"stained" brass

troy_mclure · December 23, 2009, 12:58 PM

i have some rifle brass that has black "stains" on it. ive tumbled for a long time, and the rest of the case is shiny.

do you use "stained" brass or just toss it?

Shoney · December 23, 2009, 01:20 PM

Troy
Take some baking soda and try to rub out the stain. If it does go away, examine the brass in that spot to see if it is discollered to a redish hue. If it is red, then the zink has been leached from the brass, and it should be tossed.

plainsman456 · December 23, 2009, 01:21 PM

It depends on how bad it is.You can clean it with scotchbrite or steel wool and some flitz or the like.

Smokey Joe · December 23, 2009, 01:22 PM

With me it's mostly pistol brass--If the stains are just on the surface, I go ahead and use the brass.

If the brass appears to be corroded, or compromised in any way beyond the surface, that piece goes into the scrap bucket.

troy_mclure · December 23, 2009, 01:47 PM

ive got some de-zinked brass, i know what that looks like. this stuff is black, and deep.

took one to the buffing wheel, it just made it shiny black.

Smokey Joe · December 23, 2009, 01:58 PM

Troy,

Quote:

this stuff is black, and deep. took one to the buffing wheel, it just made it shiny black.

Scrap brass. Not worth the effort (buffing, Scotch-brite, Flitz, etc, etc) nor the risk of brass failure on firing. Brass is cheap, fingers are expensive. The scrap dealer doesn't care if it's stained.

Even if it's some exotic cartridge for which the brass is fiendishly expensive, I wouldn't use it in the condition you describe.

FrankenMauser · December 23, 2009, 02:38 PM

My family has a collection of .30-30 Win, .270 Win, .243 Win, and .30-06 brass that came from an old camp fire.

Every round had cooked off, and looked to have been subjected to high temperatures for quite some time.

We also have a handful of .270 Win brass that has had a huge amount of the Zinc leeched out. It is almost completely pink.

The safe thing to do, was throw it all away.

So, we ignored conventional wisdom, loaded everything up, and called it an experiment.
To date, we have lost one case due to a neck split.
The rest of the brass did so well, that it went into our general collections of pickup brass.

At least 7 of the 'campfire' .270 cases have been loaded more than 10 times. The 'pink' cases are on their fifth loading. (In our hands. The pink ammo had been reloaded before; the campfire ammo appeared to have been all factory.)

The safe bet is to throw the brass out. A dollar or two in savings is definitely not worth personal injury.
...But, brass can surprise you some times.

If it's just stained, and not compromised; load it.

December 23, 2009, 12:58 PM	#1
troy_mclure Senior Member Join Date: November 17, 2008 Location: gulf of mexico Posts: 2,716	"stained" brass i have some rifle brass that has black "stains" on it. ive tumbled for a long time, and the rest of the case is shiny. do you use "stained" brass or just toss it? __________________ There is only one tactical principle which is not subject to change. It is to use the means at hand to inflict the maximum amount of wound, death, and destruction on the enemy in the minimum amount of time."

December 23, 2009, 01:20 PM	#2
Shoney Senior Member Join Date: February 21, 2002 Location: Transplanted from Montana Posts: 2,311	Troy Take some baking soda and try to rub out the stain. If it does go away, examine the brass in that spot to see if it is discollered to a redish hue. If it is red, then the zink has been leached from the brass, and it should be tossed. __________________ I pledge allegiance to the Flag - - -, and to the Republic for which it stands….Our Forefathers were brilliant for giving us a Republic, not a democracy! Do you know the difference??? and WHY?http://www.wallbuilders.com/LIBissue...les.asp?id=111

December 23, 2009, 01:22 PM	#4
Smokey Joe Senior Member Join Date: July 14, 2001 Location: State of Confusion Posts: 2,106	Stained brass... With me it's mostly pistol brass--If the stains are just on the surface, I go ahead and use the brass. If the brass appears to be corroded, or compromised in any way beyond the surface, that piece goes into the scrap bucket. __________________ God Bless America --Smokey Joe

December 23, 2009, 01:47 PM	#5
troy_mclure Senior Member Join Date: November 17, 2008 Location: gulf of mexico Posts: 2,716	ive got some de-zinked brass, i know what that looks like. this stuff is black, and deep. took one to the buffing wheel, it just made it shiny black. __________________ There is only one tactical principle which is not subject to change. It is to use the means at hand to inflict the maximum amount of wound, death, and destruction on the enemy in the minimum amount of time."

December 23, 2009, 02:38 PM	#7
FrankenMauser Senior Member Join Date: August 25, 2008 Location: In the valley above the plain Posts: 13,424	My family has a collection of .30-30 Win, .270 Win, .243 Win, and .30-06 brass that came from an old camp fire. Every round had cooked off, and looked to have been subjected to high temperatures for quite some time. We also have a handful of .270 Win brass that has had a huge amount of the Zinc leeched out. It is almost completely pink. The safe thing to do, was throw it all away. So, we ignored conventional wisdom, loaded everything up, and called it an experiment. To date, we have lost one case due to a neck split. The rest of the brass did so well, that it went into our general collections of pickup brass. At least 7 of the 'campfire' .270 cases have been loaded more than 10 times. The 'pink' cases are on their fifth loading. (In our hands. The pink ammo had been reloaded before; the campfire ammo appeared to have been all factory.) The safe bet is to throw the brass out. A dollar or two in savings is definitely not worth personal injury. ...But, brass can surprise you some times. If it's just stained, and not compromised; load it. __________________ Don't even try it. It's even worse than the internet would lead you to believe.

December 23, 2009, 01:21 PM	#3
plainsman456 Senior Member Join Date: December 31, 2008 Posts: 260	It depends on how bad it is.You can clean it with scotchbrite or steel wool and some flitz or the like.