# Cleaning brass by hand



## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

I have a 105-round belt of (unloaded) .50 caliber ammo that has tarnished over the years. I would like to brighten up the brass and projectiles without removing them from the belt. The belt is made of steel. I believe the steel is parkerized. Any suggestions. I really do not want to make this an all day job. Thanks


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## muleskinner2 (Oct 7, 2007)

What was that liquid cleaning solution they used to sell on the late night infomercials?


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

without un-linking flitz and a buffing wheel it might shine up the links would be the down side


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

Most anything acidic can clean the brass if you don't mind doing it by hand.
A straight vinegar or lemon juice bath might do it without any scrubbing.

Then you'd need to rinse well with boiling water.
Adding a little baking soda wouldn't hurt.

The residual heat will (hopefully) drive off the moisture left under the links.


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## Rodeo's Bud (Apr 10, 2020)

I think unlinking them and polishing would be the best way.

If not, the links will get polished as well. Not really a good look.

It also will leave whatever liquid you use under the links.

Most anything you do is going to take a bit of elbow grease, and that is easier unlinked.


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

Rodeo's Bud said:


> I think unlinking them and polishing would be the best way.
> 
> If not, the links will get polished as well. Not really a good look.
> 
> ...


I cannot de-link or re-link the rounds without a special machine/tool.


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

GREENCOUNTYPETE said:


> without un-linking flitz and a buffing wheel it might shine up the links would be the down side


I am thinking something like this https://www.homedepot.com/p/RYOBI-Contour-Metal-Buffing-Kit-5-Piece-A10CP11/205642360

but with flitz and not the more abrasive compound


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## GunMonkeyIntl (May 13, 2013)

Cabin Fever said:


> I have a 105-round belt of (unloaded) .50 caliber ammo that has tarnished over the years. I would like to brighten up the brass and projectiles without removing them from the belt. The belt is made of steel. I believe the steel is parkerized. Any suggestions. I really do not want to make this an all day job. Thanks
> 
> View attachment 88016
> View attachment 88018


NevrDull- it’s a tin of loose cotton soaked with brass cleaner. I think it’s acidic, but I’ve used it to clean fired brass by hand. It works well, and fast.
https://www.creedmoorsports.com/pro...3A26HFUB1zLT_Qs8QaeLZh-_-xmIJEaMaAi_MEALw_wcB

I don’t know what it’ll do your Parkerized links, in the long term, but short exposure won’t hurt them at all. You’re only using hand pressure to scrub, and it’s not abrasive- it’s like a stinky cotton ball.

I’d scrub the brass and bullets with NevrDull. Once they’re gleaming, dry them off throughly. Then, spray the whole belt, brass, links and all, with a Teflon or silicone oil like RemOil. Let that soak in for an hour or two (the Park will actually soak it up, and it will wick between the brass and the links), and then wipe dry.

It’ll look good, and protect it for a long time.


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

GunMonkeyIntl said:


> NevrDull- it’s a tin of loose cotton soaked with brass cleaner. I think it’s acidic, but I’ve used it to clean fired brass by hand. It works well, and fast.
> https://www.creedmoorsports.com/pro...3A26HFUB1zLT_Qs8QaeLZh-_-xmIJEaMaAi_MEALw_wcB
> 
> I don’t know what it’ll do your Parkerized links, in the long term, but short exposure won’t hurt them at all. You’re only using hand pressure to scrub, and it’s not abrasive- it’s like a stinky cotton ball.
> ...


I think I will give this a try. Not sure if I will soak the rounds and links in oil, but I will give them a good spray of silicone or RemOil when finished. I am afraid if I soak them, the oil will get into the primer holes (the primers have been removed from the brass.)


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## GunMonkeyIntl (May 13, 2013)

Cabin Fever said:


> I think I will give this a try. Not sure if I will soak the rounds and links in oil, but I will give them a good spray of silicone or RemOil when finished. I am afraid if I soak them, the oil will get into the primer holes (the primers have been removed from the brass.)


Yeah. That’s what I was meaning. Spray the oil on, but give the links’ finish time to soak it in before wiping off the excess.

And NevrDull is good to have around the house anyway. I think a can is like $5, is a lifetime supply for most folks, and I think you can buy it at Autozone/O’Reillys or whatever you have locally.


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## Malamute (Sep 15, 2011)

50 may be harder, but Ive linked and delinked 7.62 nato and 30-06 by hand and using wood blocks to push the bullet noses on.

The delinked rounds can be cleaned pretty well with Lemi-shine dishwasher additive. Its used with wet polishers and stainless pins, but the pns arent really needed most of the time and add a lot of work. Ive cleaned very badly tarnished 5.56 cases that were in a basement flood and left for years, then wet tumbled in Lemi-shine and a drop of dish soap, they came out cleaner than the dry tumbler ever got tarnished and corroded brass. Im done with the dry tumbler, the wet is so much simpler overall. I used a harbor freight 2 drum wet rock tumbler, but it also works well just in a bucket and shake it now and then, mostly soaking for a couple hours. Some use the armor all cleaner and car wax in a final rinse, it helps keep them clean and shiny. Spread on a towel or screen to dry, angle to drain well.


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

Malamute said:


> 50 may be harder, but Ive linked and delinked 7.62 nato and 30-06 by hand and using wood blocks to push the bullet noses on.
> 
> The delinked rounds can be cleaned pretty well with Lemi-shine dishwasher additive. Its used with wet polishers and stainless pins, but the pns arent really needed most of the time and add a lot of work. Ive cleaned very badly tarnished 5.56 cases that were in a basement flood and left for years, then wet tumbled in Lemi-shine and a drop of dish soap, they came out cleaner than the dry tumbler ever got tarnished and corroded brass. Im done with the dry tumbler, the wet is so much simpler overall. I used a harbor freight 2 drum wet rock tumbler, but it also works well just in a bucket and shake it now and then, mostly soaking for a couple hours. Some use the armor all cleaner and car wax in a final rinse, it helps keep them clean and shiny. Spread on a towel or screen to dry, angle to drain well.


But once you've delinked and clean the rounds, how do you link them back up?


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## Malamute (Sep 15, 2011)

Push them back in, supporting the link. They are basically springs, holding by tension. When fired, the cartridge is pushed through the link to chamber, the link springs back down to original shape.

I messed with the 30 cal stuff and figured out what worked to handle them. Try delinking a couple and re-linking them to see if its workable.

I was given 200 rds of linked 7.62 stuff as plinking ammo for a bolt gun. It was a bit tedious, I just did some, stopped when Id had enough, did some again later. I also had a fair amount of linked 30-06 long ago, it used to turn up for sale as surplus long ago.

just looked, found these. Its basically what I did, the actual linker tool shown gives an idea what it does, you can just do it by hand one at a time with a board beneath and a wood block to help push, or a rubber mallet as some use. Sort of the opposite of how the first vid shows to de-link, youre just pushing them back in links instead of out.


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