Best tool or solvent to remove leading?

[AZPaul]

What is your best technique for removing lead in the barrel?
:brokenima

[twotrees]

It used to be put a rubber stopper in the end of the barrel and pour it full of mercury, let it sit over night and pour it out. One patch and all the lead was gone.

No-days you need to find a Copper (Real copper) Chore Boy pad. Strip some off and wind it around an waorn out bore bruse and go at it.

There are Electrical de-platers that wil do it, but plain ol' elbow grease and a bit of time will get you there.

Good Cleaning(?)

[AZPaul]

It used to be put a rubber stopper in the end of the barrel and pour it full of mercury, let it sit over night and pour it out. One patch and all the lead was gone.

No-days you need to find a Copper (Real copper) Chore Boy pad. Strip some off and wind it around an waorn out bore bruse and go at it.

There are Electrical de-platers that wil do it, but plain ol' elbow grease and a bit of time will get you there.

Good Cleaning(?)

Mercury?

[Rex]

Actually it doesn't bother me to use a little 0000 steel wool on my bore.
Rex

[Firebricker]

For solvent definately Ed's Red. FB

[chris in va]

Maybe I'm doing it wrong, but haven't had much luck with that 'chore boy' method. It still leaves large slivers of hardened lead in my barrels.

[Recluse]

Ed's Red and 4-0 steel wool.

:coffee:

[Charlie Sometimes]

White Vinegar and Peroxide- IIRC 50/50.
I'd have to look it up to be sure- I don't have that happen very often.

I never had any luck with the chore boys either.

[geargnasher]

Bronze brush wrapped in 0000 steel wool, THEN wrapped with at least two full layers of Chore boy pad, soaked in your favorite bore cleaner. 20-30 strokes and patch out, done.

Also, if you can find one, the (IIRC) Outers "Foul out" bronze screen patches work well too.

Gear

[geargnasher]

Actually it doesn't bother me to use a little 0000 steel wool on my bore.
Rex

Me either. I've used it to apply and polish cold blueing, as well as to polish rust specks on old neglected guns. It takes an enormous amount of scrubbing to even impart a polish on hardened steel, much less scratch it. Worst thing that could happen using it in your bore is it might actually smooth up any little burrs in there, but even that would take a lot more than a few strokes.

Gear

[shotman]

try the Kroil over night wet the bore and cover or stick a plug in it over night
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE

[mastercast.com]

Folks,

YOU MIGHT WANT TO READ THE MATERIAL SAFETY DATA SHEETS WITH REGARD TO SOLVENTS!

MEK: methyl ethyal keytone? WOW!

Solvents will kill you if used improperly.

[JIMinPHX]

These days, I patch with Hoppies for a few passes first to get the powder residue out. Then I dry patch a few times. Then I wet patch with Kroil & let it sit for a half hour or so. that seems to loosen up the lead slivers pretty good. After that, it's normal cleaning with brushes, patches & a little more Hoppies.

In the past, I've used Lead-Away cloth. I've also used the ammonia & electrode trick on barrels that were REALLY bad, like when I buy a used gun from someone who must not have owned a cleaning rod.

[twotrees]

It amalgams with the lead and the mixture comes right out.


But then ya get mercury poison.

[zomby woof]

Chore-boy DRY!!!! Comes right out.

[runfiverun]

i just shoot it out with some good loads,you can actually watch the leeading move down the bbl after each cylinder full.
i purposely leaded up a couple of bbls and tried different loads and lubes to test how they were working. and could see the leading coming down the bbl after each cylinder full.

[blikseme300]

I use 1 of 2 methods depending on the patient.

For wheel guns I use elbow grease, solvent and chore boy.

For semi-autos I mix 50/50 of pickling vinegar and hydrogen peroxide and the place the degreased barrel upright into the mix. I use a small mason jar so I can watch the chemical reaction. Warning, some people have reported that their barrels were damaged (pitted) when doing this but I have yet to see this happen. Be warned that the black sludge that comes out is very toxic so wash your hands well if you do this.

Comment: The best way is, of course, to shoot boolits that do not lead.:?

Happy new year.

