So what happened to my nickel plated brass?

N

Nick_C_S

New member
Hi folks,

So I SS pin tumbled a batch of nickel plated brass, and they came out looking like this.

I've been tumbling less than a year. And I thought I've done nickel without problems before - maybe not. I don't document my SS pin tumbling adventures. Seems like one time, I tumbled some nickel with a batch of brass and they came out looking like this. So I retumbled them without Lemi-shine and they came out fine. Maybe my memory of this is wrong.

Anyway I tumbled this batch (Frankfort Arsenal unit) without Lemi-Shine - just a squirt of Dawn. They came out like this. So I retumbled them again, the same way (thinking maybe the water was just too dirty the first time). No change. So I tumbled them again with the usual Dawn and Lemi-shine - as I do with my brass brass. No change.

So I guess it begs the question: What mixture do you use to get nickel plated brass to come out shiny?



The ones on the left. How they compare to new Starline nickel plated (right):




Compared to a batch of tumbled brass brass (tumbled separately):



Any advice would be appreciated. I'm willing to retumble them. Or, I'll just load 'em up. At the end of the day, it's no biggie, I guess.
 
In the beginning I was the only one using acid when cleaning cases. I used vinegar and nothing once for the life of the case. I set the time for 15 minutes.

Back in those days it was a reflection on the family, today? No one remembers.

There was a process that required a trip to the drug store, when cleaning cases then cases were cleaned for a maximum of 2 minutes, after soaking in the acid the cases were moved to boiling water for the first rinse, then the cases were rinsed again in boiling water.
POINT: After the second rinse the cases cam out looking exactly yours cases. It was called pickling. the process was a military thing used when putting cases up for long time storage.

I use acid/vinegar for the worst of cases to cut down on tumbling.

F. Guffey
 
I also just noticed that my SS pins are about the same color and leave a gray film on my hands when handling. ??
 
isn't the FA wet tumbler about the same color? what does the inside of the tumbler look like? can you see pitting or scoring inside?

I have had my brass looking like the inside of my tumbler (i use a modified 4" ABS pipe) 2 times:

1)when i overfilled it with brass-i think a 2/3 full is best

2)and when i put in waaaay too much lemi-shine i use 3/4 of a 9mm case of lemishine for my best results (too much LS also seems like it's leaving brass looking darker/tarnishing quicker)

can't say for sure thats what happening to you but it's worth looking at
 
Just guessing here but it seems that the sulfates in DAWN are leeching out and reacting with some of the zinc from the brass. Zinc sulfate is one of the ingredients in making black nickel. Sulfomates are part of the dull nickel process; which looks something like what you have there.

Looks like you have some interesting chemistry going on there.
 
What is the result if you try buffing one with a scotchbrite pad or a similar low abrasive polish? Can you regain the nickel or is it lost forever?
 
Yeah, they'll polish. With just a paper towel (which is abrasive by design), they'll polish up a little. With a little Flitz SS polish and a paper towel, they'll get shiny.
 
They look like my first batch, when the pins were new and I didn't follow the directions on how to clean the oil off of them. Did you have brass and nickel cases in the same batch? Also, they said nickel cases only took about 1/3 to 1/4 of the time to clean. Too long in the tumblir?
 
The pins are well ran in. It took several tumble sessions when I first got them to get them clean. But that was a year ago.

They could have tumbled too long. The first tumble was my usual (for brass) 1 hour, 45 minutes. They went through two more tumbles about an hour each afterward - in subsequent attempts to get them clean.

They were tumbled separately - not with any other brass.
 
So much for the nice cases. Check your mix and first clean every thing including the pins and tub just because I'm sure they look the same.
 
I think nickel plated anything won't like being scratched with harsh stainless steel, let alone for 1 hour and 45 minutes.

Keep in mind: regular brass is a solid alloy made of copper and zinc all the way through. There isn't anything that could scratch or chip off. The SS pins literal take off the dirt and some brass too, and leave you with pure and shiny brass. Filter the water and you will find brass shavings in the filter.

Nickel plated brass on the other side is just that: plated, and not solid. I bet those 1 hour 45 min took the major part of the plating off and I doubt you'll be able to bring them back to the same shiny look they used to be.

I'd dry tumble them or 15 min wet max.
 
McCarthy said:
Nickel plated brass on the other side is just that: plated, and not solid. I bet those 1 hour 45 min took the major part of the plating off and I doubt you'll be able to bring them back to the same shiny look they used to be.
Click to expand...


I've wet tumbled nickel plated brass for over 5 hours before (I forget them) and they looked great. Extremely unlikely ss pins are removing nickel plating.
 
The nickel is still there. I guess I really have two questions at this point:

1) How do I make these shiny again?

2) How do I keep it from happening again (while still SS pin tumbling)?
 
Inside of the tumbler is like new (because it IS near new).

I use one squirt of Dawn soap (from the pump bottle that sits at the kitchen sink - however much that is), and about 2/3 of a 45 ACP case full of Lemi-Shine. I tumble for 1-hour, 45-minutes. Been using this formula for many months now and it works great for brass brass (see pic #3).

But with these nickel cases, I didn't use the Lemi-Shine the first two tumbles (the OP has the details).
 
Same topic here, several post indicating nickel plating could wear down with SS media:

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?242264-Nickle-Plated-Cases-and-SS-Pin-Tumbling

I'm sure there are different qualities of nickel plating out there. Maybe your cases are one of those with thinner coating and gave in after 1 hour and 45 min while others are good for longer tumbling sessions with SS pins.

As far as I know nickel doesn't tarnish. If it looks dull, the plating is gone.
 
I started cleaning brass when the chemical I was using would eat my shoes off. I changed to vinegar, now I use vinegar for the worst of cases and, I believe using acid to clean brass is a bad habit.

I tumble in corn or walnut, I am not into 'it' as a friend, when he fires up his back 'tumble/brass' room sounds like a B 36 running with the engines out of sync. He purchased the tumbler with pins, there it sits, for him it is useless, small and tiny. I helped him put a concrete mixer size wet tumble together, complete with variable speed. We started with a contraption that had a serial number, NUMBER 1. I am a collector of old anything, I thought we should research the value, he didn't.

F. Guffey
 
Try experimenting with less soap and or less citric acid. If it's wiping off and becoming shiny there is nothing wrong with the nickel plating it's just some sort of residue. Also try rinsing and hot or nearly boiling water see if that helps
 
I won't pretend to understand wet tumbling and SS pins, I don't do it. I use corncob or walnut media (dry) and my nickel stuff all comes out clean and shiny.

Perhaps there are just some things that the wet/pins method is simply not the best for?
 
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