Rust On Shell Holders

[ACC]

Anyone have an easy way to remove rust off of RCBS shell holders? The some of the ones I inherited has rust on them and I would like to salvage them if I could.

ACC

[onelight]

It depends rust can be a little or a lot.
If it's light rust steel wool and oil or bead blast them.

[pworley1]

I just pitch mine in the tumbler for a while.

[onelight]

I just pitch mine in the tumbler for a while.

Great idea !

[44magLeo]

Steel wool should get the light stuff.
If a bit more Evap O Rust works well. Once you take them out of the Evap O Rust you want to wash them off quickly with very hot water. Them immediately spray down with WD 40. This removes the water and prevents rust.
If you don't they can flash rust. This will clean off with steel wool or a wire brush. Once rust fee I might use some Never Dull metal polish.
Leo

[44magLeo]

The Tumbler is a good idea. With a bit of polish in there they come out rust free and a wax coating to prevent rust.
I didn't think of that. I don't have a tumbler.
Leo

[ReloaderFred]

I buy them all the time at gun shows and off the auction sites. I just throw them in the tumbler and let them run until they're clean. If they're heavily encrusted, I hit them with a wire toothbrush prior to tumbling. It saves on a lot of extra labor and time.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[dale2242]

Evapo Rust is my choice.....dale

[Kevin Rohrer]

This has been discussed many, many times.

Dunk them in a solution of Citric Acid and water for a few hours (heavy rust will take a couple days). The rust will magically fall-off w/o damage to metal.

[fast ronnie]

Evaporust works great and so does muratic acid used for swimming pools. Both need to be rinsed off and oiled. Muratic will also remove bluing. You just wipe it on and wipe the bluing off. Rust will take a few minutes, but don't leave it on. Evaporust is pretty safe to use and doesn't hurt the base metal.

[kevin c]

I'm a fan of the citric acid technique. 10% solution. Warm or hot water works faster.

I'm no chemistry or materials maven, but I read here that the citric acid makes the steel a bit more tarnish and rust resistant (passivation I think it's called).

[2A-Jay]

I use Naval Jelly to remove rust on Shell Holders' Brush it on, wait about 15 minutes Wash it off (wear gloves when handling) pop them in my dehydrator to dry, then wipe em down with CLP wipes. I store my Shell holders in Tupperware type containers between reloading sessions.

[Petrol & Powder]

All of the above methods will work for removing rust but there is no magic method to replace metal lost to rust.

Often the damage from rust is minor and inconsequential, but it's always permanent.

Once iron combines with oxygen to form rust (one of the many ferrous oxides) that material is lost. You can remove that rust and you can stop further rusting but you can't restore what was lost.

Once the part is clean and free of rust, it needs to be protected with something that prevents oxygen from reaching the surface. (oil, grease, wax, paint, lacquer, etc. )

[mdi]

I tumbled machined parts long before I tumbled any brass cases. Used several types of media depending on the results/finish that was needed. Harbor Freight has some inexpensive hard resin tumbling media that works quite well n rusty tools, and I add a bit (mebbe 10%-20%) to my corn cob blast media for excellent, quick cleaning. I just tumbled some old rusty 1/4" drive sockets in my rotary with HF and cob 50-50 and they came out clean and rust free with a bit of new shine...

BTW it doesn't wear out... https://www.harborfreight.com/520-lb-rust-cutting-resin-abrasive-tumbler-media-63672.html

[gwpercle]

Evapo-Rust , Naval Jelly or a long soak in kerosene or Ed's Red Bore Cleaner .
Gary

[jonp]

I just pitch mine in the tumbler for a while.

Yup, I do that

[ACC]

I tumbled machined parts long before I tumbled any brass cases. Used several types of media depending on the results/finish that was needed. Harbor Freight has some inexpensive hard resin tumbling media that works quite well n rusty tools, and I add a bit (mebbe 10%-20%) to my corn cob blast media for excellent, quick cleaning. I just tumbled some old rusty 1/4" drive sockets in my rotary with HF and cob 50-50 and they came out clean and rust free with a bit of new shine...

