Don't soak your brass in vinegar

[aquinas]

Spoke to Hornady this morning.

Been seeing this bad idea about vinegar on other sites.

Yes, it gets brass squeaky clean.

It also is an acid and weakens brass. The more cleaning cycles, the weaker it gets. Hornady told me in no uncertain terms: Don't do it.

 

[Fuzzball]

Re: Don't soak your brass in vinegar

Wellll... with a nod of appreciation to you for passing Hornady's 'expert' tip on, it's really not that clear cut. And your expert may have hopes of promoting the purchase of Hornady's own case cleaning solutions.

Vinegar is really not needed to 'clean' cases, soap or Tri-sodium Phosphates will do that, but an occasional time limited vinegar soak - hour or so - has long been used to remove dark surface tarnish. Used correctly, vinegar really does no harm to the metal; afer all, brass is a solid, not an open sponge that will absorb the acid into it's inner being. The acid in vinegar is so weak we eat the stuff for it's flavor (pickles, salad dressings, etc.) and if it won't harm our guts it sure won't eat up metal! So, maybe the 'bad idea' about vinegar you read on other sites really isn't so bad after all!

Military arsenals used a vinegar/table salt mix to clean tarnished cases for years; I think I'd rather trust them than a voice over Hornady's phone. Fact is, I've been using vinegar case washes (no salt, that's just to speed the process up) occasionally for nearly 50 years; there's no point in doing it very often. Never had a single instance of premature case failure, nor has anyone else I've ever heard of.

 

[Raven 6]

Re: Don't soak your brass in vinegar

I've been using a 50-50 mixture of water and vineger for years as well soaking for about 30 minutes then dumping in the tumbler, never had any problem so far.

 

[jb1000br]

Re: Don't soak your brass in vinegar

Going on 13+ firings on my 6BR brass using the vinegar every time...no problems yet (I wrote the article that started all this and have been using the process...and the same little US ever since)

JB

 

[ChrisGarrett]

Re: Don't soak your brass in vinegar

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: himaster</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Spoke to Hornady this morning.

Been seeing this bad idea about vinegar on other sites.

Yes, it gets brass squeaky clean.

It also is an acid and weakens brass. The more cleaning cycles, the weaker it gets. Hornady told me in no uncertain terms: Don't do it. </div></div>

Go to your local Walmart, Target or wherever and locate some LemiShine powder/liquid and use a 45acp case full of it with 2 qts of warm/hot water. Add a squirt of Dawn dish soap, agitate it a bit and call it a day.

Chris

 

[Handloader]

Re: Don't soak your brass in vinegar

The concept is really simple...an acid can and will transport metal ions....(think of a car battery). How much will it weaken a case...I do not know! Vinegar will shine almost any metal because it transports the top layer of metal ions from the surface, and with that metal...the stains that are attached to it.
I do use a Brasso-smelling brass cleaner in my tumble media (however, Ammonia is a fairly strong base).

 

[Fuzzball]

Re: Don't soak your brass in vinegar

Tarnish (black or brown) is an oxidation of the metal's surface. Acids will react with the oxides and reduce them, the tarnished places on a case will turn pinkish. A good rinse to flush off the vinegar, dry and tumble normally will make the worst looking cases appear as new.

Green corrosion kills cases, toss any green cases. Acid (vinegar) will also reduce any such corrosion but the green eats into the metal itself, not just lie on top. Corrosion damaged cases will split quickly even if you make them look nice.

Liquid ammonia is a whole different chemical. It should NOT be used on cartridge brass because it WILL amalgamate with the metal and make it brittle. "Brasso", etc, can be safe IF we mix it with the tumbling media and allow it to set until the ammonia evaporates before we toss cases in but wait until the 'cat pee' smell is completly gone.

 

[Boomholzer]

Re: Don't soak your brass in vinegar

Simular discussions arise for ammonia contained solutions. Both work for wax, re-sizing lube removal, and help with any scraggled media. FTIW; "Windex" isn't far off from 70% diluted vinegar with the added alcohols.

In the end it's concentration/agitation time vs. final wash. If one can grab periodic "below the sink" chems in ultility; so be it. Perhaps my ignorance, but, I have not witnessed unexpected brass fatique due to wash n' rince vs expected mechanical fatique.

 

[bohem]

Re: Don't soak your brass in vinegar

SS media, dish soap and lemishine does a better job than anything Hornady is selling.

The vinegar solution can work, but I've yet to see it work as well as the SS media. What it DOES have going for it is the media and tumbler represent an easy $100 investment before you clean up anything.

 

[Bearwalk]

Re: Don't soak your brass in vinegar



Been using straight vinegar to clean thousands of cases for ten years now. I'll be sure to post when I start to experience any problems, but I wouldn't hold your breath.

If you are worried about acid remaining on long enough to harm the cases, rinse with a base solution such as a couple tablespoons of baking powder mixed with water.