Getting the lead out... Home brew style!

Red Herring said:
Found this on castboolits:
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I don't think their chemistry is quite right. They are mixing and matching a whole range of different reactions. These reactions do not occur when you mix domestic vinegar plus domestic hydrogen peroxide and use it on lead. They start talking about discrete reactions which do not occur with Peracetic Acid.

To make Lead(II) acetate, first you need to create lead oxide and only after that is it converted by acetic acid to Lead(II) acetate. Both of the reactions are high temperature reactions.

3% hydrogen peroxide won't do much to lead, especially at room temperature. However the lead with catalyse the breakdown of the hydrogen peroxide. (in catalytic reactions, the catalyst doesn’t change)
 
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Well, I'm lost. In reading it all over, looks like it might be more trouble than it's worth for a simpleton like me.... think I'll try those chore boys someone mentined if only for safetys sake!;)

SandRoad said:
I don't think their chemistry is quite right. They are mixing and matching a whole range of different reactions. These reactions do not occur when you mix domestic vinegar plus domestic hydrogen peroxide and use it on lead. They start talking about discrete reactions which do not occur with Peracetic Acid.

To make Lead(II) acetate, first you need to create lead oxide and only after that is it converted by acetic acid to Lead(II) acetate. Both of the reactions are high temperature reactions.

3% hydrogen peroxide won't do anything to lead, especially at room temperature. However the lead with catalyse the breakdown of the hydrogen peroxide. (in catalytic reactions, the catalyst doesn’t change)
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Red Herring said:
Well, I'm lost. In reading it all over, looks like it might be more trouble than it's worth for a simpleton like me.... think I'll try those chore boys someone mentined if only for safetys sake!;)
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Sorry, my comment was just a general observation. Bottom line is the vinegar/hydrogen peroxide mix is just an acid and doesn't really work on the lead. But on the steel in the barrel.


Note that some of those "Chore Boys" are not copper, but are copper PLATED steel. I believe the original Chore Boys are pure copper. I have a magnet on the flap of my cell phone cover and tried several and none were copper, but they were generic products.

The real ones are $4-6 for two.

I have used Flitz and JB Bore Polish to remove the last bit of lead from a bore and polish the bore a bit.
 
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Spawn-Inc said:
or old thermostats, lots in there! i have a couple in my truck i need to return to the supplier, maybe i will try it :)
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^ that's where mine came from. I put a sink strainer over a small jar and broke the glass merc switches in the strainer. The mercury goes into the jar and the glass doesn't. Wear gloves and glasses and don't let your kids play with it. Yes it's a hazardous material, but with common sense it's perfectly safe. Unlike acid, it will not harm your bore.
 
Couple of patches with #9/barrel cleaning solution to get rid of the carbon crud; then bronze brush with chore boy or extra stiff brush (Brownell sells them esp. for scrubing lead off barrel), take maybe half dozen time, barrel is shiny.


Mercury, are you folks serious. Guess breathing all the lead and toxic chemicals at the range ain't enough. A little elbow grease is good training for strengthening the wrist and grip for the iron gun grip.
 
^ Yes I'm serious. It's effective and safe, much safer than some other methods suggested. I've only resorted to this a few times over the years, its not part of my regular cleaning routine. But I have picked a few old, well enjoyed firearms over the years. When I look down the barrel and see lead level with the lands, I grab the mercury and let it do the job quickly and safely.
 
OK so mercury is bad for you, like really bad for you and as someone who works as a medical professional (emerg Xray,CT), and my wife is a nurse, I'm going on the record and saying it is bad for you.

That's just crazy talk.
Have you guys been huffing hoppes#9? I can't even believe I just read that on here.
 
Yes, mercury is bad for you, if ingested, breathed in as super fine particles, absorbed by the skin, etc... Proper handling of liquid mercury will present none of these dangers. The sh!t doesn't evaporate or blow around like a powder....

My wife is a lab technologist with a degree, and I have worked with chemicals and elements most of my life. Just because you work in the health profession does not mean you know what handling of the actual substance will do to you, you just know what high levels in your body will do.

I however do NOT recommend anyone here head out and get a jar of mercury and start playing with it, get some training first.
 
