Cleaning tarnished ammo

[skeeterbait]

I used to believe in cycling self defense ammo, shoot it up and buy fresh. Today with the scarce availability of good self defense ammo like Hydra-Shok, (backordered till December), that isn't as viable as it used to be. So over time, ammo becomes tarnished. On a whim, I poped a round out of my mag yesterday and cleaned it with a bit of Brasso on a paper towel. It shined up like new money. Do you see a problem with this as long as you use it scarcely and keep it away from the primer pocket, or better left alone?

 

[Erich]

Polish away. I've done this several times over the years (tho with Flitz) and never had a problem due to it.

 

[*Klutch*]

I put mine in the tumbler and give it a whirl

 

[Erich]

And THAT I wouldn't do.

 

[Rule3]

And THAT I wouldn't do.

Nor would I.

Flitz is amazing stuff and will not hurt anything. I just bought another large tube from Midway on sale.

 

[38-44HD45]

A LITTLE tumbling of loaded ammo won't hurt. Tumbling it long enough to remove brass tarnish could be risky.

 

[HAWKEYE10]

I don't clean loaded ammo at all. Am I missing
something? I don't see the need to clean ammo
but if I should let me know. Don

 

[Alk8944]

I used to believe in cycling self defense ammo, shoot it up and buy fresh. Today with the scarce availability of good self defense ammo like Hydra-Shok, (backordered till December), that isn't as viable as it used to be. So over time, ammo becomes tarnished. On a whim, I poped a round out of my mag yesterday and cleaned it with a bit of Brasso on a paper towel. It shined up like new money. Do you see a problem with this as long as you use it scarcely and keep it away from the primer pocket, or better left alone?

Yes, there is a problem with this. Ammonia based polishes like Brasso will cause Nitrogen embrittlement of brass. Several months after using Brasso you will start to notice case necks with cracks caused by the stress of the pressure exerted by the bullet. Even before this you may see cases which split on firing as the ammonia causes the brass to lose ductility.

If you watch the reloading forums this is a frequent question and always someone who will argue "I have done it and never had any problems"! Take it from someone who discovered this on his own more than 30 years ago before it was widely known. Lost literally hundreds of cases due to this years back.

 

[skeeterbait]

Glad I asked. Thanks!

 

[Texas Star]

I clean ammo with a Kleenex or paper towel. Seems to work. Paper is a mild abrasive.

One reason why I don't use auto pistols more for defense work is that I don't like emptying magazines and putting the wiped ammo back in. The cartridges tend to get worn. In times of ammo shortages, this gets to be a serious issue.

T-Star

 

[Erich]

Why would you need to empty a loaded mag and reload it? No reason to wear the springs, and the ammo shouldn't corrode in the mag.

Have I been away from humidity so long that I've forgotten about this? (It's possible . . . )

 

[jbouwens]

Why would you need to empty a loaded mag and reload it? No reason to wear the springs, and the ammo shouldn't corrode in the mag.

Have I been away from humidity so long that I've forgotten about this? (It's possible . . . )

I rotate my loaded mags every month or two in my automatics with the exception of my Glocks (they will rebuild the mags as-well-as the gun at the GSSF matches for free). The others get rotated due to the springs weakening while loaded for a long time. I screwed up and left a couple a M1 Carbine 15 round mags loaded for more than a year and they now have feeding problems(need to buy some springs). This can happen in any mag if left under max pressure long enough. If we are talking plinking mags---not a big deal, if we are talking hunting mags---piss you off, and if we are talking self defense mag--- might get you killed from the "lack of shooting back"

Rounds will tarnish/corode in mags in the right (or wrong if you will) enviornment, Your fingerprints to do the job the first time you touch the brass/copper and will continue until stopped, cleaned, or shot.

My advise is to fire off your old carry loads every 3-6 months, don't worry about target loads (unless you see the green/white powder off of those old military surplus rounds)---shot them when you shot them, The mil surp. I mentioned clean them with Flitz or 0000 steel wool to get the heavy crap off.
Oh yea, resist the temptation to touch the pretty rounds in the box, Leave you buger finger off until you load them. Wear a glove and load the mags to prevent finger print tarnish on the rounds.

