Iosso bore cleaner

[DrCaveman]

Ok, I finally got some leading in my revolver barrels (I think). Nice black smear along the grooves of my 6" gp100. The smear was in the outer grooves (bore, not rifling, right? Want to get my terminology correct) and confined to the last 2" or so at the muzzle end.

I went ahead and used some iosso bore cleaner, after a tip from a gun store worker highly experienced in the use of cast boolits. The patches keep coming out black, pass after pass after pass. I have dipped them in hoppes #9 in between, as recommended, and it just spreads the mud and produces much more of it.

I figure that I am getting out some deep dark **** that hoppes alone (nor shooters choice nor cop break free) never even touched. My question is, how much is too much? I can take a mirror shiny bore and get black patches. Is this the cleaning my guns were always looking for? Or am I stripping away barrel material?

[williamwaco]

You're NOT stripping away the barrel.

Years ago you could clean a barrel until the patches came out clean. I find that with most modern bore cleaners ( Hoppe's included ) I can no longer get clean patches - ever - Not even after 20 or 30 passes.

I do not know why they keep coming our black but I attribute it to the chemical reaction with the cleaners. I can tell you for sure that they clean cleaner and faster than they did 40 years ago.

You can see some pretty clear photos of leading here:

http://www.reloadingtips.com/pages/index-leading_problems.htm


.

[uscra112]

If you're still getting "mud" there's still something in that bore. A really clean bore gives me light gray if there's any solvent still present, and nearly pure white on the third patch. Trouble is, it takes 30-40 patches of Hoppe's, and a lot of soak time, to get there. I only go that far when I'm trying to completely de-copper a new-to-me toy so I can shoot cast. AFAIC Hoppe's just doesn't dissolve the crud as well as it used to. I don't remember using so much in the 1960s and '70s to get a bore clean. Did I read that they had to delete some of the content to please the EPA? Benzine, was it?

[stubshaft]

IIRC - it was the benzene and ammonia.

[captaint]

The best thing I have found for removing lead is some Chore Boy Copper "wool". They sell it in grocery stores with the cleaning products. Do make sure it's copper and not copper plated steel. Some guys swear by bronze wool - from hardware stores... Lead just doesn't clean out with patches and brushes easily. Just wrap some Chore Boy around a worn out bore brush and get after it. Usually doesn't take long. Let us know how you make out. Mike

[ku4hx]

The best thing I have found for removing lead is some Chore Boy Copper "wool". They sell it in grocery stores with the cleaning products. Do make sure it's copper and not copper plated steel. Some guys swear by bronze wool - from hardware stores... Lead just doesn't clean out with patches and brushes easily. Just wrap some Chore Boy around a worn out bore brush and get after it. Usually doesn't take long. Let us know how you make out. Mike

Chore Boy Copper + elbow grease ... great combination. Very effective and cheap to boot.

[squirrelnuttz]

That damn Iosso !!!I could never get the black crud to stop either.Even when the bore was clean.I think that stuff is chit.It looks, smells, works like a type of silver polish I once tried in my cadet days.The black would not stop with it either.I wanted to try it because of the lack of stench......and ended up back using stinky solvents that actually work.

[Rocky Raab]

Iosso is supposed to turn black. So do Flitz and JB Paste. (This is yet another example of "If you had read the instructions...")