How to keep ML rust free

[buckknife]

A couple of good points touched upon is you dont need boiling hot water,room temp or even cold work fine.
After using soapy water, rinse the barrel good with just straight water.
Dry patch it dry.When you think the last patch is completely dry,do one more.
Just about any oil or grease will protect the bore if the above steps are taken. :v
On another note ive found if i use moosemilk for patchlube and then clean with the same mix i dont need any thing else in the bore to protect it.Been a good month since ive shot the rock lock.Once a week i run a dry patch down the bore to see if there is any sign of rust.The patch comes out clean and dry.Cant ask for much better than that :hatsoff:

 

[spitpatch]

If you insist on using boiling water the secret is don't let the barrel get cold before using the pet products. I am always trying something different. I like Kroil and also auto trans fluid with dextron really stops rust. I agree with the other guys on wd-40. It turns to a varnish like after time.

 

[Stormrider51]

Please, oh PLEASE, use WD-40! I'm just kidding. I'm a gunsmith by trade and I call WD-40 "the gunsmith's best friend" because of all the business it brings me. Anytime a firearm comes into my shop with a complaint of "it just quit working" I ask the owner if they use WD-40. Or, if I haven't had the chance to talk to the owner, but tear the gun down and find the internal parts coated with a yellowish-to-black gum I know what the problem is.

The base ingredient of WD-40 is fish oil. When the solvents evaporate off they leave the fish oil behind. The sticky gum thus created catches and holds every bit of crud that comes its way. Yep, it's GREAT stuff for firearms of any type! :wink:

I don't use Breakfree CLP in my shop because of the cost. I found a product that works the same and costs far less. Of course, I have to buy it by the case but that's okay because I go through about a can a week around here. I have never had a rusting problem with my BP guns using this stuff. I never had a problem with Breakfree either. I have to wonder if those who report problems are failing to shake the can before application. You really need to shake the dickens out of the can before application in order to get the best results. Otherwise, what comes out of a can is mostly solvent until the can is half empty or thereabouts and then mostly oil. Neither one alone works as the two together.

Water is the best cleaner for real black powder. Preparation for cleaning has always been the key for me. I take the barrel and lock out of the stock before putting a pot of water on to boil. Once it is boiling I give it a little dishsoap. I then dip the lock in the hot water and scrub with a toothbrush. Rinse by swishing the lock in the water again. Set the lock aside and stick the breech end of the barrel, with clean-out screw removed, into the water. Pump the water in and out using a patch or two or three. The hot water evaporates quickly from the steel leaving the bore dry or very nearly so. Now run a couple of oil-soaked patches down the bore to protect. Spray oil on the lock and wipe off the excess. Put lock and barrel back in stock. A couple of days later I will run another oiled patch down the bore as a precaution. It is rare for the patch to come out showing any trace of rust. By the way, I live in Austin, Texas where the humidity is normally high year-round. I've never had to try to protect my guns in saltwater conditions.

Storm

 

[sharps54]

What type of oil do you use?
Sharps54

 

[Dillohide]

I also live in Texas ... Houston, Victoria (both as hot and humid as you can get) and now the DFW area. I've used WD40 on my Black Powder rifles for 30 years with not one hint of rust. The way I look at it, any piece of metal you put in hot soapy water to clean needs something like WD40. Is it the best, probably not, but it is easily available and it works. Would I put it on of my automatics, lever actions, bolt actions or center fire single shots ... absolutely not, but I do not soak them in hot soapy water either. However, on a black powder barrel with no moving parts, absolutely. Yes it fouls black powder, pyrodex etc if you leave it in prior to shooting but that's what another cheap and readily available product is for ... rubbing alcohol. Take of the nipple, pour it through, swab it and the barrel. It will fire every time. I also store my rifles muzzle down so excess drains out the barrel and doesn't pool where I don't want it. If you properly clean your black powder rifle after every use, nothing including WD40 is ever going to have a chance to cause a goop build up.

 

[Coot]

I would stay far and clear of WD-40. I found out in my years of competetive shooting that NOTHING can foul powder like WD-40. I know guys that react to it like a vampire to sunlight. I find that a swab of balistol in the bore and everywhere else has been the best thing I have found to stop rust hands down.

:thumbsup: WD-40 also tends to get a bit gummy when left for longer periods. It should not be used on any kind of intricate mechanism. CRC-56 is an alternate spray lube/moisture displacer that can be applied & ignored for months without gumming up. The CRC is still a petrol based product & I do not use it on my muzzleloaders but like it for modern guns.

 

[Stormrider51]

Sharps54,
What I use is Max Professional Gun Cleaner. Their website is http://max-professional.com. They make a wide range of products including a spray that is supposed to be just a gun scrubber. I've never tried it because the cleaner/lubricant/protectorant works well for me.

Storm

 

[sharps54]

Thanks!

 

[Rick Davis]

I can hear the "Old School" cries already, but hot water rinse inside the barrel for the first layer of crud, then Hoppes Nine plus until the patches come out clean. And CLP on moving parts. Not a hint of rust anywhere.

I have it in the old white plastic squeeze bottle that dates to the 1980s, I bought 3-4 bottles when I found it almost forgotten in a local gun store.

 

[theDuck]

I've cleaned my guns, dried them and sprayed WD 40 in them and wiped that out. I looked at my CVA Bobcat that I haven't shot or touched in 5 years and there is no rust in it. I live beside Lake Huron in a swamp.

 

[Dillohide]

Green Mountain agrees. They recommend WD40 in their black powder barrels after a soap and water cleaning. It's in the instructions that come with every new barrel.

 

[flaming canvas]

Rust Prevent, of course. Black and yellow can from Shooter's Choice does as well as anything I've ever tried.

 

[deanscamaro]

Wow! If you have reached a final decision on what to use to clean/protect, you are Superman! :surrender: I created a list of about 15 products that have been recommended by going through all the posts and I know I probably missed something. I am a newbie and was wanting to piggy-back on your question. I'm not sure what to do now, but will probably use one of the most recommended. Thanks for your help.
:hatsoff:

 

[Many Klatch]

deano, that's what makes blackpowder so much fun. Every one is an expert and a lot of things work well. You just need to find the one that works for you.

Many Klatch

 

[54Bernie54]

Thanks to all replies, was hoping for 10 good ones and got over 30, love this site.

 

[laufer]

I clean with warm water and a drop of dish soap. I flush the barrel with 2-3 patches. Then I rinse with the garden hose. I dry it with a blast from the air compressor followed by 5-6 patches. Next I spray Rem-oil down the bore and soak it good with patches soaked with Rem-oil. I let it sit while I clean the rest of the parts, lock, nipple...etc. I then blow the excess oil out with the compressor, wipe it down, and reassemble.
I have NEVER had a single speck of rust.

HD

same here. :v

 

[TopNotch]

After cleaning I prefer Ballistol for the barrell and stock.