Lemi-shine tarnish fix?

[SavageHunter11]

I learned not to wet tumble pennies

I tossed a penny in with one of my first batches and learned that too. It never affected the other brass but what came out wasn't a penny anymore. Half of it had been eaten away exposing the zinc core.

 

[Varmint Hunter]

I've posted this before but it's worth repeating here:

Do NOT SS tumble your stainless steel brakes. They come out nice and clean but when you "try" to put them back on your rifle you will determine that the threads have been peened enough that re-installation is not possible.

I did this to two stainless brakes in a single batch and learned the hard way.

 

[SavageHunter11]

I've posted this before but it's worth repeating here:

Do NOT SS tumble your stainless steel brakes. They come out nice and clean but when you "try" to put them back on your rifle you will determine that the threads have been peened enough that re-installation is not possible.

I did this to two stainless brakes in a single batch and learned the hard way.

Glad you said something before I tried it myself.
I wonder if you threaded a bolt that was the perfect length into the treads to protect them from damage.... I have a brake or two I could sacrifice to try

 

[Dr. Vette]

I never run nickel-plated brass through my stainless tumbler.

I sell it.

 

[Varmint Hunter]

Glad you said something before I tried it myself.
I wonder if you threaded a bolt that was the perfect length into the treads to protect them from damage.... I have a brake or two I could sacrifice to try

I'm guessing that a sonic cleaner may be a good option for brakes but don't have any experience with them. Maybe some here can help with this idea.

 

[SavageHunter11]

I never run nickel-plated brass through my stainless tumbler.

I sell it.

Any particular reason you sell it? From what I've read the nickel-plated stuff won't corrode or tarnish over time and is good for hunting loads that don't get shot very often. Kinda thought I'd load my dad's and brother-in-laws stuff up in plated brass as they shoot three rounds a year (2 to verify zero and one to shoot a deer at 200 yards or less)

 

[Dr. Vette]

Any particular reason you sell it? From what I've read the nickel-plated stuff won't corrode or tarnish over time and is good for hunting loads that don't get shot very often. Kinda thought I'd load my dad's and brother-in-laws stuff up in plated brass as they shoot three rounds a year (2 to verify zero and one to shoot a deer at 200 yards or less)

It can't be annealed, therefore it goes down the road. That means more to me than corrosion resistance.

If you only reload it 1-2x you might get away with using it.

 

[just_jon]

In my experience, nickel plating doesn't guarantee brass will not corrode. Just pulled a 100 round MTM box of 22-250 AI ammo that had not been opened in 6-7 years and 70% were corroded beyond use. My experience may not be typical as the loading room in my old place was less than optimal humidity wise (damp, unheated, unfinished basement). However, my other brass or ammo loaded and stored at that location were just as I left them. Some 7mm RM rounds were loaded in 1997.

 

[Andrew Massi]

What lemishine are you guys adding? Going to give this a whirl

 

[crystalgayleguy]

An update for anyone watching this forum, PLEASE LEARN FROM MY ERROR. Last night I ran the this batch of brass for a fifth time (I was switching the recipe each time to try and find the factor that was dulling/tarnishing the brass) and the batch came out dull and with a residue that could be wiped away to reveal shiny brass and would blacken my fingers. At the range I was shooting with an friend who happens to be my old high-school chemistry/physics teacher and I was expressing the frustration I was having. Long story short, after I described to him everything I was doing/putting in the tumbler he started laughing stating he knew why my brass was dull and apparently I didn't listen well in his class.

I was cleaning my Lapua brass but I also had room for additional brass and had thrown in 40 pieces of nickel plated 280 Remington brass I picked up at the range last weekend. I was retaught the lesson that two different kinds of metal in an acidic solution (thanks to the Lemi-shine) was creating an environment where my two different types of brass were essentially trying to electroplate each other. Came home after shooting and ran the just the Lapua brass in my tumbler with my normal mixture of a cap full of car wash/wax soap, hot water, and a 1/2 teaspoon of Lemi-shine and my brass looks better than new again.

