of here deal's my last one was a large waste oil furnace carry on Kevin

Not sure what I will use it for, but will probably come in handy to clean up some really badly corroded wrenches [helped a guy acid clean a pressure washer heater coil with hydrochloric acid], I don't think they will come real clean, but may not draw blood when you use them after..:)..

For small parts I just use my reloader case polisher with corn cob media, slow but gives a nice polish on most things, limited capacity though..

I think I may still have maybe 100 lbs of some kind of ?carbide? slivers, never used them so not sure what they will do, heavy though for maybe three gallaons of them..