Braso for brass cleaner

[eas02]

Can you use braso in the tumbler to clean brass?? Will it harm the brass or bad for the powder?

 

[muzzleblast525]

Good question....I've been told it will work, but no first hand knowledge......

 

[Guest]

I have read that it will weaken the brass.

There are a handful of prodcuts at Midway. I use Flitz additive.

http://www.midwayusa.com/ under reloading.

 

[tapehoser]

I disagree about Brasso and have used it consistently for years.

I have seen and read articles that state that in order for it (ammonia) to weaken brass, it would have to remain in an aqueous solution for quite some time. Since you are tumbling with some sort of media involved, it dries LONG before it might cause any weakening.

 

[rigpig78]

I've been using brasso with no obvious problems so far... :roll:

 

[Asa Yam]

I disagree about Brasso and have used it consistently for years.

I have seen and read articles that state that in order for it (ammonia) to weaken brass, it would have to remain in an aqueous solution for quite some time. Since you are tumbling with some sort of media involved, it dries LONG before it might cause any weakening.

Decidely untrue about the aqueous solution.

The first instances of stress corrosion cracking (SCC) were encountered in India back around the 1890s. Back then, it was called season cracking, since it seemed to occur during the monsoon season. It was later discovered the cause was ammonia vapors from horse urine. Turns out the ammo was stored in the rafters of sheds where horses were stabled during the monsoon season.

Stress corrosion cracking is insidious. The rate of crack formation and growth cannot be predicted easily. The best practice for dealing with SCC is avoiding combinations known to cause failures - anything else, and you're repairing the damage from it, or minimizing its impact. Conditions that accelerate SCC are:

• A corrosive and corroding medium (ammonia and brass).
• A state of stress, brought about by internal or external loads. (Cartridge brass is hardened by cold working - i.e., a state of relatively high internal stresses.)

Polishing cases with Brasso falls under the "penny wise, pound foolish" category. Brasso is cheap, eye or facial surgery following a ruptured case isn't.

 

[tapehoser]

Doesn't change the fact that I'm on my 12th reload of .45 ACP and 6th reload of 45-70...all with the same pieces of brass with no signs of stress or cracking.

 

[Asa Yam]

Doesn't change the fact that I'm on my 12th reload of .45 ACP and 6th reload of 45-70...all with the same pieces of brass with no signs of stress or cracking.

Just because it hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it won't result in failure.

Using your logic, you can extinguish a match in a pail of gasoline, so what's the harm in lighting the match?

 

[SOTN]

I clean only the necks of my cases. I don't even own, or want to own a Tumbler. I've used a number of methods, like steel wool, or tiny bit of Water soluble Brass Cleaner or even Brasso on a rag, and wipe the case neck with it.

I always wipe it off real good, and I've never had, or ever expect to have a problem with cracked cases because of Brasso.

It may be remotely possible for Brasso to cause a problem in the right set of circumstances.

The brass we use today is probably better than that old stuff they used before horses were obsolete.
Smitty of the North

 

[tapehoser]

Just because it hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it won't result in failure.

Using your logic, you can extinguish a match in a pail of gasoline, so what's the harm in lighting the match?

I still disagree with you because every test I have seen is at least 25 years old and has not taken into account the newer manufacturing methods or materials. I'll take my grandad's word over yours until you prove me wrong.

 

[Ol` Joe]

There are presently several polishing compounds made specifically for case cleaning. While it would seem to be a logical choice, do not use Brasso or any other type of brass cleaning solutions that contain ammonia. Strong concentrations of ammonia will chemically attack the case and weaken it, leading to a potentially dangerous situation.

I got this from here, a part of Sierras web site.
http://www.exteriorballistics.com/reloa ... immers.cfm

I to be honest don`t know about chemistry, and can`t say with any kind of proof to back me, but I don`t believe in useing Brasso just because of reading reports like this. I do know ammonia is the active ingredient in copper removing bore cleaners. That it will take copper out of my rifle bore gives me a hint that it likely will not be real good for the copper in my cartridge cases.
Again, I`m just offering MHO.

 

[Asa Yam]

I still disagree with you because every test I have seen is at least 25 years old and has not taken into account the newer manufacturing methods or materials. I'll take my grandad's word over yours until you prove me wrong.

I'm a degreed metallurgist - are you? In one of my classes, we performed a stress corrosion experiment, using brass and mercury. The behavior of this system is similar to brass and ammonia.

All current literature on stress corrosion cracking use brass and ammonia as a prime example of this phenomena. From http://www.hghouston.com/coppers/brass73.htm (commercial firm of materials and corrosion engineers):

All copper alloys are rapidly attacked by ammonia in moist conditions, with the formation of a bright blue corrosion product, and contact should therefore obviously be avoided. Even in very low concentrations of ammonia, brass that is stressed by either residual or applied tension will spontaneously crack by 'stress corrosion', a phenomenon first observed many years ago and at that time called 'season cracking'. For failure to occur in this way, two conditions must apply: that the brass is under stress, and that ammonia is present (Mercury and moist chlorine may also cause similar failure). Internal tensile stresses caused by cold working, as in the cold drawing of tubes or cold bending of pipework, are sufficient to make brass susceptible to stress-corrosion cracking.

NOTE: Anhydrous ammonia (NH3) will spontaneously absorb water from the atmosphere, generating ammonium hydroxide (NH4OH). Both compounds attack copper and copper alloys.

Now, are you going to argue with a degreed metallurgist? Or an engineering consulting firm specializing in metallurgical and corrosion phenomena?

 

[tapehoser]

Well done. A little proof or references were all I was asking for. Now that you have backed it up with some documentation, your word carries a little more weight. A little.

Good show. :wink: