Excessive brass flakes found after first practice

6566 Views 14 Replies 8 Participants Last post by hayduke13, Sep 7, 2018

fergbear07

Discussion Starter · Aug 25, 2018

Hey again, I recently went out to my parents and ran 300 rounds of Winchester NATO through the ppq I just got. It handled well. No issues while firing. But that night when I went to clean it I found brass shavings EVERYWHERE inside it. It's to the point that I am going to completely disassemble it with the help of videos to ensure the flakes dont cause any issues in the future. I emailed walther and they said that a small amount of flakes was ok, but this was by no means a small amount. Upon insisting that I was uncomfortable with the amount of particles inside the pistol the rep said they would talk to a technician on Monday. I wish I thought to get pictures but diddnt. So my question to you guys is, is this normal, and I'm over reacting? Any thoughts on the cause?

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imaoldfart

· #2 · Aug 25, 2018

Hello fergbear. Just like Walther said...a small amount of brass flakes is normal. Without pictures, I, Walther or no one else can really comment on the brass flake accumulation in your pistol.

I certainly wouldn't recommend a complete disassembly of your pistol.

Go put another 300 rounds of the same ammo thru it. If it still produces buckets of brass flakes, take pictures, don't clean it and contact Walther.

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XRing

· #3 · Aug 25, 2018 (Edited)

Flaking of brass with a new handgun is pretty common.
My experience is the loading ramp have a lot of surface finish and the magazines are new so there is more friction and more brass scuffed off during firing. I do not have a ppq but do have a pps classic that also had brass flaking and buildup on the slide loading ramp. Other brands of semi autos did the same too.
I would disassemble and clean the magazine, remove any flashings of the follower if present. Only wipe out factory oil do not over lubricate the magazine.
The handgun:
As you already cleaned it, make sure brass is removed from the loading ramp , the underside of the slide that contacts cartridges when cycling the slide during the firing cycle.
To remove any brass flakes scattered in the frame, I would use a lot of breakfree clp.
CLP does not gum up the action so you can use a lot of it. Just let it set in and wipe off excess. Be sure the barrel and chamber is clear no excess clp.
Now start with a very clean gun for the baseline see if the problem persists.
As this is a new handgun and works great, I would shoot it and see how it does.
Also it is covered by the warranty so do not disassemble it yourself.
If you have more questions call Walther.

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socrates007

· #4 · Aug 25, 2018

I completely agree with Old Fart. I would not do a complete disassembly of your pistol. PPQs are trickier to take down than say a Glock, and if you damage anything in the process, you will have voided your warranty. I would clean it really good, shoot it again, and see how bad the flakes are. If they still bother you, I would talk to Walther and/or have your PPQ sent it to them for inspection.

fergbear07

Discussion Starter · #5 · Aug 25, 2018

Ok you guys talked me out of the disassembly. I took a look at the few casings I recovered, and they all have scrapes and gouges under and on the rim. Maybe it's the extractor? I sent the findings to the service rep for walther. I'm just concerned about how many flakes there were. Literally every surface of the slide was coated with them.

fergbear07

Discussion Starter · #6 · Aug 25, 2018

Also, the clp and solvent I use is weapon shield, the clp and actual solvent. Read a lot of good reviews and its poly friendly.

imaoldfart

· #7 · Aug 25, 2018

fergbear07 said:
Literally every surface of the slide was coated with them.

.

That sounds like waaaaaay too much to me. A picture is worth a thousand words.....not just for the forum, but to send to Walther as well.

Reactions: 1

balance

· #8 · Aug 25, 2018

I sent the findings to the service rep for walther.

Why not post your findings here as well?

I'd like to see it.

fergbear07

Discussion Starter · #9 · Aug 25, 2018

Lol I did, I was talking about the casings being gouged

balance

· #10 · Aug 25, 2018

I thought you were speaking of something along the line of pictures when you said that you forwarded your findings to Walther.

It is hard to describe what constitutes an abnormal amount of brass shavings without seeing it.

fergbear07

Discussion Starter · #11 · Aug 25, 2018

Yeh, I would have, but I diddnt pay attention when I started cleaning, I had already coated my nylon brush with solvent and started scrubbing before I really looked down 😓

Mliebs

· #12 · Sep 5, 2018

I had the same thing happen to me last weekend with Winchester Nato 124. I'm in the process of breaking in a new Kimber Aegis and a Dan Wesson Valkyrie so I keep detailed information on ammo types and round counts. When I break in a new pistol it's wiped down and lubed every 50 rounds. This weekend I had 100 Blazer Brass (115g), 100 Fiocchi (115g), and 100 Winchester Nato (124g). I used the ammo in the order shown and each pistol had it's own dedicated box of 50. I wiped each one down after each box and lubed the pistol. When I got home both of them had brass flakes inside so it had to come from the Winchester Nato. It really isn't a big deal, I've seen this happen before when certain types of crimps are used on the brass.

WiseguyDS

· #13 · Sep 5, 2018

Do they look like this? This is from my PPS M2 after a recent range trip. I’ve never noticed them befor until now when I was directly under some bright spotlights at the kitchen counter and a glint from some had caught my eye.

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Mliebs

· #14 · Sep 5, 2018

Mine had quite a bit more than that, especially around the ejection port and barrel lock up.

hayduke13

· #15 · Sep 7, 2018

Why the reluctance to post pics? It will help us put it into perspective. I have experience with this issue, but if you're not willing to share, neither am I.

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