Author Topic: Clean Brass (Read 1716 times)

huntducks · « **on:** March 21, 2012, 02:20:07 PM »

I have been using a mixture of 3 things in my 2 Vib. cleaners and my brass comes out great, but I finely ran out of 1 component dupont chrome polish, I had bought a bunch years ago at a swap meet for cheep, well I figured i'll just drop into autozone and pick up a few more, they only had turtle wax brand, well to make a long story short this crap does not work, I think you could drink it without hurting you, I should have know better it said new improved formula, that usully means EPA banned something.

Here is a picture of my brass with the old mixture that ran for 4hrs, the new mixture went for 24 and it's still dull looking.

MSP Ret · « **Reply #1 on:** March 21, 2012, 02:57:41 PM »

It seems nothing is as good as it used to be. Once the government starts sticking thier nose in where they should not, things go to heck....<><....

Ranch13 · « **Reply #2 on:** March 21, 2012, 03:27:22 PM »

Just stop by the local hardware store and get a bottle of Brasso, or Flitz, about a table spoon full in corncob works great.

Tom W. · « **Reply #3 on:** March 27, 2012, 02:26:04 PM »

Brasso has ammonia in it, not a good thing for firearm brass. Great for belt buckles, though..

Ranch13 · « **Reply #4 on:** March 27, 2012, 03:44:42 PM »

You could soak brass in a barrel full of Brasso and not hurt it the ammonia content is so low.
I and others have been using brasso for decades in the corncob media and haven't had brass go bad from it yet.

swifty22 · « **Reply #5 on:** March 27, 2012, 05:43:41 PM »

Remember the NRA formula IIRC- 1 Tbs salt. 1 cup vinegar, 1 lg squirt Dawn dishwashing det. and about 1 gallon of hot water, shake a lot ( 1 minute) w/cases in it then pour the liquid into another jug and rinse cases 2-3 times in hot water then dry (use 10mm/40 cal plastic holder's from ammo boxes and set them to dry in the sun/on the hot water tank ect.)). Burnished look, not polished bright but quicker than a tumbler and biodegradable/cheap and very clean, can use it 3-4 times till it gets medium blue-Muddy

Tom W. · « **Reply #6 on:** March 28, 2012, 12:43:14 PM »

Quote from: Ranch13 on March 27, 2012, 03:44:42 PM

You could soak brass in a barrel full of Brasso and not hurt it the ammonia content is so low.
I and others have been using brasso for decades in the corncob media and haven't had brass go bad from it yet.

Do as you like. I won't be doing it...

Ranch13 · « **Reply #7 on:** March 28, 2012, 01:35:27 PM »

Quote from: Tom W. on March 28, 2012, 12:43:14 PM

Quote from: Ranch13 on March 27, 2012, 03:44:42 PM
You could soak brass in a barrel full of Brasso and not hurt it the ammonia content is so low.
I and others have been using brasso for decades in the corncob media and haven't had brass go bad from it yet.

Do as you like. I won't be doing it...

Sounds like a plan to me.

Larry L · « **Reply #8 on:** March 28, 2012, 04:42:36 PM »

Using the Brasso is not going to hurt the brass as the ammonia content is less than 3%. Considering you are using a tablespoon, that's so little ammonia that by the time you get the brasso mixed on the media the ammonia has pretty much evaporated.
A lot of folks are using car polishes to clean their brass. Some of these can be okay and some are not the smartest thing you can use. A lot use the chrome polish but have no clue why it works. Hint: it's base carrier is Stoddard Solvent. Some use Nu Finish but it comes with microceramics that are bonded to the brass and act as a lubricant when the round is in the chamber. Nope, the gun is probably not going to blow up but bolt thrust is increased dramatically and the maker warns not to use it on any surface that can't have the additional slick added. Hint: base carrier is Stoddard Solvent. Anybody getting the idea here yet? Brasso is another Stoddard Solvent carrier type polish. You also have folks using mineral spirits and achieving the same results as any of the above. It's an obvious solvent.
If just wanting the brass clean with some shine, 1 cup of vinegar with a teaspoon of Dawn in a gallon of warm water works fabulous. If it's nasty brass, use 2 cups vinegar. I buy my 9% vinegar from Walmart and a gallon is cheap. All you need to do is rinse well, put the brass in any kind of heat resistant container and put in the over at 150F for 20 minutes, allow it to cool, and it's ready to load.

And obviously nobody has to use any of these. If you have a "system" and it works for you- keep on keepin' on.

