Stained brass?

[Terminatorret]

I'm new to reloading. I had some OLD 30-30 brass that needed cleaning (IMHO) prior to reuse. Several had green "mold" that scraped-off, but left an awful brown stain on the brass.
I tumbled the brass in rice...worked great but the dark brown spots still remained. I tried several remedies including 0000 steel wool...tough stains. Then I tried "Bar Keepers Friend" that my wife keeps under the kitchen cabinet. BAM! Stains gone with minimal scrubbing with a paper towel! It's the same consistency as comet or Ajax powder.
Y'all probably already know this, but it was new to me.
Good hunting.

[mdi]

Bar Keeper's Friend is very popular among fiber glass boat owners. Cleans well but won't scratch gel coat. Run your fingernail along the "dark brown spots" after cleaning. If you can feel any rough spots, the brass has been compromised by corrosion, and will be weak in that area. Toss 'em...

[Terminatorret]

No rough spots...just surface discoloration.

[crackers]

I found some awesome looking black brass among oak leaves. I want to try it out this fall - they polish up beautifully.

[maxreloader]

If in boubt... toss it out. Or into the scrap bucket. It's not worth the risk to you or yours.

[country gent]

I also observe where the corrosion is on the brass, and how large it is. neck shoulder area where brass works mire may be a bigger problem than mid body. back at the case head where stretch occurs is more questionable also

[Half Dog]

30-30 brass is plentiful around here. If in doubt, scrap it.

[waksupi]

What you are seeing is the elements separating, creating a weak spot in the brass. Toss it.

[Shuz]

Lemi-
Shine
Also works well to rermove stains in brass.

[gwpercle]

Rice is great for a pot of Jambalaya but it sucks rocks as a tumbling media.
Don't try kitty litter either...it's worse.
Get some of Midway's Treated Walnut Hull Media . It has polishing rouge in it and is ground to the correct size . It has a reddish color...the brass polishing rouge . It's better than Lyman's .
Just order it and use it. Lizard , snake and gopher bedding isn't made for brass polishing , wrong size and NO polishing compound . Forget rice , playground sand and the many abrasive blasting compounds on the market... It's all been tried and all found lacking .
Gary

[David2011]

The green "mold" you described is probably corrosion. Any chance it was exposed to rodent urine? That will corrode brass badly and I would scrap it.

If it's just brown you can clean it with citric acid, available in the canning area of Walmart and other retailers. Here's the sticky on it: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?83572-Citric-acid-brass-cleaner.

If it has green corrosion you can tell after the citric acid treatment if the corrosion was more than superficial. If it's pitted, scrap it. If it just turns pink, that is a superficial loss of zinc and will polish off in a tumbler. When cleaning large batches of brass I use a porcelain lined pot on the stove and try to keep it at about 160° F. It works in seconds. No need to rinse after the citric acid treatment.

[Terminatorret]

No rodent urine...just lifted out of a leather belt slide kept in a dresser drawer. No pitting, just a waxy green that left a brown spot on the surface. Thanks for everyones input.

[Gtek]

SS pins and a roller, water, Lemi Shine and two drops of Dawn. It will distort your mind and then all the brass you have will need to look like that. Some how it even does the primer pockets.