brass corrosion/tarnish?

[chazz1975]

Not sure where to post this, but here it goes. Picked up a CVA big bore Mtn rifle last month on GB. The rifle is in surprisingly good shape, but me being the person I am, would like to refinish it. The brass butt plate seems to be pitted with some form of corrosion, brown in color. Does brass corrode like steel/iron/ferrous metals? Could this possibly be just "brass plated"? Before I go out and buy a bunch of chemicals to try and clean it, I would like to know what I am dealing with so I don't horse it up and ruin perfectly good parts. The other option I thought of was having it dura-coated/powder coated to the approximate color that I want, while not traditional, would probably give me the look I want for it, and be more durable than my method of using BC's "Brass Black" or other similar chemicals.

 

[Many Klatch]

Brass doesn't corrode but it does tarnish. Brasso from the hardware store and a little elbow grease will take care of the tarnish. If you are going hunting the shiny brass may scare off game.

 

[chazz1975]

Not planning on hunting with it (at least not this year). I have never really been a fan of brass hardware. I like the look of the Lyman GPR furniture/hardware, but the darned buttstock does not fit me well. When someone sent me the link for the auction from here, I jumped on it. Won the auction for it for $230 and shipping. It was missing a ramrod and one of the wedge keys (replaced both for less than $25). AM going to either blacken the brass or powder coat it. Going to leave the pewter nose piece as is. Stock is going to be stripped and refinished to about the same color now, minus the god-awful glossy finish that is on it now, probably dark walnut and a low-gloss or satin tung oil.

 

[BrownBear]

AM going to either blacken the brass or powder coat it.

I'm with you in my dislike of bright brass, but I found a solution I like here on the site. Every time I swab the bore, I wipe the brass with the dirty patch. In no time at all the brass will darken and lose its sheen. It's up to you how dark you want it. Just keep wiping every time you swab until it's dark as you want, then quit.

 

[necchi]

Brass doesn't corrode

:bull:
Brass is copper and zinc, Brass corrosion happens when the zinc component is leached out. It's usually a white or blue-green powder like substance that's easily polished off. I bad cases the surface can have pit's where the zinc has left leaving just the copper that can look brown compared to the brass alloy.
Charley;
Brass is easy to work with, easily polished to bright even from a rough sand casting starting with files and working it down with progressively finer sandpaper,, it's easy.
Or start with 60 grit and work it up to 600 with just a few hours of casual hand work.(less time if your aggressive)
You don't want bright, I get that. But you can remove the offending pits by filing them out, then sanding it back to smooth. Once you've done that you can tarnish like BB says, use the brass black or powder coat to your hearts content.

 

[coloradoclyde]

Brass is copper and zinc, Brass corrosion happens when the zinc component is leached out. It's usually a white or blue-green powder like substance that's easily polished off. I bad cases the surface can have pit's where the zinc has left leaving just the copper that can look brown compared to the brass alloy.

Necchi is correct!
A strong alkali will do this as well as by electrolysis.
I'm guessing the gun was stored touching something it shouldn't have...

There is also one other possibility.....What you are seeing might be a casting defect and not actual corrosion.

 

[hanshi]

Being lazy and tired I no longer polish brass on my guns. I don't think shiny brass scares game; I just prefer to let mine darken. Brasso is the fix for any brass polishing.

 

[azmntman]

Being lazy and tired I no longer polish brass on my guns. I don't think shiny brass scares game; I just prefer to let mine darken. Brasso is the fix for any brass polishing.

Probably does not scare game but it certainly lets them know there something out there that don't belong and "poof" off they go.

 

[coloradoclyde]

Being lazy and tired I no longer polish brass on my guns. I don't think shiny brass scares game; I just prefer to let mine darken. Brasso is the fix for any brass polishing.

:thumbsup: ....I gave up years ago.....Realized that the more I polished it, the quicker it tarnished.....

 

[Mean Gene]

I've got to try that, I've been patiently waiting for my brass to tarnish with age.

 

[SgtErv]

It works, it gives it a strange rainbow kind of luster at first, similar to effect of oil in puddle of water, but then gradually darkens after handling to a grey-brown patina. It looks pretty cool, actually.

Of course, Ive found that some brass has some type of clear coating on it to prevent tarnishing, but you can polish it off to get better results for any kind of aging or BP residue finishing

 

[Pete G]

You can also hit it with some cold blue and then rub back with 0000 steel wool.

 

[hanshi]

I sorta agree with you but will add a little info to explain my post. Deer see shiny things all the time; the shine off some leaves, tossed cans and other things. Also, the brass on a gun is in the cover of the woods and the hunter.

Deer usually react to two or more stimuli rather than just one. Let's say a deer spots you; they normally just stare and try to figure out what you are. But if they SMELL or HEAR you as well as SEE you, they're gone in a flash. In most places these days the scent of humans is quite common and familiar to deer. But when they smell you they usually know roughly where the scent is coming from; they know where to look. I always work the wind and that's one less thing I have to worry about. I've had deer come along the same path I took to a stand and have seen many cross my trail. Most times I've been spotted resulted in the deer (does especially) stamping their feet and trying to get a rise out of me. UGA is pretty much the epicenter of whitetail deer research and I have always tried to keep up with their findings. Tom

 

[Stumpkiller]

I don't polish mine. Neither do I let it get green and splotchy. I used Flitz to get mine bright and then let it go with just a regular wiping with a rag. Once it got a yellow "patina" I began wiping it with boiled linseed oil with the rest of the stock every few months.

 

[Mean Gene]

I like the way aged brass looks with its patina, but i not when it gets that green look.

 

[tenngun]

Deer can be awful curious, I've made odd movements and have had deer walk toward me stamping and trying to get a rise out of me. Brass silver ivory and gold was used on hunting guns and cross bows before America was settled. I don't know that bright brass would give a hunter away. It would only reflect sunlight if it was at just the right angle,
But.... I let my dull and tarnish anyway.

 

[hpdrifter]

I have a friend of mine, says he's turned down a couple of TC's because of the brass hardware. He saw mine, I never polished it. It was the bronze/dull brass and he changed his tune. Thought it looked pretty good.

He didn't think about not keeping the brass polished, just let it get that patina on it.

Of course, if you really don't want brass, you don't want brass.

 

[excess650]

I thought all CVA Mountain Rifles had STEEL furniture, and if it looks brown, it was because it was browned. I left the buttplate, toe plate and trigger guard on my early .50 percussion "armory bright" to sort of match the nose cap, wedge escutcheons, and patch box.

Brass takes a lovely patina over time if you don't polish it.

 

[Ames]

X2, Brown Bear. A dirty patch at the range or at home after cleaning the bore looks like years of age on the brass after just a few rounds. And no elbow grease.