Lead removal question--

[CHeatermk3]

Last Saturday I recieved a new Taurus PT-1911; I shot it for function using the same ammo i had made up for a Ruger Redhawk. After 40 rounds of cast boolit ammo(Flawless function BTW) I took the 1911 into the garage to clean it up and was astonished to see that the bore was so leaded up that the rifling lands were barely visible--what followed was several hours of patching, soaking, scrubbing, repeating. Used foaming cleaner(wipe-out), all the tricks; wore out 2 45-cal brushes too.

Towards the end of this marathon, as I was getting down to bare barrel steel and having worn my only 2 45-cal brushes to the point they were all but useless for the chore, I dug down to the bottom of my cleaning supplies and pulled out my hoard of "Kleen Bore lead away(tm)" gun cleaning patches. These are a thicker than normal patch impregnated with something that not only removes lead but smells good too!

Using this product I was able to finally and completely remove the last stubborn traces(and some bigger "globs") of lead in the bore.

So, sorry to be long-winded, the point of this is that I'm thinking that someone here on this forum might be able to tell me what is is in these patches that works so well to remove lead from steel?

The patches have a (to me) pleasant smell, kinda like coconut oil; if whatever magic juice is in them could be bottled I'd sure like to make some! The patches are available but they cost $6.99 for a package of 10 1.25x1.25-inch patches.

Any suggestions? This stuff really does the trick!

[Bzcraig]

Can't answer your question about the Wipe Out but don't throw away those brushes. Wrap some of the pure copper Chore Boy strands around those brushes and it does magic removing lead in the bore.

[bullseye67]

Good evening,
I don't know what is in the patches. I used to buy, I now have several on hand, a lead wipe that resembles a chamois. I have them from several makers all the same product, all work the same. I haven't used one in a barrel for years. I use them on the cylinders and top strap of a stainless steel 686.
I once and only once let my guard down, 8 or 9 years ago, and bought a Taurus revolver in 357. It was when everyone was really poo-pooing the locks on S&W revolvers. The barrel was so rough it would peel the copper off the jacketed bullets until you couldn't see the lands in the barrel. I sent it back and they refunded me the actual purchase price. I thought that was really decent of them to do that. Their warranty states they will replace the product. The rep. I dealt with let me know in the case of these revolvers it would be several months for replacement or a cheque in about 2 weeks.
Good luck with your Taurus.

[Harry Tobin]

That sounds so familiar, some years back I had a real bad leading problem when shooting either my 1911 or 9mm. A day at the range with 150 rounds of fun turned into a 2 hour barrel clean out.
At first I thought it was a harness problem but then discovered something else. On day when sizing some cast bullets I noticed that the bullets where going thru the sizing die with no resistance. As I look at the bullet I didn’t see much of a shine anywhere around the base. This was the 45 round and for that you want a .452 and what I saw was nothing close to that. At some point it was .452 and down to .448 on the same bullet. That sucker was out of round and not sealing. That was a LEE tumble lube mold. Then switched to a LEE regular 1 grove wax ring mold and found that to be undersized, but with that style mold I could open it up with grinding compound. So I kept opening it up until I could see that the die cut all the way around the bullet. And ever since then even with 200 rounds of lead bullets run through it no leading. So check your bullet diameter, it’s the biggest culprit of leading. As far as your original question not sure what’s in the patches but they warn you that it will take blueing off. I used to use a Lewis Lead Remover back when I had a leading problem. Since I opened up the molds I don’t use that anymore. A few rounds of jacketed bullets and a bore snake at the end of my shooting session. Sorry to be long-winded also

PS: wanted to add I wouldn’t advise anyone to try to clear a heavily leaded barrel with jacketed bullets the pressure may cause serious damage!

[gwpercle]

You might want to check out a gizmo called a " Lewis Lead Remover " , this is the absolute best thing for removing heavy lead deposits , quick and easy. It makes de leading a bore a whole lot less of a chore.
It beats wire brushes , lead away patches and elbow grease seven ways to Sunday !
Midway and Brownell's stock them among others.
Gary

[g17]

Can't answer your question about the Wipe Out but don't throw away those brushes. Wrap some of the pure copper Chore Boy strands around those brushes and it does magic removing lead in the bore.

Here's the winner for cleaning the lead out.

[10or45]

Can't answer your question about the Wipe Out but don't throw away those brushes. Wrap some of the pure copper Chore Boy strands around those brushes and it does magic removing lead in the bore.

Make sure you use pure copper Chore Boy brand and not a copper plated steel type. It peels lead out in slivers.

[CHeatermk3]

Hey thanks for all your replies, folks.

As for future lead removal, my plan is to not deposit it in the first(next?) place!

Harry, I take your point and to tell the truth I do not recall whether all the boolits made from the mold I used were sized down.. I'll have to think about how to proceed, as it's a 6-cavity Lee and I really like using the gang molds for pistol shooting at close range eg steel and paper. The boolits are the clone of the H&G 68 which has a beveled base which I prefer for progressive loading; they were tumble lubed in BLL 2x; they showed minimal leading in both my Rugers, a Redhawk and a Blackhawk and I assumed that they'd shoot clean in the Taurus too.

So, I'll check out the few remaining boolits from that session and go from there; may need to open some or all of the cavities don't know at present.

Meanwhile I'll keep my fingers crossed and hope someone here knows what's in those patches; they work really good.