Cleaned, "dried" brass - heavily mottled!

[VariableRecall]

From the looks of things, it's a common water stain. I tumble my brass in a mason jar with some dawn and citric Acid. I eyeball both quantities so the results are a little variable. The water spots are a common result because I loosely wipe the brass down with a towel and let them air dry. The less water that's left on the brass, usually the more shiny and spotless they are.

Take extra time to make sure your brass is as dry as possible when you put it in the oven. Little spots are NOT going to affect or harm your brass' lifespan as far as I'm aware. If you're really not liking the spots, I'd just clean the brass again.

[GregLaROCHE]

I’ve never tumbled brass, but have had spots if the brass was not thoroughly rinsed after cleaning by hand.

[charlie b]

I've lived most of my life in areas where the water was very hard. Recent residence has water softener on hot water side.

I learned a long time ago about washing cars with hard water. If you have to, wash on a cool day in the shade and dry with towels immediately.

When washing brass I do use tap water and Dawn in the tumbler. Ultrasonic cleaner also gets citric acid. I rinse with tap water, but, I also do a final rinse with distilled water. That gets almost all the minerals/salts off the brass. Used to do the same thing when I washed motorcycles. Rinse with distilled water and no spots.

If I use the oven to dry I set it for 230F for 20min. 230F is above boiling so it is guaranteed to get all the moisture off and the heat won't bother the brass.

[huntinlever]

I've lived most of my life in areas where the water was very hard. Recent residence has water softener on hot water side.

I learned a long time ago about washing cars with hard water. If you have to, wash on a cool day in the shade and dry with towels immediately.

When washing brass I do use tap water and Dawn in the tumbler. Ultrasonic cleaner also gets citric acid. I rinse with tap water, but, I also do a final rinse with distilled water. That gets almost all the minerals/salts off the brass. Used to do the same thing when I washed motorcycles. Rinse with distilled water and no spots.

If I use the oven to dry I set it for 230F for 20min. 230F is above boiling so it is guaranteed to get all the moisture off and the heat won't bother the brass.

I'll have to try the RO rinse. Thanks.