Teach me about using citric acid

[Jim]

A day that goes by without learning something is boring, indeed. Now, I find out that a citric acid bath will clean badly tarnished brass.

Can one of you more experienced alchemists give me some data on how to use it?

What's the best ratio of powdered citric acid to water?

How long do I need to let the brass cook in this mixture?

Does the brass need to be rinsed afterward?

What's the moon made of, Daddy?

Can Reindeer really fly?
:bigsmyl2:

[Fla9-40]

A day that goes by without learning something is boring, indeed. Now, I find out that a citric acid bath will clean badly tarnished brass.
Can one of you more experienced alchemists give me some data on how to use it?

What's the best ratio of powdered citric acid to water?

How long do I need to let the brass cook in this mixture?

Does the brass need to be rinsed afterward?

What's the moon made of, Daddy?

Can Reindeer really fly?
:bigsmyl2:


Jim look here on a good thread about citric acid.
I put about 2 teaspoons in a gallon of water and put it in my sonic cleaner.
I use it all the time and it works GREAT! After a bath and a good rinse, I put it in my tumbler for about 30 mins, comes out looking brand new!

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=83572

Also you can use "Lemi-Shine" works great too.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Lemi-Shine-Super-Concentrated-Dishwasher-Detergent-Additive-12-oz/15724190

[Jim]

Thanks, Kenny! That's exactly what I was lookin' for, buddy!

[Sasquatch-1]

Has anyone else experience mold in their citric acid soluttion if they let it sit for a while? Or was this just caused by some unknown residue left in thew crock pot I started using? :confused:

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I have never saved the citric solution.
I save up enough brass and do thousands at a time.
as the solution turns bluish, it loses it's cleaning power.
Which in a "HOT" crock pot is usually about 6 batches of brass,
a batch is about 3 pounds in a nylon mesh bag.

I use 3 tablespoons of citric acid powder per 3/4 gallon of water.
brass sits in solution for about 5 minutes.

another thing I do is first deprime all rifle brass.
Jon

[Reload3006]

I would think if your citric acid is strong enough no mold is going to be growing. citric acid is how a lot of vegetables are canned such as Tomatoes. Pickles are all mostly preserved by citric acid (vinegar) I would bet that something was in your crock pot and your acid isnt strong enough.

[Sasquatch-1]

I would think if your citric acid is strong enough no mold is going to be growing. citric acid is how a lot of vegetables are canned such as Tomatoes. Pickles are all mostly preserved by citric acid (vinegar) I would bet that something was in your crock pot and your acid isnt strong enough.

Ihad been used several times, so maybe it was weak.

[DukeInFlorida]

I use the Lemishine in water. Like a tablespoon in a gallon. More than enough. And, the stuff is cheap enough that it's not worth saving.

I'm using it with a home made rotary tumbler, with the stainless steel media. Everything comes out bright! I rinse well, dry, and spin in walnut shell for an hour to polish. I add mineral spirits and NuFinish car polish to the walnut shell media to make everything look like jewelry when it's done.

[runfiverun]

if you let it sit you will get mold in it.
think about a moldy orange or whatever.
lemishine is 96% [airc] citric acid and some filler stuff.
it takes about a week or so [depending on the sunlight] for the mold to grow, i skim it off and use it.
i get about about 3-4 times till it's just filthy then toss it out and make more.
it seems to work better when hot anyway's.

make sure the cases are dry before reloading them, i do like duke and tumble them with some nu-finish for a while.

[Lizard333]

I take my brass and rinse well. I then put them in a 200 degree oven and turn it off. Couple hours later, or next batch of brass, and all brass is dry and shinny.

[Wayne Smith]

What I get in mine is not mold. It is a floating precipitate that is a result of a reaction to, I think, the powder residue. It becomes massive when cleaning BP cartridges. I have seen it coming out of the mouth of the shells in freshly mixed acid.

[Salmon-boy]

I picked up a pound to clean up some brass I bought. It takes very little quantity to make a working solution.

I mixed two tablespoons with a gallon of water and added a couple drops of dishwashing detergent. I then used a Harbor Freight ultrasonic cleaner filled with the brass and enough solution to cover.

Rinsed off with clean water and dried with a blanket and the stuff looks bright and shiny. I could polish better, but chose not to. After 3 months or so, nothing has started tarnishing.