How can I clean up a First World War brass shell case which I found in a French field?

Question

The shell case looks like it is covered in brown scale.

Answer 1

BOOM!
The first one to make me giggle like a school boy
WELL DONE!

Answer 2

Brass Shell Case

Answer 3

Indefinable. I used to visit hospitalized/institutionalized shell-shock victims of the Boer War and World War I. Some actually were veterans of both wars. They were often 'defined' by their symptoms such as mute, deaf, blind, (multiple) amputation (which could be combined with what is now post-traumatic stress syndrome) and so forth. Friends and relatives were the ones who mostly used the term 'shell-shock' and in some (most perhaps) cases there were those who were seen as able to carry on a normal life who might show signs in abnormal manner(ism)s much later on - like those arriving from Vietnam and iraq in more recent history.

Answer 4

Personally i wouldn't clean it up. The corrosion it has acquired from 90 years buried on a French battlefield add to its authenticity. I have items Bayonets, bits of rifle even a 1917 grenade which is sat in front of me right now which have come from The Somme battlefield which has 90 yrs of rust corrosion and crap.
Some bloke of whatever nationality dropped or fired that shell all those years ago and it sat there waiting for you.
Either it's your choice.....just another suggestion.

Answer 5

Dip it in acid and leave it for 3 or 4 hours. You can use car wheel cleaner or patio floor cleaner to do the job as both are acid based. Use a wire brush to remove any stubborn scale. Once clean you can polish it up with standard brass cleaner

Answer 6

Since brass is so soft you need to be careful. I would use a form of media blasting called bead blasting or blasting with pecan shells. Either will remove all of the corrosion and dirt and get it ready for polishing. You can then use a buffing wheel and jewellers rouge to give it a great shine. It will tarnish if left unprotected, meaning you will need to periodically polish it again. If you don't want to, you can spray it with lacquer. Good luck and congrats on your find.

Answer 7

Ordnance brass with its thin walls can be very brittle if exposed to the elements for decades. It may not stand up to a heavy cleaning. I have seen WW II era shells dug out of the ground almost fall apart.

Answer 8

if you found a a ww1 shell case.....you are fortunate-but to clean it up requires a lot of work. if it were myself i would scrape any mud inside and outside. then i would use a stiff brush and give it a good scrub after that i would leave it in a bucket of acid or vinegar for a few days.....i once found an old rifle barrel from ww2--this was in 1999-----no english bullet would fit in the breech....thats because it was made in warsaw poland.

Answer 9

Don't clean it! It won't look much like a WW1 shell casing if it's all shiny from Brasso. Give it a wipe with wash up liq in water and let it be!

Answer 10

I'd consult the Imperial War Museum

Answer 11

first better make certain it isn't " live " or it could be extremely dangerous. suggest you have the police or military bomb squad deactivate the shell before cleaning with brasso.