I found a quart size baggie with 45 rds.of 9mm
And
30 rds. Of .45 acp.

It's not rusty, but has some kind of filmy oxidation type coating.

It's not sticky like adhesive.

Can I put something on a cloth and rub or wipe this stuff of ?
It's all hardball, not self defense stuff.

I was going to try WD-40.
But thought I'd check here
first.

I know it's factory ammo, I don't purchase reloaded.

I have no doubt it's mine , just don't remember why I put it in the baggie.

I wouldnt use no spray lube like WD40 on it. If its just mild white it may wipe off with a dry rag. Even a damp cloth if you plan to shoot it up.

Or just shoot it. If it isn't sticky and chambers okay, just shoot it.

I would certainly not spray any liquid on it. It could work its way into the powder.

Those abrasive-impregnated cloths (I forget the name or names) used for cleaning, for example, burn rings off revolver cylinders, ought to work for mild oxidation.

Rub with silicone cloth.

https://www.theboxotruth.com/t...-oil-vs-primers.363/

"We have all participated in debates about how harmful oils are to primers.

In fact, I, along with most folks, often said, "I bet WD-40 will quickly kill a primer. You had better keep it away from your ammo."

But, just how fast does this happen?

I had one respected firearms instructor tell me that in the post I did on Cleaning and Lubing a Semi Auto Pistol, I needed to warn folks not to get any oil in the firing pin channel.

He stated that any oil on the firing pin or spring or channel would drip down on any loaded round in the chamber and quickly kill the primer.

I told him that I had been cleaning pistols like that for almost 50 years and had never had a problem. But it got me worrying… what if this was true?

I recently saw an article where a guy tested this phenomenon of oil and primers and decided to do my own test.

First, let's settle the question: "Will penetrating oil "kill" primers?"

I placed a few Small Pistol Primers in a dish."\\"Week Six:
Today, we fired the remaining rounds (5 each) of each type of oil.

I decided to do a little practice on double taps, just to avoid wasting the ammo.

All 30 rounds fired just fine."

"Lessons learned:

1. Was this test "fair"? No, absolutely not.
It was about ten times more severe than any normal situation, where oil might come into casual contact with a cartridge. No one puddles oil on the primers of their ammunition for 6 weeks at a time. This test was a Worse Case Scenario.
Might different ammunition and different oils react differently than those in this test? Yes, that is possible.
Will casual oil likely invade and "kill" primers in cartridges? No. This rumor is greatly exaggerated.
Is it possible that in some case, under special circumstances, that oil might kill a primer in loaded ammo? Maybe. But it would have to be a worse scenario than this one.
Should we then just get oil all over our ammunition? No, of course not. There is no need to court disaster. I will continue to keep my ammunition as dry as possible.
But I won't be paranoid about it any more.

And shooting stuff is fun.

And there you have it, boys. Another myth busted."

We used to get old (1920s-1930s) 20mm ammo that was less than stellar. We would wet a rag with water, then wipe the green glop off.
That ammo got shot ASAP.

Same with 50 cal ammo.

No you should not use oil or WD40 on any ammo to clean it as oil can penetrate the area around primers. (And maybe cause the round to not function properly)

With that being said. Our 20mm Orelikon anti-air cannon used a devise to spray oil on the ammo as it was entering the chamber…so…there’s that. And yes all the 60 and 70 year old ammo went off like it was supposed to.

Know that, I’d maybe wet a rag and wipe it off with only water and maybe soap.

quote:

We would wet a rag with water, then wipe the green glop off.

That would be verdigris, a kind of corrosion. You see this a lot in cartridges that are stored long term in a leather belt. If that cleans off, great, but if it leaves pitting, the round should be discarded.

As someone else said just shoot it. If it sticks or you just want it clean, put some rubbing alcohol on a rag and see if that works. Are these lead bullets? I ask because I reload and sometimes end up with bullet lube around the case mouth. If your rounds were sitting together in a bag the lube may have migrated.

All jacketed copper

Rumor has it that the US Air Force in Vietnam used BRASSO on their 5.56 ammo.

Throw it in a brass tumbler for a few minutes

Nevrdull will make it look brand new. I got made fun of for like, four pages when I posted about it years ago, but it does work.

Penetrating oils won't necessarily contaminate primers so much as they will a powder charge. I once witnessed a gentleman lodge a .380 FMJ in the barrel of a Walther PPK. While the primer ignited as intended, the charge did not, resulting in clumps of unburned powder within the action as well as inside of the bore behind the bullet. Upon examining the pistol, it noticed it was saturated internally with oil. The owner confessed to routinely spraying his guns with WD-40.

If you clean and wax the bullet it will go faster.

quote:

Originally posted by mrvmax:
Throw it in a brass tumbler for a few minutes

No, never do this! The tumbling effect can fracture the coating on the powder, causing the powder to go off like black powder, all at once. The coatings on powder granulas control the rate of burn.

Maybe a Scotchbrite pad used gently to clean them?

Second vote for silicone cloth.

Sounds like Beltfed has another research project for someone.

Tumbling ammunition for a few minutes?

I suggest someone try it. One round for 3 minutes, another for 5, another for 10, another for 15, another for 20. DON’T shoot them.
Open them up and see how much dust comes out with the powder.

This is the issue/concern - broken down powder has a greater surface area, allowing/causing it to burn faster in a confined space. Faster burn = greater shock to the weapon containing the round.

So, that is the test.


Will tumbling for 5 minutes do this? I believe it won’t. Forgetting about the tumbler and letting it run overnight? That would be a concern - and worth unloading a round or two to see the damage.

My basis for all this follows -

I am sure there is no vibration in the manufacturing process that might do this…

I am sure all the trucks that transport ammo are special “soft ride” suspension and they never drive on roads with potholes…

I am sure that all the ships that transport ammunition overseas only travel when the water is smooth…

I am sure that during WW2 all the trucks transporting ammo (8 Ball Express?) only drove on the Autobahn so they didn’t jostle the load as they went to the front….

How about the powder in a daily carry weapon in a truck, driving all over south Texas? MAYBE that might begin to be something to consider, but more likely the owner will just shoot it next time on the range.

If there were really an issue with this being a problem - wouldn’t there be warnings on boxes? Wouldn’t the military be hyper-aware of the problem and act accordingly? Wouldn’t the manufacturers make a more durable coating for liability reasons?

Wouldn’t we have heard of weapons exploding because of this issue?

I won’t argue that it has never happened, but believe it is rare enough that it is not an issue to lose sleep over.

Tumbling loaded ammo to clean it up a bit?

Been there, done that.

I put some old tarnished Garand ammo in a tumbler . No issues .

I have tumbled 9mm for a few days with no apparent change in pressure. The powder was Unique. My guess is that flake, ball, sheet, and cordite would be unaffected. The only powder that may be of concern would be extruded powders. However, even those were military powders, jostled on horse-drawn wagons in the trenches of WWI.