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ok, i have read many posts about this here, so when i ran across it for the first time in the store yesterday, i was beside myself. but, then it hit me. i thought i had remembered it being a liquid. the store had 3 different varieties, and all of it is powder. i bought the one that said it was "The Original Lemi-shine" on the package, and hoped for the best. so, did i get the right stuff, and how do i mix it for best results?
That's the stuff. Alternatively you can get citric acid at a health food store, in the canning aisle, on Amazon, etc...
You got the right stuff. I use 1/4-1/2 TEAspoon per 1/2 gallon. I've used too much before and the brass came out all orange
This is the correct stuff
http://i807.photobucket.com/albums/y...t/DSCF1295.jpg
i just bought this at the grocery store. It was marked down to less than $2 so i figured i'd give it a try. Good Chit for sure. I was using ISSO cleaner and that worked fine but it was $25 a gallon, as opposed to .10 a gallon for the Lemi-Shine. Thank you men!!
Might be what I did wrong I'll try your recipe next time.Quote:
Originally Posted by petroid
there are a few more recipes on ffrogs pad website (google it).
One of the ones used salt, hot water, liquid laundry soap, and lemon juice iirc. It worked very well on very brown 556 Nato ammo that was left under the snow all winter at the range. it was simple, just mix the mix, pour over brass in a bucket and agitate it well every 10 minutes or so. IIRc the max time was 30 minutes and then you need to rinse it good. Any longer and the brass goes pink as the acid reacts with the copper on the surface. It worked very well without SS pins. Pins worked better inside and in the pockets of course. Also you MUST remove primers before or very soon after any wet method or you'll have corroded pockets or "welded" in dead primers. BTDT with some .30 carbine brass my friend got off a surplus board. PITA as I occasionally punched through the dead primers. Whoever had these before must have had them wet and let them air dry.
I am amazed that folks are using this on clean brass. It isn't really necessary unless there
is brown tarnish that needs to be chemically reverted to metal. For shiny brass, use a tumbler
and go on. For really dirty (not tarnished) brass, just a touch of any dish cleaner and wash
it in a container you can shake.
The chemical changes that citric acid provides is a reversion of brown tarnish to metallic brass,
it is not a general purpose cleaner.
Bill
When I had a lot (over 50 pounds) of tarnished brass to clean I used citric acid in an enameled steel pot and kept it on a very low heat on an electric stove to speed up the chemical action. The brass was very dark but brightened in anywhere from a few seconds to 3-4 minutes. The citric acid solution was kept at 150-160 degrees F.
David
When using black powder, a bit of water, dawn, lemi-shine and stainless steel media really does the trick.
When using black powder, a bit of water, dawn, lemi-shine and stainless steel media really does the trick.
And if you stir it with your hand,testing how fast it cleans,you will find any and all nicks and scratches.
It does not take long!
I know.:-P
I found Lemi Shine at Target stores.Robert
I have damaged brass before with too much Lemishine, the brass changed color. Now I add 3 tablespoons Dawn dish detergent, 1/4 teaspoon Lemishine and 15 pounds of brass to 2 gallons of water
If wet tumbling, the Lemi-Shine is a RINSE AGENT, for water spots as in
your dishwasher.
Being an acid it can also cause ISSUES if you USE TOO MUCH.
Citric acid from Amazon is 1/2 the cost of the local store. It is also pure citric acid, not cut with fillers.
Thumbler's tumbler model B only need's a 40 cal case full
This is another case of "more is not better". Too long a soak, even in a weak solution, has the same effect. Just watch closely and thoroughly rinse as soon as the brass is cleaned of tarnish.
If using a tumbler, check every few minutes. I have used a cement mixer with a plastic barrel to do huge batches, with excellent results.
Who here measures powder that way??? One full 45ACP case (leave the spent primer in place or tape the primer hole. per 1/2 gallon. And now I know where the orange came from.Quote:
Originally Posted by petroid