Tumbling brass, why not brass polish?

[Steel185]

I've heard from various sources NOT to use Brasso or other brass polish. I was wondering why, its made to polish brass, so i'd think it was a decent additive. Why car polish?

 

[buck460XVR]

I believe it has to do with the ammonia is some brass cleaners. Ammonia will weaken brass and shorten brass life.

 

[rcmodel]

Many brands of brass polish, including Brasso, contain ammonia.

Ammonia is bad for cartridge brass.

I have an antique brass church organ oil lamp.
It has been polished with brass polish so many times through the years that the oil reservoir is spider-webbed with fine hairline cracks all over it and it will no longer hold oil.

rc

 

[T Bran]

I tend to steer clear of anything that contains abrasives.
Definately not something that I'd want in my dies or my guns.
I figure that some sand and grit wind up on the cases regardless unless you wet tumble and wet tumbling is just more labor intensive than it is worth to me.

On my plinking ammo I dont even bother to clean cases with the exception of the primer pocket. Unless of course they landed in the mud or something.
Have fun.

 

[GLOOB]

I tend to steer clear of anything that contains abrasives.

Yeah, there are definitely abrasives in car polish. Especially Nu Finish. But I've never heard of a chamber being polished out of spec from tumbled cases.

Happens to dies, eventually, because they fit so tight to begin with. And only after enough rounds to have burned through multiple bores, so I wouldn't worry about damage to your guns.

 

[Ehtereon11B]

I add a capful of Cabela's brass polish to my media when I change it out and tumble it for 30 minutes to an hour to let it settle before adding brass. From what I can tell it is non abrasive and no ammonia. Has the color and thickness of a vanilla milkshake. Works pretty well.

 

[Bush Pilot]

Many brands of brass polish, including Brasso, contain ammonia.

Ammonia is bad for cartridge brass.

I have an antique brass church organ oil lamp.
It has been polished with brass polish so many times through the years that the oil reservoir is spider-webbed with fine hairline cracks all over it and it will no longer hold oil.

rc

I guess throwing it in a tumbler wouldn't help at this point.

 

[Reloadron]

As mentioned Ammonia is not healthy for brass and if we read the label on many brass polish containers out there, like Brasso as an example, we see that it contains ammonia. Note the caution statement on the container:



However. there are brass polishes that do not contain ammonia and will not damage your brass, this container of Midway Brass Polish (no clue who really makes it) is a good example and they stress Ammonia Free:



Never tried the Nu Finish or other automotive products. However, there are many perfectly safe brass polishes out there that are perfectly safe for use on brass. Read the labels to see what the stuff actually is.

Ron

 

[Reloadron]

I guess throwing it in a tumbler wouldn't help at this point.

Now that was funny!

Ron

 

[Still Shooting]

Ammonia-free Brass Polish

I have been using Flitz polish for about 3 years now...they make 2 "flavors," and you have to get the right one. The correct product comes in a small (3.4 0z.) black plastic bottle. The BAD stuff is an ammonia-containing household polish in a silver tube. It's expensive, but a squirt into the tumbler goes a long way.

If I remember correctly, the first bottle was purchased from Midway. Since then, I have been able to buy the ammonia-free stuff from a local hardware store. The very first line on the rear label says, "Contains NO Ammonia or Abrasives."

 

[Steel185]

i thought there was something "special" about Nu finish, but it seems like any polish will do as long as its ammonia-free.

Thanks everyone.

 

[FROGO207]

The "special" part about Nu Finish is it puts a polymer finish on the brass that keeps it from corroding without allowing it to be as slippery as regular wax polish will. You do not want your brass slippery when firing it in your chamber as this will increase bolt thrust on the receiver. That is why everyone tells you to remove the sizing lube (it is slippery) from your brass before loading it.

 

[hentown]

Yeah, there are definitely abrasives in car polish. Especially Nu Finish.....

Authoritative-sounding, but, I'm pretty sure, fallacious.

 

[jcwit]

Being as ammonia is a liquid, if you think you have to use Brasso or other polishes that contain ammonia, let it evarope then place the powder in the tumbler. Problem solved.

 

[1SOW]

Ammonia (as does white vinegar) removes the 'zinc' in brass, and turns it slightly "pink-ish". Pink is not a manly color for cartridge cases.

Brass is made up of copper & zinc. More %zinc = harder brass.

Nu-Finish contains no abrasives. Meguiars Gold car polish contains no abrasives, but is generally more expensive.

As a newby GI, I became very expert at polishing 25 yr old brass door-knobs and plates with "Brasso". Those same doorknobs had been polished by a gazillion other newby GI's for those 25 years. They all were gleemingly perfect. Go figure.

