Lead Removal in Barrel

[johnho]

I finally got the lead build up in a 40 S&W way down but not completely eliminated. I had a copy of a list of cleaners, lubricants, etc that I found maybe on this site. Anyway, you can make anything you want cheaply with normal products. Decided today to try this mixture of 50/50 vinegar and normal 3% hydrogen peroxide they said would remove lead buildup. Figured that for a few bucks why not try it.

IT WORKS. Couldn't believe it. With a few minutes soaking just whiped it out. Have to try and figure out how it works but unbelievably easy and fast. Followed up with clean patches and then CLP. And if you like vinegar smell that's a plus. Wonder how it would be on a salad with blue cheese?

John

[wiljen]

Vinegar contains acetic acid which in the presence of peroxide reacts with the lead to form Lead Acetate. It should be noted that lead acetate can be absorbed through the skin and appropriate caution should be taken when disposing of the solution after your barrel is clean. I believe it is probably against all kinds of EPA rules to just pour it out.

[johnho]

opps

thanks for the heatlh warning though. I will be more careful next time.

john

[Ricochet]

Lead acetate used to be known as "Sugar of Lead" because it's very sweet. It's been used in candies and confections, believe it or not, and there was a scandal recently about some candy from Mexico that had it in it. Don't pour your stuff out where a pet or kid with a sweet tooth might get ahold of it, either.

[randyrat]

Look for the "frontier pad" or whatever its called. I use one, wrap a little around a brush and swipe it 3-4 time and shazzam clean barel. Nope it dosen't scratch either. It looks like a brillo pad made out of stainless steel. No chemicals needed.

[arkypete]

Vinegar contains acetic acid which in the presence of peroxide reacts with the lead to form Lead Acetate. It should be noted that lead acetate can be absorbed through the skin and appropriate caution should be taken when disposing of the solution after your barrel is clean. I believe it is probably against all kinds of EPA rules to just pour it out.

Considering that breathing will be against EPA regulations shortly, since we exhale CO2.

I'd get a Lewis lead remover or the Hoppes knock off.
Jim

[buck1]

Copper chorboy and a old bronze brush. MAGIC!!
Note: if you cant find them ask at the cust serv counter. Lots of stores started keeping them up there and out of the druggies hands....Buck

[utk]

I have read about barrel pitting with this concoction, even ruined barrels. Since barrel steels differ, some barrels "might get away" with the mix but I got rid of my peroxide. It can take some time with some steels but you risk pitting and lost steel can never be replaced!

[Lloyd Smale]

Fix your gun so it doesnt lead. I can take anyone of my guns and put 500 rounds through it in a day and the never lead bad enough where a couple jacketed bullets or even a couple gas checked bullets doesnt clean it out. If your getting lead so bad that you need chore boys or harse chemicals to get it out your putting enough time into it that that time should be spend fixing the gun.

[arkypete]

Lloyd

My thoughts exactly!
Jim

[44man]

Lloyd is right again, stop the leading to start with.

[VTDW]

Lloyd nailed it!! The peroxide and vinegar does work though. I have had to do that on a .35 Rem. I plugged the muzzle with a rubber stopper and stole a neat little aluminum funnel from the wife, attached a 6" piece of rubber tubing to the end of it and stuck it in the chamber and filled er up. About 15 minutes is recommended. When I took out the stopper you should have seen the junk that came out in pieces!!! Then the Chore Girl wrapped around a brush pushed the rest out in short order. THEN I firelapped the darned rifle. No more leading.

Dave

[fourarmed]

Fixing the gun so it doesn't lead is a wonderful idea. Tell me how to do it!

[Crowkiller]

Copper chorboy and a old bronze brush. MAGIC!!
Note: if you cant find them ask at the cust serv counter. Lots of stores started keeping them up there and out of the druggies hands....Buck

Will the methheads leave nothing alone? Sudafed I get, but CHOREBOYS behind the counter?????

