Best cleaning solution for lead removal

[dlbarr]

I've been using Barnes CR-10 for awhile and it works respectably. Just wondering if someone else has something they feel works as good or better.

[scottfire1957]

I've read that mercury works. That was my answer in the thread a week or two ago.

About this very subject. Read back a page or two.

[GSM]

Not a solution, but, copper Chore Boy and elbow grease. Sometimes Flitz.

Mercury? Them days are gone.

[MT Gianni]

Lead away cloth if you are getting lead splash on a revolver side plate. Proper lube and fit for heavy leading, any good cleaner for a light wash. Ed's red to Copper cutter all seem to work, the key is not to get a build up.

[Foto Joe]

I just went through this with my '94 Marlin shooting cast 44 Magnum loads for the first time. Long story short, Hoppes #9, ChoreBoy on an old bore brush and less than 5 minutes to scrub out 6" or so of very leaded up barrel.

[Old Caster]

The absolute best is Outers lead out but it is no longer commercially available. I don't know if you could still buy the electrical part of it or not but have read that it is possible to make the chemical. The electrical part shouldn't be too difficult either. The hardest part of this is that you would have to have a lot of the chemical to immerse the entire gun in a container. Do a search on this site and you will find things about the possibilities of making your own electrical device and chemical compound. I am sure that several people have done it.

[Dframe]

Lewis Lead Remover

[Bad Andy]

50:50 solution of Hydrogen peroxcied and White Vinegar. Plug one end of the barrel and will it up. Let soak for 20 min, drain and clean with brush and swab. I have done this with my Sig P229 .40 after I shot 50 rounds of unlubed cast boolits through it. I had to do three 20 min soaks to remove the lead (there was a LOT of leading). It cleaned it up great. The solution will fiz up a bit and I have been told to watch your barrel finish as it can remove it, I did not have this issue with my barrel.

[Cadillo]

50:50 solution of Hydrogen peroxcied and White Vinegar. Plug one end of the barrel and will it up. Let soak for 20 min, drain and clean with brush and swab. I have done this with my Sig P229 .40 after I shot 50 rounds of unlubed cast boolits through it. I had to do three 20 min soaks to remove the lead (there was a LOT of leading). It cleaned it up great. The solution will fiz up a bit and I have been told to watch your barrel finish as it can remove it, I did not have this issue with my barrel.

Have a new barrel on hand before you do this. I ruined a P220 barrel and it took less than twenty minutes to do it with this remedy. It pitted the bore beyond belief, and it took less than twenty minutes.

Before you try this, do some research. You will find not only that I am far from to first to suffer a damaged barrel, but also that the process creates a very nasty chemical that is easily absorbed through the skin. I believe that it is called lead acetate.

Some folks manage to get away with this cure, but it's an expensive **** game to be playing in.

Just let the barrel soak overnight in Hoppes, Ed's Red, or Kroil, or easier still, just shoot a few jacketed bullets through it, and then clean as usual.

[Blackwater]

I'm with Dframe on the Lewis Lead Remover if it's lead in the barrel, forcing cone or cylinders you're after. Also, throw in the Lead Remover cloths, or "miracle cloths," and a bit of Lyman's Lead Remover solvent, and you're good to go, and shouldn't ever find any lead anywhere that this won't remove pretty handily. We "moderns" are a bit spoiled when it comes to maintenance of our guns, and I fear we don't remember just how dang lucky we really are these days ..... if only we could get powder!

[Harter66]

I had a 9mm that leaded up pretty bad early on . I had access to an ultrasonic cleaner that would hold the bbl and was filled with Hoppes for cleaning aircraft fuel injectors. It ran about 20 min 4 times with just a few brush passes in between. It lifted the lead in chunks and I think it lifted the copper that lead into the leading in the 1st place.

[Harter66]

I will also mention that changing what you use will lift more goop off the bore . I've used Hoppes to a clean patch then run a Birchwood Casey patch through a bbl and it was black.