Cleftwynd said:
Yes, mercury is bad for you, if ingested, breathed in as super fine particles, absorbed by the skin, etc... Proper handling of liquid mercury will present none of these dangers. The sh!t doesn't evaporate or blow around like a powder....

My wife is a lab technologist with a degree, and I have worked with chemicals and elements most of my life. Just because you work in the health profession does not mean you know what handling of the actual substance will do to you, you just know what high levels in your body will do.

I however do NOT recommend anyone here head out and get a jar of mercury and start playing with it, get some training first.
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I guess I could have better phrased this and said ' there is no way I would have this type of a substance in my house with young children, even though I would have it locked away. My parents locked a lot of stuff away from me when I was a kid and I found a way'

Also me being a health care worker and my wife we have seen and heard some stuff didn't mean I was smarter than anyone. Don't get them in a bunch..
If I was smarter I wouldn't be working in health care.
 
I will not use chemical lead removers, and avoid abrasives as much as possible.

What I have found to be very effective in removing lead from bores is Kroil which is a penetrating oil. Apply generously, let sit, and then simply push through a tight cotton swab - slivers of lead come out. It appears to penetrate underneath the lead and create a slippery path on which it can ride. That's speculation, but the method works.

Now I suppose that any penetrating oil would work, and everyone has their favourite, but I recommend against the "Home Brew" of ATF and Acetone - the Acetone does nasty things to metal and wood finishes. P.S. WD-40 is not a penetrating oil.
 
Cleftwynd said:
Yes, mercury is bad for you, if ingested, breathed in as super fine particles, absorbed by the skin, etc... Proper handling of liquid mercury will present none of these dangers. The sh!t doesn't evaporate or blow around like a powder....

My wife is a lab technologist with a degree, and I have worked with chemicals and elements most of my life. Just because you work in the health profession does not mean you know what handling of the actual substance will do to you, you just know what high levels in your body will do.

I however do NOT recommend anyone here head out and get a jar of mercury and start playing with it, get some training first.
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Amazing. We used to play with Mercury in Science lab all the time. Literally play, as in collecting it in the palm of your hands and letting it run from one palm to the next. We may not have been supposed to do that, but stick 40 boys into a classroom with a young inexperienced teacher and half of us would be ogling the teacher and the other half trying to kill ourselves. I actually took some home to show my siblings and they did the same too. Looked cool at the time.
 
The risk of absorbing mercur through your skin is slim and none. The vapours are the real concern when the temperature is elevated. Even ingesting mercury results in less than 1% absorbtion. Quicksilver (liquid metallic mercury) is poorly absorbed by ingestion and skin contact. It is hazardous due to its potential to release mercury vapor.

Don't eat it, Don't huff it.
 
haha...that probably explains why we're not dead yet. And yes, lots of traditional chinese meds contain some measure of mercury. It was common belief that one needs a little "bad" stuff to counter the bad stuff in your body. Kinda like the ying-yang thing I guess. I was raised and medicated almost entirely with chinese meds and I'm still alive. My eldest daughter too, but all that stopped when I came to Canada. Can't seem to find a chinese trad med doc I can trust!
 
How many of on this site have been sucking on mercury filled teeth for 30-40 years of more?? I still have a few silver fillings from when I was a candy gobbling kid. I've also had a few replaced over the years with white filling, but the reason was never related to potential mercury poisoning. They just became less sound over the years and needed to be replaced. When they first started to phase silver fillings out, the white ones were an OPTION you dentist gave that also cost the patient more $$$. So much over reaction to things people know so little about.
 
You guys are over thinking this problem big time. Mercury, Hydrogen peroxide, vinegar....are you guys serious! I mean really how do you get through life? Two guys here postd the simple answer ie. strands of 100% copper Chor Boy around an old cleaning brush and the OP barrel will be free of lead. Finish up with Hoppes#9 and you are done. Sorry to be so blunt but it is lke you want to build a cooton mill every time you have to sneeze. Removing lead from a barrel isn't rocket science and you don't need a PHD in chremistry to clean a gun barrel.

Take Care

Bob
ps If wrapping copper strands around an old cleaning brush is to advanced then just buy a Lewis Lead Remover. Does the same thing as the copper strand idea but it comes with an instruction manual
 
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