Corrosive Ammo Cleaning

Cold water will dissolve the salts--reason for the boiling water is to get the metal hot enough that it dries quickly--less likely to cause rust. Oil after the metal is dry.

44Bore
 
Washing bores...

44Bore said:
Cold water will dissolve the salts--reason for the boiling water is to get the metal hot enough that it dries quickly--less likely to cause rust. Oil after the metal is dry.
44Bore
Click to expand...
...or just go on with conventional cleaning AFTER you're done with the boiling water treatment. This step is required BEFORE any other one because you don't want to put a protective coat of oil over a salt deposit; get the salt out, then clean as usual, no more complicated than that.
If you want to make it easier, just make yourself an adaptor like these:
http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=190770
Have fun!
PP.:)
 
Rust!

Water and metal - bad
Windex and metal - GOOD!
Windex has water to dissolve the salts.
Windex has soap to make cleaning faster.
Windex has a dessicant - No flash rust!
Windex is easier than boiling water.
Dont be a dinosaur - Use Windex !

:dancingbanana::dancingbanana::dancingbanana:
 
I've been cleaning guns after firing corrosive ammo for years with nitro solvent and have never had a rust or coprrosion problem.
 
Cosmo

wiking said:
What about cosmoline?
Click to expand...
First of all, cosmoline should never be present in the bore when shooting any firearm.
Besides, it is a very good protectant but a mediocre lubricant.
Do not put cosmoline or R.I.G. in your bore if long storage is not in your plans.
And putting cosmo or any other protectant over salt deposits will merely insure their preservation for the day the protectant will no longer be active.
Clean, THEN protect.
PP.
 
Sorry, I meant how do you get rid of cosmoline when you first receive your new milsurp rifle? I've heard so many methods.
 
Cleaning cosmo

wiking said:
Sorry, I meant how do you get rid of cosmoline when you first receive your new milsurp rifle? I've heard so many methods.
Click to expand...
Oh! getting rid of Cosmoline?!!:eek::redface:;)
Easy: take a big tray, the kind used for cat litter, fill it with Varsol or any other low-odor aliphatic paint solvent and submerge all the parts to be cleaned in it.
Put on rubber gloves and go over each and every one with stiff paint brushes.
The small places are best done with old toothbrushes. Perhaps you'll have to suspend the barrel and action over the tray to allow the solvent to drip down in it. Once done, put the solvent back in its can; with time it will deposit and be reuseable for many other cleaning chores. Just avoid mixing it with paint as a thinner or the lady might not like! :eek:
Wipe every part with shop rags and set them aside to dry, then oil.
If you have access to a steamer, this can be used too; just watch you don't scald yourself: compressed steam is a lot hotter than water's boiling point.
Once again, when dry, wipe clean then oil or grease.
Good luck!
PP.:)
 
44Bore said:
Cold water will dissolve the salts--reason for the boiling water is to get the metal hot enough that it dries quickly--less likely to cause rust. Oil after the metal is dry.

44Bore
Click to expand...

Hate to repeat this again but, while cold water will certainly dissolve the salts that is NOT the reason you use boiling hot water. EVERY barrel has microscopic cracks in it. On firing, the salts are DRIVEN into those cracks. HOT water EXPANDS those cracks allowing the salts to be washed out.

AND hot water is also cheaper than windex. The ammonia in Windex may help with the copper deposits, but does NOTHING about the salts.

Cleaning as normal AFTER the hot water will also take care of copper deposits.

Of course if you use non-mercuric primers, you can dispense with the hot water.
 
Shouldn't these topics get a sticky by now? 1) cleaning after firing with corrosive ammo 2) cleaning cosmoline from a rifle
That way people can reference them when needed...

So who's making people retype things like a broken records, who's really letting us down?

stormbringer, Stevo, koldt

:p Like how I used an exotic blue font for authenticity?
 
I'm with whoa and John Sukey on this one...boiling water. It's cheap, plentiful, and does the job. Heats the barrel up like John says, and when you pull your cool oiled patch through that dry hot barrel, it gets sucked into the pores.

Even the modern military manuals still call for boiling hot water as a cleaning method. Can't say I have ever seen windex listed in there.

As to the cosmoline removal, more and more areas are getting away from solvents in their solvent baths, and going to to environmentally friendly versions. If the solvent you are using smells like orange or lemon juice, or leaves your hands soft and supple, don't bother trying to clean cosmolene with it. However, if it dries your hands white and gives you a flaking itchy rash, you have the right stuff.
I add a gallon of lighting naptha (coleman stove fuel) to 4 gallons of solvent. Gives the solvent some edge.
 
I managed to clean my mosin of cosmo with some cruddy rags, then used boiling water on the metal to entice the remaining cosmo out. It goes runny and dissolves into the water a bit. Also gives your rifle a nice bath. Just do it in a tub that you don't need or clean after, because it's going to have the scum line from hell in it after.
 
John Sukey said:
Hate to repeat this again but, while cold water will certainly dissolve the salts that is NOT the reason you use boiling hot water. EVERY barrel has microscopic cracks in it. On firing, the salts are DRIVEN into those cracks. HOT water EXPANDS those cracks allowing the salts to be washed out.

AND hot water is also cheaper than windex. The ammonia in Windex may help with the copper deposits, but does NOTHING about the salts.

Cleaning as normal AFTER the hot water will also take care of copper deposits.

Of course if you use non-mercuric primers, you can dispense with the hot water.
Click to expand...

There is NO ammonia in Windex - it is ammonia "D", a dessicant that makes it evaporate fast. And windex does penetrate microscopic cracks as it is viscous enough to do so. I have used it for years cold with a nylon bore brush and have had no corrosion as a result. Boiling water is not necessary.I do the windex treatment at the range while the bore is still warm - but only because it requires less brushing. I have left the bore for weeks before oiling (by mistake) and have found NO corrosion.
Just tryin to save fellow cgn'rs unnecessary extra work. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom