coloring brass

[lunicy]

Is there a way to dye brass? I have certain brass for certain guns, and I use the sharpie trick, but I was looking for something better.

[docone31]

Yes there is.
It is a liquid called Black max. Rio Grande Jewelery Supply has it.
They have a lot of different colours it can be.

[fishhawk]

if your trying to turn it dark just rub some BP fouling on it if you have seen brass BP cartriges you know what happens if left uncleaned. steve k

[missionary5155]

Greetings +1 on the Black Powder... Just be sure the brass doen NOT have a Clear Coat on it to keep it from tarnishing.
God Bless you

[lunicy]

BP would work, but I need a few colors.
I wonder if the Black Max stuff has an adverse affect on brass.

[waksupi]

Dykem

[Gunslinger]

Maybe that was a good way to pick up chicks :twisted:

"Wanna try my Magnum with these fire engine red cartridges?" [smilie=1:

No seriously... can you really dye brass to whichever color you want? Blue, red, green? Will it wear off? What would happen when you tumble the brass afterwards?

[lunicy]

could dye the really light girlie/gallery loads pink :)

[Gunslinger]

..... YES. And the be a sneaky son of a ***** and fill the case with 2400 and a really light bullet, and see her wet herself from the muzzle flash he he [smilie=w:

[madcaster]

could dye the really light girlie/gallery loads pink :)

Only in San Francisco!:takinWiz:

[Ole]

I use a die grinder to **lightly scratch/identify different lengths of .450 Marlin brass, depending on which bullet i'm using and how OAL friendly the crimping groove is.

Example: The brass that i cut short for the Remington 405 grain, I scratch off the .450. I have another bullet that I like to use (350 Mag tip) that I scratch off the Marlin.

It's not a perfect solution, but it works for me.

[Reddot]

Yes there is.
It is a liquid called Black max. Rio Grande Jewelery Supply has it.
They have a lot of different colours it can be.

Black Max contains hydrochloric acid and tellurium. Will this harm the brass? I didn't see anything that said that it comes in different colors.

[docone31]

I have not found it to. It also can be colour enhanced towards the green with the addition of steel wool.
Ammonia also colours brass although it makes it look antiqued.

[garandsrus]

There was a Handloader article from a bunch of years ago that talked about coloring brass. They gave the recipe for several colors. I will see if I can find it, but don't hold your breath...

John

[GP100man]

i have used different headstamps for different loads .
now it`s a plinking boolit & a huntin boolit so i know immediately when i pick up the round what it is .
the 357 stuff is more complicated the more moulds i get so i use different colored cartridge carriers plainly marked with data green for wc plinkers, smoke for middle of the road loads & red for the hi pressure huntin stuff .
just my 2 cents.

GP100man :cbpour:

[BruceB]

Question: do you want:

(a) permanent marking of the brass to assign it to each gun, or

(b) will marking the case for THIS LOAD suffice?

In the first case, get a set of model airplane paints, eigth or ten different , all in their little bottles. Fill all the headstamp letters with a color, using the mimimum amount possible. Stand them head-up in a loading block, and after a few minutes just wipe the excess off with a rag lightly moistened with solvent. The color will stay in the letters for a LONG time. I have some Norma .44 brass that was so marked about thirty years ago, and it STILL shows the color! If the brass is dedicated to a particular gun, a dab of the same color somewhere on the gun itself may be useful....someplace inconspicuous, like on a buttplate screw or some such.

For temporary (THIS load) identification, use the same model paint. This time, run a bead of paint around the edge of the new primer with a pointed toothpick or small finishing nail. Again, clean 'em up a bit after a few minutes of standing in the block. (This has NO EFFECT on the live primers.) When the case is deprimed at the next loading, virtually all the paint will come out with the fired primer. Using this method, I also place a dab of the color in my Loading Diary alongside the data for that particular recipe.

If using the same bullet for a variety of load levels, color-coding around the primer can tell you approximately what type of load is in your hand, if the rounds get parted from their boxes. For example, I use an RCBS 44-250 for two different loads, one being the flat-out ".44 MAGNUM", and the other being what I call ".44-1000", a much lighter recipe for the same bullet in the same case at 1000fps.

LIGHT loads get "cool" colors around the primer....blue, green, black etc. HEAVY loads get "hot" colors such as red, yellow and orange. This sort of marking doesn't identify the specifics of a load, but it could save us from plinking a big animal with a round intended for smaller game.

[Reddot]

I have not found it to. It also can be colour enhanced towards the green with the addition of steel wool.
Ammonia also colours brass although it makes it look antiqued.

Docone, you don't want to use ammonia around your brass as it weakens it.

