How tarnished is too tarnished?

[Capt. Senile]

Just a quick question. I'm able to get buckets of .22 cases that are range pickups, but a lot are tarnished to the point of being that blue-ish/black color from being outside.

Can these cases be cleaned up enough using the "wet" method to use as jacket material, or does that much tarnish make them too far gone?

Thanks,
Brian

[customcutter]

I haven't used the SS media and the wet method, but I've heard folks say they come out looking like new. Even the extremely bad ones. If they are free get them. If you're paying for them, get a couple #'s and try them if you have the media.

I would definelty want them to clean up good before running them through expensive swaging dies.

CC

[Nickle]

Try a citric acid wash.

I use a crock pot (don't eat from this one anymore), with foaming Dawn and citric acid. I currently use Kool Aid for my source of citric acid. I use the small packets that you would add sugar to, but I don't add it. Main ingredient is citric acid. Normal mixture is 1 packet to 2 quarts of water, my usage is 2 packets per quart of water. Heat up until hot, let it go an hour or two, then take them out and rinse, then dry.

I made some jackets and annealed them with a propane torch. That made them look pretty nasty after.

[Capt. Senile]

I'm getting these cases for free. So far I've filled one 5 gallon bucket. I've got 4 more empty ones to fill. Should take about 5 more hours. Then I'll be set for life.

[BT Sniper]

Yep! Should be able to shine them right up with the SS.

BT

[MUSTANG]

Just a quick question. I'm able to get buckets of .22 cases that are range pickups, but a lot are tarnished to the point of being that blue-ish/black color from being outside.

Can these cases be cleaned up enough using the "wet" method to use as jacket material, or does that much tarnish make them too far gone?

Thanks,
Brian


I am just setting up to use Stainless Steel Pins and Wet Citric Acid for cleaning; many swear by the process so I am going to give it a try. I doubt that it will "Shine" those cases that have gone deep Brown/Black in color, but I'll see. Using a vibratory machine and Wall Nut or Corn Cob media I have cleaned a lot of Brown/Black brass in .38/9mm/.45/30-06/.308/.223 over the last 35 years. Never had a problem with reloading and shooting it, only the looks. Cleaned but colored Brass is not going to harm dies in my experience. Cleaning/polishing the brass to ensure that debris is totally removed inside and out is of course essential.

I have used some heavily spotted 22LR to make .224 with no problems. The Brown/Black tarnish less so; I would postulate that if the brass is "Too Far Gone" it will show up in the point forming stage of shaping a bullet as the brass is most heavily worked in the nose section. First indication points for inspection/rejection would be in the de-riming and core seating phases; any incipient jacket failure would show up as splits in these stages.

Failure of of a bullet could occur, but I would suspect that it would show up as "Flyers". Sort badly blemished, but sound looking bullets, aside for "Blasting Ammo" would be my recommendation.

Mustang

[Lizard333]

I've turned brass that was so I tarnished I was going to scrap them into bright and shinny like new brass again with SS. It really does work. If I do two pounds of 22LR shells ill do them over night. You have a lot mor surface area. You will also remove the primer grit, giving you a clean product to derim, preventing damage to your dies.

[onomrbil]

Another option is the good old ultrasonic cleaner, which is what I use when i must clean rimfire hulls. I add about two teaspoons of citric acid to the tank with warm water and leave 'er rip until the residue inside the rim is gone. This also cleans up the discoloration encountered on some hulls. After processing and annealing I give them another trip through the ultrasonic to remove the discoloration from that. Then dry by whatever method you like and they are ready to use.

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

Yes, cases that are extremely tarnished will clean up and look like new. STM is great stuff. Clean cases, no dust...what's not to like?

[Lizard333]

I agree! In addition to media that never needs to be replaced, it's an investment they pays for itself.

[dbosman]

That bright shiny color you get from SS media doesn't last though.
The brass starts to oxidize again as soon as the cases dry.

For storage, if the brass is consistently filthy, just tumble in soap and water. Dry it then store in a dry place. Really clean with SS media shortly before you will need it.

[Lizard333]

I'm guessing your humidity in Michigan is higher than AZ. My stays bright for years.

[Rumrunner64]

Ultrasonic cleaner, with about two teaspoons of citric acid And a bit of dish soap. I will use this to clean cases in all steps.

[dbosman]

I'm guessing your humidity in Michigan is higher than AZ. My stays bright for years.

Just a tad. ;-)
Seventy five and about 50% yesterday. Until it got to be 100% and raining.

[MUSTANG]

Capt Senile:

The Brain Synapses have slowed with time; but it just struck me that a word of caution on "How Tarnished is Too Tarnished" might be warranted. Back in 1988 I purchased 1000 rounds of Hornady "Factory Excess" .308 Match Ammunition from Century Arms International that they had listed in Shotgun News. Upon my receipt of the ammunition; it turned out it had been exposed to high humidity or possibly even rain. The boxes were OK but showed weathering, the plastic cartridge sleeves inside were obviously good, but a portion of the rounds had a 1/2 to 1 inch long thin line of heavy verdigris on the brass casing.

I cleaned the cases by hand and shot the rounds in a High Power Match. But, after the match I inspected the collected brass and discovered that some of the cases had "Burn Through" along the linear Verdigris lines. That lot of brass went into the recycle bin, and I pulled the bullets from the rest of the 1000 and reloaded in good brass. At home cleaning the PolyTech M1a, I discovered that the chamber had numerous linear marks. Closer inspection indicated that the hot gases has burned through the brass at the weak point and lightly torched the chamber in several locations. The rifle continued to shoot and extract cases as it had before the use of that bad ammunition; but after 6 months I traded the rifle to a buddy who wanted a Cheap M1a and did not care about the torch marks in the chamber. Since then I have not dealt with Century Arms International , not because of the bad ammunition; rather because it was deceptively advertised and they never responded to my 4 or 5 letters to them on that issue.

Bottom Line:


My advice is that if the brass has a visible loss of brass from the corrosion area after cleaning, no matter how you clean it whether Corn Cob, Walnut, or stainless steel media - or even hand cleaning and polishing; then reject those 22LR cases and send them to the recycle bin. If they clean up and there is no evidence of surface deterioration, use them. Of course, same applies to case bases that have holes in the rim from primer indentation, or a visible split or heavy damage to the mouth area of the 22LR case.

Mustang

[Prospector Howard]

Being the paranoid type (I'm only paranoid because eveything's against me), I never use range brass period. Only use brass shot in my 22's, that I pick up after shooting and careful not to step on either. If the brass is so tarnished you'd have to use SS media to clean them up, then I figure you're removing enough brass to thin it (these cases for jackets are already pretty thin). I may be wrong here, but why take the chance. If I didn't shoot 22 and had to pick up range brass, I sure wouldn't use old tarnished stepped on stuff.