Birchwood Casey Brass Black

[rickyp]

Has anyone tried the Birchwood Casey Brass Black on their cases?
How well does it work?
Does it make the brass dark or just tent it.
I want to form some 9x18 out of 9x19 cases and want to mark them so they are different then my 9x19 ammo.

 

[Gcs7th]

I found this on the internet, looks like you’re not the only one with the idea.

 

[smdub]

I've used it. It does make brass dark. If you tumble (esp wet, since that uses a little acid) it will wear off. There are a lot of 'antiquing' brass chemicals out there. None are as hard as something like aluminum anodizing.
You could also cerakote the bases or something. When done correctly its EXTREMELY thin.
Another idea is nickel plating the cases (or just half of the case?) Or dig out all the already nickel plated 9mm cases from your reloading bucket and just convert those? I use (factory starline) nickel plated 45-70 cases to help differentiate modern high pressure loads from brass case cowboy/antique loads.

 

[rickyp]

I found this on the internet, looks like you’re not the only one with the idea.

View attachment 393771
View attachment 393772

Thanks. I think I will look around locally see if I can find a bottle. I saw amazon does have it

 

[KRC]

I've said this here before when this topic has come up - I simply use an electric etching pencil to mark ALL my cases. (NO - it does NOT weaken the cases.) I tried the Brass Black and it was a mess, very uneven, and it changed the friction characteristics of the case. I ended up using steel wool to remove it.

 

[BFMIN]

Oddly, you might want to check out Vintage Photography repair, websites.
Blackening Brass & ally was a common need for the older stuff.
Unfortunately it used many chemicals stronger than people are comfortable with today.
The also had "old timely" names like "Liver of Sulfur" which will need a little translating.
If you get stuck I'll be glad to unearth one of my old paper manuals with the formulas & methods & post them.

 

[John from MD]

Has anyone tried the Birchwood Casey Brass Black on their cases?
How well does it work?
Does it make the brass dark or just tent it.
I want to form some 9x18 out of 9x19 cases and want to mark them so they are different then my 9x19 ammo.

I made 9x18 for years and I marked them with this. It will last several tumbles in dry media I don't know how it will work if you use water and pins.

Amazon product ASIN B007IAVMMU
They also make Dykem Blue but I found the red last longer.

 

[larr]

Here is something you might be interested in
ammo marker

 

[John from MD]

Here is something you might be interested in
ammo marker

 

[lazarus]

What would be better is if it could make it blaze orange or blaze pink or something like that. Shiny brass is surprisingly hard to see in grass in a lot of cases, even gravel. Especially if it got a bit sooty in firing. I'd bet blaze orange or pink would stand out better.

 

[lazarus]

Also if you just want to mark it so it is fairly easy to see, take a fat chisel point permanent marker and run it across the base of the cartridge. That'll last at least through the firing. It might come off in tumbling, but I hope and assume you separate brass out before you tumble it anyway. Fast and easy to sort your brass apart then after firing. At worst you just need to make a pass on the case heads again after tumbling it all.

I feel like the brass black, for finding on a range, would really only work on a concrete surface. Grass or gravel would probably just make it harder to find. Though easier to separate out if you can notice it at all.