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Cleaning ammunition

J

jerseymic

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
Hi Everyone,
I am new to collecting and have recently joined your excellent forum. I would like to collect small arms ammunition and I ask your advice whether I give cartridges a mild clean and leave any patina, or do I clean and polish back to brightness?
Any advice you can give this new boy on cleaning, preservation and storage would be much appreciated.

Best wishes,

Mike.

P.S. The collections I have seen on this forum make my eyes water!
 
Hi Mike,
How much cleaning you want to do is down to personal preference really. Some collectors like to just give a quick wipe over and leave as is and others like to polish up and then let dull down naturally.

Darren
 
Hi Darren,
Thank you for your advice, I didn't know if giving a cartridge a good clean and polish would ruin any value that might be in a rarer item.
It is always a bit daunting when one starts a new hobby, but being able to ask advice from experienced guys like yourself, I hopefully won't make too many mistakes.

Many thanks,
Best wishes,

Mike.
 
Cartridge cleaning

Hi Tigbrand.

Thanks for the link, looks like I have a lot to learn!
Where in the UK does one find bronze wool at a reasonalble price.
I Googled it but everything I found was very expensive, is that just the way it is for this stuff?

Best wishes,

Mike.
 
Hi I am a small arms ammo collector too not quite a novice but no expert either you will find a lot of help on here, anything special you are collecting or looking for. I like tgive my stuff a good clean and let it age naturally I use my case tumbler for a lot of cases but anything really special do it by hand.

Richard.
 
Last edited:
Cleaning Cartridges

Hi Peashooter,

Thank you for the reply.
I know this forum is mainly for military ordnance collecting, but I have a desire to put a collection of British sporting rifle cartridges together and build a cartridge board for display, specifically cartridges produced by Kynoch. In the past I have had a few inert rifle and pistol cartridges given (being an ex militaria collector) which I just put in a box and in a cupboard and forgot about. Now I have dug them out an developed an interest, so I don't think I will stop at sporting cartridges! (the bug has bitten)
Thanks again for the reply, this is an excellent, friendly, helpful forum.

Best wishes,

Mike.
 
Bronze wool

jerseymic said:
Hi Tigbrand.

Thanks for the link, looks like I have a lot to learn!
Where in the UK does one find bronze wool at a reasonalble price.
I Googled it but everything I found was very expensive, is that just the way it is for this stuff?

Best wishes,

Mike.
Click to expand...

I have never yet found a source for bronze wool in the UK, despite looking for some time. I have tried chandlers, which seemed the obvious place, but no joy.

I will try to get some in the US next month when there.

Regards
TonyE
 
British sporting rifle

Good luck with your collecting. If you want anything identified just post it here.

British sporting rifle cartridges have enjoyed a renaissance in collecting in recent years and there have been some big increases in value, particularly in the "own brand" rounds Kynoch made for gunsmiths like Rigby and Gibbs.

There are a number of re-prints of old Kynoch catalogues available which will be a great help to you.

Regards
TonyE
 
I often find a simple washing in lukewarm soapy water works quite well.
Then dry carefully with a nice clean yellow duster, which can be used to buff the cartridge up slightly as well. This wont affect cartidges that are heavily corroded obviously.
 
Hi TonyE,
Thanks for all the help, yes the bronze wool is hard to find in the UK at a reasonable price. Before I can post any photos I will have to buy a camera, I dropped mine and it is kaput! I will have a look at the re-prints you mention.

Best wishes,

Mike.
 
Hi khanmak,
Thanks for the reply and advice, that sounds the best way to start, just a wash and see how things go.

Best wishes,

Mike.
 