[dabsond]

I just use a colored sharpie on the bottom of the brass. This makes the brass easy to identify at the indoor range. This normally comes off when tumbling brass but, if you keep them seperate and mark them each time with the same color you should be OK.

[blackthorn]

As the last step in the reloading process I dab a bit of nail polish across the base of the cartridge. Then I pass the wet base lightly across a paper napkin to remove any excess. Seals the primer (really not needed) and different colours identify different loads.

[Mtman314]

Thanks Bruce this thread was pretty good for me I was wondering what to do about marking the brass between the kid's guns and mine at the same calibers.

[Bert2368]

If "basic black" will do, here's an historic recipe. This was used to mark silent/suppressed/gallery 7.62x54R loads for mosin nagant. It will not dammage brass for reloading. The recipe is from part 3 of the link below-

http://guns.connect.fi/gow/arcane1.html


A recipe of the Brass Blackening Mixture:

Mix in the enamelled, stone-ware or stainless steel kettle:
2 parts by weight COPPER SULPHATE (Copper vitriol)
2 p.b.w. SODIUM THIOSULPHATE
1 p.b.w. WINE STONE (Cream of tartar; Potassium bi-tartrate)
40 p.b.w. SWEET WATER (preferably distilled).

Heat the mixture boiling. Add the cases. Cook them until the color is glossy black through the colors: rose-red > blue > bluish black. Cases must be carefully degreased before blackening: No "master's fingerprints" are allowed ! Chemicals used are not the strong poisons, but the mixture is not suitable for seasoning of the celebration punch: It may cause a condition called as the "hyper-emesis", when used internally: "per os" !



The chemicals are available from The Photographer's Formulary and your local grocery store.

http://www.photoformulary.com/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabindex=2&tabid=9&CategoryID=18&langID=0

Have fun-

[pjh421]

A guy with an ink pad and a rubber stamp that can be adjusted to print different things could really organize his brass supply.

Paul

[TAWILDCATT]

I have a book on coloring brass.Clyde Baker modern gunsmithing.
olive green=copper sulphate=====8 parts
sal ammoniac=======2 parts
water============100 parts
red--black--blue black---bronze---iridescence
:coffee: :coffee: :coffee:[smilie=1:

[colbyjack]

like said above dykem blue or red, it even hold up in the tumbler longer than you think. -chris

[The Double D]

Here's some do it yourself patina formula's for coloring brass. Some of the stuff listed is pretty nasty.

http://secure.sciencecompany.com/-W12C672.aspx#10

Ready made stuff here.

http://www.sculptnouveau.com/

[alamogunr]

I bought an assortment of Sharpies at Wally World. I only use them to identify different loads during development. Requires a "cheat" sheet each time.
John
W.TN

[Bert2368]

I would highly advise you not use ANY ammonia/ammonium compound on cartridge brass you intend to fire again.

[yondering]

If "basic black" will do, here's an historic recipe. This was used to mark silent/suppressed/gallery 7.62x54R loads for mosin nagant. It will not dammage brass for reloading. The recipe is from part 3 of the link below-

http://guns.connect.fi/gow/arcane1.html



The chemicals are available from The Photographer's Formulary and your local grocery store.

http://www.photoformulary.com/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabindex=2&tabid=9&CategoryID=18&langID=0

Have fun-

What is "sweet water"?

[Bert2368]

He means distilled water or rain water. English is not his first language-

Generally, it's a good idea to use distilled water in any such chemical processing. The contaminants in hard water will affect some reactions.

[Treetop]

I would highly advise you not use ANY ammonia/ammonium compound on cartridge brass you intend to fire again.

Back in the early 70s, before I could afford a tumbler, I RUINED thousands of pieces of precious .45 ACP brass using a cleaner that contained ammonia. After all these years, it still makes me sick when I think about it!

[Fan of the 1911]

[QUOTE=Gunslinger;510771]Maybe that was a good way to pick up chicks :twisted:

"Wanna try my Magnum with these fire engine red cartridges?" [smilie=1:

Almost spit on the keyboard!!!

[BT Sniper]

How can you tell brass has been ruined from ammonia?

Like the idea of coloring brass. Like the Hornady tap ammo would be cool.

[BT Sniper]

What if I put a teaspoon of hoppes or barrnes CR 10 in my wallnut tumbling media and allowed to dry before tumbling brass?

[waksupi]

How can you tell brass has been ruined from ammonia?

Like the idea of coloring brass. Like the Hornady tap ammo would be cool.


Ammonia can cause the copper in the alloy to migrate. It will show up as copper colored spots on your cases. When you see this, toss the case.

Welcome aboard.