Ranch13 · « **Reply #9 on:** March 28, 2012, 05:45:53 PM »

Larry I like SimpleGreen for knocking the crud loose from cases. I've also found it to work well in both the Hornady Ultra Sonic and the Thumblers Tumbler using ceramic media.
One of my bpcr shooting pardners uses Oxyclean to take the fouling from his fired cases at a match, then he takes them home and polishes them in the tumblers. That Oxyclean really boils and has a fit, but it sure knocks the crud off.

Lloyd Smale · « **Reply #10 on:** March 28, 2012, 11:37:53 PM »

Ive used a bit of brasso in my tumbler for over 30 years and have never seen it hurt a thing. For brass thats not to tarnished and just needs cleaning/shinning i use new polish car wax.

ratdog · « **Reply #11 on:** March 31, 2012, 10:04:34 PM »

loyd tried the the new car polish trick works good.

Don Fischer · « **Reply #12 on:** April 02, 2012, 05:36:54 AM »

I love this stuff. Americans just want prettier even if it isn't better. When I started we didn't have case cleamers like we do today. A lot of the cases we used would appall most reloaders today. But the stuff still shot very well! Best case cleaner I ever used was 0000 steel wool. I'd wrap a bit around a wire cleaning brush of the right cal and hold another piece in my hand. The brush was chucked up in an electric drill, today it would be important to use a 16V cordless drill, and turned on and run into the case neck. The case itself was held in my left hand. Tighten the hold just a bit and the brush spun inside the case and cleaned the inside of the neck great! Lighten up and the brush would turn the whole case in my hand. My hand kept the 0000steel wool from spining and the case spun in it. Took just a moment and the case looked better than new! Today I just throw them in a vibrating cleaned with walnut shell for an hour or so and call it good! I think there's a difference between clean and polished cases, either work well!

nitesite · « **Reply #13 on:** April 14, 2012, 12:17:31 PM »

Tumble in crushed walnut for 1-hour. Then size/decap. Then soak 1-hour in LemiShine and water, then rinse really (really) well and completely dry in the sun. Te-tumble in treated corn cob for 1-hour.

It looks like 18-karat gold in a lighted jewelery case. Brighter than anything else I've ever seen. It's the most amazing thing.

That's if I want to get really anal about what my ammo looks like.

wncchester · « **Reply #14 on:** April 15, 2012, 12:54:21 PM »

"Clean" cases are helpful. Glittery cases are meaningless fluff that are going to tarnish anyway.

nitesite · « **Reply #15 on:** April 15, 2012, 06:44:34 PM »

I agree with that statement. But knowing how to make brass really put on the shine isn't all that bad, especially if you are selling/trading it. And I've done the polishing process I described "just for myself" many times just 'cuz I wanted to, had the time, and said "what the hell'.

But you are basically correct!

gypsyman · « **Reply #16 on:** April 16, 2012, 08:11:46 AM »

I always figured that it was easier to see cracks and splits in the neck and shoulder when it was clean. That, and function in a semi-auto. Looking nice is a side benifit to me. gypsyman

ratdog · « **Reply #17 on:** April 26, 2012, 08:20:56 PM »

i never polished my cases for last 40 year my wife bought me tumbler last year OK but the media likes to get stuck in the flash hole and it likes to mess up decaping pins .i have to thump them before sizing on bench.cases look nice but that's it.

Steve P · « **Reply #18 on:** April 27, 2012, 02:01:33 AM »

I picked up one of the ultrasonic cleaners. Takes the heavy residue off brass, cylinders, and other gun parts. Still have to throw the brass in the tumbler afterward to get it shiny, but plenty clean to load If I wanted to.

Auto waxes will put a shine on the case. Auto polishes will put a shine on them also, but do contain abrasives. Any pit or ding in a case will retain those abravises and take it into your reloading dies. Not a big deal, unless it builds up.....Need to keep your reloading dies clean too if using some of these things in the tumbler.

Steve

geezerbiker · « **Reply #19 on:** April 27, 2012, 01:06:02 PM »

Years ago Ed Harris posted to use A couple ounces of Ed's Red bore cleaner in a tumbler full of media. Then run the tumbler for a few hours or however long it takes for it to not be clumpy before adding brass. I usually ran it for 4 hours then let it sit overnight before tumbling brass.

I found this cleaned the cases really well and if I wanted them to shine, I would change the media and use some Midway brass polish. Most of the time I'm more than happy with clean. Back when I first got into reloading my cases looked like crap but shot well. So I'm not sure how much any of this is needed...

Tony

huntducks · « **Reply #20 on:** April 28, 2012, 07:21:51 AM »

I doubt if any of this is needed but I have always hated dirty sticky cases.

rdlange · « **Reply #21 on:** April 28, 2012, 08:30:43 AM »

So I tried the NRA cleaner... left the cases in for awhile, not overnight. They got very clean, not exactly bright. Enough to see neck and do annealing.