Cleaning nickel plated brass

[MIEagle]

I have 50 Federal nickel plated .45-70 brass that I'm saving up for a Handi rifle that I'm going to use BP as the propellant. I use a Thumbler's Tumbler with ceramic media and a proprietary soap that says "Not to use for nickel plated cases" on my .45-70 Starline brass. I also have a Lyman Auto1200 vibrating unit that has the green colored media for it that I use for my 6.5x55, etc., brass.
I thought I'd ask first before I ruin something. What's the best way to clean nickel plated brass having used BP. Thank you.

[ukrifleman]

I don't think either solution you have to hand is ideal for nickel plated brass. As you only have 50 cases to clean, I should be inclined to have at it with hot soapy water and a brush.

A good tip is to take a container with water and dish wash soap with you to the range and drop the cases into it as soon as they have been fired.
You will find that they clean up much easier when you get them home.

Hope this helps, good luck.

ukrifleman.

[randyrat]

Have you experimented with Citric acid. Just add Citric acid to warm water plus Dawn dish soap, shake let sit, shake again and rinse with hot water. Seems to me I have not wrecked any Nickle brass when I've used Citric acid.. I must say, I don't have much Nickle, but have not noticed any gone bad..

I use Citric Acid + soap for pistol brass, brass I'm not bringing to a beauty contest.

Use Hot water to aid in drying

[Chihuahua Floyd]

Like was said above, jug with dish soap and water, frop fired cases into jug as you shoot them. when home shake well and then rinse with hot water. you can dry in a 200 degree oven won a old cookie sheet. That's what I have done with nickel 45 Colt brass and my brass 12 ga. shells.
CF

[bedbugbilly]

This is just an observation based on my own experiences - not a "starter" for a "brass verses nickel" debate.

I load BP 38 spl. so I decided that to "keep things separate" - I'd use nickel casings for BP and brass for my smokeless loads. So . . . when I'm done shooting, I de-prime and toss in hot soapy water as soon as I can and pretty much just swish 'em around good and then rinse in clean hot water. Seemed to clean the nickel casings up just fine.

BUT . . after several loadings (and my nickel casings I bought are 1 X fired when I got them) . . . I began to notice that I was getting quite a few split necks. So, I experimented with just brass casings and I didn't get that.

It doesn't seem to me that the BP should have any greater effect on case life than smokeless - so maybe it was just the batch of nickel casings that I got? Not sure . . . and not sure on 45-70 if nickel will have same case life as brass?

I like nickel as it just looks nice. But I've found that (at least in my 38 spl. brass) it seems to be more "brittle"? i.e. shorter case life and more split necks. After washing from shooting BP, the insides are clean and no signs of corrosion, etc. and yet they seem to split quicker. Anyone else who loads nickel with BP notice this? Sorry - I'm not where I can check the head stamp on my nickel casings - perhaps brand of nickel casings is the culprit?

[dondiego]

I have noticed nickel casings seem to split at the neck sooner than brass casings. I don't do anything special in cleaning nickel. An hour or so in the walnut media tumbler, same as the brass.

[leadman]

My first cases for my 40-65 RB were nickel plated. Did not take long for them to develop split necks. I was talking with a guy that owned a local gunshop and he stated that the nickel cases have thinner brass to allow for the thickness of the nickel plating. Don't know if this is fact or not.
Also had the nickel start peeling off at the case mouths.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Nickle plated cases cleanup so easy, I just use untreated corn cob media.

[mdi]

For BP I would think plain old soapy water would do the trick and for nickel, no solution other than soap and water is necessary (that's why they're plated). When I have a tub full to clean, I do as JonB; plain cob media. I have some .38 Specials (a whole lot), .357 Magnum (a goodly amount), .44 Magnum (a couple dozen) nickel plated brass and they have been reloaded as often as plain brass with no lessened case life. My .44 Magnum brass is kept separate for my hotter loads (Zombie T-Rex killers)...

[reddog81]

Hot water and a little dish soap. Works great on all brass.