Bliksem

http://bliksemseplek.com/boolits.html

[ghh3rd]

It used to be put a rubber stopper in the end of the barrel and pour it full of mercury, let it sit over night and pour it out. One patch and all the lead was gone.

I just took four 1lb glass vials of mercury to the chemical disposal site. My father used it for dental work many years ago. I was always afraid I'd get hit by a hurricane and that mercury would be spread all over the place.

I would have been interesting to see how it cleaned a gun barrel but don't know if the handling risks would have been worth it.

Randy

[Cloudpeak]

Dry Chore Boy works well for me in handguns. I have no experience with how it works in rifles.

The most important thing to do is to find out why you're getting leading. I have essentially no leading problems in my 45 1911's but have a little work to do on my 9mm loads as I do get leading after 100 rounds or so. Not bad but enough to bug me.

[Three44s]

I would alternate between chore boy and the lewis lead remover ...........

....... and Kroil.



Then, to slow it's return ........ study bullet fitament:

http://www.beartoothbullets.com/bulletselect/index.htm



And, polish the bore ........ then treat with the likes of CorrosionX to give it the "Pam" effect.



Three 44s

[JIMinPHX]

Mercury gets absorbed directly through the skin. If you do decide to use it, wear rubber gloves.

[Marvin S]

I like the Lewis lead removers. But I have seen the mercury work as my dad was in the scrap metal-salvage business and we had lots of it from scrapping AmTrak railroad cars and such. Just how bad this stuff actually was I don't know. Was it any worse than all of the asbestos that was there?
I would think that all of the solvents that are may not be to good for you either. Someone mentions MEK in a previous post and the USAF still uses this and I am very careful with it as it stores in you're liver.
Maybe try to avoid the heavy leading in the first place and remove it before it gets bad and you have a big mess to deal with. One thing I do is run a patch with wonder lube or mink grease on it through the bore before I start shooting. I think this helps.

[looseprojectile]

I just drive a dry tight cotton patch through. One pass. Lead is on the patch. Works on rifles and handguns.

Life is good

[Halfbreed]

Another vote for chore boy and hoppes, works like a charm, and nothing dry scrubbing the bbl. This works for my heavy pistol loads and my rifle load in my 458 winnie. Now I just need to get Pat Marlins gc maker for a group buy mold that has a too tight gas check shank. Guaranteed the last lee gb mold for me. Or get a mold from one of our great makers here, yea I like that too.
John

[454PB]

At the cleaning bench, slug the barrel, the leading will be pushed out.

At the range, fire a gas checked boolit, or a very lightly loaded PB boolit. Works the same as slugging and pushes the lead out.

[MtGun44]

Depends entirely on the level of leading.

Minimal, scrub with a NEW brass brush for a couple minutes.

Medium, use a Lewis Lead remover with the little brass screens, really works great.

Heavy, break out the foul-out electroplater. Makes a seriously PITA chore into
about 1 hour of nothing.

As to the mercury absorbed thru the skin claim. Any source for this info? Doesn't
sound right to me, but I'm no expert. Trying to learn, but want to be sure I am
learning something that is correct.

I played with mercury lots of times when I was a kid. No apparent effects.

Once I figured out what the heck was going on with casting, fitting boolits, good
lubes, etc. I have not cleaned out a leaded barrel literally in years. I shoot many
thousands of rounds of cast each year, near zero leading. Occasionally get to the
'minimal' above when shooting commercial cast in one of my 1911s with a less than
super smooth bore. Other than that, zero leading that needs cleaning beyond normal
brush and patch.

Bill

[Dframe]

Nothing faster or better than a Lewis Lead Remover. I usually follow up with bronze brushes and a bore protectant.

[outdoorfan]

As to the mercury absorbed thru the skin claim. Any source for this info? Doesn't
sound right to me, but I'm no expert. Trying to learn, but want to be sure I am
learning something that is correct.

Bill

Have no clue other than what I heard on TV a long time ago when it was announced that some scientist had died due to Mercury poisening. She always wore gloves, but they weren't thick enough or the right material. It reached a fatally toxic level in her body, amd then it was lights out. I remember this even though that reprt must have been a good 16 or so years ago. But you can't necessarily trust what you hear on TV, as sometimes it's for the pure purpose of dissolutionment & propaganda.

