Copper Pellet Rust

[Asterx]

Does anyone have this issue where their copper bits rust in between cleanings? I end up getting a coating of rust inside my bottles after using the pellets that were sitting in a plastic tub overnight. They arent dry when i store them but I don't see the need to pat them to tell them they're doing a good job after it took hours of hard labor cutting them up. []

 

[gotthefever]

Copper doesn't rust,maybe it's from your test plugs if your not using plastic ones.

 

[epackage]

Sounds like your pellets aren't copper, they sound like steel with a copper coating that's wearing off, try cut copper wire for best results...

 

[Asterx]

It is cut copper wire. it has an orange coat at times when it sits or after shaking in the bottle with The Works. It turns a greenish blue when shaking with BKF sometimes but this I attribute to the the copper. Hmm. It does seem like a chemical reaction sometimes. Maybe the residual BKF mixing with the Works? Sometimes it makes a funky smell too...

 

[andy volkerts]

[8D] Geeez! ya gonna blow yourself up using some of those concoctions, just try using the copper with a little dish soap and water and a lot of shaka shaka shaka, its a bunch safer and works too.......... after you seriously clean those pellets to get rid of the gunk..

 

[Asterx]

Lol Andy. I've thought of that too. When I inhale I think of Van Gogh and his paint eating driving him mad. But I'm mad already so I guess it equals out the crazy fumes [8D]. Thanks for the tip. I've thought of cleaning the copper thoroughly so as to get rid of any contaminant. I'll have to do that before I shake my Nat. Bitters! Thanks for the nudge in the right direction

 

[Asterx]

Andy, do you think the dish soap works as well as The Works though when shaking? I agree wholly about giving the pellets a good cleaning

 

[andy volkerts]

Hi J, I feel that if the dish soap and pellets dont work, than the bottle will need tumbling and thats another story, You could also try the oxalic acid and pellets by themselves, and see what happens, just remember any acid is a bit dangerous so be careful and wear rubber gloves and keep the stuff outta your eyes, I tumble bottles that dont respond to the shaka shaka and dish soap regiman, but you only tumble bottles as little as possible and they are usually the more expensive ones, you dont take the time and effort to tumble junk, unless you are getting your procedure down pat, it takes a bit of experience to do a good job. out here in Cali Lou Lambert is the man when cleaning bottles and I follow his example as closely as possible here is his website where he disscusses tumbling. www.oldwestbottles.com ........Andy

 

[tigue710]

acid + copper, bad idea... your getting a corrosion of the copper from the acid eating it away. For a good cleaning I suggest Andy's idea, dish soap, I also use Ajax or bar keepers friend. Regular old ammonia, or Windex works excellent too. Just dont mix any of them!

Personally I pretty much always use bar keepers friend now, it gets out calcium and hard to remove deposits that take a lot more shaking with other stuff. if that doesn't do it then I might soak it in the works after.

 

[Asterx]

Great resource andy, thanks. So corrosion is whats happening, that makes a lot of sense now tigue. Does this not happen with BKF though being an acid as well? And dont you use acids with the copper when tumbling? My copper is almost clean and shiny again after some scrubbing with ajax dish soap. what is in the ajax powder that helps with the deposits tigue?