 

[Erich]

Talk to an engineer: on a well-made spring, it's the compressing and uncompressing that wears. Constant compression is not going to wear the spring. You'll wear your mags out faster doing what you do than just letting them sit. Seriously, talk to an engineer.

 

[haggis]

Talk to an engineer: on a well-made spring, it's the compressing and uncompressing that wears. Constant compression is not going to wear the spring. You'll wear your mags out faster doing what you do than just letting them sit. Seriously, talk to an engineer.

Actually, you're both right, or you're both wrong, depending on how the spring is designed and the material it's made from.

If the material will creep under stress (as most materials do), then leaving the spring compressed over a long time will shorten it. If you look at a used recoil spring for a 1911, it will be shorter than a new spring. If the spring is properly designed, there will still be enough length and force to operate properly. Use cheap materials or bad design, then leaving your mags loaded will cause functioning problems.

Even with proper steel, it's strength deteriorates by about half as it is cyclically loaded and unloaded up to about a million cycles. If you design for the million cycle yield strength, no problem. Likewise, if you don't cycle it much, still no problem.

The practical answer is to use quality magazines, and you probably won't have any problems no matter what you do. If you want to be a bit more conservative, don't cycle the mags more than necessary.

And, yes, I are a mechanical injuneer, with one of those Piled Higher and Deeper thingies.


Buck

 

[Scrapper]

Simichrome Polish

I've used Simichrome Polish to shine up Brass and my stainless 460 XVR, It helps take the discoloration off the Cylinder created from firing those high pressure loads.

The tube I had was left over from my mechanic days, been around a long time and still works great.

Also don't need to use but a drop or 2 so it goes a long way.

 

[mmoseley]

tarnish ammo brass

Gentlemen, i see where people are afraid to clean loaded ammo in a tumbler
I have been reloading ammo for about 40 years now, and every time i am
done loading i always clean my ammo in the tumbler as a final polish before
putting the ammo away. i dont know why there is concern about this, i have never had any problems in 40 years, and i load 12 different calibers. other than wearing out a tumbler faster, Have Fun with shinier bullits.

 

[M E Morrison]

I put mine in the tumbler and give it a whirl

Everything I have read advises against tumbling loaded ammo - something about changing the burning rate of the powder by breaking it into smaller chunks.

 

[Warren Sear]

Tumbling loaded ammo in walnut shells (no additives) will clean it up and will not harm it in any way.

Magazines can be left loaded for 100 years and the springs will not weaken.

Carry on...

 

[marinevet]

Yea, I'm not sure I want to tumble loaded ammo for a number or different reasons......right now all my ammo is in pretty good shape except for a few hundred rounds of .50 BMG......I guess maybe hand polish with a low speed buffer wheel.....?

Semper Fi!

 

[QED]

Actually, you're both right, or you're both wrong, depending on how the spring is designed and the material it's made from.

If the material will creep under stress (as most materials do), then leaving the spring compressed over a long time will shorten it. If you look at a used recoil spring for a 1911, it will be shorter than a new spring. If the spring is properly designed, there will still be enough length and force to operate properly. Use cheap materials or bad design, then leaving your mags loaded will cause functioning problems.

Even with proper steel, it's strength deteriorates by about half as it is cyclically loaded and unloaded up to about a million cycles. If you design for the million cycle yield strength, no problem. Likewise, if you don't cycle it much, still no problem.

The practical answer is to use quality magazines, and you probably won't have any problems no matter what you do. If you want to be a bit more conservative, don't cycle the mags more than necessary.

And, yes, I are a mechanical injuneer, with one of those Piled Higher and Deeper thingies.


Buck

Do you suppose that typical $30 magazines, such as used in M&P pistols for example, use "proper steel" and proper design that would enable such magazines to be continuously fully loaded for several years and still function reliably?