Pink brass

wrong cleaner pos! pink with brass normly is over heating it , but don't think it was that any pix ! or
Dezincification, which causes the brass (a female alloy) embarrassment, resulting in the pink hue
 
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lemon will prob turn it dark black ! i use Distilled Water £3 a gal and a brass cleaner from gun shop , Electrolysis likely pulled the zinc out of the alloy pink is normly a sign of the zinc loss and thus brass may be scrap
 
I don't use the brass for reloading , I use it for making cuff links , bottle opener , cork screws etc just need it a bit cleaner before I brasso it , thank for your help
 
As others said pink is not good. You have taken one of the metals out of the brass alloy. if they were for high pressure rifle cartridges and not for cufflinks etc., I'd consider scrapping them as they will most likely split on re-sizing after the next firing at the neck.
 
I have had something similar after cleaning cases that have been in a leather bullet holder. When ultrasonic cleaned the markings where leather had stuck to turned colour not quite pink but certainly lightened up but after tumbling the colour had pretty much returned to normal.
 
its the copper

unlikely you have ruined them. solutions of the kind of concentrations you will have used operate at a molecular level on the surface,
give them a rub with some 0 grade wire wool to confirm
 
It's the Zinc being removed through electrolysis leaving an oxidised copper, you're cleaning agent is likely too strong.

Be very careful if you try to reload the cases as they can become brittle and weak very quickly, I have seen a similar effect on poorly anoded ship's propellors we call it Pinking and it's very bad as the prop can't be reworked once this happens and needs to be scrapped.

​regards Snag.
 
Pussies all of you!
IMG_0920.jpg
 
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