Gun cleaning

The first oils for machinery and automatic transmissions were made from whales. Sperm oil was the most common and it came from the rendered fat of sperm whales.
The introduction of petroleum lubricants began because whales were disappearing and the market was increasing. Today we have a good knowledge of chemistry and we can tune a product to a specific use better than ever before. I may make my own products but I make them to do the chosen job well.
 
Just saying.
Aerosol containers contain more propellant than product usually.

Where I reside CLP and similar products are perhaps the worse products to lubricate a receiver with. I use Ballistol for a barrels cleaning. Barricade on the exterior parts. And something quite different for my receivers lubrication. Although Rem Oil containing Teflon is perhaps one of the best of the store bought's for such receiver purposes.

Here in the Northland kerosene having (little to no scent) is as good as it gets to keep any receiver functional in -0- and below temps. That's what I use and have done so for many years without incurring any problems what-so-ever.

Deer hunter88 you go ahead and use that Rem Oil on everything gun surface. The main thing is your willing to keep your firearm clean & functional and that Sir is something many shooters let slide ~~and they shouldn't.
 
I recently found that the Hoppes Elite Gun Cleaner is some pretty awesome stuff when it comes to really easy carbon & copper removal. As far as lubrication, can't go wrong with Rem Oil or CLP.

Sent from my 0PJA2 using Tapatalk
 
None of what I listed is an aerosol or propellant.

I do have a boresecope and I can see how effective the cleaning really is.

What I can say is it may look clean, its not.

Older stuff simply did not cut it. New stuff did.
 
Hoppes #9 takes in about a dozen products all under the name Hoppes #9.

As to oil as a solvent? As mentioned all oils will clean but that said given a choice I like an oil for use as an oil and solvent as a solvent and like solvents with ammonia for a copper fouling solvent. I think for the most part we find what works for us and run with it.

Also per RC20 what may look to be clean more often than not isn't clean. Some of the newer cleaners which focus on chemical process really work quite well, like when moly lube greases came along.

Ron
 
Of if you want to be really out there, get some diesel engine oil.

Very good on carbon. Cleans your hands right up.

Might be the ticket for a barrel too. Probably have to plug the bore and fill and let it sit.

Or get a modern cleaner and not look back.
 
Butch's Bore Cleaner. 1 patch swabbed followed by enough dry patches to push clean then Frog Lube all natural CLP. Don't store your firearms in petroleum based lubes. Frog Lube or Bore Butter only.
 
REM oil would work ok, but not great for cleaning it is a pretty basic oil and fine for lubrication of light use range guns.

Hoppe's #9 is a basic gun cleaning solvent....typicallly applied by wet patching a bore or wiping a surface with a wet patch. Then scrub and wipe off.

Copper cleaner is just that. Goes on like solvent, but attacks copper better.

For most gun cleaning, but CLP works good. When it doesn't come clean, solvent ups it's cleaning power!


Personally, I use CLP on handguns all the time, and solvent occasionally on the bore.

On rifles, I use CLP everywhere, except the bore. I use copper solvent in the bore.

I use a carbon cutter occasionally on AR's.

CLP - Weaponshield
Bore Cleaner - Butch's Bore Shine
Carbon Cutter - Slip2000 Carbon Killer
 
No expert here but a very few years ago on the IBS Benchrest line I found most using Bore Tech Eliminator. I use it for copper fouling & find it does work. Cleaned some mighty dirty rifles with it.
 
That's my other cleaner.

I don't shoot high velocity so I am not dealing with copper much if at all.

I use it to clean military barrels first go, its got a good carbon cleaner though not as good as Carbon Killer.
 
A solvent like Hoppe's #9 and bronze brush to clean the bore followed by patches and Light Machine Oil for all the metal pieces is what most manufacturers recommend.

I have guns that were maintained according to this regimen sit in a gun safe from 1993 to 2014 with zero deterioration.

Can you use other products just as effectively? Probably.

Can you do more than just solvent, patches and machine oil? Sure.

You could clean your guns with CLP in the morning, Remoil at lunchtime and Ballistoil in the evenings every day.

Would it work? I guess.

But the bottom line is that it isn't necessary.
 
It depends on what you want out of your gun.

I get up each morning and say white rabbit. That ensure I am not attacked by a tiger peddling to work. Its wor5ked all these years, it must be effective.

What I can tell you is Hoppes does not get the carbon out.

That is based on a borescope examination.

It may look clean, it may shoot ok, long term, it will only shoot ok.

Hunting, probably fine.

If you want the carbon out you need a real carbon cleaner.

Hoppes is not it, Hoppes and Kroil is not it (better)

Both take a lot of work to get even sort of clean.

Carbon Killer and its like will get ALL the carbon out.

I want as much out as I can get.

I could still drive a Model T to, it does not have airbags nor a radio, no power windows.

Time and technology moves on and there are improvements, new carbon cleaners are one of them.
 
I like KG - 1 for carbon
KG - 12 for copper
Dry patch after each followed with Hopped #9 solvent , dry patch.
Most of the time its the carbon & #9 , Ballistol the bolt , grease the back side of the
locking lugs & camming areas and I'm ready to go.
I'm one of those guys that likes shooting , reloading & cleaning , all of its done outside.
 
Honestly for gun care you dont need much more aggresive then kerosene or white spirit and copper bore brush
That will clean up grease, fouling and leading.
To lube, mineral oil and or lithium grease.
And a copper solvent is only needed if the rifle actually stops to shoot straight, which is about once decade for me.

Now ofc there are great products especially marketed for guns.

Ive used plenty over the decades
And lately ive fallen back to simple cold degreaser to clean the whole gun, and a bit of balistol for most guns.
 
After a lot of work, research et all I came across an article by a guy who tested a bunch of the cleaner.

While the brand is not necessarily key, the type of product is.

In this case he found two that worked vastly better than the old stuff. They are non haz, not toxic, and no to little odor. Rather than brute force they use direct chemistry.

Bore Tehc Eliminator: Target to copper, but has a good carbon cleaning component as well.

I have used these to bring old military barrels back to shiny clean where they gleam.
Click to expand...

Based on the recommendations in this thread, I bought a small bottle of Bore Tech Eliminator for the serious copper fouling in my .300 winmag. I had been scrubbing it with Hoppe's #9 for 2 weeks straight and not making any progress. But you were right, this Bore Tech stuff instantly turned it dark blue. I had to repeat the process three times since it was pretty bad (no idea what the previous owner did with the gun), but going forward I expect to be done in 5 minutes.

The main thing that put me over the edge to buy this particular product, is that it's not harmful to steel. Some of the ammonia based copper solvents can etch the barrel steel if left in too long, but this stuff recommends leaving some in the bore as a preservative.

Extra bonuses are that it doesn't stink at all. Probably used less than a 1/4 teaspoon for this job. And it cleaned up easily with water- though I used soap on my hands anyway.
 
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