I'll state this, I am still new to wet tumbling, so if the knowledge that one should be separating brass and nickel-plated brass is common knowledge I apologize. Regardless, there are bound to be other who, like me, did not know this and I'd like to save them the headache I went through. Separate out that nickel-plated brass everybody and save yourself the headache I endured. It took one last lesson from my chemistry teacher to figure it out.

I

 

[crystalgayleguy]

What lemishine are you guys adding? Going to give this a whirl

I buy mine at Wally world

 

[crystalgayleguy]

An update for anyone watching this forum, PLEASE LEARN FROM MY ERROR. Last night I ran the this batch of brass for a fifth time (I was switching the recipe each time to try and find the factor that was dulling/tarnishing the brass) and the batch came out dull and with a residue that could be wiped away to reveal shiny brass and would blacken my fingers. At the range I was shooting with an friend who happens to be my old high-school chemistry/physics teacher and I was expressing the frustration I was having. Long story short, after I described to him everything I was doing/putting in the tumbler he started laughing stating he knew why my brass was dull and apparently I didn't listen well in his class.

I was cleaning my Lapua brass but I also had room for additional brass and had thrown in 40 pieces of nickel plated 280 Remington brass I picked up at the range last weekend. I was retaught the lesson that two different kinds of metal in an acidic solution (thanks to the Lemi-shine) was creating an environment where my two different types of brass were essentially trying to electroplate each other. Came home after shooting and ran the just the Lapua brass in my tumbler with my normal mixture of a cap full of car wash/wax soap, hot water, and a 1/2 teaspoon of Lemi-shine and my brass looks better than new again.

I'll state this, I am still new to wet tumbling, so if the knowledge that one should be separating brass and nickel-plated brass is common knowledge I apologize. Regardless, there are bound to be other who, like me, did not know this and I'd like to save them the headache I went through. Separate out that nickel-plated brass everybody and save yourself the headache I endured. It took one last lesson from my chemistry teacher to figure it out.

I had brass that the wet tumbler wouldnot shine up so I dip the brass in ketchup and let soak for thirty minutes washed it off and rumbled came out shinny I only fill my tumbler about half full of hot water

 

[Philip J Theodhor]

I've been using a rounded 1/2 teaspoon of lemi shine and a cap full of car was soap and I was getting good results but I'd always have a few pieces of brass that would get these brown spots of tarnish. I might back both off from now on and see how it goes. I've got a real dirty batch of 500-ish 300blk to run after I re-run this Lapua brass so well see how it goes.

I wish I had a media tumbler because that was my first thought too

The formula I use to tumble my brass hulls is the following.
Too my Lyman Wet Tumbler Drum:
Add tumbling media (2 1/2 pounds of steel pins which have been previously cleaned, rinsed and air dried).
3 ea. 1/4 teaspoons of Dawn Dish washing Liquid.
1 ea. 1/4 level teaspoon of Lemishine.
Add brass cartridge cases (at least 50 rounds or more of deprimed Starline brass).
Fill with hot water to just below the inner cover seal.
(this will thoroughly mix all ingredients together)
Place a little Dawn dish washing liquid on the rubber seal as well as the female threads on the inside of the outer cap cover. This will prevent any water leakage during the tumbling process by creating a good seal. It will also aid in the caps removal when the time comes without a struggle or the need for a strap wrench.
Hand tighten the outer cap cover and place on motorized base
Run for about 1 1/2 - 2 hours
Remove brass and rinse in hot water
Place brass on a towel and quick dry (this will remove those ugly water spots)
Place clean brass in a case dryer and run @ 104 degrees for one hour. This will insure that all excess moisture from the inside as well as the outside of brass has been eliminated.
Hand examine brass and wipe any remaining residue off(and believe me there is always a little left on the brass itself)
Finally weigh and sort brass accordingly.
With this formula my brass is always come out looking like virgin brass.
Using to much soap or Lemishine resulted in a dull lackluster brass, however if you use this formula and you will get good results with the noted waters PH Level.
OBTW this is based on the use of PH 12 hardness of water.
To this end you may need to do some trial and error varying the quantity of either the Dawn dish washing soap or Lemishine.