[blackthorn]

This is what I have collected with respectto vinegar/peroxide as a lead remover. For a long time I have been collectinginformation that will be passed on to my sons along with my casting equipment.Most of what appears below has been gathered from this site and/or othersources. Hope you find it informative! With use of proper precautions (N) Vinegar/peroxide (mixed 50/50) can beused to remove lead from the bore. With some salt or Clorox mixed in (not to be used in firearms) the mixture is often used toetch steel reproduction items to match original finishes. This mixture will ‘frost’ a clean piece ofmetal in 30 minutes or less to provide a finish that equals a hundred andtwenty years of rust and wear. While the same mix sans the salt or Clorox when usedas a lead remover is not as corrosive, you still must use extreme caution if youintend to use a vinegar/peroxide mix to remove lead from the bore of yourfirearm because it produces per-acetic acid. Per-acetic acid, while commonly used as a sanitizer onsome food processing equipment, is very corrosive to some metals. It is definitely not safe to use on brass orcopper alloys, and will damage both carbon and galvanized steel. When it breaks down it will leave an aceticacid residue on metal surfaces. When weuse this mix to remove leading from the bore of a firearm, in dissolving thelead deposits, it produces lead acetate (N) which is extremely poisonous (N). Hydrogen peroxide raises the lead valence from zero to plus two, so thata minus one from the acidic acid ion initiates a rapid lead ‘rusting’ process,making grey colored lead acetate which is not sticky and therefore bubblesout. It cannot be stressed stronglyenough that this grey liquid is pure (N) poison, so do this well away from areas where foodis (or ever will be) grown, prepared or stored and wear rubber gloves. The mixture can however be used to removeexcessive lead buildup from the bore of your firearm, if you arecareful. The first thing to do is toremove as much of the lead buildup as possible using (approximately) a thirtyinch strand taken from a ‘chore boy/girl’ pot scrubber wrapped round a worn outbore brush. Prior to pouring the mixtureinto the barrel, the barrel must be dry (no oil or other lube). To begin, clean the barrel with Ed’s red or asimilar cleaner of your choice and then use rubbing alcohol on a bore mop orrag to remove any residual oil. Thevinegar/peroxide mixture can be applied using a clean bore mop or it can bepoured in to almost fill the bore as long as the chamber is tightly plugged. The mixture must not be allowed to come intocontact with the exterior finish of the firearm, (either wood or metal)therefore, if you are pouring it in, do not fill the bore to the top as thestuff foams up and it will run over if it is too full. As noted above, this mixture has thepotential to damage the bore so allow a two minute maximum soak for the 50/50vinegar/peroxide mix to work and then wash out the barrel with tap water. Do not use distilled or deionized water. Under some circumstances using distilledwater will create lead (N) bi-acetate or (N) tri-acetate, either of which are deadly (N) poisons, so make sure the water you useis somewhat tainted. To be sure, add aquarter teaspoon of salt per quart of water. Under no circumstances let the barrel filled with the solutionstand for longer than a maximum of fifteen to twenty minutes. Pour out the liquid and remove the chamberplug. Run a bronze brush through severaltimes, followed by four or five patches. Pour some hot soapy water through the barrel and run several wet patchesthrough as you do not want any of the solution to be left in thebarrel. You may have to repeat the process a number of timesdepending on the amount of leading present. Run the chore boy through again and if the barrel is lead free, rinsewith really hot tap water. Use a hairdryer or other heat source to be sure the barrel is moisture free and then usea water displacing oil such as WD 40.

[Shiloh]

Stay away from mercury.
There are plenty more safer ways. See the above posts.

Shiloh

[Jtarm]

Have a new barrel on hand before you do this. I ruined a P220 barrel and it took less than twenty minutes to do it with this remedy. It pitted the bore beyond belief, and it took less than twenty minutes.

Before you try this, do some research. You will find not only that I am far from to first to suffer a damaged barrel, but also that the process creates a very nasty chemical that is easily absorbed through the skin. I believe that it is called lead acetate.

Some folks manage to get away with this cure, but it's an expensive **** game to be

Better yet, save yourself 20 minutes and install the new barrel.

[MtGun44]

Lead is not very reactive chemically, far less so than barrel steel, so I'd be EXTREMELY
leery of any chemical process other than the Outers Foul-Out electroplating process
which works wonderfully. Solution is NLA, but the correct formula is available and
the chemicals aren't extremely unusual, may take a bit of searching to find.

