Nickel vs Brass whats the difference?

[springer99]

Nickel brass has the advantage of -
- not tarnishing over time like brass
- easy way of differentiating load types
- tumble cleans much quicker/easier than brass
- goes thru sizing dies with less effort than brass

The only disadvantage(to me) is that they cost more than brass. I've seen no difference in case life with the same loads, nor have I ever damaged a die from running nickel cases thru them. This assumes using carbide dies; not the older carbon steel ones.

[Unclenick]

I've seen all kinds of plating jobs on cases. Some just gradually wore away and caused no problems, while others flaked badly and embedded in my old Lyman .45 Auto carbide die so it scratched every case that went through it with the same exact scratch pattern.

Nickel plating that is bright rather than dull has sulfur in it that makes it less ductile, and I've always suspected that was responsible for the flaking, where it occurred. Chromium is common in protective nickel coatings, as mentioned, with as little as 2% in some, depending on the expected duty. I asked Starline what their coating composition was, but they didn't know. They just send the stuff out to be plated and so apparently they use what the plater recommends. There doesn't seem to be a single industry standard for this.