We always have some on hand. I told the wife I would help with the dishes, but only if we had a choreboy. She does not throw them away when they start looking bad anymore, unless she has a spare.


Back to the topic: I had a 40 S&W that was well leaded to clean last week. I had a .40 bronze "tornado" brush, and it did the job like a champ. I'm going to have the wife save the old nasty choreboys from now on, though. I'll boil it, then use it on a leaded barrel.

[versifier]

Rigg solvent is a good lead remover, too. let it sit a few minutes and the lead comes out in chuncks on a patch.

[44man]

To cut down the leading, you have to isolate the problem. Is it the lube, the boolit size, the lead hardness or the roughness of the bore? Is the boolit a bevel base or a flat base? Does it hold enough lube? Each interacts of course, but you just have to experiment with each to see what your gun prefers.
The .40 is pretty hot and might want harder lead and a good lube like Felix, Carnauba Red or some Bullshop lube. If you are using LLA, try something else. The ease of use does not mean it works.
Try fitting the boolit to the chamber size. Not too large where the case will not chamber, but a little larger then bore size and depending on the boolit, if some of the ogive does not touch the throat, even larger then the throat size.
If you are buying ready made boolits, you can expect troubles. Very few match a gun and have to fit everyones gun. Doesn't work good.
I don't think any of us can tell you how to stop it because most of us have done the work on what we shoot, your gun might need different work to find the trouble. Roll up your sleeves, time to work!

[Greg5278]

You can alos use Ceruim oxide on an oiled patch after brushing. The Oxide will not scratch hardened steel, but will remove softer metals. It works to get the last bit of leading and fouling from in the land and groove juncture. You can find it on Ebay, it is used for polishing telescope lenmses. I use the super fine stuff. I think it is something like .5 Micron in grit size.
Greg

[Ricochet]

Better watch out for those Choreboy addicts. They're hard-core.

[Shiloh]

What do the dopers use Chore-Boys for??:?:

Shiloh

[357maximum]

What do the dopers use Chore-Boys for??:?:

Shiloh

It is the screens for their radio antenna crack pipes....I have worked in some doozy neighbor hoods and have actually seen them lying around....apparently neccessity is the mother of invention afterall.:roll: If you have a hollow retractable antenna on your car and part of it came up missing, now you know why.

[hawk223]

I read somewhere on the net a while back that putting some cream of wheat on top of the powder removes leading. Has anyone tried this? Does anyone know if this is nonsense?

[Bass Ackward]

H2,

It can. Especially if your lead is being built up and removed by each passing bullet. If you stop the next bullet from leading, then eventually it will clear things up to some degree.

Using the same logic, this same phenom would work with any solid filler like plastic shot buffer that stopped leading. But it ain't the filler .... removing the lead.

[JSH]

I tried the FLGC trick to clear a leaded bore. Biggest mess I ever had since I started fooling with CB's. Didn't remove anything, but it did iron what little bit of leading way down into the grooves.
These were store bought boolits rather than home grown. They were from a company that is highly recommended. Finally got all of them shot up or melted into my alloy. Leading has been a very minor issue since then.
Jeff

[floodgate]

hawk:

....but, DON'T shoot upwind! Don't ask me how I know...

floodgate

[Bob Jones]

I tried this trick on a HiPower and pitted the heck out of the barrel, the vinegar and peroxide really ate into it.

If you try it watch very, very carefully for any dark spots starting to form and remove immediately if you see any sign of pitting.

[waksupi]

I tried this trick on a HiPower and pitted the heck out of the barrel, the vinegar and peroxide really ate into it.

If you try it watch very, very carefully for any dark spots starting to form and remove immediately if you see any sign of pitting.


I've been telling people for years, DO NOT PUT PEROXIDE IN ANY FIREARM!

[johnho]

my bubble has burst. Thanks for the comments about the reason to not use this.

John