Lewis lead remover, a new bronze brush, an old bronze brush wrapped with
00 steel wool all work well and pretty quickly.

I haven't done anything other than 10 or 15 passes with a bronze brush in
at least 10 -12 years. Leading is a thing of the past with a few basic techniques -

1- Avoid undersized boolits - groove +.001 as a minimum size, more in
rifles, throat size (if larger than groove diam) in revolvers.

2 - avoid super hard commercial boolits and their Crayola lubes. Soft lubes
of known performance over a wide range of velocities like NRA 50-50 and
LBT soft blue are great starting places. Once you have this working you can
experiment with bear grease and Vaseline with a dollop of pig drippings or
whatever suits your fancy.

3 - Use a "known-good" design. Keith designs are never wrong for revolvers,
truncated cone and certain SWCs are great for semiauto pistols and the many
groove Loverin designs are usually reliable in rifles. Once these are working,
try that 'cool idea' design and see how it compares. Some will be better, but
many will be worse.

Fit is king, lube and design are the handmaidens.

Good luck, hope you never need to scrub out lead again.

Bill

[Cadillo]

Better yet, save yourself 20 minutes and install the new barrel.

Aren't you a smart boy?

I bought a Barsto to replace it after the witches brew incident, not before.

I find it interesting to note that given your IQ, you would replace a barrel rather than attempt to clean it first.

Yep. Smart boy!

[charlie3tuna]

Pb Blaster, the name says it all.

charlie

[frnkeore]

The BEST commonly available sovent to "wet" the metal under under the lead deposit and therefore release it is Xylene or Toluene or both in combination, such as carburetor cleaner. Look on the label to be sure it has both.

I've worked where we used both (seperately) for industrial cleaning of high vacuum parts. You should wear gloves and use it in a ventilated area but, they WILL loosen the lead so you can push it out with a jag.

Wet the bore well with a loose patch (use a under size undersize jag) and let it set for a couple minutes, then wet a tight patch again and start pushing the lead out.

Frank

[wlc]

Stay away from mercury.
There are plenty more safer ways. See the above posts.

Shiloh

Not arguing with you at all about safer things to remove lead with, but I would darn sure rather use mercury than the peroxide/vinegar dip. I've used mercury before in a lab setting, and in removing gold from black sands concentrates years ago when I had a gold dredge. If handled with proper care it poses little risk. Heck didn't you ever play with mercury out of a broken thermometer when you were a kid?

[jonp]

After reading the thread on lead removal I tried several methods on 2 badly leaded Kahr CW45 barrels. These barrels do not like cast but I'm not giving up on them. With the help of several members I thought I had it licked but no dice.

I tried the vinegar/peroxide method and it worked but I had a darkened barrel and a little pitting so abandoned it. I swabbed the barrels in Hoppes 9, CLR, Copper Cutter, Kroil, soaking with solvent then using JB Borepaste plus several other solvents I had on hand and let them sit for varying periods of time. Again, some luck but not much. The best method I found for a heavily leaded barrel was to plug the end of the barrel and fill it with Kroil. Let it sit for a day or two then scrub with Copper Choreboy. More labor intensive but it came out. I found that soaking with Kroil then using JB on all but the heaviest leading seems to work fine. Heavier leading got the 2 day soak. If you do not have much kroil on hand, swab the barrel then put it in a plastic sandwich bag to keep it from drying out. The key is the Kroil.

I've tried this last method a couple of times and have found that unless the barrel is caked on wetting a patch with Kroil and then a Choreboy/JB Borepaste scrubbing after letting it sit for a few hours or overnight works well. Only the heaviest leading from a reloading mistake such as using unlubed boolits by accident calls for the full barrel of Kroil/2 day soak method.

[trapper9260]

In the past I had got some factory ammo for my 44mag redhawk before I was set up to do reloading again because of moven around so much at the time and it was lead bullets for the factory ammo and after i was done shooting it my barrel lead up bad and I read in the Lyman 3ed cast bullet handbook and it said of 2 ways to remove the leading and one is to shoot jacket bullets in it and the other if I remember right is to scrub it.Well I did the jacket bullet round and it clean it all all and just had the copper to deal with and there was not much and after that I did not get any more of that lead factory ammo and I just cast my own after and no more problems with leading.

