I just received a shipment of brass that I purchased from a fellow on the Trading Post and it included mostly nickel plated brass. A bunch of it had what looked like corrosion around the neck and when I tried cleaning it the nickel started flaking off. My question is, would this brass still be safe to reload or should I just dispose of it? Speaking of disposal, do you include nickel plated brass and spent primers with your brass going to the scrap yard? Thanks!
Nickel Plated Brass Flaking
- Thread starter PCCUSNRET
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GP100man
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I discard it if it starts flaking , & only use the nickel cases I have on a very limited bases (to load card over shotshells) & use a seperate sizer because a flake hung in my regular sizer & scratched some yellow brass !!!
As far as the brass under the nickel it`s probably fine , but the risk of scratchin die ,yellow cases & chambers just ain`t worth it to me !!!
I have some old federal& winchester cases the nickel looks worn off of & not a 1 ever peeled.
As far as the brass under the nickel it`s probably fine , but the risk of scratchin die ,yellow cases & chambers just ain`t worth it to me !!!
I have some old federal& winchester cases the nickel looks worn off of & not a 1 ever peeled.
Grumulkin
Member
Yes, nickel will flake but the cases are safe to use. As GP100man noted, the flakes can stick in the die and scratch your other brass. If flakes are on the bullets, they can theoretically damage the bore as well. In addition, when you try to trim it, it can dull cutters quickly so it's best to use a file and trim die for this operation. If you recycle it, it's recycled the same as the regular brass cartridges.
FROGO207
Member
I have some that the plating has flaked or worn off so that all that is left is in the stamping on the head. It is 357 and I purchased a separate second hand die to use for nickle so as not to scratch my good die. I have had no problems yet however. BTW they are both carbide and I use them more for 38SPL than 357 reloading.
Nothing wrong with a little flaking of the nickle. If you start getting scratches on your cases from nickle that's got stuck in your die, clean your die. Nickle doesn't scratch your dies or barrel as steel is much harder than nickle.
I have had some nickle cases that have been reloaded and tumble cleaned so many times the nickle is worn off to the point the cases are getting brass colored. Sometimes nickle cases will seem to crack quicker than a brass case but this varies by brand. Just discard the cracked cases and continue reloading the rest.
I have had some nickle cases that have been reloaded and tumble cleaned so many times the nickle is worn off to the point the cases are getting brass colored. Sometimes nickle cases will seem to crack quicker than a brass case but this varies by brand. Just discard the cracked cases and continue reloading the rest.
evan price
Member
All my junk nickel brass and all my spent primers go in the big bucket of scrap brass, along with old keys, plumbing parts, etc. It all pays the same.
qajaq59
Member
Put it in the tumbler over night and my guess is that any nickel that's flaking will be gone.
snuffy
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It's nickel folks, NOT chrome! Yes, nickel IS harder than plain brass, SLIGHTLY harder.
This comes up here and on other forums repeatedly. Problem is, most people know little about relative hardness of various metals. They HEAR someone say nickel will scratch dies, chambers, and barrels. They don't know about just how hard it ISN'T and accept it. I even had one guy claim that nickel scratched his CARBIDE die! Carbide is right next to diamonds in hardness. Now everybody knows diamonds are the hardest things know to man.
Don't worry about the nickel flaking harming anything, it won't.
This comes up here and on other forums repeatedly. Problem is, most people know little about relative hardness of various metals. They HEAR someone say nickel will scratch dies, chambers, and barrels. They don't know about just how hard it ISN'T and accept it. I even had one guy claim that nickel scratched his CARBIDE die! Carbide is right next to diamonds in hardness. Now everybody knows diamonds are the hardest things know to man.
Don't worry about the nickel flaking harming anything, it won't.
Flaking Nickle has been the plague of those who like the bright shiny silver look since day one.
My personnel observation has been that Nickle cases don't seem to reload as many times as yellow brass cases do. I tried to anneal some Nickle cases, that didn't go to well, the Nickle holds the heat and will crack on the next loading.
As for scratching a die, only when lube is used and the lube leaves small flakes stuck to the inside of the die.
Ray
My personnel observation has been that Nickle cases don't seem to reload as many times as yellow brass cases do. I tried to anneal some Nickle cases, that didn't go to well, the Nickle holds the heat and will crack on the next loading.
As for scratching a die, only when lube is used and the lube leaves small flakes stuck to the inside of the die.
Ray
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