Wet tumbling nickel plated

lugerstew · August 29, 2021, 11:22 AM

Maybe its been brought up before, but I learned a lesson yesterday on wet tumbling nickel plated brass. If you want it to stay nice and shiny, don't do it.
I found 20 rounds of once fired shiny new 30-30 brass at the range and brought it home and wet tumbled with my other brass for about 4 hours.
When I took them all out, the nickel plated was not shiny no more, but instead looked like dull nickel and my other brass was not as shiny as I'm used to.
I also noticed when I was handling and inspecting the brass, my hands had a lot of grey on them, I assume it was pulverized nickel.
I don't own a 30-30, but I pick up any good brass and clean it and put it away for trading material. I guess if I find any more nice looking nickel brass, I will just clean it awhile in the dry tumbler.
I know!, before anyone says it, shiny brass don't shoot any better than dull brass.

NoSecondBest · August 29, 2021, 01:51 PM

I’ve tumbled nickel brass many times and it always came out shiny. I think it’s what medium you tumbled them in and/or what you used for a polish. You don’t say in your post.

lugerstew · August 29, 2021, 04:28 PM

NoSecondBest: Do people use polish in a wet tumbler?, I just use Dawn soap, a smidge of lemishine, ss pins and hot water.

NoSecondBest · August 29, 2021, 04:43 PM

I use Frankfort Arsenal Brass Polish in my tumbler. I don’t use SS pins. Never had a problem and I’ve been doing this for about 50+ years.

Shadow9mm · August 29, 2021, 10:35 PM

yeah, I did that the other day, same result, dull nickel.

AVirginian · August 30, 2021, 03:21 AM

Never had any dull nickel plated cases after tumbling.

I use Dawn, Lemi-Shine, cold water and SS pins for 1.5 to 2 hours max.

Sounds like you may have just beat the daylights out of them.

zplinker · August 30, 2021, 08:29 AM

Only time I've seen brass of any description come out less than great, from the ss/dawn cleaning, was when I was light on the dawn soap. It is supposed to suspend, and hold the gunk.... If you don't have soap suds when you open the drum, you are a bit light on soap.

ballardw · August 30, 2021, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lugerstew

I found 20 rounds of once fired shiny new 30-30 brass at the range and brought it home and wet tumbled with my other brass for about 4 hours.

What headstamp was the brass?
I'm not sure that I would assume that every brand of nickel plated brass is the same.

lugerstew · August 30, 2021, 11:40 AM

ballardw: The headstamp was FC

Crunchy Frog · August 31, 2021, 04:42 PM

That’s an awful long time to run the wet tumbler.

Eventually the detergent will stop suspending the dirt and it will re-deposit on the cases.

Try running it for 30 minutes. You might be surprised.

lugerstew · September 1, 2021, 07:20 AM

Thanks Crunchy Frog, next time I will give that a try, wow if that works, I've been wasting 3.5 hours of electricity!

**Unclenick** · September 1, 2021, 10:37 AM

Also, if your cleaning solution has citric acid in it, as many do, you may be seeing a chemical reaction due to the slightly different electronegativity of nickel and the copper and zinc in brass. Try the plain Dawn next time around.

7.62 man · September 1, 2021, 10:57 AM

I sort out my nickel plated cases & tumble them separate. Nickel cases clean much faster than the brass because normally there is no tarnish to remove.
I just use hot water & dawn then tumble no more than an hour, there is no need for the citric acid because of there is no tarnish to remove.

ballardw · September 1, 2021, 11:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unclenick

Also, if your cleaning solution has citric acid in it, as many do, you may be seeing a chemical reaction due to the slightly different electronegativity of nickel and the copper and zinc in brass. Try the plain Dawn next time around.

from https://lemishine.com/pages/ingredients

Lemi Shine® Booster Ingredients
Ingredient Description CAS#
CITRIC ACID A mild, organic acid used to optimize pH levels. It is a naturally occurring raw material, biodegrades easily 77-92-9
FRAGRANCE (ingredients may include those found at http://www.ifraorg.org/) Blended composition of natural essential oils (lemon oil and natural extract from citrus peels) + synthetic ingredients. Fragrance components: Citral (CAS# 5392-40-5), D-Limonene (CAS# 5989-27-5). Proprietary

