Keeping Brass Shiny

Status
Not open for further replies.
My old rimfire is pretty shiny too. But I suppose the wax from the bullets does get on everything with those.

When you mentioned rimfire from the 70's I remembered a couple bricks of Thunderbolt I brought home from my dad's place a few years ago. Left over from when we were teenagers. Still pretty clean and shoots great. I wonder when Thunderbolt took the quality dive?
 
As long as the brass is clean I don't care if it tarnishes a little after tumbling. It is what is inside that counts not the outside.
 
Colt45, DHass, I agree with you, I am not an enabler and believe some of the conduct by some on this form is stalking in nature.

It is not possible to make it fool proof, they do not read.

R. Lee in his book on modern reloading thought bling and shine was vain and not absolutely necessary, I know brass has a embeddable property, I do not want dirt, grit and grime embedding into the case, dies and chambers can be scratched with the abrasive material.

http://www.stainlesstumblingmedia.com/lemi-shine-detergent.html

I mention for the worst of cases I use vinegar, for 15 minutes maximum ONCE for the life of the case. I mention pink/orange coloring when too much time is used. After that? A link to Lemi-shine is posted.

Walkalone, explain to me the difference, if stainless pins are used with lime shine and lime shine has acid, what keeps the acid in lime shine from (as they say) leaching the zinc from the case.

Again, I do not have two standards for behavior.

F. Guffey
 
It's Walkalong, and how should I know, I use corncob. (Sorry, I am just an idiot on the internet)

You do seem to be confused as to who you are ragging today though. I believe I know who you meant, but I am sure you will figure it out.
 
jcwit
Mothballs. Car wax content is mostly CLAY, with some chemicals added to clean off the oxidation. Ammonia leaches brass, vinegar will but is a LOT slower. Lemi-shine or cool-aid removes carbon and mildly passivates the brass. It must be removed or will eventually discolor the brass. triple di-water will remove everything also, but costs $$$$$. Objective should be to get the carbon, dirt, grease and wax off the case, inside the neck and PP
 
DHass wrote
As long as the brass is clean I don't care if it tarnishes a little after tumbling. It is what is inside that counts not the outside.
Click to expand...

fgruffy wrote
Colt45, DHass, I agree with you, I
Click to expand...

Cleaning/polishing brass is not absolutly necessary, neither is shaving and dressing appropriately when going out in public, washing and waxing my vehicles is not necessary either. Many many thing we do in life is not necessary but we do them for our own personal pleasure or satification, and possiblely our ego also.

I happen to be ion the group that likes my cartridges shinney, as well as my firearms and the rest of my shooting equipment. I to do not have 2 standards, but I do place mine on the high side and good looking.
 
I'm on the same page as Fguffey. I don't ant anything between the brass and my chamber walls. The brass needs to have a good sieze to the chamber when the pressures expand the brass to prevent it from stressing the bolt face and lugs.
 
If that's what makes you happy, have at it.

Guess I just don't know what I'm doing being as I reload and shoot 15,000 tpo 20,000 rounds a summer season. Haven't had a bolt or lug problem yet in 50 years.
 
WHAT! You're having a party and I wasn't invited???:D

Nothing seems to get the passions going better than to bling or not to bling. I don't really care one way or the other. I reloaded without a tumbler or bling for 30 years. Always wanted a tumbler, but never got around to it. Now that I have a big ole Lyman 2500, I admit it, I like being vain. What's not to like! But mostly I like not have to rub my brass down one at a time to clean it preparatory to sizing. I use 20/40 cob and a capful of Dillon brass polish, and it makes it plenty purty. (I use Dillon just because they stock the stuff close by...I just pour it over my filled-up tumbler full of cob and brass, and I've never seen a single clump last more than a couple of minutes of tumbling.)

But all that is irrelevent to the original question. Mine doesn't stay blingy if I'm wanting to store it for a rainy day. So what? Well the O.P. cares. So here's a way to make it last for a long long time if that's what's important to you:

08G22_400.jpg Acid neutral, water and alcohol resistant.
Preferred by museums worldwide for protecting furniture, leather, marble, paintings and metal.
Will not stain or discolor with aging. You use the tiniest amount. No more than a molecule or two between your brass and the chamber...unmeasurable by anything I own. One 200ml container will last a lifetime.

Do I make it? Heavens no, it was created in England for the National Museum. But you can get it in the States, HERE. When I have to restore something, I protect it with this. BTW, the site has a video on it.:)
 
Last edited:
Great! Not surprised. A good product always finds its way to Midway eventually. Same price too.
 
Try the 3M Anti-Tarnish Strips. I am a jeweler by trade and this is cut into small pcs and put in baggies with the silver jewelry and it keeps it from tarnishing for a long period of time.
 
I have not tried it as of yet but I have been having the same issues with keeping my brass nice and shinny. I will try this next week and will re-post on this subject when I see the results.
 
I use the wet style tumbler to get they clean enough to eat off of. For my rifle cases I tumble then in a vibratory tumbler with corn cob and NU finish. they stay pretty shiny in just zip lock bags for quite some time.
 
Vanity, pride, care, OCD, attention to detail, whatever you want to call it. .......... :)
 
What if I told you that unpolished brass clings to the chamber wall better thus giving you more consistant harmonics and the accuracy that follows.
 
OK, if that suits you, but I wonder at what point is "unpolished" the best. Slightly unpolished? Pretty dull unpolished? Downright ugly unpolished?

Wait, those are all subjective terms, just as unpolished is.

Where pray tell does one go from here?
 
I wash my truck once or twice a year whether it needs it or not, but being moderately grimey doesn't make it stick to the road any beter;0)

I have heard different opinions on clean brass and dirty brass and chamber adhesion, but not any quantifiable studies or evidence, though there may be some out there.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

CLP
  • Locked
Keeping brass shiny
Replies
3
Views
809
Rule3
Rule3
L
  • Locked
Q to Rembrant and others who vacuum seal their brass
Replies
13
Views
2K
Sommerled
S
Ruger 15151
  • Locked
Preventing Tarnishing after wet tumbling in SS media?
2
Replies
45
Views
13K
Decoy80
D
G
  • Locked
tumbling soap option
Replies
0
Views
593
guncheese
G
Dewey 68
  • Locked
Why are some brass casings shiny on the inside?
Replies
4
Views
484
9mmepiphany
9mmepiphany
Back
Top