BTW it doesn't wear out... https://www.harborfreight.com/520-lb-rust-cutting-resin-abrasive-tumbler-media-63672.html

I wonder how that stuff would work on shining brass?

ACC

[jonp]

I wonder how that stuff would work on shining brass?

ACC

I don't know but my wife bout me the blue tumbler and I used it for several years with no problems.

[Hollywood_Goon]

Often the damage from rust is minor and inconsequential, but it's always permanent.

Once iron combines with oxygen to form rust (one of the many ferrous oxides) that material is lost. You can remove that rust and you can stop further rusting but you can't restore what was lost.

Actually, you can replace what was lost. Check out spray welding (thermal spraying) or laser welding. Both methods work. There are videos on the net showing both methods.

[Hollywood_Goon]

Dunk them in a solution of Citric Acid and water for a few hours (heavy rust will take a couple days). The rust will magically fall-off w/o damage to metal.

I agree. Citric acid has been used for years. I don't understand how this new generation has slipped through the cracks and not heard about it.

[vtech26]

You can also try submerging them in white vinegar overnight. White vinegar will eat rust. I use it all the time to clean rusty parts.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

[georgerkahn]

Good question, Boolit Bub! I am partial to an aerosol spray product called G96, which I learned of from a Garand/carbine guru who used it to de-rust M1 carbine magazines. (The stuff seems incredible at this task; spray it on, wait a minute, and then rub it off; only takes rust)
I wish to add a wee bit of OCD trivia re your (rust removal) mission. To wit, for kicks and giggles, check out the Competition Shell Holder kits purveyed by Redding -- just as an ;) educational endeavor. [Reference: https://www.redding-reloading.com/online-catalog/35-competition-shellholder-sets ] From this, you can see one does not have to wire brush, sand, or grind too very much from a shell holder to change its affect on your loaded cartridge!
You did not indicate HOW rusty the shell holders you have are -- but, in any case -- regardless of the method you elect to choose -- you may wish to keep in mind the fact that a shell holder does in fact do more than "just" hold the case.
BEST!
geo

[1hole]

You can also try submerging them in white vinegar overnight. White vinegar will eat rust. I use it all the time to clean rusty parts.

Ditto. And it's cheep and easy to find too!

[Petrol & Powder]

Actually, you can replace what was lost. Check out spray welding (thermal spraying) or laser welding. Both methods work. There are videos on the net showing both methods.

That's adding new metal from an external source back to the part.
Once metal is lost to rust, it's gone. Replacing that lost metal with metal from another source, such as welding wire, does not reverse the rusting process.

I stand by what I said.

===========================================

"What do you have there"?
"It's the hatchet used by George Washington to cut down the Cherry tree"
"Is it original"?
"Well mostly, the head has been replaced twice and the handle has been replaced three times........." [smilie=s:

[abunaitoo]

Stainless pin tumbler?????
Shells come out like new.

[onelight]

A rusted shell holder would have to be for an antique for me to spend much time trying to salvage something I can buy for $5.00 , and I am a tightwad.:bigsmyl2:

[Petrol & Powder]

A rusted shell holder would have to be for an antique for me to spend much time trying to salvage something I can buy for $5.00 , and I am a tightwad.:bigsmyl2:

I'm with you !!

[lightman]

I've been happy with the results from using EvapoRust. Like the others have said, it will remove rust but if the base metal is pitted the pits will still be there.

[hollywood63]

I tried citric acid and a ultra sonic cleaner and it was amazing how fats it took the rust off a couple dies

[ReloaderFred]

There are some shell holders that are worth the effort. For instance, I have two Hollywood Senior presses that I still use on occasion. Shell holders for those presses are expensive, and are getting harder to find. I've got over two dozen of them and I'll put in the effort to clean those up when I come across them.

Besides that, I'm just plain frugal, which is another way of saying cheap. I hate to throw out a useful item when I can restore it. I've used EvapoRust, citric acid and white vinegar, along with the tumbler, and they all work. It sometimes just depends on what I have on hand at the time.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[Baltimoreed]

The last thing I want on my shellholder is penetrating oil. That puts oil way too close to your primers and to your reloading process. Doesn’t take much to kill a primer. Clean or tumble them and wax but no oil.