[tazman]

The easiest way I have found to clean a heavily leaded barrel is to soak the inside of the barrel in automatic transmission fluid for 20-30 minutes then use a tight patch or chore boy to clean out the mess.
I used a soaked patch to coat the inside of the barrel thoroughly. The ATF seems to loosen/lift the lead so that it come out relatively easily.
My worst case was I had to do this 3 times to get it all. The barrel was leaded the entire length that time.

[Toymaker]

Toluene, Xylene, Acetone, carb cleaner, etc are just as dangerous as mercury without proper safety precautions. Birchwood Casey Lead Removal Cloth, Pb Blaster, Kroil, transmission fluid, etc. all work to various degrees. The response that notes pitting from the hydrogen peroxide/vinegar is useful information. Hydrogen peroxide is an oxidizing agent; oxidize steel and you get rust. You already have success with CR-10 and elbow grease. Are you looking for a faster way? A more complete removal? A less elbow grease way?

I'll use the Casey's Lead Removal cloth or KG cleaning products or mercury depending on my mood, the amount of leading and where it is.

[btroj]

Never had leading I couldn't remove with chore boy or 4 aught steel wool and a brush. I don't use any solvent other than to clean things up once I get the leading gone.

Best way to remove leading is with a healthy application of this.

http://i1348.photobucket.com/albums/p733/Btroj/imagejpg1_zps877c0950.jpg (http://s1348.photobucket.com/user/Btroj/media/imagejpg1_zps877c0950.jpg.html)

[Bucking the Tiger]

I second the use of Kano Kroil. It will not break the lead down; it gets under it and loosens it. Kroil has been my barrel cleaner for years and thousands of lead bullets.
I soak the barrel with a wet patch, scrub it 10 or so times with a bore brush, and let it soak in while I clean the rest of the gun. This will take all but the most stubborn lead out. I repeat if needed.

[Shiloh]

I've read that mercury works. That was my answer in the thread a week or two ago.

About this very subject. Read back a page or two.

Mercury is a deadly poison, particularly the oxide. I've read that lead does not amalgamate with it very well, and you can get mercury permanently infused into the barrel steel.

Shiloh

[Petrol & Powder]

I'm not a big fan of removing lead with chemicals. I totally agree with MtnGun44, lead is not very chemically active and most of the home remedies to "dissolve" lead are complete bunk. I do like using Kroil and bore brush when cleaning barrels but the Kroil is an aid to a mechanical process; it doesn't chemically dissolve the lead.
Now, Copper is a different story. Copper CAN easily be chemically dissolved and there are a lot of solvents out there that work beautifully for removing copper fouling.

So: 1. Avoid leading the barrel in the first place!
2. Mechanical processes such as; the Lewis Lead remover, Chore Boy, plain ol' elbow grease....work fine for lead.
3. Copper fouling and Lead fouling aren't the same thing.

[btroj]

There are chemicals or combinations that will dissolve lead. Issue is that those same things are likely to dissolve bits of your bore at the same time.

I agree on mechanical means for removing lead being the only way.

[Petrol & Powder]

There are chemicals or combinations that will dissolve lead. Issue is that those same things are likely to dissolve bits of your bore at the same time.
..........


I've got good news and bad news:
The good news is I've developed the worlds strongest acid, it will dissolve anything!
What's the bad news?
I can't find anything to store it in! ;)

[d garfield]

I use Krol and nylon brush, have no problem.

[Shiloh]

There are chemicals or combinations that will dissolve lead. Issue is that those same things are likely to dissolve bits of your bore at the same time.

I agree on mechanical means for removing lead being the only way.

+1

Acetic acid will dissolve lead. It will also attack your barrel steel. It turns lead into lead acetate. Sugar of lead, pure poison.

Shiloh

[Tatume]

Mercury is a deadly poison, particularly the oxide.


Acetic acid will dissolve lead. It will also attack your barrel steel. It turns lead into lead acetate. Sugar of lead, pure poison.

Agree 100% with both. Another point to consider: what will we do with these poisons afterwards? The problems we create are often left for our children to solve.

