Lapua brass quality issue?

[Stingerup]

Ran 50 cases of once fired Lapua 6.5 Creedmoor SRP brass through my tumbler this evening. I used SS pin media with water and a cap full of Hornady one shot brass cleaner. Afterwards I was inspecting them and found two cases were majorly pitted and seemed to have eroded throughout. I weighed them and found they were nearly 10 grains lighter than the other cases. All are from the same lot and all are once fired.

This isn’t a “Lapua brass is going downhill” post. It’s simply something I’ve never seen and was curious on what explanation would fit the cause. Best guess I have is improper metal content.
Last two photos are next to a case that these were with in the tumbler. Same lot.

 

[ma smith]

Hornady one shot brass cleaner

This stuff?

Hornady One Shot Sonic Cleaner Ultrasonic Case Cleaning Solution 1

The Hornady Lock-N-Load Sonic Cleaner One Shot Sonic Case Cleaning Solution will take your case cleaning to the next level. The unique cleaning solution...

www.midwayusa.com

 

[Stingerup]

That’s it. Used it for a while now on brass without issue.

 

[Dogtown]

Not a fan of dish soap and lemishine?

 

[Stingerup]

Not particularly. Just think this does a better job.

 

[918v]

Not particularly. Just think this does a better job.

It destroyed your brass.

 

[ma smith]

Not a fan of dish soap and lemishine?

+1 30 min, no pins...no problems

 

[Fig]

Has to be the metal. Those look like they’re from a shipwreck.

 

[rustyinbend]

I NEVER use steel pins ... (a) they're not necessary, (b) they're a mess to clean up, (c) they clog drains, and (d) exactly what you see ... they're very hard on the brass. My choice is a Frankford Arsenal wet-tumbler, and FA brass cleaner packets ... works great for me.

 

[Krob95]

I've been cleaning with pins, dawn, and lemishine for years. Processed thousands of pieces of brass. Never seen this and never had an issue with it coming out clean. That being said, stick a piece of brass from that lot in a cup of that solution, and a piece of brass from another lot in another and compare. Let them sit for a week.

If one degrades and the other doesn't, it's a brass problem. If both look like shit, it's that solution you’re using.

 

[918v]

I NEVER use steel pins ... (a) they're not necessary, (b) they're a mess to clean up, (c) they clog drains, and (d) exactly what you see ... they're very hard on the brass. My choice is a Frankford Arsenal wet-tumbler, and FA brass cleaner packets ... works great for me.

bullshit

 

[Maurygold]

bullshit

He’s right. Sonic cleaner with a good solution is far superior because it won’t ding up cases

 

[Kiba]

Weird.

That looks more like chemical erosion than excessive abrasive wear to me because of the pitting in the cases. It's almost as if there was an out of the ordinary material inclusion in those 2 cases that was etched away by your cleaning solution.

I've seen something similar happen when I accidentally left a piece of brass in Birchwood Casey case cleaner for 2 weeks instead of just a few minutes like the directions said... the solution significantly etched away over 25% of the case by weight and left it rough and pitted similar to your pictures, but in my case the pitting and etching was very uniform.

For those 2 cases to end up looking like that after a single tumbling cycle something reacted very strongly with your cleaning solution.

A look at the MSDS from Hornady shows the main active ingredient in one shot case cleaner to be citric acid, so basically the same active ingredient as lemishine.

Might want to contact Lapua with the lot number of that brass. Based on the other marks on the 2 problem cases it appears whatever inclusions were in the brass also effected the hardness and how it reacted to the heat treating. Be interesting to see what an XRF test returns for material composition on those 2 cases compared to other normal looking cases in the same lot.

 

[Threadcutter308]

Yep, contact Lapua. I've never had any problems, but I've heard they are very good about taking care of their customers.

 

[Aftermath]

It's just that typically shitty Lapua brass. PM me and I'll help you get rid of it.

 

[918v]

He’s right. Sonic cleaner with a good solution is far superior because it won’t ding up cases

My stainless pins won’t ding up the cases. If you overload the tumbler then you will peen the case mouths. But if you act reasonably then no problem.

 

[Stingerup]

Well, not that bad no. It's a Thumler tumbler. The odd part is really that only two cases did this. If all were ruined or even showed similar signs then I'd never had posted this because obviously it'd be something I did. With just two it seems it may be a metal issue.

I have used a harbor freight mixer with walnut for 5.56 brass though...

didn't mention this was his tumbler ..

View attachment 8062446

 

[ma smith]

Well, not that bad no. It's a Thumler tumbler. The odd part is really that only two cases did this. If all were ruined or even showed similar signs then I'd never had posted this because obviously it'd be something I did. With just two it seems it may be a metal issue.

I have used a harbor freight mixer with walnut for 5.56 brass though...

On the one hand, it seems the odds that the 100 pieces of brass in your box being made from dis-similar metals is I think approaching NIL. Ont he other hand, that hornady stuff is highly concentrated, highly corrosive acid. The odds are that those cases were chemically etched by the acid solution. Figuring out how that happened will probably cost you more than $2 of the lost brass...

 

[Stingerup]

On the one hand, it seems the odds that the 100 pieces of brass in your box being made from dis-similar metals is I think approaching NIL. Ont he other hand, that hornady stuff is highly concentrated, highly corrosive acid. The odds are that those cases were chemically etched by the acid solution. Figuring out how that happened will probably cost you more than $2 of the lost brass...

Forgive my ignorance but what do you mean by NIL?
It's highly concentrated for sure. I add a capful to a full tumbler of water and media, stir, then add the brass.
I agree they were etched. Sorting it out is more of a curiosity than anything else. That's why I left it up to this lot to speculate.

 

[FLIGHT762]

Forgive my ignorance but what do you mean by NIL?

Nil means: Nothing / Zero.

 

[straightshooter1]

Forgive my ignorance but what do you mean by NIL?
It's highly concentrated for sure. I add a capful to a full tumbler of water and media, stir, then add the brass.
I agree they were etched. Sorting it out is more of a curiosity than anything else. That's why I left it up to this lot to speculate.

How long did you tumble them?

 

[Stingerup]

How long did you tumble them?

45 minutes give or take 5.

 

[straightshooter1]

45 minutes give or take 5.

That, to me, seems like a long time for tumbling with a solution designed for sonic cleaning . . . ??? I have a feeling the result is from the combination of things; like there being some difference in the brass alloy AND an acidic solution with the aggressive agitation of the tumbling.

 

[Kiba]

That, to me, seems like a long time for tumbling with a solution designed for sonic cleaning . . . ??? I have a feeling the result is from the combination of things; like there being some difference in the brass alloy AND an acidic solution with the aggressive agitation of the tumbling.

Might be worth picking up a ph meter or some ph test strips and seeing what the difference in ph is between 1/4 tsp lemishine in a tumbler full of water (standard mix for stainless tumbling) vs 1 capful of one shot concentrate in a tumbler of water.

That being said, if one capful of one shot in the tumbler was too acidic every case would have come out looking nasty and pitted.

 

[Haney]

He’s right. Sonic cleaner with a good solution is far superior because it won’t ding up cases

Please don't feed the troll .

 

[Baron23]