Cape Cod Polishing Cloth or Toothpaste to Polish Brass

C

CQB45ACP

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Recently we’ve discussed a number of products to use or not use when hand polishing brass.

For those interested in ammonia-free products we know there is Flitz liquid but not their tube polish. Of course there are others.

I’ve posted again a picture of the results of my test using toothpaste. It beats Flitz. I’m serious. It was especially quick and just rinses off BUT of course there is no lasting protection from tarnishing. But no ammonia either.

Another picture is of the Cape Cod polishing cloth package. By email this AM the mfr told me it’s ammonia free.

I tried the cloth and it’s kind of like Never Dull in that it’s already impregnated with a polish. Works very well but a little messier. Does not appear to have any abrasives.

So, FWIW, 1) toothpaste 2) Cape Cod

425CC6A3-E793-41EA-B2EE-F1F791DDDA89.jpeg
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Have you ever tried making your own impregnated cloths by rubbing a block of compound into a cotton rag?

I have some white oxide and red oxide rouge blocks and they are pretty amazing when applied to cotton rag wheels, cloths, and Q-Tips. PM your addy again and I’ll send you some chunks to play with.
 
GeoDudeFlorida said:
Have you ever tried making your own impregnated cloths by rubbing a block of compound into a cotton rag?

I have some white oxide and red oxide rouge blocks and they are pretty amazing when applied to cotton rag wheels, cloths, and Q-Tips. PM your addy again and I’ll send you some chunks to play with.
Click to expand...
Oh boy another side project to chase down the reloading rabbit hole. I actually have some rouge I bought to use with my bench grinder—thick sticks of various colors—only used them a couple times.
 
CQB45ACP said:
Oh boy another side project to chase down the reloading rabbit hole. I actually have some rouge I bought to use with my bench grinder—thick sticks of various colors—only used them a couple times.
Click to expand...
Same stuff. You can rub into the grain of a cotton rag and use it to polish by hand. It doesn’t need rotation to work, just heat friction and pressure. Body heat is enough and you don’t actually need to rub that hard. One of the “cheats” you learn working in a machine shop. ;)
 
The fear of ammonia is quite over blown. The amount of ammonia exposure required to cause meaningful brittleness/stress cracking in brass is quite high and requires prolonged exposure to high concentrations of ammonia gas. Using Brasso or Flitz etc on brass fixings is perfectly safe. There are better ways to polish cartridge brass, so ammonia exposure shouldn’t be an issue there.
 
CQB45ACP said:
Recently we’ve discussed a number of products to use or not use when hand polishing brass.

For those interested in ammonia-free products we know there is Flitz liquid but not their tube polish. Of course there are others.

I’ve posted again a picture of the results of my test using toothpaste. It beats Flitz. I’m serious. It was especially quick and just rinses off BUT of course there is no lasting protection from tarnishing. But no ammonia either.

Another picture is of the Cape Cod polishing cloth package. By email this AM the mfr told me it’s ammonia free.

I tried the cloth and it’s kind of like Never Dull in that it’s already impregnated with a polish. Works very well but a little messier. Does not appear to have any abrasives.

So, FWIW, 1) toothpaste 2) Cape Cod

View attachment 1144430
View attachment 1144431
Click to expand...
Sorry if I missed your previously posted thread. What kind of toothpaste? Their formulations obviously aren't all the same.
 
Roverguy said:
The fear of ammonia is quite over blown. The amount of ammonia exposure required to cause meaningful brittleness/stress cracking in brass is quite high and requires prolonged exposure to high concentrations of ammonia gas. Using Brasso or Flitz etc on brass fixings is perfectly safe. There are better ways to polish cartridge brass, so ammonia exposure shouldn’t be an issue there.
Click to expand...
Maybe yes, maybe no but that’s not the point here. That was discussed on another thread just two days ago.
 
CQB45ACP said:
Crest. I did it as a lark and it was unbelievable.
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Thanks. I have heard of toothpaste being used as a mild polishing compound before. Makes sense. Now I'm going to have to do some testing to see which ones work better or are more aggressive. Colgate seems like it has a little more abrasive material in it than Crest whereas Aquafresh looks like it has less.
 
CQB45ACP said:
Crest. I did it as a lark and it was unbelievable.
Click to expand...

