Copper solvent

[Denver]

Anyone have a favorite copper solvent? Midsouth offers Hoppes Bench Rest-9, Butch's Bore Shine, and Shooters Choice Copper Remover. Couldn't find Sweets 7.62 in there.

Thanks, Denver :)

[waksupi]

Anyone have a favorite copper solvent? Midsouth offers Hoppes Bench Rest-9, Butch's Bore Shine, and Shooters Choice Copper Remover. Couldn't find Sweets 7.62 in there.

Thanks, Denver :)

I use Blue Goop. Get some janitor grade ammonia, and put a piece of copper wire in it, until the mix turns blue. DOn't know what the copper does to the solution, but is standard in bench rest circles. Felix can probably tell us why.

[klausg]

I've tried all of those except Butch's, heard good things about that one though. I'm always up for a new solvent, but I guess it depends on how badly fouled my barrel is. When it's really ugly I use JB's Bore Compound, minor league ugly Barnes CR-10 or Sweet's, (Which I think are nothing more than slightly diluted ammonia). If you're using either Barnes or Sweet's don't use a bronze brush as it will give you a false blue patch, and I tend to think that the stuff will start to eat your brush if left on too long. Call me old school but for everyday cleaning I still really like Hoppe's #9. So if I had to pick one of the three from Mid-South it'd probably be Butch's, since I haven't tried it yet, however both the Hoppes BR and Shooter's Choice work; I find them better than #9, not as good as Barnes or Sweet's. Just my .02.

-SSG Klaus

[Larry Gibson]

Anyone have a favorite copper solvent? Midsouth offers Hoppes Bench Rest-9, Butch's Bore Shine, and Shooters Choice Copper Remover. Couldn't find Sweets 7.62 in there.

Thanks, Denver :)

I like Sweet's, a small bottle lasts a long time. Sweet's works most of the time but for really stubborn copper fouling I dip a bore brush into a 1-3 mix of JB's and GI bore cleaner (Hoppe's does as well). 5-10 passes down the bore with that does the trick. A patch or two with WD-40 on it removes the JBs completely from the bore.

As to Butch's; you can get the larger bottle for around $20 or you can stop by your GMC/Chevrolet dealer and get a bottle of GM "Top Engine Cleaner" for about $5. It is the exact same thing, check the labels. You can fill the empty Butch's bottle up and still have some left over for 1/4 the cost. I like to use it when I've shot corrosive ammo in milsurp rifles.

I've about 1 1/2 gallons of old Army GI bore cleaner left (pre M16) and use it mostly to clean after cast bullet shooting. It works as well or better than anything else I've tried over the years. Hoppe's #9 is a close second. I mix it with JBs as mentioned above for stubborn copper fouling also.

I keep reading about all these modern (read that "new") high speed low drag cleaners that do everything but wash windows. I try them but keep going back to my simple cleaning regimen and to what has worked (read that "really" works) and still works. Some clean just as well but are much more expensive (like Butch's) but I've not found any that clean better than Sweet's, GM Top Engine cleaner, old GI bore cleaner or Hoppe's #9.

Larry Gibson

[Beau Cassidy]

I have really come to like Butch's a lot. I am a little skittish about using it on my airweight Smith so I stick to Hoppe's or Break-Free on it. For copper cleaning at the range I use either Sweet's or Shooter's Choice. 6 in 1 hand- 1/2 dozen in the other. For a good, down to the metal completely zeroe'd out barre cleaning, I soak them overnight in Wipe-Out. It is the eighth wonder of the world. It makes you realize how much you THOUGHT you had your barrel clean.

Beau

[NVcurmudgeon]

I like Butch's the best of those I have used, it is now my standard Jacketed bullet bore cleaner. For cast boolits I have gone back to Hoppe's No. 9. Hoppe's seems to clean very well and nothing else makes my shop smell so good! This may be heresy, but I don't think Ed's Red cleans very well. I use it without acetone as I use it indoors, maybe the acetone is necessary to get the most out of Ed's Red.

[Bent Ramrod]

Day in/day out I use Hoppe's #9. However, Shooter's Choice seems to work a little quicker on copper (i.e., hours to days vs. days to weeks for Hoppe's #9). But when I really want the copper gone it's Sweet's to the rescue. It's loaded with ammonia and seems to have a thickener in there too, to make it cling to surfaces rather than run off.

