Hoppe's Elite Bore Gel feedback.

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Pond James Pond

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As promised.

Despite my relative inexperience, I feel confident in saying it works better than Hoppe's #9.

In a nutshell it removed stuff that the #9 had not. Cleaning my SP-01 after a competition yesterday (which went horribly "don't shoot the no-shoot, Jim!!"), I did the usual. I dampened a swab with #9 and ran it through the barrel and left it while I wiped down the rest of the gun. About 15 min later, I bore brushed it and wiped it out. Before re-assembly I decided to have a peek down the barrel and say some deposits (not sure of what) down the inside edge on the lands-groove corner. Always the same side: right edge.

Anyway, I decided to try the Elite on this. The gel comes out like liquid hand soap. It frothes up a little when fed through the bore too. Not a foam, but a very mild lather and seems to get in all the corners.

Let it sit for 5-10 min, bore-brushed and wiped. Result: no build up and a mirror finish. Also no smell. Some will be sad, but it means for me that I could clean my guns in the living room without bothering my other half as she does have a sensitive nose!!

So I am impressed and glad I bought it. It actually makes me want to do the bore of all my other guns to see if they gleam more.
 
The Mpro 7/Hoppes Elite seems to be really good stuff. I gave the Mpro gun cleaner spray a good honest test run a while back and was really impressed. So much so that I then got their boregel and copper remover and haven't used anything else since.

Love that boregel though. For the semi autos the barrel is the first thing I work on when cleaning. Get the gel in the barrel, let it sit and work its magic while I clean the rest.

Just a heads up, if you use the gel on anything gas operated like an AR, you might want to be mindful that some of the gel might get into the hole in the barrel that connects to the gas tube. I just put a quick shot of non chlorinated brake cleaner/gun scrubber down the tube. I'm sure its a non issue but it gives me peace of mind.
 
Just a heads up, if you use the gel on anything gas operated like an AR, you might want to be mindful that some of the gel might get into the hole in the barrel that connects to the gas tube. I just put a quick shot of non chlorinated brake cleaner/gun scrubber down the tube. I'm sure its a non issue but it gives me peace of mind.
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A good point.

As I have no idea which are the chlorinated and non-chlorinated types, I think I will get some Carb Cleaner just for that type of situation.
 
Of course it is just possible that the gel appeared more effective because there was still activity by the #9....a double action. Have you cleaned the same pistol after a similar round of shooting using only the gel?

By the way, your gas port suggestion is very good info.
 
I had wiped the whole barrel down before trying the Elite and the speed with which the residues were removed suggests it was the Elite.

If a dowsing of #9 didn't remove the residues first, it seems unlikely that a thin film left after using a patch would do the trick in less time.
 
Most cans of brake cleaner should say whether they are non chlorinated or not.

There is supposedly a difference between carb cleaner and brake cleaner. Brake cleaner is supposed to strip all oils away and not leave any residue behind as its intended purpose is to clean whatever from braking systems. Carb cleaners are supposed to clean and leave a very small amount of lube and residue behind for the few moving parts in a carburetor. I've was also told that when it comes to cleaning most carb cleaners aren't as strong or effective as brake cleaners when it comes to cleaning guns because of this. Mechanic buddy told me this years back, it made sense at the time and I've kind of stuck with that over the years. I know there are tons of folks who use carb cleaner exclusively with good results.
 
As I have no idea which are the chlorinated and non-chlorinated types, I think I will get some Carb Cleaner just for that type of situation.
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I'd be very surprised if you can find any commercial chlorinated cleaners still on the market, but reading the label will tell you.

The original Hoppes #9 is good for minor cleaning, but it's nowhere near as effective as most newer formulas

It was developed when many guns were strictly using lead bullets and much lower velocities
 
As I have no idea which are the chlorinated and non-chlorinated types
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It will state it right on the can and here in the states I have not seen any brake cleaners on the shelves that DO NOT say non chlorinated
 
As I have no idea which are the chlorinated and non-chlorinated types, I think I will get some Carb Cleaner just for that type of situation.
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I would advise against that.
Carb Cleaner's active ingredients generally include toluene and/or polytoluene. Both are rather hazardous and will attack many plastics and stock finishes.

You're better off just giving the gas tube a blast of compressed air (canned, if you don't have a compressor) to blow the residue out.
 
Virtually identical ingredients, and we all know it's for cleaning metal, not wood nor plastic
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Far from "virtually identical"...
They may include some of the same ingredients, but those same chemicals are used in substantially different formulations.

And... No gun owner that I have ever known has been able to keep 100% of their non-metal parts free of bore cleaner, let alone oil. Expecting an aerosol to be completely controllable and overspray-free is simply dreaming...


