Outrider, SASS #72622 Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 I got about 1,000 pieces of 38 sp brass that have been setting around for years the other day...FREE! I cleaned (soaked in hot water & dish washing soap) and tumbled them but a bunch still look tarnished, stained and dirty. Anybody got any advice on how I might clean these up? My next step is gonna be steel wool I guess... I just hate to throw them away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster Ron Wayne Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 Corn cob media and Turtle wax polish . Put a 1/4 bottle of polish in with the media And let them run for about 2 hours . They will look like new. God bless Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrison Joe, SASS #60708 Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 Hardware or tile store carries sulfamic acid crystals for cleaning tile and grout. This is a weak acid (as is vinegar), that has a characteristic of loosening the tarnish on brass pretty quickly. I mix a tablespoon of the sulfamic crystals, about 1/4 cup of vinegar and 2 cups of water together, warm in microwave to short of boiling point, then dump the brass in it for NO MORE than about 3 minutes. It loosens the tarnish so that a quick swipe with a wet rag or green nylon scrubbing pad takes it all off. Then rinse and tumble to polish it up. Wear rubber gloves to keep it from stripping all the oil from your skin. A 12 ounce tub of the crystals lets you clean tarnished and corroded brass for years. Good luck, GJ Besides, NEVER, EVER throw old brass away. In any shape, dirty, corroded or what not, it is valuable to the scrap dealers. Right now, at least $1.50 a pound, depending on the current price of copper. Some scrap dealers (metal recyclers as they want to be called today) even take old rifle and pistol primers, which are all brass, too. I have a discard brass box that makes me about $50 a year! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stepnmud#33546 Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 Should be able to reload the tarnished brass as long as they are clean. I like clean brass that have shine and recently changed from vibrator dry tumble to a rotary wet tumble with stainless steel pins. Lots quieter and no dust. Little more labor to use the wet tumble, but would not go back to the dry tumble unless no option was available. Setup cost cost is more expensive, but no need to buy addtional dry media in the future. Actually if you try some fresh Lizard walnut media from a store like PetCo. and add a capful of liquid car wax and tumble for a few hours might make your brass shine more. Let the car wax tumble for a few mintues before adding brass. http://www.stainlesstumblingmedia.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lead Ringer Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 Just use them for BP. They'll stay ugly for ever and you'll have a lot of fun. Just a thought? Ringer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Fill 'Em 67797 Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 Hey buddy, wish I could have talked with you more at "Shootin' in the Shade". Check this out, lots of good gun-related stuff. Look under "Chemical Case Cleaners" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Coffinmaker Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 Don't bother. Just tumble and reload as you shoot it. A bit of tarnish just adds character. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rye Miles #13621 Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 Ya cleaned 'em and tumbled 'em, that's good enough! Shoot the darn things already. The guns don't know the difference! Rye Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virgil Ray Hality, SASS# 37355 Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 Here is what I did some time ago, to some very old brass. Some of it was 38 spl I collected on the range. Some was 12 gauge UMC I purchased. All of it was dirty and brown. After washing and tumbling for a time, I realized they were not going to be easy to clean. So I gave them a 15 second dunk in Goddard's Silver Dip. The brown color disappeared that fast. I was amazed. Then I washed them off and did the corn cob media and brasso routine for a high shine. I still have the brass, although, I don't shoot much 38spl any more. I would not make a regular habit of using the silver dip as I don't really know what happened to the metal. It did not seem to matter with a 1 time shot. Also, the dip can be costly as it does not last long and comes in small jars. Plus, the brass uses it up fairly fast. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utah Bob #35998 Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 It has been my experience as a bp aficianado that pretty brass shoots no better than ugly stained brass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933 Posted September 14, 2012 Share Posted September 14, 2012 Shake um and shoot um. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howdy Doody Posted September 15, 2012 Share Posted September 15, 2012 My experience Outrider is this. Some years ago I bought some used brass off of one of the guns sites auctions.It cleaned up pretty good. It was brass and not nickled. I shot some of it at a match and had a couple splits and chucked those after firing. Then the next time out with the stuff, I had a case head seperation in my rifle that blew open the bolt on a Marlin and shut me down. That was enough for me and I quit using the stuff and eventually unloaded the brass and chucked it out of safety. I am saying do your very best to inspect what you have. Once fired left unloaded for a long time could be an issue for you. I hope not. Just somthing I feel I need to pass along. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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