Brass corrosion

[ironhorse1]

In 2008 I purchased 500 WWB .45 ACP packed in styrofoam boxes.

Shot some through the years but in 2017 noticed cases were turning brown looking like copper leaching out of the brass.

Decided to take the entire left over lot to the range and shot it all and left the cases.

I'm thinking maybe the contact with styrofoam may have caused the cases to corrode. I will not store in styrofoam anymore.

Anybody else notice case corrosion associated with storage in styrofoam?

irh

[JackEllis]

If the cases turn brown, that generally means they're tarnishing. If they start showing blue, that's a sign of corrosion. Tarnish has no effect on the integrity of the case.

I've picked up thousands of rifle and pistol cases that have been sitting in mud, water or ice for long periods of time and they do not corrode. I've shot cases that are badly tarnished and have never had one fail.

If you don't want your old .45 cases, send 'em to me and I'll find them a good home.

[ironhorse1]

If this was ordinary tarnish I wouldn't even bother to post.

The cases could not be buffed, polished, tumbled or even sanded back to nice bright brass. Very splotchy and deep tarnish throughout the whole lot after eight years of storage.

I often hand polish brass with tarnish just did about 80 30-30 cases that polished up real nice.

The question still is does styrofoam contribute to brass tarnish even when there are no other factors such as heat or moisture present?

No cases for you Jack. I let them go. I pickup plenty of new brass every range trip. Never had any that looked like these WWB. That's over 45 years of reloading just so you know I'm not a newbie.

irh

[JackEllis]

Have a look at this article.

If you still have one of the cases and are able, cut it in half.

[fguffey]

The question still is does Styrofoam contribute to brass tarnish even when there are no other factors such as heat or moisture present?

No: If Styrofoam had a negative effect on stored brass I would be out of business. The worst thing that ever happened to brass is the cute way reloaders have for cleaning. any cleaner that has a residual residue can shorten the shelf like.

F. Guffey