Cleaning SKS, fluo. green?!?

Nic3500

Nic3500

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Greetings all, yesterday I was cleaning my SKS (got to love that milsurp corrosive ammo...) and I ran into something I have never seen before...

Here is what I did. I read in another thread that some guys use Windex to "rinse" off the corrosive salts. Ok, lets try that. I put Windex in there, let it soak a bit and dry it off. The patches obviously come out blue. I make sure my patches come out perfectly clear before moving on.

I use Hoppes #9 powder solvent, and then #9 copper solvent. With both products, my patches come out with a green/blue fluorescent color (along with black powder). Hum, but I did dry off the Windex before going to Hoppes.

So am I facing a serious problem of copper fouling (hence the green color), or is this something else? Does the Windex leave some residue in the barrel and I am picking that up with the Hoppes? I have yet to see that with any other rifle...

Any theories welcome.

Nic
 
I don't think the Windex would leave that much residue unless some is hiding in the gas tube. It sounds like a little copper fouling, which I think is normal. Is your bore chrome lined? Some of my milsurps give blue patches for quite some time while cleaning.
 
It is copper. Hoppe's is pretty.... gentle. You can make a choice to either:

A) Not worry about it - In service, I'm pretty sure that all military barrels were perpetually coated in copper, as most armies never allowed the use of ANY solvent in small arms, just oils. And let's get real: this is an SKS, and not a benchrest 1000 yard rifle... If you see accuracy starting to really suffer, then maybe you want to get the copper out.

B) If you MUST get the copper out (for moral reasons, which I totally get!), then you either have a heck of a long pull ahead of you with the Hoppe's (but you will keep your bore safe), or you can go for a high-powered solvent like Sweet's 7.62.

I would suggest that it is not really worth it, but it's your rifle, and your effort!
 
nelly said:
It is copper. Hoppe's is pretty.... gentle. You can make a choice to either:

A) Not worry about it - In service, I'm pretty sure that all military barrels were perpetually coated in copper, as most armies never allowed the use of ANY solvent in small arms, just oils. And let's get real: this is an SKS, and not a benchrest 1000 yard rifle... If you see accuracy starting to really suffer, then maybe you want to get the copper out.

B) If you MUST get the copper out (for moral reasons, which I totally get!), then you either have a heck of a long pull ahead of you with the Hoppe's (but you will keep your bore safe), or you can go for a high-powered solvent like Sweet's 7.62.

I would suggest that it is not really worth it, but it's your rifle, and your effort!
Click to expand...

:agree:

And I love your sigline.
 
ok

The barrel is not chromed. But it is not exactly smooth either so it must be scratching the bullets a lot, hence the copper in there.

The SKS is not a 1000 yards precision rifle like one mentioned so I just have to ask myself up to what degree I want to clean it.

Thanks!
 
Mine isn't chrome lined either, nor is it mirror bright. If you ever go to Dante's store, pick up some Tipton, Truly Remarkable Bore Solvent. It's freakish how well this stuff works...just open a window before you start using it.
 
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