OTOH, a local recycler, a gentleman in his 60's, told me that as a kid he played with mercury in his bare hands and suffered no known ill effects from it.

[prickett]

Heavy, break out the foul-out electroplater. Makes a seriously PITA chore into about 1 hour of nothing.

+1 to the Outer's Foul Out.

I'm new to casting and ran into leading for the first time 2 weeks ago. I've used the unit 2 weeks ago and again last week. Both times it got the bore mirror clean (with NO elbow grease required!!!!)

It's been a life saver. I spend enough time cleaning guns already. This thing does it for you.

[MtGun44]

On toxic stuff I seriously doubt the ordinary media without backup. I have seen SOOO
much stuff that is wrong that I do not trust them any more on anything that counts
for much or that they will lie about intentionally like politics or guns or something.

I, too, played with mercury with bare hands, rubbed it into silver coins (makes them
REALLY shiny and slick due to the liquid surface until it absorbes into the metal after a
few hours) and generally treated it non-chalantly. No ill effects other than I have
had trouble focussing close as I passed 45 yrs old. ;-) Well, most of my hair fell out
after I turned 50, too. Must be the mercury.

Bill

[JIMinPHX]

As to the mercury absorbed thru the skin claim. Any source for this info?

A few MSDS sheets -

http://www.jtbaker.com/msds/englishhtml/M1599.htm

http://fscimage.fishersci.com/msds/96252.htm

http://www.sciencelab.com/xMSDS-Mercury-9927224

http://www.espi-metals.com/msds%27s/mercury.pdf

[outdoorfan]

On toxic stuff I seriously doubt the ordinary media without backup. I have seen SOOO
much stuff that is wrong that I do not trust them any more on anything that counts
for much or that they will lie about intentionally like politics or guns or something. So true!

I, too, played with mercury with bare hands, rubbed it into silver coins (makes them
REALLY shiny and slick due to the liquid surface until it absorbes into the metal after a
few hours) and generally treated it non-chalantly. No ill effects other than I have
had trouble focussing close as I passed 45 yrs old. ;-) Well, most of my hair fell out
after I turned 50, too. Must be the mercury. LOL!!

Bill

-----

[MtGun44]

Interesting. One of the MSDS sheets says "Skin Contact:
Causes irritaton and burns to skin. Symptoms include redness and pain.
May cause skin allergy and sensitization. Can be absorbed through the
skin with symptoms to parallel ingestion. "

I have handled it as a child on at least 3 occasions for hours without any "irritation or
burns to skin", and several siblings and friends, did, too, without any irritation.

I also note that the vapor pressure is .002 mm Hg at 25C. Seems like very little will
vaporize at room temp, so it would seem that you would get very little exposure
via inhalation at room temp.

Now please understand, I am NOT advocating playing with mercury just for fun, but it
does seem to me that we may be exaggerating the dangers nowdays in our ultra
litigious society. I know for an absolute fact that that particular MSDS is definitely
"erring on the safe side" (exaggerating) the immediate risk of skin damage.

I'm going to stay away from the stuff and put it in the same category as standing on
the front seat of my Dad's car as we drove down the road at 70 mph when I was
5 yrs old. I did it then, got away with it, but sure wouldn't do it today or let someone
else do it, now that I know better.

I sure not going to use it for cleaning lead out of a barrel !!!!!

Oh, and thanks to Jim for the MSDS info. I now know to be sure to stay away from it
and not to handle it lightly, unlike when I was an ignorant kid.

Bill

[jimb16]

I just use a small square of copper window screen over a solvent soaked patch on the cleaning jag. Make it nice and tight and where possible, feed from the breech end. The lead sticks to the copper and it comes out in slivers stuck to the copper screen.

[Marlin Hunter]

White Vinegar and Peroxide- IIRC 50/50.



I think someone mentioned that using those fluids will create lead acetate with can easily be absorbed into the skin.

[Recluse]

Folks,

YOU MIGHT WANT TO READ THE MATERIAL SAFETY DATA SHEETS WITH REGARD TO SOLVENTS!

Solvents will kill you if used improperly.

So will beer.

