JAMES L.SMITH
New member
can i use household ammonia to
clean copper fouling?
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J.L.
JLS
clean copper fouling?
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J.L.
JLS
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barrel cleaning
- Thread starter JAMES L.SMITH
- Start date
James - I don't have the chemistry background to answer your question about the effectiveness of using ammonia to remove gilding metal deposits. I'm sure some TFL'ers do, and hopefully they will chime in.
You could try just putting a few drops on a penny and observing the reaction for a week or so. If it turns the penny green, it should work.
Personally, I think you'd be better off using a product specifically designed for it, e.g. Shooters Choice (or others).
Cliff
You could try just putting a few drops on a penny and observing the reaction for a week or so. If it turns the penny green, it should work.
Personally, I think you'd be better off using a product specifically designed for it, e.g. Shooters Choice (or others).
Cliff
James. There was a formula using ammonia that was used to remove the fouling from the old cupronickel bullets. I don't remember the exact details, but apparently you plugged the bore and filled it up with "stronger ammonia". their term, whatever that stuff was. Apparently you had to be very careful not to get any on the blueing or it was ruined. I don't remember how long you left it in the barrel, but for some reason 15 minutes seems to stick in my mind.
My suggestion is forget the ammonia and just get a bottle of Sweets 7.62 bore solvent. It has a good deal of ammonia already in it (just take a whiff) and they say on the bottle to not leave it in for more than 15 minutes. Maybe that's where the 15 minutescomes from. It can take up to four hours to clean up a badly copper fouled bore, and sometimes even longer. I have a Winchester Model 70 in 7x57 Mauser that will foul up if it just looks at a jacketed bullet. One of these days I'm going to firelap that barrel. When I bought it used, I got it cheap because the guy said it wasn't accurate. It took 5, yes 5 four hour sessions to clean it up. Shoots pretty good now, for about 20 rounds and it's back to the Sweets.
I would not mind finding some of that "stronger ammonia". I'd add a few drops to the Sweets and see if it sped things up a bit.
Anyway those are my thoughts, based on my experience with that rifle.
Paul B.
My suggestion is forget the ammonia and just get a bottle of Sweets 7.62 bore solvent. It has a good deal of ammonia already in it (just take a whiff) and they say on the bottle to not leave it in for more than 15 minutes. Maybe that's where the 15 minutescomes from. It can take up to four hours to clean up a badly copper fouled bore, and sometimes even longer. I have a Winchester Model 70 in 7x57 Mauser that will foul up if it just looks at a jacketed bullet. One of these days I'm going to firelap that barrel. When I bought it used, I got it cheap because the guy said it wasn't accurate. It took 5, yes 5 four hour sessions to clean it up. Shoots pretty good now, for about 20 rounds and it's back to the Sweets.
I would not mind finding some of that "stronger ammonia". I'd add a few drops to the Sweets and see if it sped things up a bit.
Anyway those are my thoughts, based on my experience with that rifle.
Paul B.
Unkel Gilbey
New member
Gents,
An old trick that we use in the military is to use a few patches to fill/seal the chamber. Then we pour a good copper solvent such as Hoppes #9, or that Sweet's into the Bbl until it's about filled. We'd let the rifle stand for a while as the chemical worked. Then you'd pour off the fluid, saving it in another bottle/container, and then give the bore a stiff brushing. Patches run through would give you an indication of how effective your soaking was.
I understand that Midway sells a chamber 'plug' that makes it easier to do this. On a completely dry bore, a patch soaked in your favorite solvent will let you know if you need to do the treatment again. This is usually a MUST do with Surplus military weapons.
Incidentally, if a commercial rifle is fouling so easily (20 rnds), I'd be concerned that the bore was rough, and that it might need to be lapped. Keep in mind that if you do a really good job in lapping the barrel, you might just make it a tad over size, and this would play hob with your accuracy. From there you have a few options, but those are better discussed at another site - like "the Smithy", or handloading.
An old trick that we use in the military is to use a few patches to fill/seal the chamber. Then we pour a good copper solvent such as Hoppes #9, or that Sweet's into the Bbl until it's about filled. We'd let the rifle stand for a while as the chemical worked. Then you'd pour off the fluid, saving it in another bottle/container, and then give the bore a stiff brushing. Patches run through would give you an indication of how effective your soaking was.
I understand that Midway sells a chamber 'plug' that makes it easier to do this. On a completely dry bore, a patch soaked in your favorite solvent will let you know if you need to do the treatment again. This is usually a MUST do with Surplus military weapons.
Incidentally, if a commercial rifle is fouling so easily (20 rnds), I'd be concerned that the bore was rough, and that it might need to be lapped. Keep in mind that if you do a really good job in lapping the barrel, you might just make it a tad over size, and this would play hob with your accuracy. From there you have a few options, but those are better discussed at another site - like "the Smithy", or handloading.
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by JAMES L.SMITH:
can i use household ammonia to clean copper fouling?[/quote]
Ammonia is not something you want in your barrel, I'd go for a off the shelf copper solvent. There are many to choose from, and they're all safe for your barrel.
can i use household ammonia to clean copper fouling?[/quote]
Ammonia is not something you want in your barrel, I'd go for a off the shelf copper solvent. There are many to choose from, and they're all safe for your barrel.
Rainbow Six
New member
I like Butch's Bore Shine. I was using Shooter's Choice before I tried Butch's. Both do a good job on copper fouling but the BBS seems to be a little faster and I usually don't have to brush the bore. Butch's is designed as a wet patch system and usually doesn't require a brush to get the crap out of the barrel, just patches. Also, unlike some other cleaning solvents, BBS claims to be safe for prolonged soaking in the bore.
You can get BBS from www.midwayusa.com .
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For Sale: SIG P220 - see handgun classified forum.
***************************
Georgia TFL'ers get together:
May 20, 2000-From 3pm to 6pm
http://www.wolfcreek-gun.com
***************************
R6...aka...Chris
You can get BBS from www.midwayusa.com .
------------------
For Sale: SIG P220 - see handgun classified forum.
***************************
Georgia TFL'ers get together:
May 20, 2000-From 3pm to 6pm
http://www.wolfcreek-gun.com
***************************
R6...aka...Chris