 

[zxcvbob]

Ammonia (as does white vinegar) removes the 'zinc' in brass, and turns it slightly "pink-ish". Pink is not a manly color for cartridge cases.

It's worse than that. Ammonia causes stress corrosion cracking. Those doorknobs were probably solid castings, so there was a lot of metal there and very little stress. Cartridges are thin brass that has been drawn into shape and then not fully annealed.

 

[GLOOB]

Authoritative-sounding, but, I'm pretty sure, fallacious.

Authoritative-sounding because I know what I'm talking about.

Car polish, by definition, contains abrasives. If you think car polish removes oxidized paint through the use of vitamins and antioxidants, think again.

Car WAX used to be wax. But nowadays, most car waxes also contain abrasives.

Nu Finish is the "once a year car polish." It's a polish, and yes it contains abrasives. It's "once a year" because if you used it more often, you'd remove your paint job.

But don't take my word for it. Take a clean Q tip and chuck it up in a dremel. Take it to your blued gun finish and hold it one spot for awhile. Nothing happens. Put some Nu Finish on it and repeat. You'll have a bare spot in no time.

Ok, don't ruin your guns. Try it with any thinly plated part you like. A spare nickel plated glock part. A piece of chrome or SS plated costume jewelry. Guarantee you it'll eat through most hard metal finishes. Dunno about tennifer.

But don't worry. Nu finish won't damage your guns or brass in your lifetime. You'd have to run so many cases through, the bore will be worn bare before the chamber was damaged.

I have tested Nu Finish Polish vs Turtle Wax on various metals and finishes. Both most definitely contain abrasives. I find Nu Finish to be a little more aggressive. And that's WHY I use it in my tumbler. I've used both in my tumbler, and Nu Finish polishes the brass faster. If you want to go out of your way to find a car wax that doesn't contain abrasives, then go ahead. It will leave a nice wax coating over your dirty brass. True car wax (only) is something you apply to your car to replenish the protective coating when the paint is already shiny.

There is at least one effective abrasive that is hard enough to abrade brass, but too soft to affect steel. Jeweler's rouge. It's not as popular with reloaders as is Nu Finish, because it takes longer, and it leaves a terrible red mess on everything it touches. Cuz it's finely powdered rust.

 

[ole farmerbuck]

Authoritative-sounding because I know what I'm talking about.

Car polish, by definition, contains abrasives. If you think car polish removes oxidized paint through the use of vitamins and antioxidants, think again.

Car WAX used to be wax. But nowadays, most car waxes also contain abrasives.

Nu Finish is the "once a year car polish." It's a polish, and yes it contains abrasives. It's "once a year" because if you used it more often, you'd remove your paint job.

If you don't believe it, take a clean Q tip and chuck it up in a dremel. Take it to your blued gun finish. Nothing happens. Put some Nu Finish on it and repeat. You'll have a bare spot in no time.

Ok, don't ruin your guns. Try it with any thinly plated part you like. A spare nickel plated glock part. A piece of chrome or SS plated costume jewelry. Guarantee you it'll eat through most hard metal finishes. Dunno about tennifer.

But don't worry. Nu finish won't damage your guns or brass in your lifetime. You'd have to run so many cases through, the bore will be worn bare before the chamber was damaged.

Yup

 

[jcwit]

I also agree with Gloop, by the time the abrasives in auto polish harm a die or gun chamber both will be regulated to a museum as a curiosity.

But others may think differently and if so do as you wish, but please use some common sense in your decision.

 

[Blue68f100]

NuFinish is a polish but when added to a tumbler mixed with corncob I dought you could measure the added abrasiveness. The corncob or walnut media is more abrasive than the polish. When you look at liquid cleaners they actually eat at the surface or encase of the SS media it rubs on the surface + chemical action.

But like said you will never damage your brass in your lifetime and the fact the brass will fail long before that due to a natural cause.......

 

[moxie]

Ice cold Brasso is an excellent chaser when snacking on silica gel packets. Out of this world!

 

[AnthonyRSS]

...You do not want your brass slippery when firing it in your chamber as this will increase bolt thrust on the receiver. That is why everyone tells you to remove the sizing lube (it is slippery) from your brass before loading it.

Source?

 

[jcwit]

You do not want your brass slippery when firing it in your chamber as this will increase bolt thrust on the receiver. That is why everyone tells you to remove the sizing lube (it is slippery) from your brass before loading it.

Never heard of such a thing, have never had any type of problem regarding "slippery cases", in 50 plus years of reloading.