Citric acid and nickel?

1
Anyone used citric acid was on nickel plated cases repeatedly? I just threw a few range pickup cases in a bath, so I'll see what happens the first time, but I bought a box of them recently. Not sure I want to sacrafice them until I know what to expect long-term.
Last edited by Buck13 on Sat Jul 11, 2015 12:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.
IMR4227: Zero to 900 in 0.001 seconds

I'm only killing paper and my self-esteem.

Image
Image

Re: Citric acid and nickel?

2
It's been a while since I did any baths or used the ultrasonic cleaner. I didn't use any citric acid in my previous attempts, but vinegar instead. However, both being acidic, I would assume the result is about the same. The nickel shells came out ok as long as after the bath they were rinsed well. After rinsing, I baked them in my oven set at the lowest temperature (170F). Not rinsing or using a high temperature will discolor the brass with a strange pink hue, though I don't remember if it also affected the nickel as well.

I've gone through many cycles with nickel and from my memory they don't seem to be affected too differently than my regular brass.

My routine now consists of stainless steel wet tumbling, and I actually prefer that to the ultrasonic cleaner or any acid baths.

Re: Citric acid and nickel?

4
I soaked the barrel of my Kahr CW9 in an off brand gun cleaner and it permanently changed the color of it. It now has kind of a weak greenish tint. I don't know what coating is on the barrel and don't know what was in the crap I soaked it in, but it did have a warning on the label I didn't read. I am kinda stupid sometimes. It didn't effect anything else, just the color.

Share and enjoy!
Image
Shower together to save water.

Re: Citric acid and nickel?

5
pdoggeth wrote:
My routine now consists of stainless steel wet tumbling, and I actually prefer that to the ultrasonic cleaner or any acid baths.
I keep wondering if it's worth getting a rock tumbler. Did you just get the HF version or something else?
“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”
- Maya Angelou

Image

Re: Citric acid and nickel?

6
Sounds like I don't need to worry.

I found out the hard way that washing multiple calibers simultaneously may not be as much of a savings in time as I hoped. There are a lot of ways .44s, 10 mms and .38s can nest together. I hope I broke up the matings enough while rinsing to get out most of the acid!
IMR4227: Zero to 900 in 0.001 seconds

I'm only killing paper and my self-esteem.

Image
Image

Re: Citric acid and nickel?

7
Buck13 wrote:Sounds like I don't need to worry.

I found out the hard way that washing multiple calibers simultaneously may not be as much of a savings in time as I hoped. There are a lot of ways .44s, 10 mms and .38s can nest together. I hope I broke up the matings enough while rinsing to get out most of the acid!
Done that... 9mm cases will get stuck hard enough in .44 cases when tumbling that you need pliers to separate them. At least I have plenty of 9s so I could sacrifice a few to save my precious .44 Starline brass.
Image
Image

Re: Citric acid and nickel?

9
shinzen wrote:
pdoggeth wrote:
My routine now consists of stainless steel wet tumbling, and I actually prefer that to the ultrasonic cleaner or any acid baths.
I keep wondering if it's worth getting a rock tumbler. Did you just get the HF version or something else?
I picked up a new Lortone 3a with a pound of stainless pins included, on Craigslist for $35.
It does a fantastic job. Add a squirt of liquid dish detergent and splash of LemiShine and let 'er rip.

Primer pockets are cleaned out and the brass looks great.

Two minor problems.
I don't put .38/.357 in with 45 colt because the little ones wind up in the big ones.
Also, some of the pins stick in the 38/357 primer pockets but it's a minor thing.

Capacity is pretty small, but I regularly over load the stated weight capacity of 3lb (total combined weigh) and it chugs along without any problem.

With this device, I changed my order of processing the brass. I now use a "universal" decapper (actually a Lee 8x56r sizing/decapper die) to punch the primers out. Then I wash them. Then I partial resize.

That keeps the sizing dies clean, and the brass doesn't get scored from all the grit on the carbide ring.
Hell is where:
The British are the chefs
The Swiss are the lovers
The French are the mechanics
The Italians make everything run on time
And the Germans are the police

Re: Citric acid and nickel?

10
shinzen wrote:
pdoggeth wrote:
My routine now consists of stainless steel wet tumbling, and I actually prefer that to the ultrasonic cleaner or any acid baths.
I keep wondering if it's worth getting a rock tumbler. Did you just get the HF version or something else?
Hey Shinzen

Yup I just picked up the HF version -- though they have two, a single drum spinner, and a dual drum spinner (I have the dual -- twice the brass to clean). You'll probably find cheaper tumblers on craigslist or ebay, but I don't regret my HF purchase either =).

Depending on how picky you are with wanting shiny-clean brass, it may be worth it to try stainless tumbling. If you go this route, you probably will have to change your routine for prepping the brass. My routine is very similar to beaurr's .

The only other thing I may have to opine about stainless tumbling is that it's not quite a true "set it and forget it" type deal that you may get with the other dry media tumbling. I think for the others, you truly could set it to tumble for 6 hours, and if you come back in 9 hours, no big deal. The wet tumbling, at least from what I heard, if you don't stop the tumbling after the alotted time and dry your brass, there's risk to have your brass come out weird colors. I haven't ever tried it so I don't know how weird the colors are, or if this damage is permanent. Maybe beaurr has an answer to this.

So my routine requires me to tumble at certain times because after 3 hours of tumbling, the brass has to be rinsed out and baked (or air-dried if you prefer), so I don't just set it at 10pm and come back in the morning. Maybe I should try tumbling a small batch of brass overnight to see what happens to it. It'll be interesting =).

Re: Citric acid and nickel?

11
It may not be "set and forget" but it is very nearly so. I've left brass in for 4 or 5 hours, or even longer, and it just comes out cleaner but never with a funny color. I've seen brass turn pinkish but that was when I was experimenting with various chemicals, and not just using LemiShine and dish detergent.

Sometimes, I'll do a water change, especially if some of the cases were last shot with black powder.

I've never seen any harm to the brass from extended tumbling.

When I'm done tumbling, I promptly remove and dry it using towels and then leave outside in the scorching sun. That seems to make it look prettier.

No worries about dust, or dust with lead, either.
Hell is where:
The British are the chefs
The Swiss are the lovers
The French are the mechanics
The Italians make everything run on time
And the Germans are the police

Re: Citric acid and nickel?

12
:shock: That is a serious difference with the stainless steel media. Just got the Lyman tumbler in today and did a batch (baking tray full of 30-06) and man, it looks brand new. I also managed to bust my decapping die pin, so some of it is not decapped.
“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”
- Maya Angelou

Image

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests