Treso Nipple Cleaning

[Cemetery]

Hey Everybody,

Any tips on how to keep Treso nipples nice and sparkly clean?  I put on a set of Treso's on my ROA's in the fall, and they went from the nice shiny brass type coloring to dull, dark, and drab.

Is this normal?

Or is there a way to bring back the shine?

I normally use Windex w/Vinegar, or Ballistol.  Just tried Butch BP Bore Shine.  No luck

[Fox Creek Kid]

Sure, you could use Flitz every time for 4 or 5 hrs. polishing them but why bother? 

[Mako]

Cemetery,
I wouldn't worry about it.  I let my brass and bronze age on my pistols and rifles.  I used to worry about my Treso cones as well.  I just keep them clean now and relish the look of use.  If you start trying to clean them to sparkling you will do one of two things.  You will either change them dimensionally from abrasion or you will leach the copper, tin and aluminum of the Ampco alloy and ultimately weaken it.

Just as chemical cleaning of cartridge brass can weaken it, so too can ammonia or acidic solutions on cones.  Can you do it on a limited basis?  I'd say yes, but it tarnishes or darkens from the priming compound as soon as you use them again.

If you do use compounds meant for copper alloys you need to keep it away from your steel pistol parts.  The aluminum bronze resists the cleaners more than brass and it won't look as shiny without some abrasion.

My trick is using a bronze brush to clean the cones.  They are just a bit larger than toothbrushes and you can get them a variety of places, Brownells for one.  They won't harm the finish on the cylinder and you can clean while the cones are installed.

When you remove the cones you can use bronze wool to clean them, also available from Brownells.  I use bronze to avoid or minimize any material removal from the cones.  Once you have a cone that works you don't want to change it dimensionally.

Regards,
Mako

[Blackpowder Burn]

Mako,

Do you remove the nipples from the cylinder each time you clean the gun after firing?  I have been doing so in order to get all the crud from the recesses around the nipple.  I'm still rather new to cap'n ball and am trying various approaches to cleaning the gun. 

I have a Hornady Magnum Lock-N-Load ultrasonic cleaner on order, and thought using in on the cylinder and barrel assembly might be very effective, using their "Gun Cleaning" solution in the machine.  Just curious whether anyone else has done this.

[Montana Slim]

I wasn't specifically asked, but will chime in......For the first 5-8 years of C&B shooting I did remove the cones during each cleaning. Since then, I've left them on the cylinder & cleaned it as a unit, brushing with stiff bristle brush, blow-dry or air-dry, lube, etc. I do use the wrench to loosen each one, 1/2 turn & re-tighten after all of this. Never had one rust up. I do remove them about once a year when the shooting season ends. Near 30 years of using this technique has had no issues.

Slim

[Deadeye Dick]

If you're not going to remove them every time, try using Never Seize on the threads so the cones don't become stuck in the cylinder. The local black powder shop recommends not removing them every time you clean the gun. I think they feel it's too much wear and tear on the cylinder threads. They may be right, but I just can't not clean them, so I remove them every time.
Deadeye Dick

[Bishop Creek]

No one asked me either, but I remove and clean mine after about every third time shooting. I always use a nipple prick to clean inside the cones. I then put a little SPG Lube on the threads before re-installing in the cylinder. Works great for me.

[Fingers McGee]

After every match, I remove the nipples and let them soak in Birchwood Casey BP solvent while I clean the rest of the revolver.  Last step is to use a brass bristle brush to clean deposite off the outside of the nipple and a piece of a pipe cleaner to clean the bore.  A spray of Balistol on the threads, then they are reinstalled on the cylinder.