:coffee:

[Gelandangan]

So will beer.

:coffee:

So will dihydrogen monoxide aka water :D

[Oldtimer]

Must take a while to reach toxic levels with beer. Been playing with the stuff for 50 years. Sometimes it even gets on my hands and clothes. Bob

[AZPaul]

These days, I patch with Hoppies for a few passes first to get the powder residue out. Then I dry patch a few times. Then I wet patch with Kroil & let it sit for a half hour or so. that seems to loosen up the lead slivers pretty good. After that, it's normal cleaning with brushes, patches & a little more Hoppies.

In the past, I've used Lead-Away cloth. I've also used the ammonia & electrode trick on barrels that were REALLY bad, like when I buy a used gun from someone who must not have owned a cleaning rod.

How do you do the ammonia & electrode trick?

[fourdollarbill]

Another vote for Chore Boy and also "Oh Cedar" brand is pure copper.
I wrap it around a 22 caliber brush until it fits tight into my bore. Then lube it with #9 and scrub away. Takes about 5 to 10 strokes and it spotless.

[sheepdog]

Chore boy FTW.

[KCSO]

Just about any good solvent like Hoppe's and a lot of elbow grease???

I foam the bore and then use JB's bore paste.

[ghh3rd]

http://www.frontiermetalcleaner.com/

I know that I sound like a spokesperson for this stuff, but it worked well for me when I had some bad leading. I tilted the barrel down over some white paper and was surprised at how fast the lead fell from the barrel, and I hadn't even used any solvents.

It's different than chore boy since the edges are purposely sharp to cut through lead, but it's an alloy specific to it's purpose, and is softer than steelwool.


De-leads Bores in Seconds"
To add to the cleaner's versatility, it is extremely effective at removing lead deposits from the bore, and goes a long way toward cleaning copper buildup as well. To use the cleaner on the bore, cut a small piece off the pad with a scissors. Wrap the strands around and through a bore brush, and then run the brush through the bore as usual.

$5 shipped, so you won't be out much if you don't like it.

Good luck.

Randy

[prickett]

How do you do the ammonia & electrode trick?

http://www.surplusrifle.com/reviews/copperout/index.asp

Don't know what metals it works with. The URL contains "copperout" so I'm guessing it works, at least, for copper.

[45-70 Chevroner]

Three44s: has the right idea the lewis lead remover is the gold standard for removing lead.
Check it out on Brownells web site. Lewis was the original maker, and I did not see thier lead remover for sale for quite some time. I just tonight found them listed with Brownells stuff. I was actually looking up cerrosafe and found that Brownells is now making the Lewis. Just type in cerrosafe on google or yahoo and you will wind it.

[AZPaul]

Three44s: has the right idea the lewis lead remover is the gold standard for removing lead.
Check it out on Brownells web site. Lewis was the original maker, and I did not see thier lead remover for sale for quite some time. I just tonight found them listed with Brownells stuff. I was actually looking up cerrosafe and found that Brownells is now making the Lewis. Just type in cerrosafe on google or yahoo and you will wind it.

I have one, I've ran it though a couple times, still leaded.

[mastercast.com]

SOLVENTS


OK, I surrender!

Go ahead and use solvents...any solvent...without knowing what it can do to you. Get you some MEK and play with it.

How about some acetone? Get it on your skin, and it transfers to your internal organs.

Have fun with solvents!

[Recluse]

SOLVENTS


OK, I surrender!

How about some acetone? Get it on your skin, and it transfers to your internal organs.



Wait a second. . .

Acetone is in fingernail polish remover.

And women wear lots of fingernail polish.

But being women. . .

They change colors of fingernail polish on an almost hourly basis.

They use fingernail polish remover to get the old color off, so they can apply the new color.

Fingernail polish remover has acetone in it.

Stands to reason that some acetone seeps in to the woman's skin. . .

And it now explains why so many women are so goofy and have these afflictions to run up credit cards to their fullest limit, but let their gas tanks go all the way to empty, etc etc.

Mike, at your urging and insistence that we be safe and smart, you've also just solved one of our biggest mysteries. :) (And if Mrs. Recluse reads this, the next big mystery will be what happened to Mr. Recluse. She might very well bury me deeper than Jimmy Hoffa.)

