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Posted: 8/9/2012 11:40:09 AM EDT
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I have a decent quantity of 5.56mm once fired military brass, and some of it has some fairly significant tarnish that I prefer to remove completely.
I have tried a bunch of different things to try to get the brass to near-new appearance. I don't like tarnish. My walnut media does not quite do the job, and I am not set up for stainless steel pins / liquid. I've used Ajax or Comet in my walnut media and sometimes it does a decent job, other times the brass still looks tarnished. I can get the dirt off the brass no problem, it's that last bit of tarnish that I can't quite get rid of. I know that it won't affect functioning, but I like my brass to appear really nice. Yeah, I know, it's kind of anal retentive. I've also tried soaking the brass in a salt / vinegar / water / dishwashing liquid solution before tumbling, but that doesn't quite get it either. What are some of the things you guys have tried that will work on that last stubborn bit of tarnish? LC |
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How much brass is it? 1000+ cases? Find a local wet tumbler and ask for a favor, shipping is also an option but I'm sure somone here will clean them for you. For some trade or something. Way more than that. I'm looking to do this myself, there really is no one in this area who could do this on a large scale. LC |
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I have Lee trimmer tools. Don't know if your familiar with them but I have put cases in the trim tool's shell holder and used a cordless drill to polished them with Scotch Brite. You would have to be pretty anal to do a lot of them this way though.  Yeah, that's really not an option, thanks though. LC |
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I use the lizard litter-Nu Polish-dryer sheet mix and my brass comes out better than new. It really is quite remarkable. Sounds interesting. Can you give me more details, or point me somewhere where this is discussed? I've been Googling like mad and have yet to come across this. LC |
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I just use parakeat litter, strips of a used dryer sheet, and a dash of mineral spirits. Mix for 30 minutes and call it good.
I don't really get the obsession with clean, shiney brass. If that is your thing though, try an ultrasonic cleaner. The vinegar should get the brass really shiney, but you need to rinse with a base solution to nutralize the acid. Otherwise, the brass will continue to deteriorate (which is why it gets shiney; the acid eats the outer layer of brass off). |
| I read about it here but basically all I do is fill my tumbler with some fine grain lizard litter, I think it was like $8 at Petco, cut up a used dryer sheet, and add a cap full of Nu Polish. Generally I will run the mix without brass for 20-30 minutes to prevent the polish from clumping and then run the brass for about 2 hours. I don't have any pictures handy but the brass comes out looking like it just came from the jeweler. The fine grain lizard litter is small enough that is doesn't get caught in the flash hole which is a plus. YMMV |
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I use the lizard litter-Nu Polish-dryer sheet mix and my brass comes out better than new. It really is quite remarkable. Sounds interesting. Can you give me more details, or point me somewhere where this is discussed? I've been Googling like mad and have yet to come across this. LC Put a few small squeezes of Nu polish car polish (found in walmart and other fine auto stores in to the media http://www.autobarn.net/chnf-76.html Add a torn dryer sheet to minimize dust and static that also helps dust residue on the brass http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?_adv_prop=image&fr=yfp-t-701&va=dryer+sheets add brass run 1 hr minimum or more depending on how bright & shiney you like it. |
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When I'm lazy and don't want to wet tumble, I do the following:
- Put brass in 5 gallon bucket with a gallon of water, squirt of Dawn, 45auto case worth of lemishine. Let it sit for about an hour, and agitate with a broom stick a few times. (I do this with all my brass as a first step when returning from the range). - Dry it out in the sun - Place cap-full or so of Nu-finish in vib tumbler filled with corn cob (walnut = cleaning, corn cob = polishing), let it run for about 20 minutes. - Add brass and wait a couple of hours or so. I think the prewash helps out a lot. The main reason I do it is to get some of the gunk off the brass prior to decapping. It keeps my press cleaner by doing this. I use this to dry the brass in the sun. I just place it on the roof of my car. ETA: the foot is my pup's, not mine. 
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| Just a little off topic but the dryer sheet thing is awesome. I have the huge Dillon vibratory tumbler and pick up a lot of range brass. I use 2 full sheets (already been used in clothes dryer) when a do range pick up and they collect what seems like nearly 100% of the dust and dirt. I can't really tell if they do much for static though. I use the RCBS separator with holes drilled through the bottom to allow the media to fall into a 5 gal bucket and there still is noticeable static but a smack on the bucket gets most of what sticks to the sides out. |
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Sounds like you need to go to SS pins.
