Ed's Red

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browninghunter86

New member
Anyone here use this stuff that can verify it's effectiveness for me?

Thinking about making some to clean AR parts that get heavy carbon and also to use in my rifle barrels to clean carbon/fouling out
 
For carbon, Ed's Red isn't particularly better than other petroleum based cleaners, as mentioned in this article. I made a gallon of it one time and when I left 1911 parts sitting in it for a month, a lot of graphite and carbon did fall the bottom. If you use it while the carbon is fresh and warm, it does a lot better.

On another board a fellow had a conversation with a chemist who makes the KG-1 carbon remover and he said it lasts and is indefinitely reusable. It certainly works better than Ed's Red. You just have to run it through a filter periodically to get the carbon solids out. I expect the same will be true of Boretech C4 Carbon Remover. I've had good luck with the Slip 2000 Carbon Killer, but it lacks the corrosion inhibitors in the other two products I just mentioned, so you can't let it dry out in the barrel.

Gunzilla, if you are not trying to clean too fast, will also loosen the carbon well.
 
I was recently shown something that worked great for carbon build up on bolts,etc, it was automatic transmission fluid. I recent ran into someone using it and it worked great(soaking it in the fluid). After the transmission fluid , he used brake cleaner, then used oil and lube. The automatic transmission fluid (because of the detergents in it) will break down the carbon and it will just "melt" away. Just something I thought I would share. I wouldn't have believed it until I seen it. But seemed fine. After my next trip shooting, I plan on trying it myself.
 
I have a recipe around for Ed's Red, and it is in fact mostly ATF and solvent with some oil added. I made some years ago, it worked OK and was definitely cheaper than store-bought solvent, but it sure was messy keeping a bottle of that stuff around. When I ran out, I went back to Hoppe's #9 and Bore Shine. Costs more, but how much do you really use?
 
KG-1 Carbon Remover and KG-12 Copper Remover, and Boretech C4 Carbon Remover all came out after the article, IIRC, so they didn't get mention.

The two drawbacks to Slip 2000 are that it can gradually etch Parkerizing over a period of hours (guess how I know) and it can induce corrosion in non-stainless steels if it's left to dry out on them. However, when I have left very thick, hard, aged carbon cake in it for several hours, it really did penetrate and soften it to the point it could be removed with brushes. The Boretech C4 Carbon remover (and their other cleaners) have corrosion inhibitors and are harmless to steels even if left in the bore indefinitely. I suspect, since it is mainly a surfactant mixture, that, like KG-1, it can be reused indefinitely. The KG-1 is pH neutral, so it won't induce corrosion, but I don't know if it has corrosion inhibitors specifically.

Neither C4 nor KG-1 are as aggressive as Slip 2000, but if you are patient, they work well. If you are really, really patient, Gunzilla will dissolve carbon over time, combining with it to form a tar-like sludge that flows to the bottom of whatever it's in, eliminating all patches and elbow grease. But you may be talking a week or more for all that to happen. It mainly seems to depend on how old and hard the carbon is. If you use Gunzilla's pump sprayer right at the range to get it into the still-warm carbon, you'd be impressed by how much comes out with one patch. Sometimes all of it if the bore is in smooth condition. But the C4 and KG-1 will also have their efforts enhanced by a spritz at the range.

Do keep in mind that none of those products are copper removers, though the penetrating effect and oxidation will remove some anyway over enough time.
 
Ed's Red:
One part ATF
One part White Gas (Kerosene)
One part Mineral Spirits
One Part Acetone
It works very well for me, and you can't beat the price. I find that I have to stir it constantly as it wants to separate. The acetone boils off pretty fast and has to be refreshed from time to time. But...You can't beat the price!
KEEP AWAY FROM FIRE!
 
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