Burnt bronze colored brass!

[JJE76]

I was in a hurry put around 300 cases of 5.56 in my fart lite. Wanted to try Dawn and lemi shine instead of the normal packs. Used a couple squirts of dawn and less then a teaspoon of lemi shine. Brass was perfect when I rinsed it but now looks like burnt bronze? Is it just a annoying color thing, I'll resize it tomorrow might run it through again if I can improve the color.

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[JO JO]

Try less lemi shine

 

[DizzyJ]

A thimble full of Lemishine in a full sized FART is plenty.

 

[Catfishmoon]

Another vote for using a very small amount of Lemishine. It turned a few loads of my brass a pink hue because I used too much.
The color of yours will not matter regarding function, I would reload it, shoot it and just use less next time.

 

[Horn Ridge]

I've ran into this with Remington UMC brass the most. Something is definitely different metallurcially about it. Also some Hornady and Weatherby will develop spots and almost eat itself. Anyway, I only use a 10mm brass full of lemishine for a 3/4 + full large fart load.

Try again with less lemishine.

 

[Caveman Jim]

My rule of thumb is a 9 mm case of Lime-Shine, that's all you need.
This is my concoction but I do not always use the car wax.

 

[JJE76]

Update, resized the brass and tumbled again and brass looks better then new. Lesson learned thanks for the info. Now I get to trim it all.

 

[washagonian]

I was having some problems with wet-tumbled brass (using Dawn and Lemi-Shine) tarnishing after a couple of months in storage.

When I dry tumbled, the brass polish I put in the dry media stayed on the brass and kept it from tarnishing.

My research pointed to the wet-tumbled brass NOT having any protective coating left on it after wet-tumbling, thus increasing the chance it would tarnish. The recommendation was to ad some liquid car polish / wax to the tumbler with the Dawn and Lemi-Shine (as @Caveman Jim recommends above). The polish leaves a coating on the brass to protect it from oxidation.

Seems to work - at least for me.

 

[JJE76]

Question on the car wash polish, does it leave a residue that powder will stick to? On my Dillon I like to check powder every 15 cases or so.

 

[JO JO]

does it leave a residue that powder will stick to?

I have not had a problem

 

[washagonian]

I have not had a problem

Ditto for me - no problem with cases being "sticky". Similar to using polish in a dry tumbler, the coating is probably microscopically thin. and not sticky.

 

[Caveman Jim]

I was having some problems with wet-tumbled brass (using Dawn and Lemi-Shine) tarnishing after a couple of months in storage.

When I dry tumbled, the brass polish I put in the dry media stayed on the brass and kept it from tarnishing.

My research pointed to the wet-tumbled brass NOT having any protective coating left on it after wet-tumbling, thus increasing the chance it would tarnish. The recommendation was to ad some liquid car polish / wax to the tumbler with the Dawn and Lemi-Shine (as @Caveman Jim recommends above). The polish leaves a coating on the brass to protect it from oxidation.

Seems to work - at least for me.

When wet cleaning it's all about using the right amount of ingredients. I cleaned a lot of brass the last two years and finally figured it out to be hot water, 3 laps with the Dawn, a 9mm case of Lemi-Shine and 3) 35mm film containers full of liquid car wash/wax running it 1-1/12 hours max.
Rinse with cold water then run them through a media separator to get the excess water from the inside aids in less drying time.

For pistol cases I use the wash/wax because it makes it easier to size, even with the high end precious metals sizing dies of today.
Rifle cases don't get the wash/wax since they are already processed, including primed before they hit a loading press.

 

[Horn Ridge]

I use Armor All Wash & Wax. After handling a few hundred rounds with rubber gloves on, you can feel the slick. I have brass that's been tumbled for over 2 years and it is slightly darker, but still shiny. Kind of like store bought ammo.

 

[BrandonQuixote]

Too much citric acid leeched out the zinc. Its purely aesthetic. Shoots all the same.

 

[Xmark1]

I too use Dawn & Lemi-Shine.

I had similar problems in that after a short time the brass would be dull.

Then I discovered if I rinse my newly tumbled brass in hot water, many times, the problem is solved.

 

[BrandonQuixote]

I started using Brass Juice and never looked back. Highly recommended.

 

[JO JO]

Brass Juice and never looked back. Highly recommended.

I have heard about that stuff and wondered if it is good or hype

 

[Caveman Jim]

Question on the car wash polish, does it leave a residue that powder will stick to? On my Dillon I like to check powder every 15 cases or so.

Nope

 

[BrandonQuixote]

I have heard about that stuff and wondered if it is good or hype

It got me to ditch my stainless pins, separator and all my other cleaners. I think it's absolutely worth it.

 

[DizzyJ]

Brass juice huh? Never heard of her.