Changing the color of brass

[Smoke & Recoil]

I recently reformed 200 pieces of 32-20 WCF to 25-20 WCF, now I would like to try and change the color of the reformed brass...to any color other than brass color, is it possible to do so, short of nickel plating or just using a sharpie pen ?

Ideas, suggestions or know how.

[Oliver Sudden]

You an change brass to blue, green or gold color with chemicals, get a machinist hand book and it tells all that can be done.

[BobCat45]

I have an old document in rtf format from quite a few years ago, about coloring brass. Can send it to you as an attachment by PM if you want, but if anyone knows how to search old usenet groups, here is the title and first paragraph:
---------------------

The Coloring of Brass
by Royce W. Beal
written on 17 March 1995 specifically for the readers of the rec.guns newsgroup.
questions should be directed to me at [email protected]

Read this entire essay before attempting any one
treatment. If you choose to just "cut and paste" part
of this, please make sure you get the safety instructions
and warnings after the recipes. Under no circumstances
do I consider myself liable for any accidents which occur
while using any of these chemicals. Also, I do not consider
myself an expert in this field and am still doing research
for the FAQ. This will be a temporary article. Because I
am still experimenting, I cannot vouch for all of these
colors.



----------------------
I never tried any of the formulations and can NOT vouch for the safety or strength of brass that has been colored this way.

The file is 7 KB. I do not know about copyright.

[hounddawg]

Bw very careful with chemicals, you can affect the strength of the brass and end up with a weak case. The fact is that sharpies in 3-4 colors are impossible to beat. Mark the case heads and be done with it. Reapply as necessary

[ballardw]

The purpose of coloring?

[Dfariswheel]

I'm uncertain of any possible damage caused to cases, but most cold blues will effectively blacken brass.
At least my Brownell's Dicrophan T4 does it very well.

There's also Birchwood-Casey Brass Black.

[Smoke & Recoil]

@ ballardw, and all others, my reason is to see the reformed cases at a glance incase something go's astray during any shooting and reloading process along the way. And, it wouldn't hurt to help teach my grandkids that keeping reloading records is always a good thing.

[Pahoo]

my reason is to see the reformed cases at a glance

Well if you want to make it simple, clean your brass, take a Q-Tip, dip it in some bluing and dob it on. The color should be a dark brown. .....

Be Safe !!!

[stinkeypete]

It's a common trick to put different color thinned fingernail polish in the engraving in the base of the cartridge to differentiate your loads.

Fancy model paint would work, it's just more expensive.

Many of us worry that you might change the mechanical properties of the surface layers of the brass with chemical treatment. Bluing is putting a layer of a completely different molecule over your base. For steel, it could be Fe2O3, Fe3O4..

Cold bluing is SeO2, I think. You can also use potassium sulfide on brass and copper.. but...

It's a thin layer of brass. I would not mess with the chemical composition of my brass.

A little paint filling in the "starline" word stamped on the bottom won't hurt a thing, though.

[Pahoo]

Cold bluing is SeO2, I think. You can also use potassium sulfide on brass and copper.. but...

Just take care not to poke your eye out !!!

Be Safe !!!

[ballardw]

Originally Posted by stinkeypete

Fancy model paint would work, it's just more expensive.

And quite likely not as good as you remember if you haven't used any lately. Many of the model paint makers have gone to non-solvent based paints and they just don't stick like the old enamels you may be thinking of. As someone who has way too much model paint and really upset when my favorite maker switched from lacquer base, like lots of nail polish, to water base. Also seems like many of the colors changed too.

Clean the brass first with a good de-greaser or the paint may not stick as well as you like.

[Shadow9mm]

I have had my brass try and change to green when wet tumbling with diluted simple green. If I remember right someone said a soak in undiluted simple green for a bit turned theirs OD green and they did it regularly, but its been a while back. have not tested this yet myself, and I am unsure of how this would effect the brass long term.