Seriously. Most of us, I'd venture to say, exercise due caution and common sense when it comes to such things. Very good thread a while back about using brake cleaner on your moulds, and then having residue reach a dangerously hot temperature--everyone learned a LOT from that one.

But I'm also about quality of life--not quantity. If I die tomorrow, it will be with absolutely zero regrets. I've had a good life, fulfilled almost all of my dreams and goals, and each day I wake up is simply another bonus from God.

I'm not going to be stupid about things, but I'm also not going to be so cautious or timid as to miss out on anything. There are some solvents that have worked very well for me for decades and decades. If they shave a year or two off my life, oh well. I could step off the curb tomorrow and get run over and killed by the beer truck--but I'm not going to stop crossing the street just because one day, I might not see that truck.

Point is, I'm careful, but not prone to obsess over how many more minutes I can add to my body or time on earth. It's not up to me anyhow.

:coffee:

[Crash_Corrigan]

Load up a patch with Kano Kroil oil and saturate the bore. Lay it down for a couple of hours and run thru another. Keep it up for a day or so and all the lead with come out in long strips. That stuff is incredible.

It get between the lead and steel and loosenes it up so you can remove it with a patch.

Less work and more oil. Special this week at Midway USA.

[JDNC]

Chris in VA, make sure you don't have any oils in the bore prior to using. If you do try cleaning with alcohol and patch out prior to using the copper cleaning pad.

[RSOJim]

To remove leading, you don't need a lewis lead remover, kroil oil, hoppes, steel wool, etc. All you need is Big 45 Frontier metal polish. I have written about this before, here. It will not remove blueing, it will not scratch metal, it just works. Wrap a sufficient amount around a brush to make a tight fit in your bore, then about 10 swipes and its all gone, period. Me and my buds have been using it for years.

[acl864]

I've had a Lewis Lead Remover for alot of years. Got tired of buying those little patches and switched to Chore Boy wrapped around a bore brush. Worked OK but was a little more work. I happened to be ordering some stuff from the McMaster-Carr catalog one day and saw they had fine mesh brass screen. I ordered a 12" x 12" pc. for less than $8. Works fine with the Lewis rig and should be a lifetime supply. For $5 I'm going to order one of the Big 45 Metal cleaners. Looks like handy stuff to have around.

[45-70 Chevroner]

AZPaul: I have to tightin up the spud nut that compresses the rubber part until it is quite hard to pull it through. I get long slivers of lead imbeded in the screen. I don't use the lewis until my bore gets some what bad. I shoot in the cowboy shoots and it takes about 4 months to get bad enough to need the lewis. I shoot the Lee 230gr. RN TL unsized. and lubed with LLA. I even use the lewis on my Rossi Mod. 92 lever action also used in the cowboy shoots. It's a little tricky but it works.

[AZPaul]

SOLVENTS


OK, I surrender!

Go ahead and use solvents...any solvent...without knowing what it can do to you. Get you some MEK and play with it.

How about some acetone? Get it on your skin, and it transfers to your internal organs.

Have fun with solvents!

I've used MEK at work for the last 23 years. I think I know what it does.

[mroliver77]

I dropped a pipe wrench down a well casing once. I trying to get it out we borrowed a book on well drilling. It stated " The best way to remove a pipe wrench from a well is to not drop it in there in the first place!" It went on to state that the hole in the handle was not to hang it up but to tie a line to in case it is dropped.
I for one find little need for remover as I dont get leading in my barrels. I am not trying to be a wizenhiemer but with what I have learned about boolit fit leading is a thing of the past. Granted I had some freebie commercial boolits that I tried all my tricks on and still got leading. The chore boy worked perfect for it.
Jay

[mastercast.com]

Fingernail polish remover has a very small amount of acetone in it.

Go to the paint store and buy a can of real acetone..no other additives, just acetone. Whole different story. That stuff can and will kill you if used improperly. Acetone fumes, and acetone on your skin will transfer to your blood stream, and damage kidneys, liver, etc.. Protective equipment needed. Use it without it at your own risk.

