case cleaning

[chevyiron420]

i just read on another forum that one guy cleans his brass with lysol tiolet bowl cleaner and water. it seems there should be a joke in there someplace. anyway another puts bon ami inhis media and tumbles. has anyone here tryed it?[smilie=1:

[DLCTEX]

There are two schools of thought on Brasso and other amonia containing products being used on brass. The most vocal one seems to be NO! it will remove the zinc in the brass and weaken it. Others say I've used it for years with no ill effects. I don't know whats in the toilet bowl cleaner. I use a car polish (Nufinish, mild abrasive) in my media and get the cases clean in my vibratory tumbler. I read the Bon Ami as Brasso,senior moment I guess. I would think Bon ami in the media would be OK.

[anachronism]

Bon Ami works okay, I have tried it. My concern is that it leaves abrasive particles on the brass which could scratch my dies. If you use it, I'd at least rinse the brass off with clean water to make certain the abrasives all gone, then dry thoroughly before loading. It wasn't worth it, so I went back to lizard litter & car wax.

[jhrosier]

i just read on another forum that one guy cleans his brass with lysol tiolet bowl cleaner and water. it seems there should be a joke in there someplace. anyway another puts bon ami inhis media and tumbles. has anyone here tryed it?[smilie=1:

The bowl cleaner is likely to be acid based. A quick rinse in diluted solution followed by thorough rinsing might be OK.
I have used white vinegar for case cleaning with no problem.

The Bon Ami is a mild abrasive and as such shouldn't harm your brass.

I have gotten to a point where I really don't care if the brass is shiney as long as it is reasonably clean. A few stains won't hurt anything. My Lyman tumbler media has some red colered abrasive in it. It stays on/in the cases and makes them messy to handle. My next batch of media will be untreated walnut hulls.

Jack

[montana_charlie]

There is more than one version of Bon Ami available today, but the original is still included.
The newer ones contain various kinds of 'additives', but nothing dangerous to brass, as far as I know.
The 'abrasive' used in Bon Ami is feldspar...which is about the softest mineral on the planet.
CM

[chevyiron420]

The bowl cleaner is likely to be acid based. A quick rinse in diluted solution followed by thorough rinsing might be OK.
I have used white vinegar for case cleaning with no problem.

The Bon Ami is a mild abrasive and as such shouldn't harm your brass.

I have gotten to a point where I really don't care if the brass is shiney as long as it is reasonably clean. A few stains won't hurt anything. My Lyman tumbler media has some red colered abrasive in it. It stays on/in the cases and makes them messy to handle. My next batch of media will be untreated walnut hulls.

Jack

i bought a thumblers tumbler years ago, and got the media at the same time. the clerk said i needed the red stuff also so i got it. like you said, it gets all in the cases andmakes a mess. its junk! you can run it for ever and it doesnt do much. last year i bagged the media, cleaned the drum out and loaded it with torn up newspaper and it worked better!

[BPCR Bill]

Chevy, the Thumlers Tumbler you have can be used with ceramic media and a liquid agent that comes with the media. Lots of guys swear by it, some don't. You can get different size media kernals for straight wall cases or small bore high power cases. At any rate it's better than that Lyman stuff with the everpresent "Rouge". Used that garbage once, and hated it. I just use plain fine walnut hull now with the occasional dash of Flitz. It'll make the cases as clean and shine as corn cob.

Regards,
Bill

[WILCO]

I've used Brasso many times with no trouble to speak of.
I like my shells all clean and "blingy". :mrgreen:

[Beekeeper]

I have been using Bon-Ami for several years.
Ever since I found out how much RCBS case shiner cost(had some free stuff).
The Bon-Ami cleaner gives as good or better shine as the RCBS stuff does and a can only costs about 50 cents and using a tablespoon every 3rd or 4 th load it will last me the rest of my life.
I also put a torn op paper towel on it each time to pick up the dust , and I think it helps to polish the brass.


I tried it on some very bad range brass, just to see what it would do.
First I cleaned the brass with PH - Down.( swimming pool PH reducer).
I mix it ,1 teaspoon to a pint of water and then add a small amount of the liquid to the water I am using to clean the brass in.
Swirl it around for a few minutes and it does a great job of cleaning the crud off of the brass.
Hand dry or like I do put them out in the sun to dry and then into the vibrator cleaner.
Brass looked like new when it came out several hours later.


beekeeper

[TAWILDCATT]

I got the lyman nasty stuff I finally got container and put media in it and washed it with dish soap then strained it thru colender.got it clean.got 25 # of walnut now.I have got to try that polish Nu polish.most of the cleaners and chemicals sold are repackaged commercial products.:coffeecom

[c3d4b2]

i just read on another forum that one guy cleans his brass with lysol tiolet bowl cleaner and water. it seems there should be a joke in there someplace. anyway another puts bon ami inhis media and tumbles. has anyone here tryed it?[smilie=1:

I checked the ingredients and Lysol tiolet bowl cleaner contains hydrochloric acid (HCl). I checked the chemical compatibility charts and HCl is listed as sever effect. I would question using HCl in the high pressure environment that brass sees. The HCl will weaken the brass by etching the grain boundaries along with thinning the brass. If the case is weak one factor of safety is reduced. If the factor of safety is reduced a memorable event may occur if there is a hotter than normal primer or a little extra powder in the case.

One of the points the safety people at work are fond of making.... Just because you do something and do not get hurt does not mean you will not get hurt if you continue follow unsafe or questionable practices. (Rather safe than sorry.)

Ammonia has been demonstrated to cause stress corrosion cracks in brass. This will also weaken brass and should be avoided.

[montana_charlie]

Then, there was mention of that ... nevermind, read it for yourself.
http://shilohrifle.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=13758

CM

[captaint]

I do know that the Lysol used to contain hydrochloric acid. May not still. On the Bon Ami issue, it has always said on the package "hasn't scratched yet". Enjoy, Mike

[Wayne Smith]

The 'abrasive' used in Bon Ami is feldspar...which is about the softest mineral on the planet.
CM

Actually, I think Talc is in that place. Softest stone, anyway.

[TAWILDCATT]

dutch cleanser/bon ami ect there all about the same.
and I wonder about the ammonia.the time that the brass is in it I dont think it does any thing.so much of this is bull.I think, it must ,because, ect.I use it and have and I am older than all of you.to much thinking and not enuf actual trial.
[smilie=s: