Brown stuff after cleaning

[d.thomson]

I find even after I spend 45 minutes scrubing changing the hot soapy water about 5-6 times using a bore brush and alternating with a jag and cleaning patch pump action to heat the barel, with a last rise withboiling water, dry patch 2 or 3 . I then leave it by the wood stove for a half hour to make sure all water is evaprated. I then use Balistiol to keep rust out, but when I'm putting Balistiol soked patches down the barrel they have a brownish tinge to them. My question is am I not cleaning it right or do other people get this as well , am I missing a step or doing somthing wrong. I'v read the forums for cleaning but thought I might be missing something, Thanks and Regards Fisher King :hatsoff: .

 

[Norskie]

Try this: Apply the ballistol right after you dry patch it. Sounds like you're getting flash rust.
Moose

 

[JWP]

I'm sure your going to hear alot of different thoughts on this.
I've had different bp weapons that after cleaning (not as good as you've described) - the patches are clean.
I've also had a couple that no matter how much cleaning I do. I get brown patches (my 62 smoothy especially). I've checked the barrel with a bore light - it shines like a well seasoned cast iron skillet.
So what causes this and why does it happen ? I have no idea.
Get yourself a bore light if you don't already have one. Check the barrel - if it shines, I would say "don't worry".
Of course, this is my opinion and you know what they say about opinions :haha:
hope this helps, Wart

 

[tom hargrove]

i had that same problem , started useing butches bore shine for b/p now i have no problems with anything.

 

[Frank/Pa]

I have used WD-40 for years after cleaning. Just spray it down the barrel and run a clean patch after it. I thought I would try ballistol, but got brown on the patches. I went back to WD-40.

 

[d.thomson]

Thanks every one for your responces I'll try them out :thumbsup: Fisher King

 

[Runner]

I am going to guess that you use bore butter or pre-lubed patches. In some barrels, the metal allows the patch lube to penetrate the surface of the metal like cast iron does. In those barrels, you will always see a brown residue unless you use something to remove all traces of the lube. Try Blue Wonder in the barrel, clean it well to remove the Blue Wonder, and then protect it with CLP. If you still get brown on the patch, then don't worry about it. If Blue Wonder will not clean the barrel well enough to stop the problem, then it is leaching out of the barrel itself. If you use Blue Wonder, be aware that all protection will be removed and it will rust if not protected, or if the cleaner is not completely removed from the barrel.

 

[d.thomson]

You'r right I have used bore butter that just could be the problem. Thanks Fisher King :thumbsup:

 

[paulvallandigham]

Fisher King: If you evaporate water from the surface of any metal containing iron, you are going to create rust! That is the problem.

To avoid flash rust, when you get to the final stage of cleaning, use tepid, or air temperature water. Water is a solvent, because it is nearly PH neutral. Salts are basic, and acids are acidic. You don't have to heat water for it to neutralize either salts, or acids. It neutralizes them by diluting them.

So, use tepid water for you final clean, then spray WD40, or some other water displacing oil into the barrel. and put a lot of it on a clean patch and liberally oil the barrel. The water will be drawn off the barrel and evaporate in room temperature air in about 1 hour, unless you have an extraordinary humid house. The oil will remain, and you won't have flash rust. Then you can remove the WD40, and replace it with Ballistoil, and much better, and longer lasting preservative for barrels.

 

[Don B]

So, use tepid water for you final clean, then spray WD40, or some other water displacing oil into the barrel. and put a lot of it on a clean patch and liberally oil the barrel. The water will be drawn off the barrel and evaporate in room temperature air in about 1 hour, unless you have an extraordinary humid house. The oil will remain, and you won't have flash rust. Then you can remove the WD40, and replace it with Ballistoil, and much better, and longer lasting preservative for barrels.

How would you remove the WD40? Denatured alcohol? Won't the alcohol displace the water by itself, eliminating the need for the WD40?

Thanks,
Don B

 

[d.thomson]

Thanks Paul I will have to add that to my cleaning proces. I leave the gun near the wood stove so I dont have to worry about humidity. Every one has givin me food for thought , thanks again, Fisher King. :hatsoff:

 

[No Deer]

I leave the gun near the wood stove so I dont have to worry about humidity. Every one has givin me food for thought , thanks again, Fisher King. :hatsoff:

Not to give you something else to worry about, but I would be cautious leaving it next to the stove. It will dry out the wood and possibly cause cracking in the stock.

 

[d.thomson]

I dont leave it to close to the wood stove mabey 5 feet away, but thanks for giving me another thing to worry about :surrender: :rotf: Fisher king.

 

[paulvallandigham]

First, Don, run a couple of dry patches down the barrel to soak up any WD 40 they can. Then use a patch with alchohol on it to get the rest. Then reoil with whatever. I have been using Bore butter now for some years, and not WD40 at all. I have both, but don't use the latter. I simply dry the barrel with dry cleaning patches, after using tepid water, and then put a lot of lube on a cleaning patch and run it up and down the barrel a couple of times. I use the excess to wipe over the outside of my browned barrel, removing oils and acids from fingrprints, and I am done. If I think of it, a week later, I will put more Lube on my patch, and run it down the barrel again. Sometimes I will show some small flash rusting on the lands, but usually the second application does it for sure. Before I load my gun the next time, I remove the lube, and run a patch with alcohol down it to remove the dried out lube, and any lube in corners I didn't reach. A light- and I do mean light - coat of oil on a patch down the barrel, and the gun goes into the case, and I am off to the range, or hunting field.

Hope that helps. Cleaning is as much a function of HOW you do it as much as WHAT you do.

 

[paulvallandigham]

I am not very big on leaving guns near wood stoves. Its very hard on the wood, and you can't control the heat on the stove, so it can be hard on metal if you get even a fingerprint on a metal surface. Also, hot air carries a lot more humidity than does cool air. So, in cabin heated with a wood stove, the humidity is going to be the highest around that stove. ( and above it.) If you think about it, where are you most likely to find water in a cabin heated with a wood stove? ( Answer: Usually sitting in a coffee pot, or pan, heating for drinks or for washing. )

 

[Trot]

I used to have this happen until I quit using hot soapy water. I now use just cold water, no soap. A couple of wet patches, a couple dry patches, then one with Ballistol. Absolutely no rust now. Quick and easy, I wish I figured it out 25 years earlier.

 

[George Holton]

Windshield solvent winter blend works well also, winter blend has alcohol in it. to pick up water and keep from freezing. dries nice and dry. Bob

 

[Mad Professor]

I have easily removable barrels on my guns. I pump them clean in a bucket of hot soapy tap water, use a bore brush, pump again. Give it a rinse with hot tap water. Dry patch then pour some isopropanol down the barrel till some comes out the nipple hole. A couple more dry patches then the barrel near my woodstove for final drying. I do use NL 1000 to coat the bore and for a lube in general.

Sometimes one of the isopropanol soaked patches will have a bit of brown but I believe that is a bit of the greasy lube that the water washings could not dissolve; The previous wet/dry patches at this point were absolutely clean.

Anyway the alcohol rinse removes the water and avoids any flash-rust. Brown stuff may be a bit of lube with a little residue that won't dissolve in water.

 

[Jarikeen]

Like you trot, I also gave up using hot soapy water - after getting flash rusting. I just use room temp water for cleaning and flushing. Then I dry patch twice, then add a little metho down the spout, pour out (this removes any last drops of water), dry patch again, then spray down some WD40 substitute, dry patch again, (this removes the last bit of alcohol), then use Lanox which has lanolin. If I intent to store for a very long period, I might add some marine grease to the last patch. Before shooting I just wet patch with some windex.
I live in a humid climate, and using this method, I have no problem with rust.
However this method may be seen as overkill by some. I can't quite bring myself to use the 'waterless method' just yet with BP.
Then again, I'm only fairly new to ML.
Having said all that, as suggested by some, the brown residue may not be rust, but stain weeping from the very steel itself.

 

[renovato]

Try Ballistol right after you dry the bore. You can then warm the gun to drive off any remaining moisture. The Ballistol will help protect against flash rusting yet will allow moisture to evaporate still.