Stubborn stains on brass

[jeepmor]

All,

I just purchased some new Midway 10mm brass off ebay, but it's got some stubborn stains on it that 2 hours of vibratory tumbling in walnut media with some Nu finish in it has not touched yet. I put some metal polish in the media and ran another hour, still hardly touching the dark tarnish spots.

Any tips? Looks smooth and clean enough to work, but being new brass, I'd really like to get it CLEAN so I can keep it clean.

jeepmor

 

[Steve C]

Load 'em and shoot 'em. Don't worry about the stains. They may disappear after you've cleaned them a few time, they may not. As long as there's no dirt or grit on the outside of the case making them bright and shiny doesn't enhance their function.

 

[.38 Special]

Some benchrest competitors clean their case necks with 0000 steel wool.

 

[50 Shooter]

As Steve said the stains won't hurt anything, just run them. If you just can't handle seeing stains on them try some Iosso liquid case polish.

 

[Bula]

Your only option may be hand polishing with a product like flitz or mothers. I was lucky to pick up some 44 mag range brass with some staining that tumbling alone was not removing. I polished about 5 by hand to remove the tarnished spots, gave up after that. I'm with Steve C, load and shoot'em 'as is'.

 

[RON in PA]

Reload and shoot, take some paxil for your OCD.

 

[ReloaderFred]

Jeepmor,

My drill instructor at MCRD, San Diego, told me in 1965 that if my brass wasn't properly shined, he would have my butt. I still believe him and don't want him after me, so all my brass is "properly" shined.

For those stubborn stains, see if you can locate some of the Lyman Turbo Polish. It's the dark green stuff, not the light colored stuff that everyone else sells. You mix it with corncob and it will remove those stains after a couple of hours in the tumbler.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[jeepmor]

Paxil for my OCD, that's funny, not if you saw my garage..haha.

Thanks for the tip Fred, heading to Sportsman Warehouse tomorrow, I'll see if they have some Lyman Turbo Polish. They are coming smooth, but the tarnish is pretty dark. Just looking for longterm care bein in the PNW and all. Tarnishes fast on a misty day is all.

And it's new, so I'm thinking about the 5 or so times I'm going to reload it.

jeepmor

 

[gwalchmai]

NEW brass with spots? Midway will probably replace them for free if you ask.

I've had good luck with vinegar. Mix up a 50% solution with HOT water and soak the brass for an hour, then rinse, dry, and retumble w/NuFinish.