Blackening of cases

[Blackwater]

When I put my fired cases into a jug of water, usually sweetened with Murphy's Oil Soap, pending their full cleanup when I get home, they often get blackened where they sit at the bottom of the jug and rest on the black crud that also falls to the bottom of the jug. Just exactly what it it that's happening there, chemically, and do I need to be concerned about its long-term effects?

[country gent]

I use 3 tablespoons of dawn dish soap and 1 teaspoon lemishine ganuales to a gallon of water make sure soap is well mixed in the water and not seperated out to the bottom. Shake once in awhile as your shooting to keep agitated and this also keeps the same cases from laying on bottom somewhat. My cases go into this mix as fired on the range or after each stage at a match and may set in it for 4-8 hours till I get home. I then pour out outside keeping cases in jug and rinse several times in hot water till no soap suds remain. Cases are still brass looking just a little duller than before. I dry and polish in corn cobs. How dark/black are your cases getting? A buddy had some winchester 45-70 cases turn black, a very hard coating we couldnt remove from them. Think he had cases above soap water mix getting wet and drying. May be a reaction to powder residue, bullet lube and murphies oil soap.

[bedbugbilly]

I don't load and shoot rifle calibers so can't speak to keeping that brass clean. I do load and shoot 38 spl and 357 though. When I was loading brass cases, I'd throw 'em in a jug of water with some liquid detergent and a little windex in it - then when I got home, rinsed well, de-primed and washed and rinsed again then set out to dry. On my 38s and 357s, I started using "nickel" casings and I find them much easier to keep clean. . . . and I don't have a tumbler. They seem to come clean and I don't have any corrosion on the inside even after setting empty for weeks at a time sometimes.

I know you probably can't come up with nickel rifle casings but you might keep that in mind on pistol cartridges.

['74 sharps]

I may go for many weeks without cleaning my bp fired brass; however, running thru my Thumler's B with soap and citric acid, it comes out fine. Have never seen the need to soak brass while shooting.

[Desertbuck]

No there's no bad side effects to them turning dark. All of my 45 colt and 45/120 are a dull dirt color and are just fine. And I concur you do not have to clean the cases at the range. Clean them when you get home no worries.
How I clean my cases are two ways 1 when you get home deprime your cases then get an old stainless steel bowl fire up the tea kettle cover the cases with the boiling hot water and throw in a tablespoon of OxiClean and watch the magic. Rinse dry done! 2 once in awhile though when I want them even cleaner all I do is throw them in my Harbor Freight rock tumbler fill it with boiling hot water throw 2 tablespoons of your favorite laundry detergent and let it run for 15 minutes. Rinse dry done! This method weather it be black powder or smokeless will get your case so clean they will squeak in your fingers. And all that bad dust you have to worry about with rotary tumblers goes down the drain.

[Desertbuck]

****! I forgot to mention put the stainless steel bowl in the sink when using the OxiClean by the way!