Pink Brass Question

[possom813]

I overdid the lemishine on some cases the other day and they turned out a pinkish hue.

It seems to be a common occurrence, according to the web.

Anyways, the question at hand, would there be anything dangerous or hazardous to loading and using the brass in it's pinkened state?


I only ask because my oldest daughter is just starting to reload and I think she would enjoy some .38spcl in 'pink'

[JeffinNZ]

They're for shooting in San Fransico........

[762 shooter]

Post #47

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?83572-Citric-acid-brass-cleaner

762

[jonp]

I use citric acid myself and encounter pink brass. I have read its some of the zinc coming out and can weaken the brass and shorten its life but I have not noticed a difference myself. I do not shoot max loads very often but target brass seems to last about the same number of loadings. Try leaving the brass in for a shorter time

[MrWolf]

I had picked up about a hundred of some nasty looking 223 at the range that looked like steel - that is how bad they were. About a dozen ended up "pink" out of the lot from the citric bath. Tossed them in my scrap brass pile figuring why take a chance.

[Smoke4320]

do not let the pink cases hit the ground .. they are liberal seeds
put them in the dark and feed them ****.. they will die a fullfilled happy life...

:) They should be just fine

[DLCTEX]

The pink is only skin deep so to speak. If cases are corroded and not just tarnished then the brass may be weakened. Try polishing with a pot scrubber or steel wool and you will see how little the brass is affected.

[jonp]

The pink is only skin deep so to speak. If cases are corroded and not just tarnished then the brass may be weakened. Try polishing with a pot scrubber or steel wool and you will see how little the brass is affected.
0000 Steel Wool should take it right off it it bothers you.

[MtGun44]

Dezincification can occur with brass corrosion (tarnish) and lemishine reverses the
oxidation process. If a thin layer of brass had corroded enough to lose a bit of zinc,
it will now be richer in copper and will look pinkish. Tumbling cleans it up, not an
issue unless there are deep pits.

Bill

[khmer6]

I accidently did that once. And had 50# of range scrap mixed in which included steel cases and copper washed steel. Lord was that a mess. Send it through the tumbler and no issues

[possom813]

I tell you what, I can 'accidentally' make pink brass easy as pie...

I'm trying to 'on purpose' make 10pcs of .38 for the girls to shoot, and I've tried 4 different mixes and can't get it to turn pink, everything from 2 cups of water with a teaspoon of lemishine, to straight lemon juice...

It's still the brassiest brass as that brass can be...

[Shiloh]

They're for shooting in San Fransico........

Shame on you!!! LOL:kidding:

Shiloh

[khmer6]

I think you need to find some rally tarnished oxidized brass for it to turn pink. I can't remember right now exactly why it turns pink, but beautiful bright brand new brass won't have a tendency to turn pink.

I tell you what, I can 'accidentally' make pink brass easy as pie...

I'm trying to 'on purpose' make 10pcs of .38 for the girls to shoot, and I've tried 4 different mixes and can't get it to turn pink, everything from 2 cups of water with a teaspoon of lemishine, to straight lemon juice...

It's still the brassiest brass as that brass can be...

[blackthorn]

For pink brass try adding a little salt to your mix.

[OverMax]

Well that stands to reason. A kitchen cleaner that those lady's use for cleaning. "You used on that nasty brass of yours." (<hey that's reasonable) Pinkish brass color would be a delightful color for your daughter to reload there at your bench. (no reason to worry its just a harmless light tarnish.)

O/M

[mdi]

I just made some pink brass. I was experimenting with my stainless steel hardware, lemishine, 409, and water. I was tumbling .223 and .44 magnum brass together. Well, I tumbled about a half hour and was called away from the shop and left the tumbler over night. When I got back, I tumbled for about an hour more, and rinsed the brass. As you know a .223 case slides into a .44 Mag. case perfectly. Those that were inside the mag cases came out pink, and those that got tumbled alone were brass...

[Rooster931]

As stated above salt is the answer!!!! If salt is added I would bet the pink will follow. To get back to the top of this post unless they are really bad and have pits they will be fine.