# How do you keep your reloaded brass looking good?



## Dennis DW (Jul 21, 2005)

What are some things you guys do to keep your reloaded brass looking good? I have been reloading now for about 4 years and it seems like the brass on my reloads gets tarnished very easily. Do you wipe each shell down after it is loaded? It seems like the case lube is causing the problem. I feel my hands are clean when I reload. Any sugestions would be appreciated.

Dennis


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## Huntsman27 (Sep 29, 2004)

tumble all of mine [right now have 243/22-250 going] with the treated walnut hulls. It gives a nice finish to the end product. I have heard you can dunk it in white vinegar and salt [a small cereal bowl with a tsp of salt]. this will remove tarnish and can be used on bullets that have tarnished in the boxes etc.
Most all the guys I know tumble it before reloading [to remove any dirt or material before being put in the dies], size and tumble again to remove the lube. If you use the Lee type lube you can omit this step. Just the way I was taught way back when. Rich


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## redneckdan (Dec 14, 2004)

You didn't mention if you were loading straight wall or bottle necked. For straight wall cases, run carbide dies. Much faster and cleaner. For bottle neck cases I tumble after sizing/depriming, that way the lube is removed and the primer pockets gets cleaned.


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## ChiliDog (Aug 3, 2004)

Dennis DW said:


> What are some things you guys do to keep your reloaded brass looking good? I have been reloading now for about 4 years and it seems like the brass on my reloads gets tarnished very easily. Do you wipe each shell down after it is loaded? It seems like the case lube is causing the problem. I feel my hands are clean when I reload. Any sugestions would be appreciated.
> 
> Dennis


After a while, I just gave up. The tarnish didn't affect how well it shot so I didn't worry about it anymore. I noticed that most of the other competitors had tarnished brass & bullets and they were out-shooting me so why worry about it. 

Take care,
Jim


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## part timer (Sep 30, 2003)

I'm using the Lee neck size die and therefore don't use any case lube. The cases don't pick up much grime without the lube so I don't need to tumble.

If you are using the full length sizing die with lube I'd suggest you get a tumbler and some of the polishing medium.


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## 45/70fan (May 29, 2005)

"white vinegar and salt" actually it's one cup of white distilled vinegar, one cup of hot tap water and a table spoon of uniodized salt. If the brass is really dirty and greasy add a drop or two of liquid dish washing soap. Put the brass and mixture in a sealable plastic container and aggitate/swirl around for 10 min. The brass will come out clean and free of tarnish. At this point I rinse my brass a couple of times with hot water and let dry before putting into the tumbler. 
Granted clean brass doesn't shoot any better than dirty brass but when I see somebody shooting dirty brass I have to question their reloading quality control.


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## Huntsman27 (Sep 29, 2004)

Nickel plated cases......Plus you get "pretty bullets" with the likes of ballistic tips/SSTs...........Cracks me up some of the quotes I hear while set up at the gun shows!! If its 22-250s/243/270/25-06 Im hoarding or saving it for my own uses......
One things for sure, nickel cases clean up faster in the tumbler than brass, but my guns like em all.


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## 45/70fan (May 29, 2005)

OOPS, "white vinegar and salt" actually it's one cup of white distilled vinegar, one cup of hot tap water and a table spoon of uniodized salt

This should have read one quart of hot water and one quart of vinegar not a cup of each.


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## 454casull (Jan 6, 2005)

Then do not worry about it. Brass tarnishes and the animals do not care what your ammo looks like. Unless you feel the brass is so bad it could cause a case to stick once fired. Tooth paste is a mild abrasive and you could hand polish all the rounds; but why would you want to....


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## Huntsman27 (Sep 29, 2004)

As long as its clean itll do the job. Just started working a bunch for next years PD shoot.........its going to be a long Winter!


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## alex-v (Mar 24, 2005)

I very, very reload for rifle. I load about 12 to 15,000 rounds of handgun per year, most of it in plain-jane brass and not nickel. Cannot say as I have noticed it tarnishing after even a couple of years of being in those plastic boxes and sometimes the original cardboard box.

The first thing that comes to mind is that your reloads are stored in an area that is very humid; maybe like a damp basement or near a sump pump or the washing machine or in a boat house.

If you have a vibratory tumbler then tumble the cases till they sparkle with a bright brass yellow color. I use a mix of corncob and walnut with run of the mill brass polish or auto polish (not auto wax) added. Load as usual. Then, run the loaded cases in the tumbler once again for about 15 minutes.

However, on the second tumble use a different batch of media which you keep just for this. The second batch can be stuff that is a little bit worn out from the original purpose. Instead of rejuvinating with brass polish add a couple of tablespoons of Mineral Spirits. Let the tumbler run for 15 minutes or so before adding the loaded cases.

This will clean off any excess case lube you might have on the outside and the mineral spirits will leave the ever so slight coating of a preservative to control the tarnishing.

I use this process if I find that my loads with home cast bullets have to much bullet lube on the outside of the case. If the excess lube bothers me I run them through using the process above. Works great. It will not cause any deterioration of the powder or turn it to dust or any of the other old reloaders myths that abound out there. It has been experimented with for over 20 years and the myth has been busted.


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## Dennis DW (Jul 21, 2005)

redneckdan: I am reloading tapered shells. .243, 30-06, and 7mm Rem Mag.

Thanks for all your help. I am currently not cleaning the shells after sizing so I think the case lube is causing some of the problems. I will add an additional tumble step to my reloading process.


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## alex-v (Mar 24, 2005)

Dennis DW said:


> I am currently not cleaning the shells after sizing so I think the case lube is causing some of the problems. I will add an additional tumble step to my reloading process.


Do the second tumbling after you have done the reloading. It only has to be in the tumbler for about 10 to 15 minutes.

Loaded ammo is heavy so you will not be able to do as many loaded cases as you did with the unloaded ones. It might take several batches to finish off the ammo you have loaded, depending on how many you did to start with.


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