Ed's Red

[Johnch]

A friend watched me make a 1/2 gallon batch last nigh

He was amazed I would make it for 1 , as he is the type that only likes store bought stuff
Also that I would ever use it up

I laughed and gave him a pint to use


Normally I make a full gallon
But I was low on Mineral Spirits

I just wondered how long your batch's last ?

John

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

I made a half gallon 2 years ago , i gave my brother a pint , and i have used about that much , so a quart left that will probably get me another 2 years

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I have 4 metal pint cans dedicated for Ed's red.
so that limits my batches to 1/2 gallon.
My SIL likes using it as much as I do.
that half gallon lasts us about a year.
Jon

[uscra112]

I seem to be using about a quart a year. Need to get out and shoot more, I guess.

[Kraschenbirn]

A quart Mason jar usually lasts about six months but I use Ed's for wiping down small tools in my workshop, too.

Bill

[Crash_Corrigan]

I made up a batch of a gallon three years ago without the Lanolin. I should add it next time I make it but I have been using Ballistol quite a bit for wiping down weapons and tools recently as it does such a nice job. I still use Hoppes #9 as a final bore wipe to maintain bores over time....

[Johnch]

I made up a batch of a gallon three years ago without the Lanolin. I should add it next time I make it but I have been using Ballistol quite a bit for wiping down weapons and tools recently as it does such a nice job. I still use Hoppes #9 as a final bore wipe to maintain bores over time....

I put STP in part of what I make
It seems to work well for me

John

[popper]

Gee, 20 oz. has lasted me 2 yrs. Must be doing something wrong.

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

or some thing right , i just don't find i need to clean barrels all that much , a little on a patch wipes them clean

maybe i need to start shooting another few k rounds a year then i could clean more

now hot water and soap i use a bunch more of , on the front stuffer

[ultramag]

I bet mine's gonna last me quite a while. I've had the stuff to mix up a batch in a basket sitting here under the reloading bench for a couple months now and it's still not made!!! :shock:

[DLCTEX]

I used the original formula which substitutes turpentine for mineral spirits (I guess that's the other way around) and it is pretty aromatic. My wife hates the smell and even after a months storage of a cleaned gun I smell turpentine when I start firing . I'll use odorless mineral spirits next time.

[Dale in Louisiana]

I used the original formula which substitutes turpentine for mineral spirits (I guess that's the other way around) and it is pretty aromatic. My wife hates the smell and even after a months storage of a cleaned gun I smell turpentine when I start firing . I'll use odorless mineral spirits next time.

I got through whatever it takes to find real turpentine. The smell brings back memories of my childhood when a nearby town (Dequincy, Louisiana) had a big turpentine plant. There was a living to be made for many in collecting pine stumps and bringing them to the mill to have the resin extracted and made into turpentine and other products. The plant is long since gone. The memories aren't.

Since I've spent a significant part of my life in petroleum refineries, I prefer the occasional foray into something that reminds me of pine trees. Turpentine does that. It also reminds my of my grad-dad who swore that a sugar cube dipped in turpentine and administered to a small boy was a cure for 'worms'. Since I still don't have 'worms' to this day, it must have worked.

Ed Harris refers to the original formula as calling for sperm oil (from sperm whales - get yer mind outta the gutter) but I haven't been able to find a local fishing guide who'd help me harvest a sperm whale to get REALLY authentic.

dale in Louisiana

[Recluse]

I used the original formula which substitutes turpentine for mineral spirits (I guess that's the other way around) and it is pretty aromatic. My wife hates the smell and even after a months storage of a cleaned gun I smell turpentine when I start firing . I'll use odorless mineral spirits next time.

I use odorless mineral spirits as the smell of turpentine brings back some not-so-pleasant memories. I got some bubble-gum in my hair when I was four or five years old and my mom's friend, an airline stewardess, tried getting it out with turpentine.

To this day fifty years later, I remember the agony of how bad that stuff burned me and the pungent smell.

I forgave my mom's friend because she was a babe and even at four or five years of age, I was willing to sell my building blocks and tinker toys to buy an engagement ring and ask her to marry me.

But I still haven't forgiven turpentine.

I mix up a gallon at a time, with lanolin, and keep it in a small parts washer that I dunk the guns in when I do a thorough/deep cleaning (ie, removing the cylinder, grips, etc). A good scrubbing followed by a spray-down with brake cleaner and then copious amounts of compressed air, and I've got oober-clean semi-autos and wheelguns for another several thousand rounds.

I then lightly wipe down the barrels and internals with Hoppes, and for the guns that will not be fired or carried for more than several months, they get a light spraying of G-96--my favorite gun preserver.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=70095&d=1368296661

:coffee: