Heavily Leaded Barrel, how do I clean it?

[Smell_of_Cedar]

The breech plug is permanently affixed on this .50 cal caplock, and the bore is leaded.

I tried Hoppes #9 for various amounts of time, and scrubbed with a patch. No lead.

A .50 cal brush I fear will not come out, because the bristles will fold over when being rammed in, and then cannot be yanked back out.

Ideas?

Thank You

[mooman76]

I've used 50 cal brushes no problem. It will tend to bend the brissles up alot turning it around. A couple things you could try. We usually use a brass or copper chore boy dish scrubber. Peal off a few strands and wrap it around the brush. It usually peals it right out.
Another thing I heard from someone that claimed it worked good was to rough up the lead with a copper brush(dry) and let it sit a couple days to oxidize. Then it should come out easy in a powdery form. I've never tried it but it's worth a go.

[george1980]

plus 1 on everything moonman said , but ill add this kroil can be your best friend it does wonders on removing lead

[ripshod]

Use the Veral Smith method.Take a one caliber smaller brass brush and wrap it with a piece of Chore Boy copper pad.Most important is to find Chore boy pads that are all copper.Use a magnet to test them before purchasing.Ripshod

[docone31]

Both my Hawken in .50, and my Dimmick in .54 had bores that dragged. Slight rust here and there in the bores. You could feel it when you rammed the patched ball down.
I took the corresponding R.E.A.L., loaded the lube grooves with valve lapping compound, then loaded the round. I fired a few of these.
Smooth bore, and no lead. From that point, no more leading.
It kept the rifleing sharp, but no more scale or leading.

[freedom475]

bronze wool may also help you...it is harder than the lead but softer than the steel...

This may be scary to some but when I was trying to clean up a rough ML bore I loaded the rifle 3fff, then an OP wad of leather and then a nice chunk of the Bronze wool.. then a lubed PRB and fired it... did this for a half dozen shots and now that bore is nice and shiney..

sure wish I would have tried this first instead of all the time wasted ruining good brushes (with little or no effect)

[qajaq59]

Is there just one type of valve lapping compound or will I find a bunch of different kinds in the auto store and have to choose?

[garandsrus]

Here's another idea... http://www.frfrogspad.com/homemade.htm#Lead

I have done this with a stainless steel revolver and it worked great.

John

[10 ga]

Lotsa good and proven ideas. Instead of valve lapping compound I use common kitchen cleanser. .45 or OLD .50 brush. Cover with patch, I use T-shirt material, then dampen, cover with cleanser, stroke that bore! I also use a spinjag as that makes following the rifleing soooo easy. Spinjag has an addapter for brushes and mops etc...
http://www.spinjag.com/index.php

I use Eds Red (google it) for cleaning, I make it in the formula with acetone and no lanolin for cleaning, That will penetrate and help loosten the leading. Careful, it will take finish and paint off of stuff. Also use the no acetone and with lanolin formula for lubeing arms and light cleaning, less harsh.

For really damaged bores, like with the dragging and rust SOC mentioned, I use the ss chore scrubber and cleanser and usually get them to shoot good, especially with patched RB. Then get them seasoned and keep them clean and seasoned.

Best-O-Luck, 10

[Multigunner]

During the US Civil War they issued a special cartridge with a zinc washer attached to the base of the bullet for clearing away leading of rifled musket barrels.
A Minie Ball cast of a zinc alloy might work.
The skirt would have to be thin enough to expand into the rifling, going deeper on each succeeding shot till the lube grooves acted to scrape away all the leading.

PS
Valve lapping compound grinds away steel faster than it does lead, otherwise lead lapping a bore wouldn't work.

In the old days a badly leaded bore might be taken care of by a gunsmith. He'd plug any openings at the breech and pour in an ounce of mercury then plug the muzzle. Rolling the mercury about in the bore would dissolve the lead like a solvent on copper.
Mercury is a hazardous material these days and few people would want to mess with it, but its considered to be the best and sometimes the only way to get the lead out. Especially in removing stuck .22 bullets from a target grade barrel without damaging the bore.
They'd drill out the center of the bullet then perform the steps outlined above.

[DIRT Farmer]

I just spent the evening swabing the bore of my trade gun with Scotch brite pads. I really wanted to get every thing out, and will finish by shooting tight patched round balls. The durned thing leads where the shot colum sets no matter what I have tried. I made up some paper shot cups tonight, but would hat to have to make them for a week of shooting. I thought the paper would polish the bore like PP does in an old military rifle. I will find out later.

[lawhetzel]

Use the Veral Smith method.Take a one caliber smaller brass brush and wrap it with a piece of Chore Boy copper pad.Most important is to find Chore boy pads that are all copper.Use a magnet to test them before purchasing.Ripshod

I've never had a problem with leading in a ML. However, I have never used a ML shotgun, either.
In rifles and handguns, when I get leading, I clean it with "Chore Boy" brand copper scrubbers. They are made for pots and pans. Be sure that you get the copper ones because I they make a stainless steel one as well. It is a copper mesh pad that can be opened up and cut with a scissors. I wind a piece tightly around a worn or undersized bronze brush -- I suppose nylon will work as well -- to avoid the old "stuck brush" routine when you try to pull it back out. It normally only takes a couple of strokes through the bore to clean out all of the lead and they will not harm the barrel because copper is softer than the steel. If you want to find out more, check out http://www.choreboyscrubbers.com/products.htm on the web. The last ones I bought came from the local Ace Hardware.

[Tazman1602]

What Mooman said. I've had people bring me severely leaded guns and a little bit of the brass or copper chore boy around a proper sized brush peels it right out.

The brush will "stick" a bit at the breech end of the barrel but it should come right back out -- make CERTAIN that you have GOOD threads on your cleaning rod and brush and that they are of good quality because getting them back out is a bear if they separate down there..............and don't ask me how I know that...<grin>


+1 for mooman

I've used 50 cal brushes no problem. It will tend to bend the brissles up alot turning it around. A couple things you could try. We usually use a brass or copper chore boy dish scrubber. Peal off a few strands and wrap it around the brush. It usually peals it right out.
Another thing I heard from someone that claimed it worked good was to rough up the lead with a copper brush(dry) and let it sit a couple days to oxidize. Then it should come out easy in a powdery form. I've never tried it but it's worth a go.

[firefly1957]

I had some revolver balls .454 get mixed with my rifle balls .440 and they would put a hole in my patch this caused sever leading . I tried brushes lead remover to no avail until I tried a old NRA formula it is half Vinegar and half drug store hydrogen peroxide clamp barrel upright plug vent/nipple fill bore to muzzle let sit over night. Wipe of bluing it will remove it. Dump out of barrel rinse with HOT water dry and oil. It took twice for me but my barrel was very badly leaded.
A brown/orange crud floats to the top it is probably a lead compound and should be disposed of as a poison would.

[RBak]

Both my Hawken in .50, and my Dimmick in .54 had bores that dragged. Slight rust here and there in the bores. You could feel it when you rammed the patched ball down.
I took the corresponding R.E.A.L., loaded the lube grooves with valve lapping compound, then loaded the round. I fired a few of these.
Smooth bore, and no lead. From that point, no more leading.
It kept the rifleing sharp, but no more scale or leading.

I've been watching this thread since it started and I find many of the suggestions very interesting...may even try a couple should the need ever arise again.

However, in the mean time, I will stick with what docone31 has passed on.
This is one I have tried, when every thing else failed, and it worked like a charm.

Of course "Fire Lapping" is always questioned because of the tendency to over-do it...and you can definitely over-do it, if you fire too many rounds with valve grinding compound.
The secret, if such can be said, is having your bore-light handy, and check and re-check frequently. Many times you can't see it taking effect, but sometimes you can....but you can definitely see the scratches, and you can definitely see them disappear.
As a side note; If you can find a 'blue' bulb for your bore-light, vs yellow or white, it is supposed to show lead better. Some say it does, some want to argue, but you have to be the judge.
Personally, the one such light I have used "seemed" to do a better job of illuminating the lands and grooves....you have to be the judge.

You can do pretty much the same thing with a round ball and thick patch, with the "outside" of the patch lubed with mineral oil and valve grinding compound, but it doesn't do as good a job as the proper caliber REAL with the grooves filled,IMO.

Russ

[firefly1957]

RBak does the new l.e.d. Lights work well for this the blue bothers my eyes more than white though.
I do not think anyone should consider lapping for barrel leading now AFTER the leading is removed if the bore is rough fire lapping may reduce future leading.

Another old trick to remove leading was to use mercury as it dissolved lead but today it is not a good idea.

[SPRINGFIELDM141972]

Mercury use is just like any other poisonous substance use. You have to pay attention. I received a pint jar of the mercury that was used in tank level gauges. Let me tell ya, it is the berries for lead removal. You just can't be a knucklehead when your useing it.

Regards,
Everett

[redneckdan]

I 2nd this http://www.frfrogspad.com/homemade.htm#Lead


Be aware though that you are using acetic acid which will make lead acetate. Lead acetate is highly soluble in water and is one of the most easily absorbed lead compounds. Dump the contaminated solution on absorb-all and take it to a hazmat station.

[firefly1957]

Redneckdan The small amounts of lead compounds we would make are not worth a trip to hazmat I absorbed mine in paper towels and added to material skimmed off lead pot when that fills it goes to the right place.
It surprises me how many people on this forum are from the U.P.

[gilgsn]

In the old days a badly leaded bore might be taken care of by a gunsmith. He'd plug any openings at the breech and pour in an ounce of mercury then plug the muzzle. Rolling the mercury about in the bore would dissolve the lead like a solvent on copper.

Old thread, but here is my $0.02... I have tried this and it worked very well. I used to own an early glock 17 and shot thousands of cast bullets in it. I had no idea you weren't supposed to do that... Honestly, I don't see why it would be a problem... The barrel eventually got heavily leaded though. I bought some mercury and set a ball of play-doh at the bottom of a small container, itself inside another container for redundancy. I stuck the tip of my barrel in the pay-doh, secured it vertically and using gloves, filled it with mercury (after cleaning/degreasing). The next morning, after brushing a few times with a bronze brush, it was absolutely clean! No more lead. I did this of course using the same precautions. The mercury went back in the bottle.

It was easy... Not that I suggest anyone to do this, because mercury of course is a poison. So if you're an idiot, don't do it... If you don't think you're an idiot, still ask your more intelligent friends if they think you are, just to make sure Don't throw away any mercury!

Gil.