chaffinles
32 Cal.
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2008
- Messages
- 9
- Reaction score
- 0
What are the pros and cons of using Murphy's Oil Soap/rubbing alcohol/peroxide as a cleaning solution? Are there better?
-
Friends, our 2nd Amendment rights are always under attack and the NRA has been a constant for decades in helping fight that fight.
We have partnered with the NRA to offer you a discount on membership and Muzzleloading Forum gets a small percentage too of each membership, so you are supporting both the NRA and us.
Use this link to sign up please; https://membership.nra.org/recruiters/join/XR045103
cleaning solutions
- Thread starter chaffinles
- Start date
Help Support Muzzleloading Forum:
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2006
- Messages
- 724
- Reaction score
- 24
a couple of weeks ago i used alcohol and oil soap 50/50 that worked great, i didnt use the peroxide. i would think to keep this off the stock, it may ruin the finish, but i take my barrel out to clean.
Tepid water is all that is needed to clean the fouling from your gun. Even some soap and other ingredients really doesn't speed up the process. The use of peroxide will react strongly with the fouling and does a good job of cleaning. Peroxide is an oxidier and often flash rusting occurs when using a peroxide solution.
Cleaning is a process. Water is used to clean the gun. Dry patches remove the water and then a lubricant will protect the bore from rusting.
Cleaning is a process. Water is used to clean the gun. Dry patches remove the water and then a lubricant will protect the bore from rusting.
Blizzard of '93
Cannon
- Joined
- Oct 3, 2006
- Messages
- 7,237
- Reaction score
- 13
I use automotive windshield washer solution, cheap and effective, cold does nearly as well. get the winter mix has more alky in it. really cuts the crud and any residual grease also.
I can't tell that it causes any 'flash rust', but I also warm the solution and dry the barrel by warming it quickly, then some lube on.
I always take my BP C&B revolvers camping w/me and clean them with the stuff in a spray bottle and an old toothbrush after shooting many cylinders off. not PC I suppose but effective.
my rifles I swab the bore with it and wipe down the outside/lock area well when camped out. then when home I pull down for a detail cleaning.
I can't tell that it causes any 'flash rust', but I also warm the solution and dry the barrel by warming it quickly, then some lube on.
I always take my BP C&B revolvers camping w/me and clean them with the stuff in a spray bottle and an old toothbrush after shooting many cylinders off. not PC I suppose but effective.
my rifles I swab the bore with it and wipe down the outside/lock area well when camped out. then when home I pull down for a detail cleaning.
When first published, the solution of Murphy's Oil Soap/rubbing alcohol/peroxide as a cleaning solution was desribed as the best around.
Since that time there has been those who are against it because of the peroxide, stating that it will cause damage to bores. Hydrogen peroxide is only 3% in the bottle. When it's mixed with the alcohol and Murphy's soap, the percent of peroxide is very small and I cannot see how it would damage the bore as it's not in the bore that long when cleaning.
As mentioned tepid water does a good job and the flash rusting is not as bad as when using very hot water. I have ended up using tepid water and a dash of dishing soap when cleaning at home. At the range I use "Fanstatic".
Thanks
RDE
Since that time there has been those who are against it because of the peroxide, stating that it will cause damage to bores. Hydrogen peroxide is only 3% in the bottle. When it's mixed with the alcohol and Murphy's soap, the percent of peroxide is very small and I cannot see how it would damage the bore as it's not in the bore that long when cleaning.
As mentioned tepid water does a good job and the flash rusting is not as bad as when using very hot water. I have ended up using tepid water and a dash of dishing soap when cleaning at home. At the range I use "Fanstatic".
Thanks
RDE
Black Hand
Cannon
- Joined
- Mar 17, 2005
- Messages
- 9,348
- Reaction score
- 895
Water and sometimes dish-soap and water...chaffin said:
My Thoughts-
Pros- Really cleans.I have left it in my barrel for over an hour--not always--- and the first patch and ever other patch comes back clean.Dry really really well and oil with with a patch dripping with Ballistol.Squirt some down the bore for good measure.Use the same oiled patch to wipe down wood and metal
Cons- Really cleans.Talk is that over time it can work/eat into the threads of your breech plug which could maybe cause a problem down the road.
I have tried Ol'Thunder, Rusty Duck, Ed's Red,Black Solve,Moose Milk,water and elbow grease,etc.etc. but I always find myself going back to the Murphy's solution for the sake of ease of use.
Pros- Really cleans.I have left it in my barrel for over an hour--not always--- and the first patch and ever other patch comes back clean.Dry really really well and oil with with a patch dripping with Ballistol.Squirt some down the bore for good measure.Use the same oiled patch to wipe down wood and metal
Cons- Really cleans.Talk is that over time it can work/eat into the threads of your breech plug which could maybe cause a problem down the road.
I have tried Ol'Thunder, Rusty Duck, Ed's Red,Black Solve,Moose Milk,water and elbow grease,etc.etc. but I always find myself going back to the Murphy's solution for the sake of ease of use.
I've tried many solutions and gotten back to warm water. Simple and it works. I shoot Black Powder and not the subs so can't speak to cleaning up after using Subs. I don't to look for my cleaning solution it anywhere there is a faucet. :grin:
Rat Trapper
62 Cal.
- Joined
- Nov 28, 2006
- Messages
- 2,648
- Reaction score
- 7
Water as warm as I can get out of the tap in our kitchen and a little soap. Using a brass brush is also a good idea.
I've tinkered with various cleaning "solutions" and have come full circle back to soapy water. It's not that the various solutions didn't work. It's just that I didn't see a need for them since they didn't really do the job any better or faster. Black powder residue just isn't that hard to remove in the first place.
Rat Trapper
62 Cal.
- Joined
- Nov 28, 2006
- Messages
- 2,648
- Reaction score
- 7
Plink said:
:thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Plink said:
Can't disagree with that reasoning! FWIW, the best MZL cleaner I've ever tried is Butch's 'Blackpowder' Bore Shine (BBPBS). At shoots, when others think they're guns are clean using their methods and cleaner, I'll have them put just a few drops of BBPBS on a patch ... and it'll pull more out! (But agreed, it's just carbon, not any corrosive salys ...)
That said, my typical cleaning regimen is good ol' water too with some Windex with vinegar, then Ballistol or Birchwood Casey's Barricade (formerly called 'Sheath') product. I'll use the BBPBS as a cleaner before any long-time storage.
chaffin said:
I just use a drip of Murphy's and water. In fact, if I'm away from home I carry a 2 oz. eyedropper bottle with soapy water for cleaning after I shoot.
I've always wondered why folks bother with the peroxide. If it's mixed it quickly turns to water, and if it still has free floating H2O2 that's a metal oxidizer and will rust steel. If you have an "in the white" barrel or lock you can use it t rust brown wear spots to blend in the patina. That's what I used to keep my Bess evenly rusty. :haha: Clorox & a bit of water works, too (for rusting steel, that is).
I guess it bubbles nice and kills the bacteria in the barrel.
Rat Trapper
62 Cal.
- Joined
- Nov 28, 2006
- Messages
- 2,648
- Reaction score
- 7
I use peroxide along with baking soda and dish soap to kill the smell of a skunk before I go to work skinning him. Don't use it in my rifle as it doesn't smell that bad. Butch's bore shine is pretty good too. Everyone makes a bore cleaner if you want to buy something. Soap and water is still cheaper and works.