[tazman]

The poisons and corrosiveness involved with trying to dissolve lead deposits are a good part of the reason I use oils to loosen leading as opposed to dissolving it. Oil doesn't normally attack the firearm metal.
I understand that oil can be an enviromental problem in it's own right. I use such small quantities that i don't believe it will be an issue.

[jonp]

Agree 100% with both. Another point to consider: what will we do with these poisons afterwards? The problems we create are often left for our children to solve.

I dumped it into my herb garden to water the herbs......:holysheep

Kroil, as has been pointed out, does not dissolve the lead. It gets under it and makes it easier to get out. Seems to work well.

[ryan28]

I did a little testing with the vinegar peroxide blend awhile back. I put a sharp wood chisel in a glass of this stuff for about 3 hours. The area exposed to the solution was etched, and the edge looked serrated.
This may not prove much, but it was good enough for me.

[Shiloh]

I dumped it into my herb garden to water the herbs......:holysheep

Kroil, as has been pointed out, does not dissolve the lead. It gets under it and makes it easier to get out. Seems to work well.

Kroil will creep under lead spray on the top strap and near the pivot by the yoke. Over night and it cleaned up very easy.


I did a little testing with the vinegar peroxide blend awhile back. I put a sharp wood chisel in a glass of this stuff for about 3 hours. The area exposed to the solution was etched, and the edge looked serrated.
This may not prove much, but it was good enough for me.

What more do you need to know?? It will attack your barrel the same way.

Shiloh

[.22-10-45]

I didn't see turpentine mentioned..several years back at our schuetzen society rimfire match, one fellow was using pure turp..said it was best thing for lead..you could hear that patch squeeling thru that bore at the other end of line..never tried it myself though.

[Jtarm]

Aren't you a smart boy?

I bought a Barsto to replace it after the witches brew incident, not before.

I find it interesting to note that given your IQ, you would replace a barrel rather than attempt to clean it first.

Yep. Smart boy!

Smart enough to know sarcasm when I read it. Oh, sorry, is that's too many syllables for you? Dang, there I go with those multi-syllable words again.

Oh well, get someone to read it (slowly) to you and explain what those pesky long words mean.

[waksupi]

Smart enough to know sarcasm when I read it. Oh, sorry, is that's too many syllables for you? Dang, there I go with those multi-syllable words again.

Oh well, get someone to read it (slowly) to you and explain what those pesky long words mean.

Snark doesn't travel far on this board, applies to both of you.

[sw282]

l guess l have a little lead problem too. lts even dripping off the end of my barrel. Literally!! This here 629 Magnum Hunter has this 'dildo' looking brake on the end with lots of holes. Bits of lead hanging off these holes like water on a drippy faucett..Thought about taking the brake off but its actually a nut that holds the barrel and shroud the gun.

[sw282]

http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product4_750001_750051_785507_-1_775662_775655_757896_ProductDisplayErrorView_Y


See all those holes in the brake...


282

[Harter66]

282 yours is a perfect example for an ultrasonic cleaner of Kroil or Hoppes .
Just pull the grips and toss it in . I had a 9mm bbl do that once . Turned out it had several layers of copper over lead over copper . The bbl in the cleaner would fuzz stuff up inside until it looked like sundae sprinkles, it took about 4 trips at 30 a pass to get it all. Every other deep clean I run a copper solvent patch or 2 , I still get a strip or 2 of blue but not enough to worry about.

[Tatume]

I have a Smith M625 that was Magna-Ported. It developed lead buildup like you describe. At first I was worried about how to clean it, and out of curiosity plucked at it with a knife point. The lead popped right off!

[Patrick L]

The only leading that required more than just the lightest brushing was the lead build up in the compensator on my Wilson .45ACP comp gun. I actually scraped it out with a small chisel!

All bore leading has always been minor. I pass a dry bore brush through the bore right at the range while any fouling is still fresh. Usually brushes right out. Occasionally I'll follow up at home with a wet brush with either Ed's Red, Kroil, or even just plain kerosene to clean any residual stuff, but that's it.

[duckey]

cadilo

Thanks for the heads up! I haven't used this solution since the leading issue, and can't see any pitting in the barrel, it still shoots fine. I'll try something else for leading, thanks!

[ballistim]

Ed's Red, or Kroil, Chore Boy copper pads or bronze wool.