[mrmeval]

Birchwood Casey Brass Black Metal Finish

Key Features

Fast-acting liquid used to blacken or antique brass, copper and bronze parts. Easy to apply with no dimensional change. Often used to mark cartridge cases to identify loads. Final appearance is enhanced by applying a clear coat finish, wax or oil.

https://www.birchwoodcasey.com/produ...oz-bottle.html

[Smoke & Recoil]

Thus far I have used a product called Brass Ager with great results as far as color go's, it colors the brass a very dark green...I let the brass soak way longer than the instuctions suggest, 1 hour just for grins and giggles. Only time will tell of the longevity of it.

At this point, I have some brass soaking in Simple Green, as mentioned by Shadow9mm above.

I will post pictures in the future with comments after I exhaust my testing.

[Shadow9mm]

Looking forward to the results!

[Onward Allusion]

Do it wrong and your brass will weaken leading to interesting times.

[Lavan]

When I was loading hot and mild 357's I just sprayed the heads with blue layout fluid. Dries fast and thin. REALLY thin.


https://www.imperialsupplies.com/bro...BoCKHsQAvD_BwE

[Smoke & Recoil]

Here are the results thus far, the two on the left are treated with the Brass Ager
product after only 10 minutes, the middle two have been soaked in Simple Green for 2 days and the right two are un-touched brass.

The last picture shows the results of 6 pieces of the Brass Ager treated brass
after vibratory tumbling after 3 hours.

In conclusion...is it worth the effort ?, I'm thinking not, but it was fun anyway.20220405_141154 (1).jpg

20220405_162710.jpg

[Smoke & Recoil]

Well, I'm at it again, only this time I'm going organic. I have 10 pieces of brass
soaking in oak leaves and oak bark, going for a tannin tarnish, like finding brass
in the wild from days gone by.

The idea came from my metal detecting hobby, I have found many spent brass
that had/have the dark color which replicates the look of my previously posted
artificial coloring attempts.

This, I think will be interesting...days, weeks, months, maybe even years, who knows.

[Shadow9mm]

Originally Posted by Smoke & Recoil

Well, I'm at it again, only this time I'm going organic. I have 10 pieces of brass
soaking in oak leaves and oak bark, going for a tannin tarnish, like finding brass
in the wild from days gone by.

The idea came from my metal detecting hobby, I have found many spent brass
that had/have the dark color which replicates the look of my previously posted
artificial coloring attempts.

This, I think will be interesting...days, weeks, months, maybe even years, who knows.

much appreciated, interesting idea!

[mrmeval]

Originally Posted by Smoke & Recoil

Well, I'm at it again, only this time I'm going organic. I have 10 pieces of brass
soaking in oak leaves and oak bark, going for a tannin tarnish, like finding brass
in the wild from days gone by.

The idea came from my metal detecting hobby, I have found many spent brass
that had/have the dark color which replicates the look of my previously posted
artificial coloring attempts.

This, I think will be interesting...days, weeks, months, maybe even years, who knows.

Well if that's good British brass consider coloring it with some good tea.

I would like to see the results when you have them.

[41 Magnum]

I've used sharpies for years now, to indicate load intensity of different cartridges. Different colors for plinkers, average, and upper end loads. I just circle the primer groove with the chosen color, and just a glance in the open box lets me know which loads I've chosen.
The bonus is, it all comes off in the tumbler in prep. for the next reload session.
Yes, I do clean my brass every time it is reloaded.
Using chemicals on brass without knowing any adverse effects, would worry me a little.
The only thing I've tried at one time was "Brass Black" made specifically for brass application, but mostly for model building etc. I have used it to dull the brass on muzzle loaders in times past.

[Smoke & Recoil]

This is an update on my project.
So far, I have left the brass soak in the water containing oak bark and leaves, the brass is now showing signs of a green tint.

Yesterday, 4/24/22, I transferred the brass into a container containing top soil
from the forest of Mother Earth along with the bark and leaves...then moistened the mixture, to allow oxygen to enter the parade.

It's kinda funny, a lot of people strive for shiny, but my desire is for tarnished
32-20 converted brass.

Stay tuned.