Tumbled Brass
Whats the best way to keep brass shiny and from tarnishing after tumbling?
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You might give ziploc slider bags a try. Fill the gallon ones 1/4 full, squeeze as much of the air out as you can. Close the zipper. 0 -
The ziplock bag works ofr me, too. Don't touch the cases diretcly either, wear some latex type gloves when handling it. The acids/oils stuff on our skin can leave fingerprint marks on brass as well. 0 -
While I personally don't care if my cases are tarnished so long as they are clean, understanding why they tarnish is the key to taking care of the issue. It's oxidation, simply put; which requires air contact to work. As one of the other posters said, a zip lock is a good idea. I'd kick it up a notch and say that a vacuum sealer would be even better, though that's overkill. But the main thing is to avoid contact with your fingers. That done I'd put the bag in an airtight ammo can with a dessicant pack to further minimize air circulation and moisture exposure, as most zip locks aren't 100% air tight.
The only other thing I'd add is a citric acid bath does wonders to remove really deep tarnish, though it does leave the cases looking a little orange-y, if you have some that are really bad it's an idea- then tumble as normal.0 -
A light coat of wax.
Sheesh, it isn't rocket science.0 -
loading and shooting them again before they have time to tarnish works great for me.[:D] 0 -
I'd go with the zip-lock 1-gal bags. (Can't imagine waxing 100's or 1,000's of each individual casing? -- but easily accomplished for the odd collectable cartridge)
Back to the zip-lock bags... Never could warrent the cost of, nor saw a continual need to buy a vacume sealing gizmo machine. So, a little trick, though not perfect, is to stick a beverage straw into the closing corner of the bag, bring the lock-tab over to the straw, then suck on the dang thing to get all the air out that you can. Then in one quick motion drag the straw out with your teeth while locking the bag-- presto!
I've found the better quality freezer bags work pretty good for this purpose.
45er0 -
Ive been told of a polish that you can add to your tumbler, but it is not a wax. Obvious that handling might cause a problem, but hard to reload without handling. Im sure someone has this figured out, how dangerous would it be to put some back in the tumbler after reloading? I know it doesnt sound too safe, but it has been done by some. 0 -
The factories tumble every round that comes off the line, prior to packaging.
Putting some wax into a final tumble would be the easy way to apply it.0 -
quote:Originally posted by 45er
I'd go with the zip-lock 1-gal bags. (Can't imagine waxing 100's or 1,000's of each individual casing? -- but easily accomplished for the odd collectable cartridge)
Back to the zip-lock bags... Never could warrent the cost of, nor saw a continual need to buy a vacume sealing gizmo machine. So, a little trick, though not perfect, is to stick a beverage straw into the closing corner of the bag, bring the lock-tab over to the straw, then suck on the dang thing to get all the air out that you can. Then in one quick motion drag the straw out with your teeth while locking the bag-- presto!
I've found the better quality freezer bags work pretty good for this purpose.
45er
+1...and I might add that you could always use a desiccant bag to help keep moisture at bay0 -
Tumbling live ammo is unsafe as it can take the deterrents off the powder causing a very hot load, according to Hornady Tech Dept. Federal Premium's forum made a similar comment. Factory tumbling of live ammo would be brief & carefully controlled; no certainty of that for the hobbyist. For safety's sake, please do brass tumbling prior to loading. 0
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