Homemade cleaner recipes

[mnbearbaiter]

Other than hot water/soap, what are some others out there that work for bp, pyrodex, etc? Believe i saw a video or read somewhere once that a 1:1 mix of peroxide, rubbing alcohol, murphys oil soap, vinegar, and water will make a bore cleaner thatll work for smokeless powder, all bp substitutes, as well as real bp...anybody hear of this before :idunno:

 

[Stumpkiller]

Teaspoon of Murphy's Oil Soal or Pine-sol to one gallon of water works for me.

Never tried Pyrodex so have no thoughts on how to clean up afterwards..

Hydrogen Peroxide is an oxidizer and not something I want near my gun's metal.

Soaps are a base, so adding an acid like vinegar neutralizes them. :idunno: Cheaper to stick with water; which is neutral to begin with.

 

[Blackpowdersmoke]

Teaspoon of Murphy's Oil Soal or Pine-sol to one gallon of water works for me.

Never tried Pyrodex so have no thoughts on how to clean up afterwards..

Hydrogen Peroxide is an oxidizer and not something I want near my gun's metal.

Soaps are a base, so adding an acid like vinegar neutralizes them. :idunno: Cheaper to stick with water; which is neutral to begin with.

Murphy's oil soap

 

[necchi]

If you really take a look at the commercial cleaners avaiable they're just water with slippery stuff.

So, soap being the most common slippery stuff in most households is still a good bet.

Little need for majical mystery mixes.

Now keep in mind that a soap is a chemical and too much of any chemical is not a good thing.

The Peroxide thing has been debated for years, but most of the industry pros put the nix on the idea of peroxide and steel (bad thing) but there's the hold-out's that will continue with
"It's worked for me for years".

You leave the Peroxide an Vinegar out of the mix you listed and you'll be fine. I carry a little squirt bottle of stuff just like that for quicky range cleaning when done shooting, but finish the job later on in camp or at home with olde reliable soap an water, rinseing and drying.
Always the same day.

 

[mnbearbaiter]

Does soap and water clean up pyrodex also? Im sure its a beaten horse, but what about Ballistol and water? Carb cleaner? Im going to be shooting Pyrodex RS in my shotguns and was looking for an alternative to No 13 in case i start shooting trap and sporting clays with the gun and need more volume of cleaner! I know a bp shooter who used an equal parts measurement of simple green, water, and 70% rubbbing alcohol! The simple green is a mild degreaser so it could be good for crud cutting

 

[Bill Hall]

My favorite recipe: 4 ounces carbonated soda, 1 gallon water, squirt of lime juice, 1 ounce ingestable alcohol, 1 ounce dish soap.

Combine water and dish soap in a suitable bucket. Next, combine alcohol, lime juice, and carbonated soda in a clean drinking glass. Now you have two separate mixtures. Clean the gun with the mixture in the bucket and drink the contents of the glass. That's all you need. Bill

 

[RC]

:redface: well I'll say it....knowing :shocked2: that everyone will say jus use water...yes jus wayer works,,case closed.. :wink: use White GoJo hHand Cleaner,,,put it on a patch..put it in barrel, use a spoon,fingers..whatever. don't matter..swab it a few times .. i rinse the patch swab a few more.. rinse with water, swab rinse... dry.. wd 40 ..done... about $2.50 fer a small can of it last long time..jus my opinion...it works For Me.. an others who have tried it... :thumbsup:

 

[Comrade Coffin]

I must say gentlemen that I have definitely found the best ever combo:

Take a gallon of water, 1/2 a lime, four ice cubes, 1/4 pint of soda and a double measure of Sailor Jerrie's rum. Add the first ingredient to your gun, and then combine the last four ingredients in a glass and add them to yourself.

And relax.

 

[Mike Brooks]

Windex with vinegar lately.

 

[jamesthomas]

About a pint of water with a good dollop of Dawn dish soap. Gets the rifle clean everytime!.

 

[Rifleman1776]

The Peroxide thing has been debated for years, but most of the industry pros put the nix on the idea of peroxide and steel (bad thing) but there's the hold-out's that will continue with
"It's worked for me for years".

