Copper remover

[bishopgrandpa]

I read here that to get best accuracy out of a castboolit I need to remove all copper fouling from the barrel. What is your best copper remover?

[Mygila]

Bishopgranpa,
Sweet's works best for me. It's all I ever use. Just read & follow directions. Sweet's can be found at most any gun store. YMMV. Mygila

[dmen]

+1 for Sweets. dmen

[docone31]

I clean, and degrease the barrel, plug the chamber with beeswax, and fill the barrel with ammonia. I let that sit over night.
The next day, I clean, dry, and oil the barrel. from there, I use Hoppes #9, and re oil.
I also paper patch my castings. That is a great answer for defouling copper and lead in the bore.
The ammonia turns blue. That is the copper. What is left, is flaky and easy to scrub off.

[mainiac]

I also use sweets, but when my patients is slim, i dig out the JB paste. Rem clean works just as well, although it is liquid- and makes a mess. Mechanical cleaning is faster than chemical cleaning, IMO.

[Uncle R.]

I use Butch's Bore Shine and it works very well for me. I've read that it's a mixture of Sweet's and Kroil - can't say if that's true. According to the lable it can't harm your bore no matter how long it soaks - can't say if THAT's true either but I've often left it in barrels for hours without any apparent damage.
When I use it in badly coppered barrels a tight patch will often bring out visible CHUNKS of copper - looks like the metalflake particles in automotive paint - sometimes even larger pieces. I believe that's the Kroil penetrating under the copper and making it let go - instead of being completely dissolved by the ammonia. Anyway - I'm happy with the way Butch's works and it's cleaned up barrels for me that have withstood previous attempts with many other solvents.

[Kraschenbirn]

+1 for Sweet's (plus a generous dose of patience).

[longbow]

From David Southall's article here:

http://www.303british.com/id37.html

"Getting the last bit of copper fouling from a well-used rifle is often a real problem. Copper in the bore results in poor cast bullet accuracy. It takes a mountain of patches and a lot of patience to get all of the copper out of a rifle barrel which has had 50 or more jacketed bullets shot through it with out cleaning. I have found that simply cleaning the bore with a good "nitro-solvent" to get the powder residue out then de-greasing it with automobile brake cleaner will prepare it for an easy copper removal using household ammonia cleaner. I plug the muzzle with a rubber cap, stand the gun on end with the action up (bolt removed) and fill the bore with ammonia solution using an old "turkey-baster ' syringe. I let the gun stand overnight and pull the plug in the morning. That blue liquid which pours out is the copper dissolved by the ammonia solution. Really badly copper fouled barrels sometimes need two or more overnight soakings.

A badly neglected bore may need to alternate ammonia treatments with a powder solvent to get at the layers of crud ironed into the rifling. Ammonia will not remove carbon or powder fouling which may act to keep the copper from dissolving. I have alternated powder solvent cleaning and overnight soakings with household ammonia cleaner every night for a full week to get all of the fouling out of the bore of several older military rifles with excellent results."

So far I haven't had to resort to this but it is ammonia in the bore solvent I use that attacks the copper.

Longbow

[hiram]

Has anyone tried the foaming cleaner Shoot-R______ something?

[jonk]

yes, I've tried the foaming cleaners. Not the shoot-r; I've used Outer's foaming.

I used to think Sweets worked well too until i tried the foaming stuff. I won't bother with the Sweets ever again.

[DLCTEX]

I like the Outer's foam, one application has cleaned all my bores, but I've haven't had a badly copper fouled barrel in a long time. DALE

[kenjuudo]

Wipeout! Hands down. Next best is Sweets.

jim

[runfiverun]

i like the foaming bore cleaners i put it in in the morning and usually do about 4 guns at a time.
i then follow the foamig with some brushes a oiled patch then a dry patch then shooters choice copper cleaner.
followed by bbl oil and a dry patch.
sometimes this gets it clean.....

[FN in MT]

Everyones cleaning area varies but....I have a cleaning cradle in the garage on the workbench. I can leave a rifle in the cradle and every few hours as I walk by swab it out and resoak it with Sweets or Barnes CR-10 or even Shooters Choice/Kroil mixture. In a day or two the most fouled barrels all seem to come clean. It takes TIME.

I'll then usually run some JB Bore CLeaningpaste through it as insurance.

FN in MT

[Firebird]

Use one of the Foul-Out systems to get a bore really clean. Just be careful and check every hour at least because if the barrel gets any rust uncovered and it contaminates the solution then you can start removing steel instead of copper.

[clodhopper]

The foaming cleaner works good for me. I used sweet's, butch's and barne's.
Wipeout is great! Went to get another can and ended up with outer's that works good too.
I usually squirt the bore full and leave it standing in a garbage can overnight. Run a patch through next morning. If the patch is pretty blue, I do it again and run a patch through in the evening.
Old rifles with many rounds through them will need scrubbing to get the many layers layers claened off as per Longbow's post.
I like to alternate with JB bore cleaner but use the foam last as it claims to prevent rust.
If the foam get's into the magazine or trigger group I just wipe it off.

[MtGun44]

cr-10 is very effective for copper. Foul Out is great, too.

Bill

[Ricochet]

Ammonia for the copper.

[John Boy]

Ammonia for the copper.
Yep, but use Industrial Strength Ammonia

[Irascible]

Barnes CR-10 is the most potent I've seen.

