Polishing brass the cheap way?

[2tech]

Hello,

I'm new to these forums so I hope this same post hasn't appeared elsewhere. I did a search but found nothing.

I realize there are manufacturers out there that make brass polish specifically for brass casings. However, those can be pretty pricey and I have no where around my little podunk town to buy them. This means buying online and then being reamed for shipping (about 8 dollars to ship a 14 dollar bottle of polish).

So this led me to go to our Wal-Mart which happens to be a supercenter (the smallest in the world...literally) Thinking I might find something in the automotive department.

I found something called turtle wax chrome polish & rust remover. The contents are as follows:

Petroleum distillates (JP5 Jet fuel) 12-15%

Distillates, petroleum, straight-run middle 3-5%

Turpentine 1-3%

The bottle doesn't give in huge cautions or warnings about harmful or fatal if swallowed or for it being toxic on the skin and so forth. This would lead me to believe that it isn't too harsh. However, will any of those chemicals drastically reduce the quality of my brass?

I've hand rubbed it on a few casings and they have come out shining VERY nicely. I was very impressed and the price was right at 2 dollars for a 12 oz. bottle!

I am very new to the reloading thing also, so patience and understanding are very much appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[918v]

I don't polish my brass. I only clean it. No need to polish it.

 

[jcwit]

As long as there is no ammonia you should be OK.

One of the common polishes used in a tumbler is Nu-Finish auto polish, available everywhere.

I don't polish my brass. I only clean it. No need to polish it.

This is true, but then I like my equipment and myself to look as good as possible, one reason I oil and polish my firearms, wax my car, and don't leave the house in my pajamas.

 

[RustyFN]

Make sure it doesn't have any amonia. I tumble my brass in a vibratory tumbler with walnut media and add 1/2 cap full of Nu Finish car polish to each batch. In 1 to 1.5 hours I will have 600 cases that look almost like new and the Nu Finish keep them from tarnishing.

 

[RustyFN]

I don't polish my brass. I only clean it. No need to polish it.

Unless you shoot where I shoot. It makes it a lot easire to find them when they are shiny.

 

[2tech]

quality check

Well I did a test with a pair of pliers and bent in an old casing which was pretty tough, and then bent in a couple of the ones I polished. one was easier to bend in and one was a lot harder to bend in. This leads me to believe that the polish does little to the brass (as far as making it brittle)

 

[2tech]

Unless you shoot where I shoot. It makes it a lot easire to find them when they are shiny.

EXACTLY! With the dead grass out at the range, tarnished cases blend right in. The shiney ones are easy to find, I figure this will help me out a lot. and 2 bucks for 12 ounces is great. =)

 

[RandyP]

Just to clarify, you are planning on adding this mix into your tumbler to get your brass clean and shiny? Or are you talking about literally taking your tumbled brass and hand polishing each case?

I have gone the tbl of liquid car polish added to my tumbling media route and the cases come out looking terrific. The longer I tumble them the shinier they will get.

I cannot imagine sitting down with several hundreds of dirty brass and shining them up one by one by hand. Not to mention that depending on your load and powder once they are fired off they can leave the gun 'dirty' anyway.

 

[jcwit]

Brass getting brittle from ammonia does take a little time, doesn't happen "BINGO".

 

[Gadzooks Mike]

Before I got my tumbler, I used to toss the brass and some corncob media into a plastic 2 1/2 pound coffee tub, put the top on, and strap it to my riding lawn mower and go mow the lawn. Didn't work too bad, either, but I have a pretty large yard.

 

[dc.fireman]

I'm not sure about the various polishes out there. I still have my initial supply of Dillon polish (I'm not plugging the red vs. blue here either). It works well, when you add a few capfuls to the walnut shell in the tumbler. Here's what I have learned though:

You can visit, or order online from Harbor Freight Tools, a 20lb. box of crushed walnut shell, for about $19-25, depending on what time of year it is.

If you add polish to your tumbler mix, you can reuse the same tumbler mix until it turns nearly black from polishing + crud removal.

I bought a box of the very same crushed walnut shell, and coupled with my original stash of two bottles of case polish, have managed to make it last for about 3 years now, and I still have one unopened bottle of the polish; I estimate that I've tumbled somewhere in the vicinity of 3500 cases, many of those multiple times.

After the Dillon polish runs out, I'll be giving the Nu-Finish a try, just to test the theory of economy even further. Good Luck!

-tc

 

[sansone]

gadzooks that is the funniest thing I've heard in a while, but I like it

 

[2tech]

This product doesn't contain ammonia so I suppose I'm safe there. I don't have my tumbler yet, it should be in today. I rubbed it on a few cases just to test it and see if it would even work (last night about 7PM). Today at 11:30 am they are not brittle. infact they are just as strong (if not stronger) than my dirty cases

Once my tumbler comes in I will not longer be polishing them by hand (or cleaning them by hand). I ordered 25lbs of crushed english walnut shells (for 20 dollars including shipping) for cleaning. I plan on going to walmart for the corncob to polish with.

 

[KosmicKrunch]

My only question is, if you are hand polishing. how are you cleaning the inside of the case out? To get the outside done for small batches, I just use a bowling ball cloth polish bag with handles, then use it in the basement utility tub with a mix of Tarn-x and brasso with distilled water. I just alternate the handles of the bowling ball polisher a few times. Then I dunk the bag into an alcohol mix so any water or polishing chemicals rinse out. I then hang them case opening down on a rack I made from wire hangers and set them on the clothes dryer to dry out on the racks, next day they are shiney in and out, dry and ready to load.

For large qty, I use a tumbler (Non vibe) with walnet and some tarn-x and about 2 hours later I wash the media out with 70% alcohol and let dry as above.

 

[918v]

I like my equipment and myself to look as good as possible, one reason I oil and polish my firearms, wax my car, and don't leave the house in my pajamas.

Do you iron your T-shirts too?

 

[FlyinBryan]

lol, jcwit, pajamas,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[788Ham]

You can find lizard litter at PetsMart also, same crushed walnut shell, cheaper too.

2tech, the brittleness won't happen overnight, the casings won't be like wax paper in that length of time, but the shoulders and necks will become more brittle if ammonia is used. Chemical reaction, don't use Brasso either!

 

[ranger335v]

"I realize there are manufacturers out there that make brass polish specifically for brass casings."

Not really, but they would love for us to think so. Actually, there are only a couple-three polishes for common use and they just change the carrier (liquid or paste) and containers for different things. Any auto polish will do as well as anything sold at high prices by a loading tool company, most of 'em use diatomaceous earth, the same stuff that's in toothpaste, red jeweler's rouge (powdered rust!) or a white rouge. (In fact, toothpaste works quite well on brass but the carrier isn't really compatible with dry tumbler media.)

I don't care for overly shiney cases. I bought a couple pounds of diatomeaceous earth from a swimming pool supplier a few years ago and love it. Dropped a couple tablespoonsful in new cob media and it still looks new, no blackening at all. It doesn't put an artifcial looking shine on my brass but cleans beautifully and leaves a soft matt finish exactly like factory new stuff.

 

[2tech]

Well, it doesn't say exactly 100% what it contains, but if it had ammonia in it, there would be a chemical warning of some sort. this has nothing like that.

I keep hearing that brasso is not good to use. I saw it at walmart last night and if you look on the back of the bottle sure as I'm alive it says "contains ammonia" But yet I keep reading that people still use it? WHYYYYY????

Also, I got the lizard litter (Zilla brand) you're refering to on amazon for cheap cheap cheap. with free shipping

 

[2tech]

Ranger, that's what I meant. They market it for brass casing cleaning and therefore charge a butt load more. There are people out there that will only use that stuff (so I've read) because it's "intended" to be used for brass casings (as if this somehow makes it better). Then they jack the price way up and a lot of people probably pay it.

 

[jcwit]

I keep hearing that brasso is not good to use. I saw it at walmart last night and if you look on the back of the bottle sure as I'm alive it says "contains ammonia" But yet I keep reading that people still use it? WHYYYYY????

I used to be one that always said NEVER use Brasso for polishing brass cases, I still think its not to be recommended.

But then again if used in a tumbler and allowing the ammonia to evaporate all you have left is the polishing compound. In doing this it doesn't present any problem to the brass but why not just use some auto polish that you probably already have in the garage anyway.

There's your reason why!

Do you iron your T-shirts too?

No! But then I seldom go out in public without a collored shirt on, I also wear a suit when going to Church or the Funeral Home, and Uniform when doing Funeral Detail for a Deceased Service member.

I believe a person is part of who he associates with, what he eats, and how he dresses, I realize this is thought of as old school, but its how I was brought up.

In closing it amazes me how people dress in todays world. I spent most of my military time in the Pentagon, and Class A was the dress of the day, every day.

 

[Hondo 60]

Gadzooks Mike:
I love your lawnmower idea.
I've never thought of doing it that way, but I'm sure it worked very well!

 

[Hondo 60]

jcwit:

You are certainly entitled to your opinions.
As for me? I don't give a rat's behind what someone thinks about the way I dress.

I follow the adage that you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover.

Now I do dress accordingly, but if I'm just going to the store or the range or something a Tshirt & sweatpants if just fine by me.

 

[ants]

Any ammonia content in 2tech's product?

Go to the Turtle Wax web site. Click on Contact Us.

In the area where you put your name and address, there is a box called "Please select from the following topics."

When you click on that Topics box, one of the selections is MSDS Requests.

Give them the name of the product, and they'll send you a Material Safety Data Sheet. It will list the ammonia content, if there is any.

 

[Offfhand]

Polishing brass? Why? Go to a registered bench rest tournament and watch the shooters load and shoot. (Not the guys plinking from benches at local range.) Bench shooter are the most expert and critical reloaders on the planet. You'll never see them polishing their brass cases, but only wiping them clean after resizing.