how to get that super shiney factory finish on my brass?

As to "why," -- EASY!!! -- I had a new toy to try! I wanted to make some cases nice and purdy [sic]. I did. And now I can take the short-cut.

Q

Red Rouge

Reading this thread, I purchased some "Red Rouge" and added about a teaspoon full to my media. And yes, it -does- make the brass shine!

Now, here is the question though. I notice that a very thin layer of Red Rouge dust coats the inside of the cases. Fair to assume this is going to have little/no effect on the powder charge and that this stuff is not abrasive enough to have any effect on my bore?

kerosene and corncob after walnut with mineral spirits. Won't tarnish, I've got rounds 5 years old that look like new.

1858Rem wrote: "im not too big on ebay, any store you know of where to find it or what its intended for? is it car polish or something for jewelry polish?"

Midway USA has it. They call Jeweller's Rouge and can be found at http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?productnumber=946226. A large jar that will probably last ten or more years. I have used it without any ill effects.

wheres the brass

load the tumbler up & start summtin else & forget it for 3 days , wait till that happens
nuttin to add to good replys but a little ribbin

GP100man

I always tumble my brass in walnut first, followed by corn cob, with a bit of NuFinish both times.

Last week, I was setting up for the corn cob polush, and couldn't find the NuFinish! Looking around the shop, I found a container of 'Mother's Plastic Polish', and decided to try it. The cases came out looking better than with NuFinish! This was after about two hours in the corn cob.

I suspect that the plastic polish has a finer grit abrasive, hence the brighter, mirror-like shine. Oh, the plastic polish is also great for rejuvenating your platic shooting/sunglasses.

Has anyone else tried Mother's for case polishing?

I use wallnut hull media from PetSmart and a tablespoon of Simonize white polishing compound. It gets my brass clean and the shine is good enough for my purposes. I don't worry about having super-shiny brass but if that turns your crank, then enjoy.

Do you know where it can be bought locally? Or is it something you'd have to find online?

lizard bedin is available at most any good pet store & the bigger the bag the cheaper.

GP100man

"some powdered red rouge ... any store you know of where to find it or what its intended for? ... jewelry polish?"

You can buy small cakes of red rouge from any hardware store that carries polishing wheels (fabric). I got a bar from Lowe's for something like $4. Scrap off a half teaspoon full into your cob media, the finest grit you can get, as needed.

Most people seem to use FAR more "polish" than needed, that's why they have to resort to putting bits of loose weave paper in the tumbler to catch the excess dry polish and then toss it out. Adding an ounce of Mineral Spirits from time to time does sorta rejuvinate polish and helps hold down dusting too.

Shiney brass is eye candy trivia, no more. And the shine won't last long before that glittery surface oxidizes again anyway.

I've dropped back to using plain walnut, no polish.

+2 to what Ala Dan said as long as they are clean who cares they are just gonna get nasty again.

I jump back and forth on this subject. Some days I'll throw the cases in the tumbler add some nufinish and be done with the whole thing. Load them up as shiney as they come out.

Some days, I'll let them go for a night, load them up, and then when they are all finished chuck them into the lee drill adapter and get a foam piece and some polish and REALLY shine them up.

I do that more to impress my friends or people at the range. There's something about seeing a rifle and a guy with super shiney ammo... moreso for the kids.

thoughts about tumbling vs vibrating?
http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=169056

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWDM...owthread.php?t=169056&feature=player_embedded


I did upgrade to ball bearings from fleabay @ $8 ea

My 9mm brass is very shiny, after a half hour in any media. I use nickel plated brass

Why do I want shiny brass? It's only going to get dirty again. That's like saying "Why change your socks, they're only going to get stinky again!" There is such a thing as pride in what you do.

1858rem
shiny is easer to find on the ground than "camo brass" lol

Click to expand...

See, I always knew there was a practical reason why I was shining them up so much!

There is an NRA publication called "Handloading" (My copy was published in 1981 and I believe it has been updated.) that has articles called "Cleaning Cartridge Cases" (Pages 75-77) and "Washing Cartridge Cases" (Page 91).

The cleaning article mentions the use and building of tumblers as well as the use of chemicals such as sulfuric acid, citric acid and a home brew of vinegar and salt. I have used a 5% solution of citric acid (Anhydrous ctiric acid was very inexpensive - haven't purchased any recently) and it produces a clean case with a moderate shine for those who care more about functional clean rather than the showroom new look. Of course, you know I do that before I tumble 'em!

The washing article suggests using the dishwasher and Cascade dishwashing detergent. I've done this and it really gets them clean (not shiney), but the brass feels very dry and I felt increased resisitance in the sizing die if I didn't tumble them first.

Great ideas, and great site!

I'm a relative newbie and do have a question about the Nu-Finish'ed (is that a word) cases...they feel slick as heck. More-so then after being lubed...so do you still need to lube them before resizing? That's for straight walled and bottleneck cases?

Posted in wrong thread...Deleted

Maybe it is bragging rights but I like my ammo looking top shelf. But then again, only I have to be satisfied with the fruit of my labor.

LGB