It wasn't long ago that we had a post in the Rifle forum from a member that accidentally dripped a small amount of bore cleaner on his brand new rifle, only to find that it completely ruined the plastic tip cap on his stock, removed some finish, and damaged the trigger guard.

It can and will happen.

You can't even trust the firearm manufacturers to put out a good product any more, to begin with - Remington, for example, went to a water-based finish on the H&R rifle and shotgun stocks, after taking over the company. So, why would you want to risk it? :rolleyes:
 
Far from "virtually identical"...
They may include some of the same ingredients, but those same chemicals are used in substantially different formulations.
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They are the same chemicals, as you said
I'm not nitpicking over "formulations"

And... No gun owner that I have ever known has been able to keep 100% of their non-metal parts free of bore cleaner, let alone oil. Expecting an aerosol to be completely controllable and overspray-free is simply dreaming...
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Most I know are smart enough to do that

It wasn't long ago that we had a post in the Rifle forum from a member that accidentally dripped a small amount of bore cleaner on his brand new rifle, only to find that it completely ruined the plastic tip cap on his stock, removed some finish, and damaged the trigger guard.
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He should have taken more precautions

So, why would you want to risk it?
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I've done it for decades without ruining anything at all
I suspect if I can do it, others can also
It's really not hard to do
 
I've done it for decades without ruining anything at all
I suspect if I can do it, others can also
It's really not hard to do
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That depends upon the firearms in question, how they're configured, what they're made of, and what chemicals you're using.


They are the same chemicals, as you said
I'm not nitpicking over "formulations"
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If I put 2 drops of diesel fuel in a gallon of unleaded gasoline, it would pretty much still be gasoline.

Yet, if I put 2 drops of gasoline in a gallon of diesel fuel, it would most definitely not be gasoline.

Formulation matters. A lot.
 
If I put 2 drops of diesel fuel in a gallon of unleaded gasoline, it would pretty much still be gasoline.

Yet, if I put 2 drops of gasoline in a gallon of diesel fuel, it would most definitely not be gasoline.

Formulation matters. A lot.
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If we were discussing engine fuels you might have a point, but we are not

We are discussing spray cleaners, and the ingredients remain the same even if the proportions vary slightly.
 
If we were discussing engine fuels you might have a point, but we are not

We are discussing spray cleaners, and the ingredients remain the same even if the proportions vary slightly.
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I won't argue about this any more. Clearly, you don't understand the point that I'm trying to make, and you appear to have absolutely no background in chemistry.

Formula matters. Concentration of particular ingredients matters.
"Extra" ingredients (as with GunScrubber) can have a HUGE impact on the characteristics of, and chemical interactions within, a particular formula.

:rolleyes:
 
I won't argue about this any more. Clearly, you don't understand the point that I'm trying to make, and you appear to have absolutely no background in chemistry.
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I understand your point

It just has nothing to do with what I said about the ingredients

It doesn't require a "background in chemistry" to know you have to keep it off wood and plastic

That just requires reading the label
 
It is certainly the case that formulations can have threshold ratios beyond which their behavior changes. The most common example would be aqueous solution changeover from acid to base, depending on the ratio of vinegar to baking soda you mix, or hydrochloric acid to lye that you combine. Which side of pH=7 the final mix lands on can, indeed, change what the solution will or won't attack and dissolve. Indeed, just the magnitude of the pH can change that in some instances. That said, there are at least some things that most hydrocarbon solvents will at least partially dissolve, so they all seem to have at least some cleaning effect and some potential to dissolve things you wish they would not.

I don't care for any of them at this point, and I used the old benchrest carb cleaner and brush and JB method for years. I also used Sweet's for years. No more hydrocarbons or ammonia for me. The modern chemistries are so much faster and more effective than the chemistry of 1903 (when Hoppe's #9 was introduced) that there's no real basis for comparison. The odorless chelation approach to dissolving copper is so much better than ammonia that there is, again, just no comparison.

A couple of exceptions: I also use Gunzilla. It is a vegetable oil based cleaner. It is not as odorless as the water-based stuff, though it has far less odor than the old gun cleaners. It is exceptional with some kinds of carbon deposits. When left in a bore for an extended period it turns the carbon into sludge that patches out. It removes surface rust well, too.

More recently, Hummer70 pointed out the Army Marksmanship Unit is using Mobil 1 motor oil for cleaning and lubrication. I got some 0W20 and he is correct that the additives in it remove carbon well, especially when the bore is still warm. Folks often aren't aware that carbon deposits harden over time, and if you hit them with Gunzilla or Mobil 1 or even the water-based surfactant cleaners while the barrel is still warm from shooting, it comes out way more easily. For copper removal, though, the water-base chelators are still king.
 
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