Case markings

Hi Jerseymic,

I wish you well with your collecting, but if you are going to clean rounds be sure that you do not clean off marks which should be on there. Some of the loadings of British sporting rounds (such as .333 Jeffery) had part-blackened cases, and so did some of the .303 target/match ammunition. These could have black rings, or blackened heads, or upper and/or lower parts of the case blackened. A lot of the Canadian match .303 ammo has coloured bands on it. If you remove these, you remove most of the value from a collector's point of view.
R.
 
ydnum303 said:
Hi Jerseymic,

I wish you well with your collecting, but if you are going to clean rounds be sure that you do not clean off marks which should be on there. Some of the loadings of British sporting rounds (such as .333 Jeffery) had part-blackened cases, and so did some of the .303 target/match ammunition. These could have black rings, or blackened heads, or upper and/or lower parts of the case blackened. A lot of the Canadian match .303 ammo has coloured bands on it. If you remove these, you remove most of the value from a collector's point of view.
R.
Click to expand...
Hi ydnum,
Thanks for the information, that is very interesting, especially for a novice like I am.
I am certainly taking in all the info that you guys are supplying, you can't imagine how comforting it is to find people willing to give their knowledge so freely to help beginners like myself.
Many thanks.
Best wishes.
Mike
 
Wiping over with WD-40 on a rag, then meths to remove the residue works very well to remove loose crud from cartridges. I only do this cleaning, I don't polish anything. The greenish white residue left from old polish comes off easily with WD-40 and an old tooth brush.
 
Falcon said:
Wiping over with WD-40 on a rag, then meths to remove the residue works very well to remove loose crud from cartridges. I only do this cleaning, I don't polish anything. The greenish white residue left from old polish comes off easily with WD-40 and an old tooth brush.
Click to expand...
Hi Falcon,
Thank you for your info, you guys are amazing with the help you are willing to give a novice. I have only joined one other forum in the past when I was collecting militaria, and I found the people there very condescending, they made one feel that if you made a mistake, you should have know better. Thankfully this forum brings back the trust in folk.
Many thanks,
Best wishes,
Mike.
 
I don't polish up my complete Rounds of Ammo but we have two German 15cm Howitzer Cases either side of the TV that we dump Keys/Mobiles/Money etc in and they get a rub down with Duraglit or Brasso now and then to keep them looking pretty.
 
Johnno said:
I don't polish up my complete Rounds of Ammo but we have two German 15cm Howitzer Cases either side of the TV that we dump Keys/Mobiles/Money etc in and they get a rub down with Duraglit or Brasso now and then to keep them looking pretty.
Click to expand...
Hi Johnno,
Your cases each side of the TV brought back memories. When I was kid, I remember at my grandparents house, these two enormous brass cases each side of the fireplace. It would be nice to have them now!
What I gather from the forum, is that some people polish and some don't, I suppose it is all down to personal taste. I am feeling that older rounds I will just wash, and modern rounds give one initial polish, then leave them be.

Best wishes,

Mike.
 
jerseymic said:
Hi Peashooter,

Thank you for the reply.
I know this forum is mainly for military ordnance collecting, but I have a desire to put a collection of British sporting rifle cartridges together and build a cartridge board for display, specifically cartridges produced by Kynoch. In the past I have had a few inert rifle and pistol cartridges given (being an ex militaria collector) which I just put in a box and in a cupboard and forgot about. Now I have dug them out an developed an interest, so I don't think I will stop at sporting cartridges! (the bug has bitten)
Thanks again for the reply, this is an excellent, friendly, helpful forum.

Best wishes,

Mike.
Click to expand...

Hello mate. I collect mainly grenades but do have some small arms rounds, military. I would be quite interested in seeing your completed display board (whe you have done it). I would love to make a cartridge display board to screw to the wall, the ones I have seen look fantastic and add a great addition no matter what ordnance you collect.
If anyone has some tips or plans, it would be much appreciated. I havent really buitl anything small other than picture frames from wood before so could do with some tips. I have the tools from other jobs
 
pointblank0 said:
Hello mate. I collect mainly grenades but do have some small arms rounds, military. I would be quite interested in seeing your completed display board (whe you have done it). I would love to make a cartridge display board to screw to the wall, the ones I have seen look fantastic and add a great addition no matter what ordnance you collect.
If anyone has some tips or plans, it would be much appreciated. I havent really buitl anything small other than picture frames from wood before so could do with some tips. I have the tools from other jobs
Click to expand...
Hi pointblank0,

I will gladly post photos of my board when it is done. At this stage it is just a project for the future. As a newcomber to collecting, I have yet to establish a collection before trying to design and build a board. I will probably use timber, (being a carpenter) but you must remember to stay away from any timber that has a high tannin content (ie oak) as it will play hell with brass etc. So watch this space for the future.

Best wishes,

Mike.
 
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