Chemical Reaction

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mmcintyre1220

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Soo last night when I got home after shooting 200 or so rounds of polish surplus 7.62x39 ammo. I did my normal cleaning routine. This routine consists out stripping the sks, washing the barrel and gas system with boiling hot water. Then cleaning the barrel with some hoppes. Well this time was different. After letting the gun cool off I proceeded to clean the bore with hoppes, I then noticed this very strong smell of ammonia that was coming from the bore. I continued to clean the rifle and re-assemble it. When I was done I noticed smoke coming out of the barrel that also smelled like ammonia. ( No this was not steam from the hot water) I then grabbed a can of G96 and sprayed it down the barrel and swabed it out. I have not noticed any damage, rust or anything but it has left me wondering wtf happened. This never happened with russian or chez surplus ammo. Is this a chemical reaction with something in the polish ammo and hoppes ? And ideas here
 
Chinese SKS- szechuan chicken marinade with Baijiu (Chinese brandy) evaporating, smells like mustard gas.
Russian SKS- Cabbage and vodka residue evaporating, looks like mustard gas.

However if either of them taste like delicious fig pudding, yet have the distinct AFTER-taste of mustard gas, you have mustard gas.
 
mmcintyre1220 said:
Soo was it really mustard gas ? That can't be good
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Ok, seriously now, did it smell like garlic or horse-radish at all? I have heard/read that mustard gas can smell like that?

Even if it isn't mustard gas I wouldn't be breathing it in. You know what they say, if your using chemicals, wear a face mask (and gloves, but that for wusses!)
 
mmcintyre1220 said:
It smelt like ammonia, I'm trying to remember the smell and I think it may have smelt a little like garlic but that could be me getting worried now lol
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Here is your warning signs.

Within 24 hours of exposure to mustard agent, victims experience intense itching and skin irritation, which gradually turns into large blisters filled with yellow fluid wherever the mustard agent contacted the skin. These are chemical burns and are very debilitating. Mustard gas vapour easily penetrates clothing fabrics such as wool or cotton, so it is not only the exposed skin of victims that gets burned. If the victim's eyes were exposed then they become sore, starting with conjunctivitis (pink eye), after which the eyelids swell, resulting in temporary blindness.
 
mmcintyre1220, instead of water and hoppes, try regular window cleaner (windex and the like) to wash everything. Don't be afraid to use lots of it and have a couple of old bath towels on hand.

I completely tear down my SKSs after every shoot including removing the firing pin to get the channel cleaned up using q-tips soaked in window cleaner. I don't bother washing the trigger group or the other stuff that isn't affected by the residue of corrosive ammo. Spray a bunch in the bore and run patches through it as usual.

After everything has been cleaned and dried, go over all the parts with mobil1 synthetic motor oil before reassembling - including a thin film in the pin channel with more q-tips. It's much cheaper than those solvents and doesn't contain any of the toxins found in stuff like hoppes and g96.
 
Threads like this make me appreciate why I switched over to Ballistol years ago. Scary.
Anyway, my '58 routine was two kettles of boiling hot water followed by generous amounts of... you guessed it, Ballistol.
 
Bowyer- I will try that next time. I have been doing my method for 7 years. I think this has something to do with the new polish surplus ammo now flooding the market. Hopefully it was just a mild reaction and not to toxic. For now I suggest anyone shooting polish surplus to not use hoppes after cleaning. I will run some test with the polish ammo and hoppes in a controlled environment and have test samples of the smoke sent off to be analyzed ( assuming in 24 hrs I don't turn into a big wart)
 
Something to make you feel better in the meantime though.

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haha mustard gas is caused by a mixture of chlorine and ammonia i think there is a small amount of ammonia in the hoppes and i don't know how much chlorine is in your tap water... but i doubt it was mustard gas... still strange maybe you should try it again and document it in a well ventilated area of course.
 
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