Advice on pitting in the brass of a russian case

[morser124]

Hello. I have this Russian 76mm brass case, on the inside of it appears to be some pitting in the brass. I see no green corrosion. My question is, is it anything to worry about? and is it slowly eating away the brass on the case. Im new to collecting and my knowledge is limited, any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thankyou very much.


Here is some pictures of the pitting.

 

[glevum]

Try the case with a magnet. It looks like a brass washed steel case.

 

[morser124]

Hello and Thankyou for the quick response. I've just tried the magnet on the case, and it doesn't stick to any area of the case. Thanks

 

[highlandotter]

Some times metal cleaners have some component that attacks the zinc in the brass which causes pitting. Might boil the case for 30 minutes or so and dry it out . This is seen in cases where they look copper in color versus brassy.

 

[morser124]

Seems like a plausible explanation for it, as i think, i have heard of some chemicals attacking the Zinc in brass. And that it may have been cleaned with a substance, As it is very clean inside, no powder residue or anything. Thanks for the info

 

[timeout]

​Brass is made out of zinc and copper but there are other elements in it. if the mix was not as pure as it should be, it will start to break down. If its a war item it was only needed to work once so the standard of the brass was not that important. All brass will decompose if the environment is damp. I think lead is added to brass when it has to be used in wet/damp conditions to stop it breaking down