I've done the frogs pad liquid water/salt/dishsoap/vinegar thing on brass that sat under the snow all winter wet and refreezing. In 15-20 minutes it was much much better with a few of the really bad spots that were green at the start now just a lot smaller orangy brown spot. (pink spots is your copper getting worked on by your acid) Tumbling in Walnut didn't do anything much after that liquid. SS pins will make 100 year old tarnished brass look like new. I got some .30-40 krag brass that says so. They're like new inside and out and they were dark brown and tarnished green before. You might be the guy that needs the harbor freight cement mixer by the sounds of your volume. 
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 If you want clean brass inside and out then look into wet tumbling. Link to my thread. For mass quantities some guys make their own large wet tumblers. Link to BIGGDAWG's thread.
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Quoted:
I use the lizard litter-Nu Polish-dryer sheet mix and my brass comes out better than new. It really is quite remarkable. I just did this same setup after my brother read about it in a magazine. Been using the lizard litter but I added a tad bit of Flitz and the dry sheets cut up. Three hours in the tumbler....brass looks brand spanking new. Just loaded 250 rounds today with that brass and I notice a HUGE difference in resistance loading primers and seating bullets. This is the way to go for us without a wet tumbler. |
| Only 2 ways i know.... Stainless media or the scotchbrite pads. Ive used scotchbrite on my precision heavy loads where im anal and can highly recommend. If it matters, its worth the time. If its for plinking, toss em for a good long time and call it done. They start to retarnish the minute you stop tumbling or cleaning them anyway.... |
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Knock out primers then soak brass in water/Lemishine mix for about 1/2 hour. Lemishine is citric acid crystals and you can get it at Wal-mart by the dishwashing stuff. I put about 1 tablespoonful in 2 quarts of water and soak decapped brass in that . The brass may start turning pink around the edges and the tarnish will turn pink also. After just a couple of minutes it really improves the look of the brass and is quite useable without tumbling. You might be able to do this process with spent primers intact, but be sure to dry the brass well afterwards so the primer pockets are dried.
Size, trim and ream/swage primer pockets then do a final polish in walnut shell with NuFinish or other brass polish added. |
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Stop using Comet or Ajax. A soak in a plain Lemishine solution will shine the cases up nicely. Thing is, they get dirty the next time they're fired! That's all you need. I have alot of really dirty once fired .308. Dark tarnished, some with a bit of green corrosion here and there and range dirt. I put a batch in the kitchen sink fill it with warm water and a good dose of LemiShine from Wal-mart. Let it soak for about an hour. Drain and rinse well. Spread them out in the sun to dry. I decap then tumble in walnut and a capful or two of Dillon Rapid polish for a few hours. They look like new. |
The nu finish is an additive that aids in the polishing process. As others have stated, place a capfull or two in the tumbler and let it run for 20 minutes or so, in order to get it mixed in with the media. If you don't do this, you'll have clumps of wet media in your brass. 
Whether I wet or dry tumble, the presoak in Dawn/lemishine helps out tremendously. |
 Quoted:
The nu finish is an additive that aids in the polishing process. As others have stated, place a capfull or two in the tumbler and let it run for 20 minutes or so, in order to get it mixed in with the media. If you don't do this, you'll have clumps of wet media in your brass.
Whether I wet or dry tumble, the presoak in Dawn/lemishine helps out tremendously. You know the active ingredient in NuFinish is petroleum distillates. Give it a good whiff, smells like diesel. |
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Quoted: It removes a most of the tarnish for me but some of it just wont come off this way(with NU Finish). I would suggest water/stainlesss steel media method. Have not tried the lemon shine Lemishine. That might be the ticket. FIFY Lemishine is good stuff, get at Walmart.
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| What about adding a bit of Brasso to the media? I used to do this years ago, but stopped as I though it was frowned upon for some reason. Can't remember. I see now that people are adding stuff to walnut shells again. So if Nu Finish is petro based, wouldn't mineral spirits do the same thing? The wlanut shells would be the polishing media. |
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