Any secrets to keeping the brass from tarnishing after cleaning? There are times when i go through and clean and deprime all my brass, then pick up factory loads cheap, so i may go a couple months without reloading, or i reload and don't get to firing them for months, and when i do, they just aren't the  pretty shiny brass that i cleaned. I do a wet wash with lemishine, dawn and tide. Then i'll do another spin in a car wash and wax,. That has helped but doesn't do the trick as far as keeping brass shiny.

Brasso

Sent from my SM-A102U using Tapatalk

Recommend against Brasso as it contains ammonia and can weaken the brass. I found that wax in dry media works well in protecting the brass from tarnishing.

Recommend against Brasso as it contains ammonia and can weaken the brass. I found that wax in dry media works well in protecting the brass from tarnishing.

================
No to brasso in the tumbler. It makes the brass shiny but attacks the alloy.
The problem is not that ammonia in itself is bad, but rather that you tend to leave it on after tumbling instead of washing it off.
I like to use a phosphoric or oxalic acid-based cleaner to de-tarnish brass, but it is a wet bath followed by a freshwater rinse to remove the acid.

Ammonia is alkaline.
Either an alkali or an acid will destabilize the brass molecules.

What to do?

Ren has a good idea. Not sure what wax he is talking about, but it makes sense.
When I (dry) tumble, I add charcoal lighter fluid, which is a petroleum product. Thus leaves a very slight, almost imperceptible, oily finish.
Then I store the brass in airtight containers. I suppose you could add a desiccant pack to reduce the moisture.

Carnauba wax. The cheapest and highest concentration is found in floor wax. The car-marketed carnauba waxes are more expensive.

Beeswax should work too. This is fantastic against corrosion on brass, and rust on steel. Only difficulty is obtaining this stuff in HI. Beeswax is one of the lubricants in Eley .22LR competition ammo, and used for fireforming cartridges, so it is not foreign to the gun world.

Beeswax should work too. This is fantastic against corrosion on brass, and rust on steel. Only difficulty is obtaining this stuff in HI. Beeswax is one of the lubricants in Eley .22LR competition ammo, and used for fireforming cartridges, so it is not foreign to the gun world.

THey have at Ben Franklin

Recommend against Brasso as it contains ammonia and can weaken the brass. I found that wax in dry media works well in protecting the brass from tarnishing.

Ok, didn't know that!

Sent from my SM-A102U using Tapatalk

Not too sure how you would apply beeswax to your shell casing.

But....

I got pure Hawaiian beeswax from those hard-working bees in Manoa Valley.
I use their wax to blend into my bullet lube.
The lube blows back slightly in my 45 auto giving my brass a thin coat of alox2138f and beeswax.
It also makes my bullets go faster...LOL
This is not a joke.

Isn't Mother Nature wonderful?

Is reloading tarnished brass bad?

Tarnish is bad for your reputation.
 
....
But seriously,  you really shouldn't have slippery stuff on your finished ammo.
I degrease my ammo with brake cleaner after loading.

Is reloading tarnished brass bad?

It's not bad I guess. It just that factory ammo has some sort of protectant that my reloads lack. I think I'll try tumbling with a little floor wax. Thank you all for the great suggestions.

We used to use Nu Finish car polish in a tumbler....

Use a reloading specific polish in the tumbler to clean the brass. It stays shiny for some time. 

Steer clear of any chemical cleaner. As stated, it will weaken the brass, could very well cause a dangerous situation.

Tarnished brass is no problem. Just doesn’t look blingy, but hey, it works.

Would you give a f**k how shiny the cartridge case the son of a bitch that shot you was using?

Would you give a f**k how shiny the cartridge case the son of a bitch that shot you was using?

Only reloadahz understand...

Is that a Christmas video?

I saw ho, ho, ho, ....