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Old April 26, 2005, 08:03 PM   #1
Scrcrow
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Discolorations when cleaning brass

I decided to give Isosso brass cleaner a try the other night. I followed the directions, submerging the brass for no longer that 15 minutes. The funny thing was, some of my brass turned orange! It was only a few out of each batch. I varied my exposure time between 5 minutes and 12 minutes but I saw no difference in the results. Anyone know why a few of the cartriges turned orange? Am I doing something wrong?

Thanks in advance...
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Old April 26, 2005, 10:13 PM   #2
cheygriz
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I am personally very leery of ANY chemical brass cleaner. If you want to clean your brass, get a tumbler.

I suggest a Thumler's Model B tumbl;er, and then wash your brass with warm water and liquid Tide for 20-25 minutes. Quick, easy, uncomplicated, and very effective.

The vibratory tumblers work quite well also. While I prefer the rotary tumbler and washing, I wouldn't feel too put upon if all I had was a Lyman vibratory and corncob media. Both methods work well.
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Old April 26, 2005, 10:24 PM   #3
Wildalaska
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I have had real good luck with the Birchwood casey cleaner, although I only dip for 3 minutes

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Old April 26, 2005, 10:27 PM   #4
hivel37
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I have used IOSSO for very dirty brass about 6 - 8 times. I have never left the brass in solution for over 45 SECONDS. The instructions indicate to leave them in from 20 seconds to 5 minutes, watching for desired results, and to never leave them longer than this. I'd chunk those babies.
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Old April 28, 2005, 03:15 PM   #5
shooter22
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I use a vibrating tumbler and a mix of 50/50 corncob and walnut media with an ounce of Flitz tumbling liquid. They come out better looking than new.

Also, Flitz does not have ammonia in it.
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Old April 28, 2005, 06:47 PM   #6
BILLY D.
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I HAVE HAD GOOD EXPERIENCES WITH THE BIRCHWOOD CASEY CLEANER ALSO. I PROBABLY UTILIZE IT A LOT DIFFERENTLY THOUGH. I POUR IT IN MY ULTRASONIC CLEANER AND CHECK IT EVERY FEW MINUTES OR SO. I PULL OUT A CASE AND IF THE PRIMER POCKET IS CLEAN I PULL THE REST OF THE CASES AND RINSE THEM, BLOW DRY THEM WITH A HAIR DRIER AND THEY ARE DONE. SO WHILE I'M SCRATCHING MY WATCH AND WINDING MY A$$ MY CASES ARE GETTING CLEANED. ONLY OLD TIMERS WILL UNDERSTAND THAT ONE.

I HAVE BEEN RELOADING FOR OVER 50 YEARS AND HAVE HEARD ALL THE HORROR STORIES ABOUT AMMONIA AND BRASS. HOWEVER I HAVE NEVER SEEN ANY EVIDENCE OF THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENING NOR SPECIFIED AMOUNTS. HOW MUCH AMMONIA OR HOW LONG.

I HAVE BEEN USING BRASSO WITH CORNCOB MEDIA IN A VIBRATORY TUMBLER SINCE CUSTER WAS A CORPORAL AND HECTOR WAS A PUPPY AND THE LONGIVITY OF MY CASES EQUALS ANYONE ELSES. YES BRASSO CONTAINS AMMONIA. THERE ARE DIFFERENT KINDS OF AMMONIA IN DIFFERENT STRENGTHS. HOUSEHOLD AMMONIA BEING THE WEAKEST. I HAVE USED INDUSTRIAL AMMONIA THAT YOU BETTER HAVE A BREATHING APPARATUS ON WHEN YOU TAKE THE CAP OFF THE JUG. IT IS DEFINITELY A BREATHTAKING EXPERIENCE.

REMEMBER SAMPLES OF ONE DO NOT HAVE A LOT OF STATISTICAL VALUE.
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Old April 28, 2005, 11:04 PM   #7
Scrcrow
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How did I mis-read that!?!?!

Thanks hivel37! I don't know how I changed 5 minutes to 15 minutes! I will recycle that brass... just to be safe. I think I am going to avoid chemical cleaners. It seems alot of the posters here get by fine without them.

Thanks for the reply!
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Old May 1, 2005, 08:26 AM   #8
bergie
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Scrcrow,
No reason to avoid the chemical cleaners, just follow the directions
I use the Iosso cleaner and I have a tumbler. Started with the chemicals before I bought the tumbler and still use it. I don't need my brass to be tumbled shiney every time, but if I have 100-200 pieces that were laying in the dirt, it is going to get washed. After a couple of cycles of load/shoot/wash then I will tumble it.

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