August 29, 2021, 11:22 AM	#1
lugerstew Senior Member Join Date: September 22, 2019 Location: Colorado Posts: 260	Wet tumbling nickel plated Maybe its been brought up before, but I learned a lesson yesterday on wet tumbling nickel plated brass. If you want it to stay nice and shiny, don't do it. I found 20 rounds of once fired shiny new 30-30 brass at the range and brought it home and wet tumbled with my other brass for about 4 hours. When I took them all out, the nickel plated was not shiny no more, but instead looked like dull nickel and my other brass was not as shiny as I'm used to. I also noticed when I was handling and inspecting the brass, my hands had a lot of grey on them, I assume it was pulverized nickel. I don't own a 30-30, but I pick up any good brass and clean it and put it away for trading material. I guess if I find any more nice looking nickel brass, I will just clean it awhile in the dry tumbler. I know!, before anyone says it, shiny brass don't shoot any better than dull brass.

August 29, 2021, 10:35 PM	#5
Shadow9mm Senior Member Join Date: March 21, 2012 Location: Indianapolis, IN Posts: 3,969	yeah, I did that the other day, same result, dull nickel. __________________ I don't believe in "range fodder" that is why I reload.

September 1, 2021, 10:37 AM	#12
Unclenick Staff Join Date: March 4, 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 21,060	Also, if your cleaning solution has citric acid in it, as many do, you may be seeing a chemical reaction due to the slightly different electronegativity of nickel and the copper and zinc in brass. Try the plain Dawn next time around. __________________ Gunsite Orange Hat Family Member CMP Certified GSM Master Instructor NRA Certified Rifle Instructor NRA Benefactor Member and Golden Eagle

August 29, 2021, 01:51 PM	#2
NoSecondBest Senior Member Join Date: December 7, 2009 Location: Western New York Posts: 2,736	I’ve tumbled nickel brass many times and it always came out shiny. I think it’s what medium you tumbled them in and/or what you used for a polish. You don’t say in your post.

August 29, 2021, 04:28 PM	#3
lugerstew Senior Member Join Date: September 22, 2019 Location: Colorado Posts: 260	NoSecondBest: Do people use polish in a wet tumbler?, I just use Dawn soap, a smidge of lemishine, ss pins and hot water.

August 29, 2021, 04:43 PM	#4
NoSecondBest Senior Member Join Date: December 7, 2009 Location: Western New York Posts: 2,736	I use Frankfort Arsenal Brass Polish in my tumbler. I don’t use SS pins. Never had a problem and I’ve been doing this for about 50+ years.

August 30, 2021, 03:21 AM	#6
AVirginian Senior Member Join Date: February 6, 2014 Posts: 128	Never had any dull nickel plated cases after tumbling. I use Dawn, Lemi-Shine, cold water and SS pins for 1.5 to 2 hours max. Sounds like you may have just beat the daylights out of them.

August 30, 2021, 08:29 AM	#7
zplinker Senior Member Join Date: February 21, 2011 Location: way out here Posts: 262	Only time I've seen brass of any description come out less than great, from the ss/dawn cleaning, was when I was light on the dawn soap. It is supposed to suspend, and hold the gunk.... If you don't have soap suds when you open the drum, you are a bit light on soap.

August 30, 2021, 11:40 AM	#9
lugerstew Senior Member Join Date: September 22, 2019 Location: Colorado Posts: 260	ballardw: The headstamp was FC

August 31, 2021, 04:42 PM	#10
Crunchy Frog Senior Member Join Date: December 26, 2008 Location: Greenville, SC Posts: 591	That’s an awful long time to run the wet tumbler. Eventually the detergent will stop suspending the dirt and it will re-deposit on the cases. Try running it for 30 minutes. You might be surprised.

September 1, 2021, 07:20 AM	#11
lugerstew Senior Member Join Date: September 22, 2019 Location: Colorado Posts: 260	Thanks Crunchy Frog, next time I will give that a try, wow if that works, I've been wasting 3.5 hours of electricity!

September 1, 2021, 10:57 AM	#13
7.62 man Senior Member Join Date: April 30, 2009 Location: Cyber-world USA Posts: 258	I sort out my nickel plated cases & tumble them separate. Nickel cases clean much faster than the brass because normally there is no tarnish to remove. I just use hot water & dawn then tumble no more than an hour, there is no need for the citric acid because of there is no tarnish to remove.