Clean brass that's not shiny

[ShawnM]

Hi, I put some brass through my ultra-sonic cleaner. I guess it had too much vinegar in it because it took the shine right off the brass.

Can I still use it as is or do I have to tumble it first? It's completely clean, just no shine left to it.

[sparky660]

I would throw it in the tumbler for a couple hours. I like my brass shiney as it shows bride and workmanship.

[260 Rem]

Clean brass that shines does not shoot any better than clean brass that is dull.

[benamen]

Link to a recipe for shiney brass from ultrasonic cleaner

http://www.6mmbr.com/ultrasonic.html

[sparky660]

Originally Posted by 260 Rem

Clean brass that shines does not shoot any better than clean brass that is dull.

That is true but shiny brass highlights some of the overpressure signs that might be masked by dull brass. Besides it is good reloading practice to work with and have shiny brass.

[222rem]

From Hornady product information
Ultrasonic Cleaning removes fouling from cases it does not polish cases .
Reloader looking for polished cases still need to run cleaned cases through a tumbler to achieve a shiny finish.

[LongDraw]

Ive never tumbled brass, totally unnecessary IMO.

[sparky660]

Originally Posted by LongDraw

Ive never tumbled brass, totally unnecessary IMO.

So your not worried about cracks or anything of the nature that dirty brass hides? Assuming that your untumbled brass does get dirty that is.

[LongDraw]

Originally Posted by sparky660

So your not worried about cracks or anything of the nature that dirty brass hides? Assuming that your untumbled brass does get dirty that is.

I inspect each piece of brass after I size when I wipe the lube off the case.

[sparky660]

Originally Posted by LongDraw

I inspect each piece of brass after I size when I wipe the lube off the case.

How many times do you reload your brass?

[Lonnie]

Originally Posted by sparky660

So your not worried about cracks or anything of the nature that dirty brass hides? Assuming that your untumbled brass does get dirty that is.

dull brass shows shine spots if there's a problem if you look at the case shortly after being fired. I clean my brass but it does go dull with time.
I never worry about brass going dull until it starts to get green spots if they get that way they get cleaned again and reinspected.

[Rem - P14]

Originally Posted by sparky660

I would throw it in the tumbler for a couple hours. I like my brass shiney as it shows bride and workmanship.

The last time I showed my bride some workmanship she expressed an interest in seeing me show her some more ... every day of my married life!

[260 Rem]

Originally Posted by sparky660

So your not worried about cracks or anything of the nature that dirty brass hides? Assuming that your untumbled brass does get dirty that is.

I'm of the same opinion as Longdraw. I do not have a tumbler and reload about 3000 bottleneck centerfire rifle rounds each year. Typically, only the outside of the case neck gets powder blowback so I wipe the outside with a powder solvent or case lube, and nylon brush the inside before neck sizing. If, after 8-10 reloads the case neck is resisting clean-up...I wipe them with "brasso". Most of my reloding is for 6BR/6.5 X 47/260 Rem /308 Win ...which I reload about 12 times. Pressure signs like cratered primers / loose primer pockets / shinny extractor marks and hard bolt lift are not hidden by dull brass. Not that I have any evidence (and perhaps it is not even true), I have read that tumbling brass contributes to premature case hardenning?

[sparky660]

Originally Posted by Rem - P14

The last time I showed my bride some workmanship she expressed an interest in seeing me show her some more ... every day of my married life!

LMAO good catch. Every time I try and show my bride she rolls her eyes and calls me a redneck.