BP cleaner

[Deacon4]

Fellar's,
I've been using the following BP cleaner for years. I think I first saw it in Muzzle Blast magazine? A equal mixture of Isopropyl Alcohol (91%), Murfhy's Oil Soap, and Peroxide. Keep it in a dark colored plastic bottle the Peroxide comes in. After removing all the crud with wetted patches, I run a patch of lightly coated WD-40, followed with a patch of a good gun oil. Check with a lightly oil patch the next day. Seems to work good for me. I use what's left of my old WWII military patches and recycle them in a used tater sack, left hanging out in the rain. Can't find any of the Mil patches no more? They always worked great, no matter the calber.
What ya think, good/bad or whatever.
:hatsoff: Deacon

 

[captaincaveman]

I was always told that peroxide in a barrel was a bad thing :nono:

Josh

 

[spottedpony]

i recall reading the same thing, though i dont remember the reason.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Hydrogen Peroxide is extremely corrosive. And, its not really needed to clean out Black powder. Even the soap is not necessary, but I believe does speed the cleaning. It does require that you flush the barrel after cleaning it with clear water, to remove the soap. use alcohol to dry the barrel, then oil it well with Olive oil, or ballistoil, or wonderlube.

If you live in very cold climates, and the gun will spend much time out of doors, you want to use some thin kinds of oils, that won't gel in the cold. I hot climates, you want to consider using a lube with beeswax, or some other solids to help it " stick " to he metal, and not simply melt and drip off.

 

[Blizzard of '93]

sounds like it would do good, I discovered Go-Jo white hand cleaner myself - cheap and effective. of course I use a hot-water soak/rinse. or windsheild washer fluid does good for the water.

 

[silverfox]

Deacon as Paul says the peroxide is not a good thing and is not necessary. If you want to use the formula you can just subsitute pure water for the peroxide and it will work just as well. Not only is the peroxide corrosive it penetrates deep into the threads which you don't need to happen. Could loosen something you don't want loosened. or could lock something in place that you might want to remove later. Soap and water work fine. then a little rust preventer.
Fox :hatsoff:

 

[windwalker_au]

allways use hot soapy water then flush with plain hot water then just oil it up never had any probs
that way.and when in the field use alcohol to swob the bore every 3or 4 shots.
bernie :thumbsup:

 

[roundball]

I'm with the crowd who thinks peroxide should not be used...not questioning that it might work but there are too many potential negatives to risk it.

Hot soapy water then a clean hot water rinse has done perfectly for me for a lot of years...guess I'll stay with that.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Windwalker: You live in a very arid, low relative humidity location, so that rust is not a problem for you generally. In more humid areas, you would do bettern to use tepid water, then dry the barrel with clean patches, and then oil on finishing. You get away with your method simply because of where you live.

 

[omgb]

I use water with a drop or two of Murphy's soap just to make the water wetter. I have also used a 50/50 mix of Prestone and water. The Prestone has some natural anti-rusting agents in it. Both work well but just plain water is muuuuuuuuch cheaper.

 

[Slamfire]

True but propolene glycol is so much less pizoness and it comes prepackaged as Rusty Duck's "Black Out". :winking:

 

[MikeChapin]

I have seen that formula around for years and know a lot of people who use it. I wondered about the peroxide component. Why would anyone want to put a strong oxidizer down the barrel? When I looked at the rest of the formula I doubt there is any peroxide left after the components are mixed. The peroxide is going to attack whatever organics and use itself up after a few minutes.

When I mixed some up I noticed the solution heated up a little when it was mixed. A sure sign of some chemical reaction going on. My opinion is that the peroxide is breaking down some of the oils and making them better for BP cleaning than straight Murphy's would be.

The only thing I would change on your cleaning method would be to go to a non-petrolium lube to preserve the bore. I used to use 10 wgt motor oil to protect the bore but switched to Balistol a couple of years ago. All my rifles now will shoot all day without running a damp patch down the bore to clean out the build up. Even my Mountain Rifle which needed a damp patch after five or six shots will now go all day without cleaning. I use Balistol but a lot of other people use other non-petroleum based oils with the same effect.

 

[Blizzard of '93]

hot windsheild washer fluid really loosens the crud, a trick I found here. works some better than hot soapy water I think.

 

[MSW]

Deacon, while i realise that most of these folks are 'jumping all over you' about the peroxide, i believe that their concerns are well intentioned. on the 'this works for me' side of the house: you may use this method if and only if you don't tell my wife...

remove the lock- clean it seperately. then, if you have a hooked breech barrel, remove it- and if not, hook up a flush out tube. (i use the one i got from Track of the Wolf, but you can make your own if you're ambitious- see page 401 of their catalog #16 for an idea of how they work, otherwise, just plonk down the $15.95)

put the breech end of the barrel (or the take up tube, if you're using a flushout) into the container until the touch hole is well under the level of the water. a sturdy, flat bottomed container that won't leak, dribble, tip over, or put any dings in your barrel is important. I use a cut down 5 gallon container, but beware of the ubitiquous 'mud bucket' - some of them have very thin bottoms.

using a jag and a patch, draw a solution of plain old warm water and mild soap (i use dish soap, which i filch from the cleaning cabinet under the sink- don't tell my wife). hot water may get you in trouble with flash rust, depending on temp/humidity, and it's really not necessary. if you do this until the water runs clear, you can be pretty sure that you're barrel is clean. you may have to change the water a few times. don't worry- be happy, beer is God's way of telling that He loves us and wants us to be happy.

once the water runs clear, run a patch soaked in WD40 down the barrel. it should come out clean, and if it does, run another patch with WD40, and you're all set.

as regards the lock, i confes to being a fussbudget and to take care of this chore, i get out my "regular" (i.e. centerfire) rifle cleaning stuff: soft bristle toothbrush, CLP, and a few old rags, followed by a thin coat of good quality gun oil.

weather permitting, you may want to do this outside, since the sulpherous smell might be objectionable. if, however, it's two degrees below zero, you should cut yourself some slack and go indoors.

now, if you want to get P/C, i have heard that you should block the touch hole with a small sliver of wood or a feather, then take a worm jag and wrap it into some tow. using water or urine, slosh the tow round and about into the barrel. the fibres of the tow wuill scrub the crud out tof the barrel, and you'll get the barrel really clean in pretty short order. this sounds just goofy enough to be plausable, so i've gotta try this when i get around to getting some tow.

good luck, and don't get too 'wrapped around the axle' about what other folks think or say.

msw

 

[roundball]

"...and don't get too 'wrapped around the axle' about what other folks think or say..."

:hmm: :hmm: :hmm:
The man ASKED what we thought about his particular approach to cleaning...

 

[Blizzard of '93]

U can use urine in 'your'n' if U wish but I'll be dogged if I'll p*#s into a perfectly good barrel :blah:

 

I just use Butch's Bore Shine and forget about concocting a brew. I tried all sorts of stuff over the years - a pinch of this and a drop of that and a dried liver of three leged toady... Alyays ended up with more leftover ingredients on the shelf that eventually got tossed. Easier on the toads too. :hatsoff: