Keeping Brass Shiny

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OldmanFCSA

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After tumbling cases to near perfection, shiny to point of brass having absolutely no tarnish, How do I keep int that way until I load?

Vacumm seal in bags/

In ZipLoc bags - then in a AmmoCan? (what I do now)

Other ideas?

????? is it possible to tumble in a hard wax mixture of some sort to seal the cases from oxidation and other "ageing" side effects ??????

I'm asking for unloaded brass to be individually sealed in some kind of "chemical" for lack of a better term, to keep it shiny. Would this sealer then cause any damage to rifle chamber upon firing after loading.

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In slow times I "match" prepare my brass up to point of installing primer.
Then I store it for the day it gets reloaded. How do I stop the "tarnish ageing " process?

I mean keeping it super shiney!
 
If you use polish it leaves a bit of a wax film on the brass and it stays pretty shiny just thrown in a bucket or box kept closed and stored in a reasonable environment....
 
I can't add much to that.

Yes. You can add a hard wax but you shouldn't use very much. If you use polish you shouldn't need anything else.
 
I've tried some wax for lubing while sizing. It worked great & got 2 birds with one stone. I normally use polish to lube with tho. I have some that I don't like for anything else but it works great for lube.
 
I need it to be applied to mass quantities - not individual cases 1 by 1.
Click to expand...
Just add a little to your tumbler media. A little goes a long way.
 
I tumble with NuFinish. I have cases that have been tumbled and sitting in bins on my bench for about a year. Sure, they may have dulled a smidge, but they still are pretty darn shiny.
 
Any automotive liquid cleaner polish/wax, Meguirers, Kit, Eagle Ice, and on and on, many here recommend Nu-Finish and it is what I use but in reality any liquid auto polish works,

Only use a teaspoon or two to a tumbler of media and do not add till you see a decrease in the polishing ability of the media. Using to much will gloop "not sure thats a word, but you get the idea" up the media.

Just a case of where less is more.
 
+1. I used to use Dillon/MidwayUSA brass polish and tried different liquid car wax/polish but settled on NuFinish liquid car polish.

With walnut media, it seems to do a better job of cleaning brass and leaves residual film that resist tarnishing of brass cases. I also clean/polish my dies in walnut media and NuFinish and they do a great job of removing surface rust and keeping them rust free for 6-12+ months.

With new walnut media, I add 2 capfuls of NuFinish to treat the walnut media initially (I run the tumbler for 10+ minutes or until I don't see any clumps) and add 1 capful for every 3-4 loads.
 
Another Nufinish user here. Good tip on using gloves. But mine still tarnish a little over time. You can always run them through the tumbler again prior to loading. I did the small cut Corn cob (14/20 I think) so no more cob in the flash hole.
 
You didnt say with way method you cleaned the brass ... I use wet media that cleans every single part of the case ... the primer pocket, the rim, the inside of the case and eventually polishes them ... but if you don´t keep them in a hot and virtually no humidity place then thay will tern a bit dark (not to much) ....
Did you know that commercial ammo manufacturers use an really thin wax when they finish the loading process...but which one? in dry or wet media ?

This wax makes the ammo extremely resitant to corrosion and other enviroment problems... remember that a case of ammo can be 1 or 2 years in a gun store before you pick them up ... and they always lock brand new :p
 
Vacumm seal in bags/

In ZipLoc bags - then in a AmmoCan? (what I do now)

Other ideas?
Click to expand...
Those methods help but don't actually remove the oxygen that causes the tarnish.
For that you'll need oxygen absorbers.
http://www.sorbentsystems.com/o2absorbers.html
They're inexpensive sachets that can be found easily. Mylar bags are most often used with oxygen absorbers.
This is a common means of long term storage with survivalist.
Here's how to seal a mylar bag:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fk9b0dAtJ80
 
To clean cases to a high shine and keep it that way use ammo cans, 30 cal, 20 MM or 50 Cal, small, medium and large, as a suggestion warm the can before loading the cans, then close to seal, same for pistols, heat the can, wrap the pistol then place in can, close the can.



For those with country roots and remember the Mason jar, same thing, heat the jar, fill with cases, close to seal the jar, then wait for the lid to 'pop', my favorite jar is the wide mouth 1 gallon jar, if jar is filled with loose cases the reloader can monitor the cases for oxidation, no atmosphere, no moisture no corrosion, then there are those that have mastered the skill of air conditioning and have vacuum pumps, somewhere close to 29 inches of vacuum water boils at about 0 degree. Install shrader valves, load containers, vacuum the container, after that, time stands still and as long as the components are in the sealed container the reloader is not getting further behind.

F. Guffey
 
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Another Nu Finish user. Works great for me with corncob.

If you want brass to stay shiny, tumble it, reload it, shoot it, and tumble it again. Voila', shiny!
 
After tumbling cases to near perfection, shiny to point of brass having absolutely no tarnish, How do I keep int that way until I load?
Click to expand...

I have a tarnish problem if they are stored for long periods before use..
I use Nu-Finish and store the shiny brass in plastic coffee containers--10-15K 9mm cases tumbled and polished. It works "for a while".
I prefer WIN brass so my PPU, R&P, and ATK/FC brass sometimes stay in the containers for a year or more. These show tarnish when I break them out. They are still somewhat somewhat shiny and "slippery" but they are also tarnished.
 
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They have stuff that goes in the media. I just tumble using the Lyman tumbler and their corn cob media. Then put it up dry. High humidity will cause it to corrode over time. I left some in a basement and it didn't fare too well.
 
I have a case of 24 bottles of liquid turtle wax that was given to me. Has anyone ever tried it in the media?
Click to expand...

It will work just fine.

Brass will tarnish just as silver will. I remember my mother always having to polish our silver for the holidays before using. Not much of anything will stop it completly over time. I do have polished brass thats been stored for over 5 years thats just starting to turn. Its been stored in shotgun shell boxes in a second story room with no heat or A/C.
 
I was going to say Nu Finish car polish but it looks like 30 people beat me to it. :D I add 1/2 cap full or a little less to every batch I tumble.
 
I use the wet ss pin process for cleaning in my tumbler.
I don't use corncob or walnut hulls anymore (but still have lots and cement mixer is broken again due to motor burnout = not made for continous run).
A wax process is what I thinking should be used. Tumble in hard balls of wax, little balls to wax inside cases too.

????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????/
 
"After tumbling cases to near perfection, shiny to point of brass having absolutely no tarnish, How do I keep int that way until I load?"

"Vacumm seal in bags/"

"To clean cases to a high shine and keep it that way use ammo cans, 30 cal, 20 MM or 50 Cal, small, medium and large, as a suggestion warm the can before loading the cans, then close to seal, same for pistols, heat the can, wrap the pistol then place in can, close the can.



For those with country roots and remember the Mason jar, same thing, heat the jar, fill with cases, close to seal the jar, then wait for the lid to 'pop', my favorite jar is the wide mouth 1 gallon jar, if jar is filled with loose cases the reloader can monitor the cases for oxidation, no atmosphere, no moisture no corrosion, then there are those that have mastered the skill of air conditioning and have vacuum pumps, somewhere close to 29 inches of vacuum water boils at about 0 degree. Install shrader valves, load containers, vacuum the container, after that, time stands still and as long as the components are in the sealed container the reloader is not getting further behind."

....and when I want to clean a few cases for 'bling' at the range bench I use a home made spinner, nice to have 'JIC', just in case.

F. Guffey
 
...and when I chamber a round I want nothing between the case and chamber, polish, wax, lube or anything else that seals the atmosphere from the case could prevent the case from locking onto the chamber.

I use corn cob media and nothing.

F. Guffey
 
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