[mastercast.com]

What kind of protective gear were you wearing that prevented you from harm? You did not tell us that.

The MEK that we get here, is really a HOT solvent. It requires a respirator, protective clothing, and gloves to prevent harm. It is so HOT, that a cloth containing it, will remove paint from a car with a single swipe, right down to bare metal. I will NOT USE IT here.

[Marcus the Cat]

Now I have no experience with cleaning after shooting a cast lead bullet (or boolit ;)) but what I do with my AK's after shooting WOLF ammo is, get this...

Boil water in a tea kettle then pour it boiling hot down the bore. After 3 pours I sit down and clean it normally with a patch, solvent and brush. But after the hot water treatment the barrel is basically cleaned. You wouldn't believe how well it works, that is unless you already use this technique. I heard about this a year ago on another forum and thought the guy must be off his rocker. Then I tried it and was amazed..!

[JIMinPHX]

So will beer.

:coffee:

I wish to contest that statement!
:drinks:

[JIMinPHX]

How do you do the ammonia & electrode trick?

It's a poor man's version of the Outer's foul out gizmo. It's a little on the strong side, so I only use it in extreme cases. Basically, you plug up the chamber end of the barrel with a rubber plug, then insert a steel rod inside the barrel, making sure that the rod does not make electrical contact with the barrel. I use a bunch of small O-rings around the rod to keep them from touching. Then you pour high strength ammonia into the barrel & fill it up. Then you connect a DC voltage across the barrel & the rod. I forget the correct polarity. I'll have to look it up when I get home. I think that it's barrel negative, but I could be wrong. I use a 9-volt battery for the power source. I put it through a potentiometer (variable resistor) & then put an ammeter in series with it. I set it for about 10 ma & then let it cook away for a while. The current should stay steady for a while, like 20 minutes to 2 hours, depending on how bad the barrel was. When the current changes by about 3 or 4 ma, then I stop & clean the barrel normally. If you let it go too long, you can ruin the barrel.

I'm cleaning a gun now that may be a candidate for this trick. I've been cleaning it for over a week & today's patches still look like this -

[Recluse]

Fingernail polish remover has a very small amount of acetone in it.

Go to the paint store and buy a can of real acetone..no other additives, just acetone. Whole different story. That stuff can and will kill you if used improperly. Acetone fumes, and acetone on your skin will transfer to your blood stream, and damage kidneys, liver, etc.. Protective equipment needed. Use it without it at your own risk.

Sorry, I was just making a (bad) joke about acetone and goofy womens' behavior--I thought maybe we'd found a reason for it. :)

I'm familiar with real acetone. I worked with it and around it every day for twenty years in my career. Took reasonable precautions, but not draconian ones. Often times didn't use gloves due to being in a rush or behind deadline, etc. Dumb, I know, but that's just how things were twenty years ago.

Because I cast, reload and shoot quite a bit, and take a medication high in acetaminophen I have my blood tested regularly and thoroughly every six months. Liver and kidney functions are square in the normal range. Not saying there are not dangers, but saying, again, that reasonable behavior and common sense allows us to utilize things on this planet to our advantage without being to our detriment.

Ed's Red is 25% real acetone, and I doubt too many people wear gloves while cleaning their guns. Kerosene in that formula too, which can be bad for you, along with transmission fluid. But you only use a little, and most people don't clean guns all day, every day.

Moderation is key.

:coffee:

[prickett]

I'm cleaning a gun now that may be a candidate for this trick. I've been cleaning it for over a week & today's patches still look like this -

Does this work for both lead and copper?

[JIMinPHX]

I've only used it for copper, but I'm told that it also works for lead.

[AZPaul]

What kind of protective gear were you wearing that prevented you from harm? You did not tell us that.

The MEK that we get here, is really a HOT solvent. It requires a respirator, protective clothing, and gloves to prevent harm. It is so HOT, that a cloth containing it, will remove paint from a car with a single swipe, right down to bare metal. I will NOT USE IT here.

Heck here in Tucson I've seen it at Lowes.
I just use it in a unclosed area with gloves.

[Idahoshooter]

Ive had good results with hoppes benchrest and bronze brush. Funny thing is bullets i cast have not been bad leaders..some cci blazer aluminum cased 44 spc. where complete **** in my ruger. Will never use that junk again. Someone mentioned using hydrogen peroxide..thats a pretty strong oxidizer. I know that common drug store peroxide is something like 3% but it foams (oxidizes) like crazy on a wound. Just wonder if it could cause rusting in a barrel.

[JIMinPHX]

Stronger versions of peroxide are used for rocket fuel. When I made rocket engines that used that type of fuel, the parts were all specified as being made out of stainless & the catalyst screen was platinum with some sort of chemical doping. I don't remember which chemical. Strong solutions of peroxide are indeed dangerous.

Hydrogen peroxide = H2O2 - that's water + 1 oxygen. Yep, it's a strong oxidizer.

[Sagebrush Burns]

Not too much here so far about different solvents. Two that I have found to work well are: M-pro 7 (works well); Montana X-treme Cowboy Blend (works better). Both work better than Hoppes #9 and will get the lead out without having to use abrasives or Lewis lead remover. The real trick, of course, is to use the right bullet shape, alloy, and lube to minimize any leading from the beginning.

[JIMinPHX]

The last gun show I was at, there was some guy hawking some stuff called Gunzilla. He made all kinds of claims about how it was helping to win the war in Afganistan by making all our rifles work better over there & how it was so much better than CLP or any other gun cleaner, & how it also acted as a lube that made the gun run cooler, last longer, shoot straighter, etc, etc, etc. He might have also said that it would walk the dog & take the trash out to the curb for you too. I'm not sure because by the time he got about half way through his speech, I wasn't really paying attention that well anymore. This guy made more promises than old blue lips did back in November. I didn't buy anything from that guy. If anyone else has tried that stuff, I'd like to hear a first hand opinion of how well it worked.

There is some other stuff that I've used, called Wipe Out, that is pretty aggressive, but it's kind of hard to find. You spray it in a barrel. It foams up. You let it sit for a few minutes, then you dry patch, then clean as normal. It's not quite as good as it claims to be, but it does get a lot of stuff out pretty quick.

[Firebricker]

Before I learned abought Eds Red I used Shooters Choice for lead solvent. It's good stuff but pricey. FB

[mastercast.com]

Rocket fuel was 50% Peroxide(In Nazi Germany)....stick your finger in that little mix, draw it back, and all that will be left is bone!



Mike

[JIMinPHX]

I've never stuck my fingers in that stuff, but I have seen what happens when you spill some on the ground. It's a rather vigorous reaction.

Peroxide rockets are actually a very environmentally friendly source of mechanical energy. The byproducts are steam & oxygen.

[Bret4207]

Ed's Red and 4-0 steel wool.

:coffee:

Ditto.

[Spector]

It is better to figure out how to stop leading than to have to remove lead from a bore.

I have removed lead using Choir Boy and it works pretty well I beleive.

I also removed lead using mercury last summer. I lowered a Kahr barrel into it gently. I had it in a medicine bottle. Cleaned half the barrel and then the other half. Didn't take long. I used it outside and placed the medicine bottle in another container in case of a spill. I keep it sealed in an unbreakable container, wrapped in duct tape and that inside another container. I didn't worry about using a rubber stopper in the chamber. I just immersed the whole barrel.

I can't say I recommend it to anyone else, but it worked well for me with no appearent after effects.

I handled mercury as a kid too, in and out of school. In fact I recall our teachers bringing it to class and about 25 students passing it bare hand to bare hand around the class room......on several occasions. The strange thing to me is that on average students scored higher sccres on national tests then than they do now even though they are protected from many more things now from chemicals to bullies. Go figure

My parents used to buy my brother and me salt peter and sulfur and we'd crush our own charcoal to make our black powder for rockets and explosives. I'd grind it all up in a steel coffee can using a valve stem in a drill press. Only one minor incident, blood blisters, when a tiny rocket motor exploded in my hand and that wasn't my black powder, but something I blended that was much more unstable. I was OK until I got too agressive in shaping the charge in the motor.

I just can't imagine giving up everything I enjoy because some say it is ill advised or dangerous. Especially when some seem to think nothing of electing dangerous men and women to political office. And we all have to live with those mistakes......Mike

[ebg3]

My dad told me he used to play with mercury at school and rub it on silver dimes, with bare fingers, because it would make them shiney. It seems like I heard the phrase "Mad as a Hatter" came from hat makers that used a lot of mercury in some process of hat making and after years of exposure they were a little crazy or mad from the mercury poisoning.
I found the Lewis lead remover works very well.

[303Guy]

It is better to figure out how to stop leading than to have to remove lead from a bore.
I have just cleaned out leading I did not know I had from my 303 Brit bore. It first showed up as grey streaks down the rifling lands after storage with Hoppe's # 9 in the bore. I pushed balls of industrial 'Scotch Brite' through the bore. If they went in tight, they took lead flakes and other crud out. Wetting them with Hoppe's #9 worked better. The leading came from gas cutting of poorly fitting paper patched boolits.

As for stopping the leading, well, polishing the bore can only help and 'Scotch Brite' will do that too. I have a fire-lapped, rust damaged bore that doesn't pick up copper fouling from J-words.

[mack1]

I have used wipeout a lot, works well on copper fouling in rifles seems to make lead brush out a little easier but not a magical cure by any means. I leave it in the bore for at least 1 hour, they do make an accelorater that cuts the time in half. Have been using a small sample bottle of gunzilla the fella gave me at the last gunshow he made many clames as well. I do not think it is magic either it does take minor leading out ok and works great on power residue on stainless revolvers.

[Cadillo]

I use 1 of 2 methods depending on the patient.

For wheel guns I use elbow grease, solvent and chore boy.

For semi-autos I mix 50/50 of pickling vinegar and hydrogen peroxide and the place the degreased barrel upright into the mix. I use a small mason jar so I can watch the chemical reaction. Warning, some people have reported that their barrels were damaged (pitted) when doing this but I have yet to see this happen. Be warned that the black sludge that comes out is very toxic so wash your hands well if you do this.

Comment: The best way is, of course, to shoot boolits that do not lead.:?

Happy new year.

Bliksem


http://bliksemseplek.com/boolits.html

Thanks! That worked like a champ for me. I've tried every commercial product I could find and nothing works anywhere nearly as well as the brew you described. Twenty minutes of soaking and the lead brushes right out. No signs of any adverse affect on either my carbon steel or stainless barrels.

Great Remedy! :grin:

[Freischütz]

I've had good results with 50/50 white vinegar and hydrogen peroxide method.

[stubshaft]

KROIL - Soak the bore and either let it sit for awhile and use a tight patch or if it extremely leaded use a bore brush wrapped with Chore Boy.

The only downside to using this method is that it gets the barrel so clean that it takes me about 10 shots to condition the bore again.

[Eagles6]

50/50 peroxide and vinegar works very well. I've used it on stainless with no ill effects. Supposedly not to be used on bluing.

[AKROADKILL]

Soak the barrel in kroil for a day and scrub with a bore brush. I found that works good for me

[trapper9260]

I have seen what was all writtien about what to use to remove the leading . There is one thing I did not see and was in the Lyman cast book that is shoot jacketed bullets then all you have to deal with is the copper . I tell you what it works just good for me when I shot some commercial cast live ammo in one of my guns and it lead up and then shoot some jacket ones just about 2 or 3 and it was all gone. Just my in put.

[kelbro]

I have seen what was all writtien about what to use to remove the leading . There is one thing I did not see and was in the Lyman cast book that is shoot jacketed bullets then all you have to deal with is the copper . I tell you what it works just good for me when I shot some commercial cast live ammo in one of my guns and it lead up and then shoot some jacket ones just about 2 or 3 and it was all gone. Just my in put.

Are you sure that you didn't just cover up the lead with copper?

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I use a cleaning rod tipped with a brass Jag and cleaning patch that has the thinnest layer of 0000 steel wool (like 20 strands) and Hopes #9.

If I suspect the problem is the bore, I lap it with the cleaning rod tipped with a Brass Jag and a real course cloth (cotton uniform material) treated with flitz. I'll spend about a half hour doing that and go through about 10 of those course patches. That has cured a few rough barrels, mostly Rugers...and one S&W revolver mod 57.