has anyone had brass so tarnish that a stainless steel wet tumbler could not get to shine
tarnish brass
- Thread starter crystalgayleguy
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J E Custom
Well-Known Member
The finish after SS tumbling is going to be different than a vibratory polish will produce and this is normal.
I have used 3 or 4 methods for different reasons and have settled on clean instead of shinny because of the benefits of through cleaning.
I would rate the SS tumbling as the best way because it cleans the inside and out side the best, Ultra sonic is in my opinion the second best at cleaning and the easiest to do, especially in small batches.
The vibratory method only polishes the outside of the case and for some reason it doesn't clean the inside. It also uses polish with the media that can be harmful to the barrel bore if not totally removed from the inside of the case. To do this requires another step that normally requires a solvent of some sort. If this step is not performed, barrel wear will be accelerated from abrasives being blasted down the barrel because it will combine with the powder charge and abrade the bore at a faster rate. It does look better, but after many years and improved ways of cleaning it has become my least used method because of the residual material difficulty to be removed and the lack of cleaning.
The only time that there is an advantage to vibratory polishing is if you are trying to sell some used brass and make it look good. I wont buy any brass that has been polished unless i know the person and his reputation for honesty because it is very hard to tell how many firings it has actually seen.
The last method I use is the steel wool. it only cleans the outside and is time consuming. It is sometimes a good way to remove corrosion before tumbling
and is good for very small batches. In my opinion it is the only way to clean loaded cartridges.
Shinny looks good, but clean "is" good so don't worry about getting the brass shinny, just clean.
Just my opinion
J E CUSTOM
I have used 3 or 4 methods for different reasons and have settled on clean instead of shinny because of the benefits of through cleaning.
I would rate the SS tumbling as the best way because it cleans the inside and out side the best, Ultra sonic is in my opinion the second best at cleaning and the easiest to do, especially in small batches.
The vibratory method only polishes the outside of the case and for some reason it doesn't clean the inside. It also uses polish with the media that can be harmful to the barrel bore if not totally removed from the inside of the case. To do this requires another step that normally requires a solvent of some sort. If this step is not performed, barrel wear will be accelerated from abrasives being blasted down the barrel because it will combine with the powder charge and abrade the bore at a faster rate. It does look better, but after many years and improved ways of cleaning it has become my least used method because of the residual material difficulty to be removed and the lack of cleaning.
The only time that there is an advantage to vibratory polishing is if you are trying to sell some used brass and make it look good. I wont buy any brass that has been polished unless i know the person and his reputation for honesty because it is very hard to tell how many firings it has actually seen.
The last method I use is the steel wool. it only cleans the outside and is time consuming. It is sometimes a good way to remove corrosion before tumbling
and is good for very small batches. In my opinion it is the only way to clean loaded cartridges.
Shinny looks good, but clean "is" good so don't worry about getting the brass shinny, just clean.
Just my opinion
J E CUSTOM
I've had some tarnished brass that my vibrating tumbler would not remove with new walnut shell media would not take off; don't have a pin tumbler yet. I've also encountered green corrosion on my cases due to forgetting them in a leather cartridge carried. I use a product called "NevrDull" and my drill press. I hand chuck the base of the brass in the chuck, turn the press on and clean the brass with the product's cloth treated material, and then wipe with a clean rag while the brass is still turning in the chuck. I have found that hand tightening the brass is key, it doesn't take much pressure for this to work. I polish as much of the the top half, turn the brass over and repeat the process. Again.....key to this process is to remember "only" hand tight a lot of pressure is "not" necessary and will collapse the case if too much is applied. With this product the brass comes out looking better than new.
Nimrodmar10
Well-Known Member
"It also uses polish with the media that can be harmful to the barrel bore if not totally removed from the inside of the case."
What do you base this theory on? I'm curious because I've been using vibratory cleaners for a very long time and have never had a problem with any premature barrel wear
What do you base this theory on? I'm curious because I've been using vibratory cleaners for a very long time and have never had a problem with any premature barrel wear
J E Custom
Well-Known Member
I once made the mistake of shooting my 45/120 and did not place them in soapy water when I got home from the range and several weeks later, discovered spots that looked like cancer. so I placed them in the SS Tumbler to clean them up only to find out that they had eaten all the way through in some places. Powder is/may be very corrosive in the right environment and should be cleaned as soon as possible.
I lost 20 expensive and hard to find cartridge cases buy being lazy (No more). This is also the reason I clean my barrels often. (Another subject)
J E CUSTOM
I lost 20 expensive and hard to find cartridge cases buy being lazy (No more). This is also the reason I clean my barrels often. (Another subject)
J E CUSTOM
338 rum
a friend told me to dip the brass in ketchup and let set for about an hour wash it off and retumbo it worked thanks to the ones who answered
me thinks that is the vineger acid in the ketchup.
good luck on your search.
I too like shinny brass,
but not required to function well.
your decision on what to do.
ss pins or fine ground corn cob and NUFINISH car polish is what I have heard for tarnish.
I too like shinny brass,
but not required to function well.
your decision on what to do.
ss pins or fine ground corn cob and NUFINISH car polish is what I have heard for tarnish.
I've had some pretty tarnished brass clean up pretty well with SS pins, primarily some old 348 Win rounds that I wanted to "rescue".
I find that the amount of Lemishine has an affect on the coloration/finish of the brass, but in general the dawn dish soap and a 9mm case of Lemishine gives me the best shine.
I find that the amount of Lemishine has an affect on the coloration/finish of the brass, but in general the dawn dish soap and a 9mm case of Lemishine gives me the best shine.