I'm one of the "It's worked for me for years" guys. I have seen the pro and anti arguments also. I don't use it regularly and then leave in bore less than two minutes. This is followed with a soap/water cleaning.
As to formulas, there are mixes for every ml gun guy out there. Create yer own and let us know what you come up with.

 

[rafterob]

To answer the posters 2nd question, yes soap and water works fine for Pyrodex. Shot Pyro for over a year and never cleaned with anything besides warm water and a little dish soap. Water will take care of powder residue, the soap is added to take care of any lube residue. Remember soap allows oils to be broken up into molecular particles that can then be washed away with water. Those with any chemical purchasing/sales knowledge know that most cleaning products on the market are a high percentage water, extreme profit margins involved. Example, windex is 98.7% water, the rest is ammonia (added vinegar if stated) and coloring. Some use windshield washer fluid at the range; water, ammonia,alcohol and coloring. Make your own. Water and Murphy's oil soap is good, about a tsp.soap to a quart of water. Murphy's is good because it doesn't foam alot, especially with cold water.

 

[David W.]

Other than hot water/soap, what are some others out there that work for bp, pyrodex, etc? Believe i saw a video or read somewhere once that a 1:1 mix of peroxide, rubbing alcohol, murphys oil soap, vinegar, and water will make a bore cleaner thatll work for smokeless powder, all bp substitutes, as well as real bp...anybody hear of this before :idunno:

All kinds of cleaning solutions have been tried. I use warm water with a few drops of Dawn. One may also try 7 parts water, 1 part Ballistol.

 

[ohio ramrod]

Al components of black powder fouling are water soluable. So any solution with water will work, warmer tempertures work faster. Alcohol solutions work better at cold (freezing ) temps than others. So just mix up what you can get cheap and use it. (Avoid any "cleaners" with chlorine in them) :idunno:

 

[mnbearbaiter]

Tanks for the help guys :hatsoff: I do have simple green, 70% rubbing alcohol and distilled water in the house now! Should i mix em give it a go next weekend when i go to the range to pattern the turkey slayer :idunno: Thinking maybe 2 parts water, 1 part alcohol, and 1/2 part simple green!!!

 

[troutabout]

Windex with vinegar lately.

These two negate each other. Alkaline (soap) is what kills the acidic etching residue brom BP. I like the Windex idea specially if it's the Windex with ammonia (high alkalinity). But NEVER mix ammonia with Clorox or it makes phosgene gas and will kill your lungs and you instantly. Water with ammonia is OK but maybe only in small amounts.

 

[Stumpkiller]

According to the MSDS the pH of Windex w/Vinegar is 9.5 to 10.5 (vs. 11.75 for plain Windex), so they must not put much vinegar in it. It's still pretty much a 10% ammonia solution with alcohol and water.

 

[spudnut]

KISS (keep it simple silly)Water,nuff said.Wet a cleaning patch and wipe the pan of a recently used flintlock,wipes right off .I plug the barrel and dump in some Adams Ale(water) ,swish it around,dump the fouling,repeat wipe er out with tow,oil and yer done.

 

[Golfswithwolves]

While all the black powder left-overs in the barrel should dissolve in water, yet if there is any lubricant in the barrel a bit of soap will help a lot to get that out.

 

[necchi]

Anyone remember Dougs forum? He and his wife where big into Civil war stuff.

Anyways a number of years back the big new cleaning solution was a Simple Green mix with water an other stuff,, after a year or so folks where complaining about finding Green goo in their bores.

Problem is atypical, folks find something that works so they figure if a little works good, ALOT has just GOTTA work better :youcrazy:
So they start adding more of the chemical and less of the water. Before you know it there's abuild up of stuff that hasn't been rinsed out and they have problems.

When I clean the bore it's about 3-4 drops of dish soap in a gallon of water. It's all thats needed.
Try washing your dishes with the mix, just rinse the plates normal, if they still have soap or a slippery feel after a little rinsing,, there's too much soap.
As already said K.I.S.S.