Cleaning supplies

[Aggar]

This evening I was cleaning a couple .22’s for the kids to use for shooting sports for 4-h tomorrow. I’ve always used hoppes. Am I stuck in the old days or is it still a quality product? What is out there that is better for lubricating the actions?

 

[JTKelly]

I use Hoppes.

 

[Creedmoor]

This evening I was cleaning a couple .22’s for the kids to use for shooting sports for 4-h tomorrow. I’ve always used hoppes. Am I stuck in the old days or is it still a quality product? What is out there that is better for lubricating the actions?

I tend to use Sweets for most cleanings, and for deep, I let Kroll soak overnight and scrub a few times. And then Sweets a few dry patches and then oil if its a carbon barrel.

 

[Aggar]

I tend to use Sweets for most cleanings, and for deep, I let Kroll soak overnight and scrub a few times. And then Sweets a few dry patches and then oil if its a carbon barrel.

Kroil penetrating oil? Orange can? And what is sweets? We use Kroil at the farm. It’s good stuff.

 

[Trapper Jim]

Hoppes (not on nickel) and Break Free CLP. Don’t look back

 

[Creedmoor]

Kroil penetrating oil? Orange can? And what is sweets? We use Kroil at the farm. It’s good stuff.

Yes, that Kroll.

Sweets is an Ammonia based cleaner. If you have a wife, you might want to steer clear of it. It will do a super job of cleaning copper and jacket material out. But with being ammonia base it will remove all oil it touches and can quickly leave rust on carbon steel.

Sweet's 7.62 Gun Cleaning Solvent 200 ml Liquid

One of the best known, widest used and most powerful copper solvent available today. Contains 5% ammonia for maximum effectiveness.Features5% Ammonia,...

www.midwayusa.com

 

[firecadet613]

Break free clp...

 

[tomcat13]

+1 for Hoppe's

 

[Ziggidy]

Hoppe's Elite for general cleaning. No odor. Sometimes I'll use Ballistol.

 

[Gabriel]

I use brake cleaner on my ARs, but Hoppe's on everything else. I did buy some .22LR specific stuff a while ago specifically for my CZ, but haven't used it yet.

 

[watereng]

Yes, that Kroll.

Sweets is an Ammonia based cleaner. If you have a wife, you might want to steer clear of it. It will do a super job of cleaning copper and jacket material out. But with being ammonia base it will remove all oil it touches and can quickly leave rust on carbon steel.

Sweet's 7.62 Gun Cleaning Solvent 200 ml Liquid

One of the best known, widest used and most powerful copper solvent available today. Contains 5% ammonia for maximum effectiveness.Features5% Ammonia,...

www.midwayusa.com

I find that it depends what deposits you're cleaning up. I use Break Free CLP for a lot of things. But I have a compensator on my .22 that leads up frequently.

For that, I use a 50/50 mix of 3% hydrogen peroxide solution and 5% distilled vinegar. This makes peracetic acid that is quite effective at dissolving lead and because I'm using low strength components, its not hazardous (although the spent solution is full of lead and it should be respected and properly disposed of). Beware that you can use higher strength components and that resulting solution can be very hazardous. Use these grocery store components and you'll be reasonably safe.

The solution is effective on carbon and lead and it has proven to be safe on anodized aluminum parts (compensator). I've researched the corrosion rate of peracetic acid on steel and it is reportedly low, but I've read some forums that said that it pitted barrels for them. I'd say that any use of this solution should be brief when cleaning a leaded-up barrel. An hour or so at most and no long soaks.

I quoted the ammonia cleaner since I've not used it before. Is it only effective for copper or does it work on lead too? I know that the peracetic acid doesn't touch copper.

 

[watereng]

For a gun lube, I've been using Mobil 1 synthetic motor oil (I think its 15-50w). I use an applicator bottle with a needle tip. Only a drop on the specific sliding parts.

 

[klausm]

I love the smell of Hoppes

 

[Creedmoor]

I find that it depends what deposits you're cleaning up. I use Break Free CLP for a lot of things. But I have a compensator on my .22 that leads up frequently.

For that, I use a 50/50 mix of 3% hydrogen peroxide solution and 5% distilled vinegar. This makes peracetic acid that is quite effective at dissolving lead and because I'm using low strength components, its not hazardous (although the spent solution is full of lead and it should be respected and properly disposed of). Beware that you can use higher strength components and that resulting solution can be very hazardous. Use these grocery store components and you'll be reasonably safe.

The solution is effective on carbon and lead and it has proven to be safe on anodized aluminum parts (compensator). I've researched the corrosion rate of peracetic acid on steel and it is reportedly low, but I've read some forums that said that it pitted barrels for them. I'd say that any use of this solution should be brief when cleaning a leaded-up barrel. An hour or so at most and no long soaks.

I quoted the ammonia cleaner since I've not used it before. Is it only effective for copper or does it work on lead too? I know that the peracetic acid doesn't touch copper.

I posted Sweets just to show the problems one can get / have when using a water base ammonia cleaner.
I use Montana Extreme which is an oil based ammonia bore cleaner. I use it mostly with the rifles I have in small center fire calibers 17, 19 and 22 that tend to travel very fast.
Its always done a great job of not just removing copper but carbon and fouling.
With it being an oil base it can be left in a bore easily overnight without the carrier drying up and leaving the ammonia to adsorb moisture ( Its Hydroscopic) and start rust asap especially with carbon steel.


Ammonia based solvents like Sweets or Barnes CR 10, are water based ammonia. If left in the barrel more than 10-15 minutes, the ammonia dries the surface of the bore and causes instant rust!
If on the other hand you use Montana Extreme solvents, they are oil based ammonia, and will not harm your barrel if soaked over night.
Also water based ammonia if left in your barrel when fired, will cause immediate fire cracking to the surface of your bore when fired. Clean it out completely before firing with bore conditioner oil, or something like Kroil oil.

 

[BackFromDC]

I'm kinda lazy so I just spray things down with parts cleaner and then go once over with some CLP. I do love the smell of Hoppes so I use it when I have it. I don't use Kroil expect for breaking parts loose, like suppressor mounts, when I need to clean in places...I didn't know it could be used as a cleaning agent.