Brass & Vinegar

[Dirtdart504]

On another thread I read a post about soaking particularly bad looking brass in vinegar. There wasn't much discussion about it. I tried it and it worked. I soaked some really dirty brass, after tumbling, in straight white vinegar overnight and tumbled it again. All but the worst came out looking like new. Does anyone know of any potential problems in exposing brass to vinegar like the problem ammonia creates?
Thanks.

 

[17 squirrel]

Personally i would not, Vinegar is a weak acetic acid.
A prolonged soak in acetic acid may leach the zinc out of the brass and ruin it.
Some reloaders use it all the time with no problems at all, if you decide to use it pay attention for " pink " spots in the brass, that would be the zinc separating itself from the brass. And that's not good.

 

[HHollow]

I would think vinegar would be find to use so long as the brass were completely washed with water afterwards. Any corrosion while imersed in vinegar would be very very slow.

The same can not be said for aluminum. The corrosion is so fast that one can sometimes see gas bubbles (hydrogen) forming at the metal surface. Many cleaners have small amounts of acid or base added to make them more aggressive. Always, always rinse completely with water. Several times.

 

[Yeah]

Is your brass entering a beauty contest?

 

[throttletony]

I would think vinegar would be find to use so long as the brass were completely washed with water afterwards. Any corrosion while imersed in vinegar would be very very slow.

The same can not be said for aluminum. The corrosion is so fast that one can sometimes see gas bubbles (hydrogen) forming at the metal surface. Many cleaners have small amounts of acid or base added to make them more aggressive. Always, always rinse completely with water. Several times.

^^ this ^^

I have used a watered down version, about 2 cups of vinegar to about 2 liters of water, with a tablespoon of Dawn and a pinch of salt (yes, for real).
This used to be my washing solution when I agitated/cleaned brass by hand.
AND THEN WASH it.... 2-3 times.
water rinse, then again with a teaspoon of baking soda + water (helps neutralize any remaining vinegar), then wash in plain water.

This proved to be a lot of work, but it worked well.

...and I have since bought a wet tumbler

 

[BE Mike]

^^ this ^^

I have used a watered down version, about 2 cups of vinegar to about 2 liters of water, with a tablespoon of Dawn and a pinch of salt (yes, for real).
This used to be my washing solution when I agitated/cleaned brass by hand.
AND THEN WASH it.... 2-3 times.
water rinse, then again with a teaspoon of baking soda + water (helps neutralize any remaining vinegar), then wash in plain water.

This proved to be a lot of work, but it worked well.

...and I have since bought a wet tumbler

Decades ago, before I had a tumbler, I did this exact thing. The formula was published in The American Rifleman magazine, IIRC. It works fine, but like throttletony says, it is a lot of trouble. Since the early 80's I've used a barrel tumbler (Lortone).

 

[Dirtdart504]

Thanks for all the input. It does sound like a lot. I may just be going for the wet tumbler.

 

[Banjo Man]

Brass cleaning

Some years back I had a source for brass that had been fired in H&K machine guns-- NOTHING would clean this brass to an acceptable level-- then by pure chance I happened upon something that did the trick. Brass in a plastic tub, covered it with the 'wonder liquid' and you could see it working. stirred it a bit with a paint stirrer and rinsed off, let air dry and it was 1st polish ready-- the wonder liquid?? Old fashion ORANGE Kool Aid--- These days, as with all good things, that source has long passed, but I still use this formula, except now it is in a Lyman sonic cleaner. When I first got this cleaner I was able to clean in an hour what use to take me a month. My brass cleaning these days is pretty much caught up, except for what I shoot myself. Cleaning is a breeze-- I DO deprime all brass before I start though. I work ahead, so I am not in a hurry. I DO use the Kool-Aid in double strength as a matter of course.

 

[BE Mike]

I DO use the Kool-Aid in double strength as a matter of course.

Kool Aid...SWEEEEEEEET!

 

[Dirtdart504]

Some years back I had a source for brass that had been fired in H&K machine guns-- NOTHING would clean this brass to an acceptable level-- then by pure chance I happened upon something that did the trick. Brass in a plastic tub, covered it with the 'wonder liquid' and you could see it working. stirred it a bit with a paint stirrer and rinsed off, let air dry and it was 1st polish ready-- the wonder liquid?? Old fashion ORANGE Kool Aid--- These days, as with all good things, that source has long passed, but I still use this formula, except now it is in a Lyman sonic cleaner. When I first got this cleaner I was able to clean in an hour what use to take me a month. My brass cleaning these days is pretty much caught up, except for what I shoot myself. Cleaning is a breeze-- I DO deprime all brass before I start though. I work ahead, so I am not in a hurry. I DO use the Kool-Aid in double strength as a matter of course.

That has to be a great story. I imagine something like the old "You got your chocolate in my peanut putter" Reese's commercials.

 

[HHollow]

Imagine that orange koolaid might have a little citric acid in it.