by straightshooter » 24 Jan 2018, 7:43 am
I suppose tumbling and polishing are OK if your aim is to pass off 'near death' brass as 'once fired'.
Most of the processes people talk about that make their brass look all shiny and new all have a potentially detrimental effect in one way or other.
For example tumbling in SS pins work hardens the brass, worse still the brass will then continue to age harden, clever move if you have gone to a lot of trouble to carefully neck anneal.
Another example, all polishing leaves some abrasive on and inside your cases, what does that do to your bore and eventually your chamber and your loading dies?
The one I really don't get is soaking brass in acids such as vinegar or citric acid which unless they are completely neutralised means you will be shooting some acid residue down your bore. Often the advocates of acid cleaning will also rail against the use of ammonia based bore cleaners. The ammonia based bore cleaners are alkaline. Acids are harmful to metals alkalis are not.
Go figger.
What do I do?
Only when I FLS I then boil the brass in water with a cap full of dish washer powder added (which by the way is highly alkaline), rinse a few times in clean water and then blow dry with air.
That's it.
"Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about."
"There is no expedient to which a man will not resort to avoid the real labor of thinking." Sir Joshua Reynolds