Fouling

[evil5826]

Ok need some opinions or expertise on some cleaning products. Now I have tried alot but want to narrow it down just to two cleaners.

Lead:
Shooters Choice Lead Remover. Only one I know that works and actually does its job to a point.
Is Ed's Red better?

Copper:
I heard Sweet's 7.62 solvent does the job and removes all copper fouling. This true?

Lead and Copper:
Blue Wonder Gun Cleaner

[LUBEDUDE]

Outers Foul Out - done electronically, no scrubbing.

Get it at Midway

[Bent Ramrod]

I tried on of the early Foul Outs (I?) and found it was great for lead but not so good on copper. The main problem with the copper removal was the criticality--you had to stop the electrolysis as soon as the copper was removed but there was no way to determine this except to clean out, inspect and, if necessary, fill the barrel and start the process again. The lead would come out in lumps on the electrode in a few minutes and would be all done in a half hour.

I left the thing on overnight in a junk barrel to see what happened if the instructions not to do so were not followed. The sewerpipe condition of the bore had degraded a couple orders of magnitude more when I emptied and cleaned it out.

Sweet's also should not be left in the bore too long, but it is very good at showing whether there is still copper left in the bore. As soon as the patches stop coming out blue, you are done. If they are still blue, it's easy enough to glop another patch full of the stuff and coat the bore again. Let sit for 20 minutes and run a dry patch through and inspect. Make sure the stuff is all cleaned out of the gun and the gun is oiled afterwards, as Sweet's must be 25% ammonia at least.

[LUBEDUDE]

Good to know on the copper BR.

I have only used the Outer Foul Out for Lead Removal with FANtastic results.

I do not shoot much in the way of J-word bullets so copper fouling is not an issue for me, thus, I have not tried the system for copper fouling yet.

[stubshaft]

Kroil works for me to get the lead out of a barrel. If you really have aggressive leading then a little bit on some copper Chore Boy gets it out FAST.

[uscra112]

On boolit guns that don't lead, (almost all of them), it's Ed's Red and nothing else.

One of my S&Ws still leads a little, so I shoot one cylinderful of j-warts through it at the end of the day, then clean with #9 or Shooter's Choice. They're about the same, in my book. Fact is I don't get any color on the patches, so there ain't much copper there, but I do it anyway. I'd do the same in any lightly lead-fouled rifle, if I had one.

In ordinary usage, my j-wart guns get #9 or Shooters Choice alone. I cannot see any difference between them. Never have had any Sweets'.

Dunging out a grungy milsurp, or some new-to-me rifle that's got a lot of copper in it, I've taken to using Barnes CR-10. This has to be used with great care - it's basically straight ammonia with an admixture of anti-freeze, and it can do a number on a bore if left in there for even half an hour. It will also mess up nickel plating, and But it takes out copper twenty times as fast as #9 or Shooters Choice.

BTW one factor in using CR-10: I use a bore guide, and work from the muzzle, with a wad of paper towel in the chamber. This assures me that no ammonia ever gets into action. ( Be sure to clear the chamber of the ammonia. ) Followup with Ed's Red to be sure I have some oil in there before the gun goes into the safe.

Yes, I too bought a Foul-Out, maybe ten years ago. I found it a major PITA to set up, and stopped bothering with it after 3-4 trials. I'd sell it for peanuts if I could find it. If I ever again have really bad lead in a rifle, I'll do the Chore-Boy trick to get it down to where I can shoot the remainder out with j-warts, and go from there.

[captaint]

Please be (as mentioned) careful with the Sweets. It WILL etch your bores, if left in too long. You just know how I know ........ I normally use good old Hoppes 9 and Kroil and one of many oils for storage. Mike

[leadman]

I called Outers asking if the chemicals for the Foul Out degraded over time and the answer was no. Then the guy said they are not going to make it any longer.
Mine does work well on copper but to begin with the bore has to be carbon and oil free. I use brake cleaner to do this. Also one has to make sure the rod is clean and check it often and sand any copper off it.

I don't use the FO often but do use Hoppe's #9 alot. I like to wet the bore with Hoppe's and let it set while I do other stuff in the garage and repeat as needed. I do very little scrubbing and just let the Hoppe's do the work. When I put the guns away they have Hoppe's in the bore. I check them every couple of months if I don't shoot them and there is almost always some more "stuff" in the barrel.

[C.F.Plinker]

Wipe Out foam for copper. Just follow the directions. I have never had it take more than 3 applications to get the copper out. For me it works better than Hoppe's Benchrest, Sweets, or Butches. Plug the chamber with a paper towel or large cleaning patch and spray in just a little from the muzzle. If your rifle has a gas port insert a soda straw far enough to block the port before you spray.

[felix]

I don't bother to block the port in an AR barrel. No harm yet when using the WipeOut. ... felix