- Location
- South Shore, Nova Scotia
I like 1 part Simple Green Pro HD to 5 parts water in a spray bottle. Soak the bore and run wet patches through it until they start coming out with very little fouling. Run a couple of dry patches through and follow up with an oily patch. Do the same thing to the gas system (if applicable and bolt face and you should be good to go.
Water is what dissolves the corrosive salts, but a water-based degreasing solution (e.g. soapy water, TSP, Windex, etc.) will do a better job of removing carbon, which may be hiding additional salt.
This answer gets my vote.
You can have all the "expensive cleaning products" in the world, but when it comes to removing the salts created by the firing of the primers in "corrosive" surplus ammo, nothing beats good ole H20...and the hotter it is, the more easily the salts dissolve: basic chemistry. The icing on the cake is definitely the suggestion of the Windex - not just because it removes carbon gunk, but Windex with ammonia because that actually neutralizes the salts in case you don't get it all....hiding as it may in the cracks and crevices.
Oil over top of salt will not always prevent rust. The salt will sometimes retain enough moisture. The Windex with ammonia gets my vote, neutralize the salt, followed by a quick rinse with hot water, and then a regular oil application to follow as per usual.
Still, if one can afford non-corrosive, why not I suppose?