Brass not looking so hot (tarnish?)

Ryan500

Ryan500

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Just wondering if anyone here has experianced what I got going on, or maybe i'm losing my marbles.

I Tumble my brass nice and shiney with fine walnut, bounce sheets and nu finish car polish. Load some ammo up and after it sits for a while it looks dark and dull.

Now I know shiney brass is not a very important part of reloading, but I like that fresh out of the tumbler look.

Thanks.
 
Don't use the cleaners and dryer fabric softener sheets, just use dry media and polish until it's shiney. It will stay like that a lot longer without the cleaners.
 
One of the reasons brass is used for cases is because of how it reacts to corrosion. If you make any metal super clean and highly polished it becomes exposed to oxygen. That is why is goes brown. Essentially your brass is too clean, hence unprotected. Put an oily or waxy coating on them and this will stop.
This is why Brasso polishes brass so well. It has 3 main parts.
1 is ammonia which reacts with the copper oxide as a dissolving agent (some say this makes using it on cases dangerous as ammonia readily dissolves copper and its alloys)
2 is a fine abrasive which provides a polishing luster
3 is an oil which prevents direct contact with oxygen to prevent new corrosion from forming.
But if you don't want to use brasso then try an rag wet with some gun oil. Wipe the bullet down as the last step in reloading.
 
Sorry, should have specified how long a while is... maybe a month or two.

I will stop with the dryer sheets and give them a very light rub of oil when done, not to much though I imagine it would be detremental to how the brass acts when fired in the chamber if they are very slick, like the stories I have heard about case lube.

Thanks guys.
 
Ryan500 said:
Sorry, should have specified how long a while is... maybe a month or two.

I will stop with the dryer sheets and give them a very light rub of oil when done, not to much though I imagine it would be detremental to how the brass acts when fired in the chamber if they are very slick, like the stories I have heard about case lube.

Thanks guys.
Click to expand...

I thought the dryer sheets were used to collect up the dust from the media?
 
I use straight walnut and the dryer sheet and have brass that has stayed shiny for many months after being tumbled.

If you oil them to keep them shiny, remember to take Alcohol or some other good cleaner that completely dissolves, and remove the oil before you take them out to shoot. Even a small amount of oil on the case is not a good idea, both from its affect in the chamber and the amount of crap they pick up if you carry them around hunting.
 
kevguy said:
I thought the dryer sheets were used to collect up the dust from the media?
Click to expand...

It is.

Seriously however, I have a couple Q's for the OP.

What type of press are you using?
Do you handle the brass w/ any sort of gloves while reloading?

The reason I ask is that the shiney look may be getting some of the oils from your fingers/skin and causing the tarnish. Everyone has different chemical "excretions" from their skin, and some may be more caustic/acidic than others and cause the tarnish. The amount of case handling can be related as well.
Is it a single stage press where you handle the cases 4-6+ times per reloading from tumbling to storage, or a progressive which could be 2x (load and unload/store).
 
Good point, yeah it's a single stage LEE. I think you all have good ideas, will change somethings if I want to keep the nice clean look.
 
Also the humidity in the storage area can effect the brasses shine.
As noted the oil on the rag need only be slight,enough to make an oily smudge on the surface but not a sticky film.
A thin cotton glove quickly sprayed with silicone oil would eliminate both finger print damage and coat the brass.
I throw the silica gell packs from my old powder cans into the box with my ammo to keep any humidity at bay.
 
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