OOPS!!! Soaked my brass in dishwater after the shoot and then forgot about them!

fourfingersofdeath · July 14, 2010, 04:55:12 AM

I did this previously, but rinsed them out at the end of the day and they were fine.

This time however, they are reallllllllllllllllllllll black. I rinsed them as best I could and it didn't seem to make much difference. I have put a good slosh of vinegar in and topped up the water again. What can I do to redeem these cases if anything?

Blackpowder Burn · July 14, 2010, 07:06:57 AM

I did that too, once. An extra long polishing cycle cleaned them up.

fourfingersofdeath · July 14, 2010, 07:16:54 AM

Thought so. maybe it's time I ponied up and bought one of those RCBS tumbler polishers.

Blackpowder Burn · July 14, 2010, 10:11:00 AM

I have an ancient Lyman 1200 vibratory cleaner. I add some Iosso case polish to the walnut media and it does a nice job.

Deadeye Don · July 14, 2010, 11:13:12 AM

Quote from: fourfingersofdeath on July 14, 2010, 07:16:54 AM
Thought so. maybe it's time I ponied up and bought one of those RCBS tumbler polishers.

Not sure I would be putting my brass in the same place I put my dishes. I think a tumbler is a great idea for you.

fourfingersofdeath · July 14, 2010, 06:23:54 PM

Quote from: Deadeye Don on July 14, 2010, 11:13:12 AM
Not sure I would be putting my brass in the same place I put my dishes. I think a tumbler is a great idea for you.

Ha, Ha! I used the dishwashing soap in a plastic screwtop jar with water and gave them a shake when I added more cases. I usually rinse these out and re-do them at the end of the daay, but plumb forgot this time. I think I should have put some vinegar in but I think this would negate the effects of the soapy water.

Goatlips · July 14, 2010, 11:17:19 PM

KABOOM will clean that there brass but don't let it soak too long. Works on Black Powder brass, but now I don't bother trying to get 'em shiny.

Goatlips

Howdy Doody · July 15, 2010, 02:59:45 AM

Good idea Goatlips, Kaboom works great on brass. It would get a good head start on getting that brass back to at least decent.

I use that stuff all the time and no problems at all. I have been using some treated media I got from Midway in my vibratory cleaner and at the last shoot I actually had the loading officer say it looked like I was loading new brass in my shooters. It looks that good.

fourfingersofdeath · July 15, 2010, 06:02:49 AM

Whats Kaboom (no smarty bum answers, the Kaboom Goat Lips is referring to is what I'm talking about).

Howdy Doody · July 15, 2010, 11:59:52 AM

Sorry, Kaboom has been around and talked about a lot, but not lately. I buy it in a spray bottle at the grocery store. It is a shower/tile cleaner in a purple bottle. Made for cleaning chrome and such. I add a good bit to my water in my jug after initially rinsing the brass from a match. I usually give it about 20 squirts and shake the brass up, let stand 5 minutes, then drain and set my brass on a old towel in the sun to dry. Then I stick the dry brass in the vibratory cleaner with treated media in it and the brass looks near good as new. I run the vibrator a couple hours. So, Kaboom is a bath cleaner.

john boy · July 15, 2010, 10:02:25 PM

QuoteThis time however, they are reallllllllllllllllllllll black.

Fourfinger, what took place was the potassium sulfide from the BP foul was reacting with water to form potassium bisulfide and potassium hydroxide which on brass turned the cases black. Happened to me once with a box of 38-55 empties. Had to run them in the rotary tumbler 3 times to bring them back to the brass color.

Goatlips · July 15, 2010, 11:52:43 PM

"Kaboom is a bath cleaner."

Sure is, like Drano is a "drain cleaner"; it will eat the chrome off your bathtub fixtures if used without caution, as my bride discovered.

Sure is good on brass though, if used like Howdy said.

Goatlips

fourfingersofdeath · July 15, 2010, 11:56:31 PM

I'll see if I can come up with a similar product.

Chaa Duu Ba Its Iidan · July 17, 2010, 03:56:02 PM

My opinion and advice is to NOT use reactive household chemical cleaners on your brass or anything else you value. The chemicals MAY cause embrittlement in your brass and therby shorten its useful service life.

fourfingersofdeath · July 17, 2010, 07:12:04 PM

I got em' soaking in water and vinegar at the moment, I think that should have neutralised things (hope so). I will rinse and dry them today and stick them in the tumbler for a day or so (that media won't be worth a thing after this. The cases are 44/40s, if they were 38s I'd of just trashed them.

Dusty Morningwood · July 18, 2010, 07:44:04 AM

Sounds like a lot of work. I just let 'em stay black. If the tumbling media doesn't shine 'em up, at least I know they are clean.

Noz · July 19, 2010, 08:15:08 AM

I'd run them thru a normal cleaning cycle, load them and shoot. After two or three trips to the range you won't be able to tell them from the others.

Angel_Eyes · July 19, 2010, 01:07:27 PM

Hah!! And here's me been searching for something to dye my brass black so I can distinguish it from other peoples (rifle ejected) brass after a stage.

Thanks for the tip,,,black brass,,,ooooh baby!!

It also disguises the fact that I don't clean my brass very often

Angel(tight Scotsman) Eyes

Dick Dastardly · July 19, 2010, 05:46:52 PM

A longer than usual tumble in DD Ceramic Porcelain tumbling media will get them back in shape again. The media doesn't wear out, but you may need to change the solution a couple of times to come up with what you want. Also, don't be afraid to put a teaspoon of TSP in with the first rotation.

I've reclaimed brass that was so horrid that you would have thrown it out. Now, I shoot it along with my others and don't know the difference.

Nickle plated brass cracks first.

DD-DLoS

fourfingersofdeath · July 20, 2010, 05:37:05 AM

Whats Tsp? Thats the abbreviation for teaspoon (small spoon for stirring tea and coffee) in cook books.