Is this ok for tarnished loaded ammo??

[fxvr5]

If you check or google the ingredients in Never Dull is states Ammonia, not much but some. All metal polish has ammonia in its list of ingredients. Not much but all metal polish has it.

Flitz brass tumbler polish/additive, designed specifically for brass, does not contain ammonia.

https://www.flitz.com/tumbler-media-additive/

 

[fxvr5]

They say that ammonia weakens the brass case, I can't see how that can happen, just my opinion.

Opinions aren't of much value here. Facts are. Check the facts.

Multiple resources advise against using compounds with ammonia on brass. Many brass polishing compounds used in this sport specifically state their product does not contain ammonia, because ammonia can harm the brass.

 

[Yankee1986]

Anybody else use/tried this?
So far, I'm not seeing much difference when I use it in the tumbler.
It did however, polish up some brass 12g shotshells very nicely.

 

[Walkalong]

"Not much ammonia" may be OK for a while, but how much would the brass be weakened after a year in storage?

I don't know, but a lot of us wiped the necks/shoulders of cases and wiped it off with a rag during Benchrest matches. We shot those cases over, and over, and over, and ...... a long time. Never seemed to be an issue. Then again, we shot tight necked chambers and worked the necks very little.

 

[Highland Lofts]

This is close to about beating a dead horse.

 

[CQB45ACP]

This is close to about beating a dead horse.

Gotta get down to the DNA

As long as it’s on topic and delivering what participants want, it’s a good one. Actually have some science!

 

[CQB45ACP]

Opinions aren't of much value here. Facts are. Check the facts.

Multiple resources advise against using compounds with ammonia on brass. Many brass polishing compounds used in this sport specifically state their product does not contain ammonia, because ammonia can harm the brass.

Partly true.

Opinions DO matter. Especially differing ones. That’s how better decisions are made—bad ones often avoided & so is group think. Didn’t we just go through a couple years of quashing opinions cause they were different?

For the past how many decades apparently most polishing compounds sold expressly to clean brass DO have ammonia. And they keep selling and selling well and brass still exists. Isn’t that amazing? Brass still exists!

I’m going back to my liquid Flitz w/o ammonia but still don’t mind reading differing opinions. Might also use One Shot but doesn’t seem to be as good. I’m talking about hand polishing not tumbling.

Oh the humanity!

 

[CQB45ACP]

Using Flitz liquid mostly, have just hand polished half of my most recent wet tumbled 45acp. Right hand pile are polished.

For a few I used Hornady polish which works but not nearly as well/quickly. I think it is ammonia free. Must have less abrasive material than the Flitz liquid which is also ammonia free.

Why even bother? To get rid of Sharpie shadow mostly.

Never Dull is much more convenient with its already wet tear off cotton material and less expensive than Flitz. But since sciency stuff has informed (not made) my opinion, I’ve decided to go ammonia free.

Does any of this improve performance? Nope! So what?

 

[Alllen Bundy]

There are two advantages to physically polishing brass. First, it can remove minor stress cracks in the surface of the brass shellcase and prevent the stress cracks from spreading. If you are not having any problems with cracked shellcases it might not make enough of a difference to make it worth the time to polish. But if you have had cracked shell cases it might be worth the time to physically polish the shellcases, especially if you are reloading self defense ammo.

Second, physically polishing the brass shellcases will reduce the force required to cycle the slide in a pistol. Not by a huge amount, but every bit of friction reduction helps.

There are plenty of scientific papers to show that ammonia can attack copper and brass and cause stress cracks. How severe the stress crack issue is probably depends on your polishing process. Do you do anything to ensure that all traces of the ammonia are removed? If after a chemical cleaning with an ammonia based product, you physically polish the brass, you will likely mitigate any potential stress cracking. How many times do you reload your shell cases? The more times you fire that shell case the greater the chance of a stress crack running completely through the brass shellcase.

I remember a friend from years ago that polished his brass shell cases in a vibratory polisher using walnut shells.

 

[CQB45ACP]

There are two advantages to physically polishing brass. First, it can remove minor stress cracks in the surface of the brass shellcase and prevent the stress cracks from spreading. If you are not having any problems with cracked shellcases it might not make enough of a difference to make it worth the time to polish. But if you have had cracked shell cases it might be worth the time to physically polish the shellcases, especially if you are reloading self defense ammo.

Second, physically polishing the brass shellcases will reduce the force required to cycle the slide in a pistol. Not by a huge amount, but every bit of friction reduction helps.

