A few cleaning questions.

[JJB22]

I have been using Track of the Wolf's black powder/bore cleaner with great results, I plug the touch hole and squirt a few ounces down the bore, plug the muzzle with my thumb and slosh a few times, run about a dozen patches and it is clean, I run a patch with alcohol on it down the bore, wait a few minutes, run a dry patch--always clean, and run a oiled patch down the bore and check it after three days and weekly after that if I don't shoot it often. after three days the patch will have just a touch of brown/gray on it, I am not alarmed, I just run another oiled patch and things are good after that every time I check. I keep my rifle in it's leather sheath in the house that is 70 degrees and low humidity year round.

Question one: Is the TOTW stuff glorified windex?
two: If I am in a pinch can I use windex?
three: Ammonia or non ammonia windex?
four: brown/gray color patch after three day no big deal right?

Thank for your help.

 

[LeMat1856]

.
. june 23 / 10:35p


oddly, i had the very same question because i just started using it last month.. the answer is: we'll never know because the formula is their trade secret.. however, i think it does do a better job than any of the 'citrus' based products..

last month i cleaned my barrel as usual with cabela's stuff (it's citrus based - smells like fruit) and then ran the totw stuff through with a clean new patch... surprise ! much more dark fouling came off on the last patch.

given that i first soak parts in very hot, soapy water, then brush off the greasy bore butter, then run a brass brush soaked in the bore cleaner, it's amazing that anything would be left at all.. a final rinse in hot water, thorough drying, and a buff with one final patch soaked in birchwood casey non-petroleum oil seems to take care of the inside and outside pretty well - no flash rust, no gray residue, no tarnish..

regardless, every week or so, i re-treat the inside with cabela bore conditioner and the outsides with more oil just to be safe.. repeat as needed.. also, my personal favorite for the brass is.... brassso !! same stuff we used to keep all the furnishings nice and shiny in the u.s. navy..

since the totw stuff doesn't make anything actually any worse and it does seem to work better than the others, i'm going to keep using it until i find something better..

see ya on the range,
~d~

 

[paulvallandigham]

The Brown/gray patch after 4 days indicates that you didn't rinse out all the soap, and you are getting rust in the bore. NO GOOD!

Rinse that barrel well after using any cleaner, including Windex, with Ammonia. The gray may be graphite, which indicates you didn't allow the soap and water long enough time to clean that out of the pores of the steel.

Dry the barrel of its rinse water. Then coat the bore with a good oil, like Ballistol( Mineral oil with a few extra ingredients to kill mercury fulminate primers- which are no longer used) or Wonderlube, or any vegetable oil mixed with Beeswax to make the oil Stick to the bore during storage. Wipe the bore out with a cleaning patch before taking the gun out to shoot, and also flush it with alcohol to clear out any congealed oil or wax that might otherwise foul your powder when you next load the barrel.

 

[Hawkeye]

"three: Ammonia or non ammonia windex?"

I would NOT use Windex with ammonia on my guns. I have been using windex with vinegar multi-surface cleaner for several years now with good results. I picked the idea up from BPCR shooters.

 

[MikeChapin]

...
Question one: Is the TOTW stuff glorified windex?
two: If I am in a pinch can I use windex?
three: Ammonia or non ammonia windex?
four: brown/gray color patch after three day no big deal right?

Thank for your help.

1. TOW cleaner is a super surfactant(soap) with some chelating agents. The light blue color usually signifies free electrons in solution - the same as Windex.

I use it all the time. I have found it works twice as well if you cut it 50-50 with water.

2. Sure, a lot of people do with good results.

3. Dunno, don't use it. Ammonia will kill acid.

4. The gray is no big thing. As Paul said it is probably some graphite left in the barrel. Soap does not remove graphite well as you can see if you ever get a bunch on your hands and try to wash it off with just plain soap you will see.

The brown is more problematic. If soap is left in the barrel it will sequester any oil put in and not allow it to protect the barrel. The super surfactant that is used in the TOW stuff will grab more oil than just dish soap.

I use Ballistol to protect my barrels. I follow the TOW cleaning with a couple of patches of Ballistol-water mix to kill the soap and get out any left over graphite. Moose milk will work just as well for this. I then use a few patches to dry out the barrel and then give a good coating of pure Ballistol. This seems to work pretty well.

 

[JJB22]

Sounds good fellas, The brown is very, very, minimal. As a matter of fact I have to just about put the magnifying glass to it to see. I like to clean the gun before I leave the range so I don't get into the pinch of having to do it when I get home. I know it seems weird but I clean all of my guns at my range before returning home. Just looking to clean the muzzle loaders on the fly/portable.

 

[hanshi]

I wouldn't store any gun in leather if I were you; that's just asking for rust. If your gun is cleaned and protected with a rust inhibitor oil, it won't hurt it to leave in a cabinet or on a gun rack. The less contact the metal has with leather and some other materials, the better.