cleaning a bore w/ coca cola

[izzyjoe]

i'm just sittin' here drinkn' a cold one, wondern' if it's ever been used as bore cleaner? for those real nasty bores. i've heard all the tales of how it cleans crome, glass, and is real acidic. just wonderin' what everbody else thinks. and really i'm not drinkin' a coke. have a coke and smile:drinks:

[mooman76]

I would be a little concerned of what it would do to the metal in the bore but if it's not left in too long, it should be ok. I had a dishwasher once that was all black inside like a fire had happened. I called maintenance and they looked at it an told me to run a pack of Koolaid through it. It was just hard water deposits. Crazy as it sounds, it came out looking new inside.

[izzyjoe]

cool that gives me an reason to buy another rifle with a rough bore.i may have one back in the closet,na i'll buy one more. i'll try it and let ya'll know somthin'.

[Combat Diver]

Around 2000 in Kuwait we had a 40mm HE round get stuck in the bore of one of our Mk 19 heavy machine guns. We weren't going to pound it out since it was a live High Explosive round, took off the barrel and set some C4 to it. Lots of paperwork. Days later EOD informed us that all we needed to do was fill with Coke Classic and plug the ends, let sit and then the round would slide out.

CD

[Jack Stanley]

With all the military surplus rifles and corrosive ammo available , Coke oughta be a natural huh?

Jack

[c3d4b2]

If I remember correctly coke has some phosphoric acid in it and Phosphoric acid is corrosive to steal. As a quick test place a steal nail in some coke and see what happens.

[longbow]

Phosphoric acid is not corrosive to steel, it is the basis for naval jelly which is used to dissolve rust on steel.

Other things in the Coke may dissolve steel but the phosphoric acid will only dissolve rust.

[waksupi]

Last summer I was working for a company making ak 74's, and doing AK 47 conversions. Lots of the rifles that came in from Romania, had not had the bluing salts boiled out properly, and we were getting constant chemical burns from it. I got a can of Coke, and some brushes, and was able to neutralize, and remove the stubborn salts easily.

[6.5 mike]

Makes one wonder what we have been pouring down our necks all these years, but cut with enough wild turkey couldn't be to bad.

[c3d4b2]

According to the compatibility reference phosphoric acid and steals do not get along. It list even Carpenter 20 Stainless as Severe Effect. Maybe I used the word corrosive loosely, however phosphoric does react with steel. I have seen phosphoric will turn steel bolts rusty at work in our phosphoric hood when someone uses a normal bolt instead of a HDPE bolt.

http://www.coleparmer.com/techinfo/chemcomp.asp


Chemical Compatability Results

The Material Selected 304 stainless steel
Interacting with the Chemical Phosphoric Acid (>40%)
Has a Compatibility Level of D-Severe Effect

Chemical Compatability Results

The Material Selected Carpenter 20
Interacting with the Chemical Phosphoric Acid (>40%)
Has a Compatibility Level of D-Severe Effect

Chemical Compatability Results

The Material Selected Cast iron
Interacting with the Chemical Phosphoric Acid (>40%)
Has a Compatibility Level of D-Severe Effect

[longbow]

Concentration may be the answer. I work for a large lead and zinc smelter. One of the by products is sulphuric acid. We make 93% sulphuric acid and store it in mild steel tanks with little corrosion issues. However, if the acid becomes diluted the steel begins to dissolve very quickly.

With regards to Naval Jelly and phosphoric acid here is what Wikipedia says:

"Rust removal

Phosphoric acid may be used as a "rust converter", by direct application to rusted iron, steel tools, or surfaces. The phosphoric acid converts reddish-brown iron(III) oxide (rust) to black ferric phosphate, FePO4.

"Rust converter" is sometimes a greenish liquid suitable for dipping (in the same sort of acid bath as is used for pickling metal), but it is more often formulated as a gel, commonly called naval jelly. It is sometimes sold under other names, such as "rust remover" or "rust killer". As a thick gel, it may be applied to sloping, vertical, or even overhead surfaces.

After treatment, the black ferric-phosphate coating can be scrubbed off, leaving a fresh metal surface. Multiple applications of phosphoric acid may be required to remove all rust. The black phosphate coating can also be left in place, where it will provide moderate further corrosion resistance. (Such protection is also provided by the superficially similar Parkerizing and blued electrochemical conversion coating processes.)"

[skimmerhead]

the wild turkey neutrelizes the harmonic balance of the phosric acid's, therefore making it safe to consume, allthough useing less coke and more wild turkey may neutrelize your harmonic balance! use accordingly.

skimmerhead:drinks

[Mk42gunner]

Around 2000 in Kuwait we had a 40mm HE round get stuck in the bore of one of our Mk 19 heavy machine guns. We weren't going to pound it out since it was a live High Explosive round, took off the barrel and set some C4 to it. Lots of paperwork. Days later EOD informed us that all we needed to do was fill with Coke Classic and plug the ends, let sit and then the round would slide out.

CD

In all the MK19's that I had, there was a big jackscrew in the maintenance kit that was secured to the flash hider with setscrews to push a projectile out when one got stuck in the barrel. I have done it with the solid aluminum practice rounds, but I really wouldn't eager to do it high an HE round.

Robert

[3006guns]

The phosphoric acid content in Coke is quite minimal. It will clean rust rather nicely, but it's not going to replace metal that's already gone. I wouldn't be afraid to try it.

I've used Naval Jelly in a bore, but you must get it all out. It won't really hurt the bore but it can dry and leave a hard deposit that's difficult to remove (ask me how I know this).

I've used various rust removing techniques on old machine tools over the years, including a couple of acids.....both muratic (swimming pool acid) and phosphoric. I would NOT recommend the muratic as it is quite active. It will remove rust almost instantly, but the metal must be flushed THOROUGHLY with a baking soda/water solution, dried then oiled or you will get after rust for days. Phosphoric is much more gentle.

Another alternative is citric acid, available in most grocery stores near the baking isle. It's actually derived from various fruit acids and is quite slow and safe.

[Shooter6br]

i heard that it works great with toilet bowls. Never for bores

[leadman]

I used to work on bicycles alot when I was a kid in Michigan. Lots of rust. If I had a seat post that would not come out I would fill the pipe with Coke and come back the next day. Post would lift right out.

[Daddyfixit]

This was a well known practice used in WWII, just ask any old combat vet!

[82nd airborne]

In all the MK19's that I had, there was a big jackscrew in the maintenance kit that was secured to the flash hider with setscrews to push a projectile out when one got stuck in the barrel. I have done it with the solid aluminum practice rounds, but I really wouldn't eager to do it high an HE round.

Robert

i never had one get stuck in the barrel, but we did have one cook off (orange-powder training rounds) and it blew the top cover off. no one got hurt. on a side note, i did decide that it would be a good idea to shoot the primer out of an hedp 40mm from about 40 meters. this is dumb as the steel primer assymbly lodged into my bicep, turning my whole arm black. ill see if my mom still has the pic of it i sent her, so i can post it.
ps. empty 40mm hulls make great shot glasses.

[Frank46]

If any of you ever served in the navy, particularly in the engineering department( boilers, engine rooms, pump rooms and generator rooms) you probably have intamite experience with the food item known as "bug juice". To make a huge container of this stuff you only needed a small container. We used it to clean off the deck plates with a wire brush prior to painting. Frank