Crest (or other toothpaste) works to clean a yellowed plastic headlight lens too. Will polish up like new if you need to get through a state safety inspection. Downside is it will remove the clear protectant film on that plastic headlight, and the light will yellow again in a month or two.

Not to start you down a rabbit hole, but why don't you try polishing brass with several different products and post before and after results. Maybe very fine sandpaper (1000 grit), steel wool, etc..., and post before and after pics. Could be pretty interesting. You seem to enjoy the process, and you could just do a single piece (or two) using each method.

I will admit that I would actually enjoy seeing how different people polish brass, and the different methods and products they use.

chris
 
ballman6711 said:
Crest (or other toothpaste) works to clean a yellowed plastic headlight lens too. Will polish up like new if you need to get through a state safety inspection. Downside is it will remove the clear protectant film on that plastic headlight, and the light will yellow again in a month or two.

Not to start you down a rabbit hole, but why don't you try polishing brass with several different products and post before and after results. Maybe very fine sandpaper (1000 grit), steel wool, etc..., and post before and after pics. Could be pretty interesting. You seem to enjoy the process, and you could just do a single piece (or two) using each method.

I will admit that I would actually enjoy seeing how different people polish brass, and the different methods and products they use.

chris
Click to expand...
Thanks for the tasking, but Elite closes for good in a little over two weeks and I’m going to be shooting up a storm.
 
I once polished the lockwork on a S&W revolver with Crest. I removed the side plate and filled it up with Crest. I laid it on the counter and gave it a dozen squeezes everytime I walked by or thought about it. Don't laugh, it worked!
 
lightman said:
I once polished the lockwork on a S&W revolver with Crest. I removed the side plate and filled it up with Crest. I laid it on the counter and gave it a dozen squeezes everytime I walked by or thought about it. Don't laugh, it worked!
Click to expand...
That’s pretty amazing really. Can you imagine what a great Crest commercial it would make?
 
CQB45ACP said:
Crest. I did it as a lark and it was unbelievable.
Click to expand...

The principle whitening agents in Crest are hydrogen peroxide and baking soda. You’re worried about ammonia, but bathing your firearm in hydrogen peroxide and baking soda. Not logical; but live long and prosper nonetheless.
 
Roverguy said:
The principle whitening agents in Crest are hydrogen peroxide and baking soda. You’re worried about ammonia, but bathing your firearm in hydrogen peroxide and baking soda. Not logical; but live long and prosper nonetheless.
Click to expand...
Who said I was worried about anything? Go read the other threads if you want argue with someone about ammonia and your scientific knowledge of the subject. Meanwhile, I’m polishing brass.
 
0000 steel wool is my long-time favorite, but until now I never dared discuss polishing cases by hand with anyone. With CQB's help, I feel much better now.:thumbup::):D
Enough better to add that the expensive bronze wool from Brownell's does little, as one might expect.
Edited to the more correct CQB. Sorry 'bout that...
 
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If you're hand polishing brass cases individually you either have too much time on your hands or every other aspect of the reloading process will take so long that you will produce maybe 10 rounds per hour.

Are you trimming the brass for consistent length?
Are you also sorting by headstamp?
Weight sorting brass to 0.02gr?
Measuring the charge weight to 0.02gr?
Weighing bullets to 0.02gr?
Weighing primers to 0.001gr?

How long would it take to polish my 5,000 pieces of 9mm?:eek:
I just threw them in the wet tumbler with some Dawn and Lemishine.
Good enough for me.
index.php
 
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thump_rrr said:
If you're hand polishing brass cases individually you either have too much time on your hands or every other aspect of the reloading process will take so long that you will produce maybe 10 rounds per hour.

Are you trimming the brass for consistent length?
Are you also sorting by headstamp?
Weight sorting brass to 0.02gr?
Measuring the charge weight to 0.02gr?
Weighing bullets to 0.02gr?
Weighing primers to 0.001gr?

How long would it take to polish my 5,000 pieces of 9mm?:eek:
I just threw them in the wet tumbler with some Dawn and Lemishine.
Good enough for me.
index.php
Click to expand...
And commenting on this thread takes up too much of your precious time too, am I wrong???

edit: excuse my snarky comment but it was also funny, yes?
 
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