[JIMinPHX]

I usually suffer with Hopies & lots of elbow grease because I believe that it does the least damage to the barrel in the long run.

I've used that Wipeout stuff on occasion with fairly good results. It's not the second coming of Christ that it claims to be, but it is stronger than Hoppies (or Hoppies benchrest copper solvent).

For the really tough ones, like when I run into an old military rifle that hasn't seen a patch in 20 years, & normal procedures just don't seem to put a dent in the copper, I turn to the WMD of copper removal. That would be a bore full of janitorial strength ammonia with a steel rod down the center of it & a battery attached to it to get the electrolysis going. I put a variable resistor & an ammeter in series with the battery. I set it for 10ma. When the current changes by about 20%, I stop & then clean the barrel normally. This gets ALL the copper out. I don't recommend it except for once in a lifetime extreme cleaning because it can eat into the steel of the bore if left even a little bit too long. You need to make sure that you get the polarity of the battery right f you try this trick. A few small O-rings around the steel rod to prevent a short circuit with the barrel helps too.

[dromia]

I gave up using propriety cleaning products many years ago, I used to be a Hoppes fan , does as advertised and great smell, but the price was too much.

Some one tipped me off on Ed's Red or an equivalent as it wasn't called that then but when I came across Ed's recipe it was similar.

As ammonia is the active copper removing ingredient in most cleaners I buy that as household ammonia 10% strength from any hardware shop.

What I do is bristle brush and patch the bore turn about with Ed's Red and then ammonia leaving it no longer than 10 minutes to soak for the ammonia as some one said, too long in there it will damage the barrel. Don't know how true this is but 10 minutes does the job. Alternating with Ed's Red tackles any layering of copper and carbon residues.

I've used this for years and it does the job effectively and cheaply, I don't go for the unfired barrel state but I do like to get the ammonia patches not coming out blue.

In saying all this I've been given some Wipe Out and rate it highly as its squirt and leave, it's pricey so I'll need to see how far a tin gans.

[Ricochet]

Yep, but use Industrial Strength Ammonia
Exactly what I'd like to do, but the cops' misguided efforts to hinder meth making have made it very hard to get locally. The household stuff works well if the fouling's not heavy.

[tommag]

I like the wipe-out, but I find it is best to plug the chamber with an oversize patch before squirting it in tokeep it from foaming out and getting down in the action,magazine well, etc.

[CastorRiver]

Blue Wonder. This not only cleans the bore but can be used to remove rust speckles (God Forbid!) from gun parts without attacking the bluing. Make sure to re-oil the metal after using as this is a potent degreaser. It is expensive but worth it.

I just used BW on a 1942 Remington Rand M1911A1 barrrel that I had always assumed was just about worn out. I immediately started pulling out jet black crud. When I got done the inside of this barrel was amazingly changed for the better. Got lots of graddoo out of the corners of the grooves. This barrel had previously tasted Kroil, CR10 and Hoppe's Copper Solve.

I recently used BW on a bargain Winchester Model 94 that I got cheap because of cosmetic rust on the receiver. It didn't reblue the rifle but it jerked the rust right off and when the rifle is oiled it is much less noticeable. Dab on, wait five minutes and wipe off with a rag. Dab On, Wipe Off, Dab On, Wipe Off. Now I have a strange compulsion to practice Karate!

Also, a plug for Ballistol as a protectant. It smells like old sweat socks and makes my eyes burn but since I started using it I have no more rust on stored guns here in the gun-dissolving atmosphere of Jefferson County Missouri. The Germans used it to clean and protect guns, oil leather gear and wood stocks and to treat minor wounds. Not recommended as a marital aid or mood enhancer. Shower after using and before wooing. FWIW.

[w30wcf]

You guys are working to hard! I clean mine by shooting 10 cast bullets (.001-.002" over groove diameter) made from w.w. + 2% tin through the barrel. Works like a charm!:mrgreen: My barrels are smooth. In rougher barrels, your milage may vary.

w30wcf

[STP22]

Outer`s or equivalent foaming bore cleaners work like a charm. I apply it then stand the rifle on it`s muzzzle on a folded paper towel overnight. Repeat the process as necessary. I`ve had but one or two copper fouled or "mystery fouled" bores that needed more than 2 soak cycles. A borescope proved it for me.

[monadnock#5]

For those of you who are having trouble getting ahold of industrial strength ammonia, there is a similar product on the market. Montana X-treme .50 BMG -Special Formula- Super Strength COPPER REMOVER (from the label). I don't know where to place this stuff on the power scale, except to say it is much more powerful than household ammonia. Very effective. If you get some, don't forget to order nylon bristle bore brushes. Brass bristles won't last long with this stuff.

[testhop]

anything to the warning that ammonia will eat the blueing if it gets on the outside of the barrel so i am extra careful with ammonia
i have used sweets, butchs, outers and most of the cleaner on th market or have been

[testhop]

anything to the warning that ammonia will eat the blueing if it gets on the outside of the barrel so i am extra careful with ammonia
i have used sweets, butchs, outers and most of the cleaner on th market or have been

[Ricochet]

I haven't taken any bluing off mine yet with ammonia.

[jackley]

Montana Extreme 50 BMB. Clean the copper out of my bench guns every 100 rds. Best I have found for copper removal. Don't inhale will put you on your knees. Nylon bristles with stainless centers. Will eat the brass centers. OIL BORE AFTER USE.............

Jerry