Don't know why the addition of copper wire to aqueous ammonia to make a copper solvent out of it. I know the Sweet's is working when the patches change color from yellow to blue. The copper fouling is complexed and dissolved by the ammonia; adding copper wire at the outset needlessly uses up some of this complexing ability, and masks the effect, since the patches start out blue in the first place. My patches are yellow as I swab through the bore, then I give it ten or fifteen minutes. If the bore is seriously fouled, the patches are then typically a good blue for a couple of reswabbings and waiting periods. When the blue patches turn to light green, I know I'm either near the end of the copper fouling or it's time for another dose of powder solvent to expose fresh copper surface.

Don't leave Sweet's in the bore. I've left Hoppe's and Shooter's Choice in there, but Sweet's will attack steel if left long enough. It also attacks bronze bore brushes, so brush quick, note the extra blue from the bronze dissolving, and clean the brush in water as soon as possible.

[Vegas Vince]

I been using Hoppe's #9 since the 60's. If the copper get to bad I use Hoppe's Copper Solvent or Sweet's. :-D The wife thinks it's after shave.

Vince

[Dale53]

Ed's Red is NOT Ed's Red without the acetone. It takes ALL of it to work as intended (with the exception of Lanolin). You don't eat your cornflakes without milk, do you?:roll:

I have been using Ed's Red for many years and am VERY happy with it.

Dale53

[danski26]

For copper I like sweets 7.62. It has worked the best for me.

[Denver]

Thanks for the info guys. Looked again in MidSouth and danged if I didn't find Sweets, Barnes and Wipe-Out. I'll order up some Sweets and check at the GM store to see if they have the Top Engine cleaner stuff.

Denver :Fire:

[sundog]

Ed's Red WITH acetone. No ammonia. No lanolin. Stuff works good. Chanelle, ooops, Hoppe's No. 9 - been using it since I was a kid. And for copper, Hoppe's Bench Rest. sundog

[Char-Gar]

I have used the Hoppe's Benchrest, Shooter's choice Copper, and Sweet's 7.62. Sweets has always worked faster than the others and that is why I use it. I wouldn't be without it.

I use Ed's Red for powder and Sweets for metal

[PatMarlin]

For barrel breakin I use sweets, and condom bullets.

For old heavy copper fouling I use Foul Out electronic.

I use Ballistol exclusively now for everything. Lead and copper bore cleaning, gun cleaning, gun lube, stock and rubber, and as moose milk for Black Powder.

It is an amazing product, and don't need to use anything else anymore.. :drinks:

[Shepherd2]

Ed's Red with lanolin is my general purpose solvent. It doesn't have that strong an odor. Certainly not as aromatic as Hoppe's No. 9 but not objectionable. I can barely detect the acetone in it. I believe the acetone is the key ingredient.

I've got Sweet's, Butch's and a bunch of other solvents for copper but the one I use about 99% of the time is TM Solution from Sinclair Int'l. It doesn't have ammonia so you can leave it in the bore forever. I've noticed something like paraffin around the neck of the bottle. It may be used like the lanolin in Ed's Red to adhere to the bore. I like it because I can swab the bore and walk away without worrying about being back in 15 minutes to swab it back out.

I have had my eye out for some WipeOut. I've been wanting to try it. I guess I'm a cleaning solvent junkie. Always looking for something better.

[buck1]

I use EDS RED for cast but Shooters choice for jacketed. It seems to clean better than Than #9 , but it dont smell the same! ....Buck

[klausg]

Gang,

For the longest time I thought I was the only one who used #9 as aftershave.

-SSG Klaus

[Pilgrim]

The reason you put a piece of copper wire in the industrial grade ammonia is the ammonia doesn't attack the copper as quickly in the normal valence state. The addition of the copper wire changes the valence state of the ammonia and it is MUCH more aggressive in removing the copper.

Wipe out appears to be the real deal. I've used it a couple of times now and think I may have found the "at home" bore cleaner.

As far as the "copper removers" as such, I think Sweets is the fastest, then Butch's, Shooters choice, CR-10,...the last of the heap appears (IMO) to be Hoppe's Benchrest. You can't beat the odor of straight #9, and I use it upon occasion just for the smell. Ed's Red, followed by a copper remover (usually Butch's) is what I use at the BR matches. Ed's Red seems to remove the powder fouling faster than anything else I've tried.

