Colored Brass?

[JeepHammer]

Color coding brass,
Making the .204 Ruger stand out from the .223 Rem brass, or so the idea goes...

We know that too much 'Lemi-Shine' turns brass 'Rose' (pink), but there are other colors you can make brass...
Anyone else do this?

I ran into this some years back, and some of it works better than others,
https://chestofbooks.com/reference/Henley-s-20th-Century-Formulas-Recipes-Processes-Vol1/Brass-Coloring.html

I recently ran into this, but haven't had time to try much of it.
https://www.sciencecompany.com/-W160.aspx

[rancher1913]

cant say I have ever needed to color code brass, different calibers are evident by size to me. I do color code loads by PC, reds are warm, blues are cool, and greens are normal

[jmorris]

Leave it in blackland dirt and let it rain on it and you can’t make it shine again.

[JeepHammer]

Red clay is pretty rough on brass too...

[Grmps]

I'd be afraid of weakening the brass

[Pardini]

https://www.sciencecompany.com/Patina-Formulas-for-Brass-Bronze-and-Copper.aspx#5

Gets expensive and takes some effort.

[Mr_Sheesh]

Sharpie Markers, not permanent but work short term.

[Grmps]

Maple leaves

[avogunner]

Birchwood Casey makes this stuff called "Brass Black". When I had a .30 Carbine Ruger Blackhawk, I used it to mark the brass intended for that to keep separate from the others (the pistol chambers required a precise trim length). Anyway..... kinda like pan lubing, I would stand some cases in a shallow bowl/pan, pour the brass black in to a level about a third of the way up the case. The stuff will chemically change the brass where touching to a deep black color so it was easily identifiable.
Semper Fi

[psweigle]

Sharpie Markers, not permanent but work short term.

Probably the safest way so as not to weaken the brass. In my opinion of course.

[mdi]

I have some brass I want to keep separate from brass of the same caliber. I very rarely shine/polish any brass, just good and clean, but that brass that I want to keep separate I tumble longer to get that virgin looking shine (My Garand brass shines ;-)). Easy to tell Garand brass from "normal" 30-06 brass...

[bruce drake]

I like Avogunner's suggestion to mark the brass for specific rifles/pistols. I may start doing that for the rifles I have multiples of to segregate the brass for each I have one Lee Enfield with a very sloppy chamber that requires necksized brass for any brass life and the other has a much cleaner chamber.

Bruce

[JeepHammer]

I don't have 'Micrometer vision', so when I'm p-dog hunting the .204 Ruger gets mixed in with the .223.
I stain my .223 brass brick red so it stands out from the .204 brass, makes it easier to sort.

As for 'Weak' brass, I stay away from long soaks in concentrated acid.
Something like Dykem Blue or Red works pretty well but will polish off eventually, and if you do a lot it can get expensive.

[trapper9260]

Have anyone try to boil the cases in walnut out side hulls.Like you would get from English walnuts that you grow and take the outside shell and ground it up and boil the cases in it to try to dye it? There is some cases I would like to have a different color of the same brass.
Grmps I use maple leaves to dye my traps. How long dose it last on brass?