Barrel Cleaning copper solvent

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brent373

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Hello there,

Fairly simple question but I'm wondering if anyone knows of a good type of solvent to clean the caked on copper from a barrel that is overdue on a cleaning...Do these solvents harm the bluing? And what kind of process should be followed to do the job properly.

If anyone has some good professional suggestions I greatly appreciate it.
 
Sweets.

Wipeout for overnight treatment. Might have to do a few overnight treatments if fouling is really bad.

Don't be scared to use a bronze brush with your copper solvent either, the brush will wear of course, but it will help to get the build up wore down quicker.
 
Old30-06 said:
Anything with ammonia will damage barrel if left in too long.
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That's an old fallacy... I have soaked pieces of various steels in Sweets for a month... no damage at all.

I think this fallacy started because Sweets (and other ammonia based cleaners) gets the metal so clean that it is susceptible to rusting if you don't oil the bore after cleaning.

There is no evidence that ammonia based cleaners damage steel. Just don't leave it in a chrome moly bore and let it dry out...

.
 
solvent

Been using Wipe-out foam recently and am quite impresed. Best to take barrel/action out of stock as really aggressive on any finish except maybe Varathane or epoxy.
Geoff in Victoria
 
Industrial strength (12-14%) ammonia. You can get it at any janitorial supply house.

A jug costs peanuts and will last you and five of your buddies for years. We are still working on the one I have, and the jug is still 2/3 full. :)

As Guntech posted, just be sure to oil the bore after cleaning it.

Ted
 
Old30-06 said:
Wipe-Out

Easiest and safest. You can leave it in barrel with no damage to metal. Anything with ammonia will damage barrel if left in too long.
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Ammonia will not damage metal with an overnight soak.
Ammonia will clean out all the copper and oil and does need to be dried and oiled to prevent rusting.
It is very likely that Ammonia cleans fouling so well that damage hidden by powder and copper fouling shows up after a good cleaning with Ammonia.
 
I bought some Gunslick foaming bore cleaner this weekend and used it in a .223,270 and .307. It did a fantastic job on all of them,and the .270 in particular has always been very difficult to get the copper out of. I used to use Shooters Choice,but it took many applications,and never fully removed the fouling. JB's did a bit better. This stuff cleaned it down to bare metal in 2 applications.I'm not looking any further. Plus,this stuff was like $9 for a good size can,as opposed to Wipeout.
 
guntech said:
That's an old fallacy... I have soaked pieces of various steels in Sweets for a month... no damage at all.

I think this fallacy started because Sweets (and other ammonia based cleaners) gets the metal so clean that it is susceptible to rusting if you don't oil the bore after cleaning.

There is no evidence that ammonia based cleaners damage steel. Just don't leave it in a chrome moly bore and let it dry out...

.
Click to expand...


The way I understand it is that the ammonia will not hurt gun metal, but as it dries the metal can/does oxidize. When I treat a bore with Sweets I leave a wet patch in the muzzle and another in the rod guide. If the barrel was to soak over night in an ammonia solvent, I would plug the barrel at the chamber with a rubber plug, fill the bore completely, and cover the muzzle with plastic wrap. I am sure no damage would occur as a result.

I seldom (read never) use a bore brush in a good barrel. But I sure wouldn't waste a good quality brush by scrubbing an ammonia based solvent. When you patch out the bore, you wouldn't know if the color on the patch was fouling or the bronze brush, and even if cleaned in kerosene, the brush will have a very short life. Brass jags suffer as well, but if rinsed immediately after each use, they stand up well.

An over night application of WipeOut will solve most problems, but the barrel can be finished the next day with Sweets, or just a second or third application of WipeOut. As Dennis suggests, ammonia based cleaners need to be followed up with a good grade of gun oil to protect the bore surface from rust. WipeOut claims this is not necessary with that product, but the residue left by it is sticky, so I prefer to follow it up with an oily patch as well.

While these solvents will not harm the metal or finish of your rifles, they are dynamite on stock finish. If you can't keep the stuff in the bore, take the barrel and action out of the stock.
 
I recently ran a test comparing a bunch of them:

http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=943549

Without a doubt KG-12 is by far the best copper solvent of all the ones I tested. It trounces everything, including Wipeout. Boretech Eliminator and Montana Extreme 50 bmg were found to be useless (contrary to popular belief).

This is an easy tests to run, anyone can do.
 
Good test!! I appreciate the work done. It parallels my own observations with Wipeout, Shooter's Choice, CR-10 and BBS. I have used BBS exclusively for awhile now, and leave it in for some time each cleaning. I have never tried the KG-12, but it looks like the best short term solvent. Any idea where I could get my hands on some? Thanks Eagleye.
 
I got it from MidwayUSA. Not sure where it is sold in Canada. However, the original test I quoted was done in the UK, so I know they export it. They sell it direct also, so they may ship to Canada.

https://www.kgcoatings.com

Short term, long term... it did better in 30 min. than the other did in 24 hours.
 
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