Benefits of clean brass. - The Stalking Directory

Eddie,
Clean brass is - as everyone says - essential, but don't polish it. You don't want anything more SMOOTHLY polished than factory issue. A part of the function when the powder burns is that the case wall slams against the chamber wall and creates a seal. The case and chamber friction also assists the bolt in mastering the rearward thrust of the case against the bolt lugs and a polished case can interfere with this. Advice to me from on-high from an American reloading components company, which I pass on to others. I agree Muir. I recently told a friend who is now venturing down the road to reloading - and stalking - that his life will be a bit like wandering down the red light district in Amsterdam, with inviting doors opening on all sides offering the delights of heaven - and ALL after his hard earned money.
Keep it plain - keep it simple. Reloading can become a fascination and a money-burning one at that, with all sorts of needless impedimentia.
The cheapest reloading tool of all is KNOWLEDGE - and the most easily carried. KNOW how your reloading tools and components work, and WHY they work - and their failings. Know the mechanics of how they interact with the rifle and chamber.
Then pause and ask yourself. "That looks nice - but does it really DO anything important ? "

During my busier days on the hill, if I was a bit short on cases, I simply wiped the soot off the case necks in the evening - length-sized and deburred, and after checking for pocket debris in the case, reloaded.

Try to keep your cases dry and make a habit of vacuuming out your stalking jacket pockets. Also be aware if there's loose grass or heather about in the extraction area which might find it's way down into the empty case.

Not a belt sander! It's the last thing you should use. File the edges of the brass using fine files (No4 or No6 cut).  Then polish use diminishing grades of emery paper – start at 400 or 600 grit and follow with 600, 800 then . After that you can use a micro polishing paper ( i think its called grade?) (or best of all crocus paper if you can still get it). Lastly use Solvol Autosol polish (its a paste that comes in a tube).

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Lots of patience and you will get a mirror polish. Remember to never go to a finer grade of paper until you have removed all the scratches from the previous one.

Edited By Bizibilder on 05/04/ 21:51:51

Edited By Bizibilder on 05/04/ 21:52:56

Edited By Bizibilder on 05/04/ 21:53:26

Ian. I have spent many hours polishing brass trying various methods including belt sanding. I agree with others that belt sanding is not the way to go. There are various problems with this approach. One is that it as you go through the grades, it is necessary to turn the work at angle of at least 45 degrees (preferably 90) between grades so you can see that all the scratches from the previous grade have been eliminated. In your case (unless you have have a linisher with a very wide belt!) this will involve running the work across the belt at right angles. It is pretty much impossible to do that without getting 'dig ins' when the work crosses the edges of the belt. Even if you have a massive belt you won't be able to hold those slender strips down on the belt with consistent pressure. You may also find that even at low belt speed the the work runs away from you – there's a lot of friction and with such thin material you don't have much to hold on to. By all means give it a go, and if you have success please report back – I have never got this method to work despite numerous attempts.

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What I do now is old school wet 'n' dry up to grit then polishing compounds/mops. – I use mops and the Menzerna compounds from The Polishing Shop where you will find information about the various types of mops and compounds available.

Autosol is OK from maybe or grit if you're not too fussy. It won't give a true mirror finish on brass though – you will still see scratches if you look hard enough. If you want a specular finish (which I aim for) it's polishing compound, elbow grease and meticulous hygiene – you need to be sure that not a single particle of grit or compound from the previous stage is anywhere near. A flea can jump about 160 times it's body length, a grit particle would laugh scornfully at that.

Obviously I'm a bit obsessive about this, you may be less so!

Robin.

Edited By Robin Graham on 06/04/ 23:33:41

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