There are plenty of scientific papers to show that ammonia can attack copper and brass and cause stress cracks. How severe the stress crack issue is probably depends on your polishing process. Do you do anything to ensure that all traces of the ammonia are removed? If after a chemical cleaning with an ammonia based product, you physically polish the brass, you will likely mitigate any potential stress cracking. How many times do you reload your shell cases? The more times you fire that shell case the greater the chance of a stress crack running completely through the brass shellcase.

I remember a friend from years ago that polished his brass shell cases in a vibratory polisher using walnut shells.

I remove polish residue as frequently as possible—at the range.

 

[doubleh]

Throw it in the tumbler with some crushed walnut hulls and let it tumble for awhile to get it clean, then use. Your gun really doesn't care if the brass has a shiny or just a little dull finish.

 

[CQB45ACP]

Throw it in the tumbler with some crushed walnut hulls and let it tumble for awhile to get it clean, then use. Your gun really doesn't care if the brass has a shiny or just a little dull finish.

Not talking about tumbling. Not doing it for the gun.

 

[mdi]

The only brass I tumble to a shine is for my 30-06 Garand ammo and my 45 ACP ammo. Shiny brass is easier to find in the dirt, rocks, trash at the "range". I scored a bunch of nickel plated 45 ACP cases which are also easy to find. All my guns are color blind, but they can feel. So they prefer clean, grit and corrosion free ammo, regardless if the brass is brown or shiny, mirror finish gold colored...

 

[Carl N. Brown]

Ammonia is a gas, NH3 one nitrogen atom bonded to three hydrogen atoms,. Ammonia will dissolve in water and will evaporate.

Brass is not used in industrial tubing or valves that carry ammonia. Exposure to ammonia can remove the element tin from the brass alloy and the ammonia can bond to copper making a water soluble copper copound. Ammonia can weaken brass.

Brass used in bathroom fixtures that carry water is usually plated with chrome due to external exposure to ammonia from urine. (Historically brass cartridges stored near horse stables did show bad effect from ammonia exposure over time.)

My take is that long term exposure to ammonia is bad for brass.

When I clean brass after black powder cartridge matches using BP or BP substitutes, I usual have about 25 rifle and 20 pistol cases.
_ I decap and drop the cases in a half gallon container of water with dishwashing liquid
_ When the container is full I shake it up and pour the dark gray water off
_ I add some Brasso to my brass cleaning cloth (a formerly white athletic sock now sandy yellow)
_ I wipe each casing enough to remove tarnish from BP or BP Sub residue and drop it in a half gallon container of soapy water
_ I use a pistol cleaning rod with a cotton patch to pump water through each case underwater til it pumps out the primer pocket clear
_ I wipe the primer pocket with a Q-tip
_ I wipe each case externally with paper towel and inspect for flaws

I keep the exposure of the brass to Brasso to the minimum and leave no residue on or in the brass.
Brasso contains abrasives (powdered limestone, pumice). Which I prefer to wash off the cases before I dry them.

I will say that, if I used a tumbler with media like crushed walnut hulls or corn cob, I would not add Brasso to the media.

 

[.45Coltguy]

Well, here's something unscientific;when I do tumble brass, its crushed walnut media and a couple squirts of Turtle Wax Spray. Presto! Clean and kinda shiny brass. 2 hours max.

 

[Riomouse911]

Well, here's something unscientific;when I do tumble brass, its crushed walnut media and a couple squirts of Turtle Wax Spray. Presto! Clean and kinda shiny brass. 2 hours max.

I just run it through the vibratory cleaner for a couple hours like you do. I have yet to have a target affected by the shiny or dull color of the brass. (My self induced flinch takes care of that anyway .)

Nice to see all the different ways everyone process their brass. Proves the adage “different strokes for different folks” is alive and well.

Stay safe.

 

[hdwhit]

Please stop spreading the myth that tiny amounts of ammonia will damage brass.

Look no further than the Wikipedia article on "Season Cracking".

In the 19th Century, the British Army stored ammunition along with its horses (who urinated and their urine decayed into ammonia). Following months of exposure to ammonia, the un-annealed cases cracked and thus became unusable.

All modern brass is annealed.

Essentially all modern brass is exposed to ammonia to verify the annealing process was effective.

So, please, please, please, stop spreading the myth that modern annealed brass will be harmed by cleaners such as Brasso.

I have 11,000 rounds - all cleaned with Brasso in the 1980's - that have bern stored for nearly 40 years thst have functioned flawlessly.

 

[Bcwitt]

Ammonia is a gas. It is only liquid when disolved in water. If the case is dry, there is no ammonia left.