I think I've got about all of 'em, including the Rem Oil/Rem clean, M-Pro 7 and I don't recall how many more of 'em on the bench. FWIW...Pilgrim

[XRING363]

Any ideas about removing cupro-nickel fouling from old war relics?

[klausg]

XRING- I did my old Krag w/ Shooter's Choice, but this was way before some of the other stuff was on the market. I would think that an Outer's Foul-Out electronic system would be the best bet, maybe PatMarlin would know better.

-SSG Klaus

[Bucks Owin]

I've used good ol' great smelling Hoppes #9 for more than 40 years. I tried Butch's Bore Shine briefly but didn't see that it was any better than #9 and seemed to me as if the barrel looked sort of "etched" after an overnight soak with BBS. Maybe I was using it wrong...

My method with #9 is to run patches through the bore until it seems "clean" and then run a sloppy wet patch through to wet the bore really well. Then I stand the gun muzzle down overnight with the muzzle resting on a patch or piece of cloth. Next day a patch run through the bore will be green with dissolved copper fouling. If the barrel is badly copper fouled (as in a used gun purchased with years of neglect) I will repeat this treatment each day until all fouling is gone. It's "slow but sure"....

Guns stored with Hoppes #9 in the bore have stayed protected for months on end so I see no reason to switch brands...(And lose that great "banana" smell!) ;-)

FWIW,

Dennis

BTW, I forgot to mention that if the bore is pretty bad I'll dig out the JB bore paste. Good stuff!

[BABore]

I picked up a 15 oz can of GM "Top Engine Cleaner" yesterday and used some last night. Compared it to my BBS. Can't tell the difference. Cost me $7.26. Yahoo!

I use Ed's Red for lead and general purpose cleaning. BBS and Shooters Choice copper remover for minor fouling then progress to JB/Kroil as needed. If this doesn't do it I plug in the Foul Out.

[Larry Gibson]

Gang,

For the longest time I thought I was the only one who used #9 as aftershave.

-SSG Klaus


After shave???? I give a large bottle to the wife every Christmas and Mothers Day! She found it works a lot better than that Chanel #5 stinky stuff!!! I can cuddle all night with her with Hoppe's and have sweet dreams......

Larry Gibson

[Larry Gibson]

Any ideas about removing cupro-nickel fouling from old war relics?

I've shot a lot of it, mostly 8mm nowdays, over the years. Of course the powder fouling is cleaned out with GMTEC or GI bor cleaner first. Then I use the 1-3 mix of JBs and bore cleaner. It makes for a thick liquid and one dip of the bore brush in it and about 10 passes through the bore takes the cupro-nickel fouling out. A couple wet patches to clean the JB/bore cleaner out followed by a couple wet with WD-40 and the bore is cleaned. The WD gets all the residue out particularly with frosted or pitted bores.

I then oil the bore with Kroil as the ammo is corrosive. Sounds more involved and time consuming than it it really is. Goes quick, is easy to do and it works.

Larry Gibson

[JudgeBAC]

I got into surplus guns in the last year and they really challenge cleaning solutions. I too grew up using Hoppes No. 9 then migrated to Shooters Choice which worked well in most applications. During my 1000 yd benchrest days I switched to a cleaning regimine I read somewhere using shooters choice followed by Sweets and Kroil. At the time I was shooting moly coated bullets. When I bought my first surplus rifle, I discovered most normal cleaners simply didnt work as advertised. I then tried TM solutions from Sinclair and have been very pleased with the results. For lead you cant beat Montanna Extreme Cowboy blend. After shooting many cast bullets at a cowboy shoot, I tried other products followed by Cowboy blend and previously clean patches would come out with lead stuck to them after using the cowboy blend. It obvioulsy works as advertised. On etching, a gunsmith acquaintence of mine says it is an urban legend. He has built many benchrest guns including 1000yd guns and tells me he has borescoped hundreds before and after cleaning which includes plugging the breach and leaving solutions in the barrells for days. He claims to have never seen an etched bore with a borescope no matter which cleaning solution you use. Food for thought or argument as the case may be. I also use Ballistol when shooting black powder. This is the darndest stuff I have ever used. You put any cleaner/lubricant to the test when you shoot cowboy matches with two 1858 Remingtons using black powder. I only shoot them once a year but using ballistol I have completed two 6 stage matches without a hitch. Afterwards you mix Ballistol 50/50 with water to clean then follow 100% strength as a lubricant and preservative.