Hydrgen Peroxide?

[N.Y. Yankee]

So I'm seeing many discussions about cleaning BP.
Many say to use hydrogen peroxide in the mix, but then I see where others tell you not to use it as it has corrosive properties. What exactly does it do and why is it called for?

 

[M. De Land]

It is a powerful oxidizer and is unnecessary to dissolve BP residual. There is no benefit over warm soapy water that I know of.

 

[Birddog6]

:wink: Battery Acid would probably work too, but I don't recommend it. :shake:

I mean really........ BP fouling dissolves in plain water. Patch lube can be broken down with soap in the water.... why would you want to expose something more corrosive into the bore, when all it takes is a lil soap & water. :idunno:

Water, a squirt of Joy or Dawn dish liquid soap or some non-aerosol Ballistol in the water will clean them well & all I have ever needed for cleaning them in over 40 years of shooting ML rifles.

Keith Lisle

 

[necchi]

There is no benefit

Exactly,
I have no idea why the myth has been told and re-told all these decades. Some folks are just stuck.
I guess it give folks a feeling that they are doing something special to get their bores really clean.
Hydrogen Peroxide reacts with iron and creates heat, that's the action that is supposed to "sterilize" a flesh wound, it reacts with the iron in your blood. The same thing happens on a low level with the iron in steel. The argument against HP in bores is that it will work it's way into the threads of drums (CVA/Traditions/Pedersoli) and breech plugs and begin a slow rust process.
If it's not present in a cleaning solution it can't do that.
I can think of no argument for using HP in a gun barrel.

 

[Crewdawg445]

It's an oxidizer, which means rust. Good ole fashion methods win every time.

 

[Billnpatti]

Just good old soap and water will get your bore sparkling clean. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: Hydrogen peroxide has no place in a gun bore. :nono: It just causes rust. Save it for cleaning cuts and other boo boos and leave it out of your patch lube and bore cleaner.

 

[FishDFly]

"It is a powerful oxidizer and is unnecessary to dissolve BP residual"

Hydrogen Peroxide is 3% solution from the bottle, how is it a powerful oxidizer?

Folks at Friendship mix in equal parts of Hydrogen Peroxide, alcohol and Murphy's Soap which reduces the peroxide to 1% or less.

Do you think they are going to risk competition guns?

 

[coloradoclyde]

Hydrogen Peroxide is 3% solution from the bottle, how is it a powerful oxidizer?

Exactly!!!!

Anyone here every clean a metal part in a caustic tank ????
What can happen when you take it out of the tank????
Boom flash rust.
Murpheys oil soap has a ph of 11 or in other words......Caustic.

 

[Crewdawg445]

+1, powerful or not it's still an oxidizer and has no place in my rifle bores. To each his own, but I'll stick with ballistol and water! :hatsoff:

 

[Melton Kidd]

Hydrogen peroxide works very well on your hands after a long day of shooting, but I would not clean a rifle with it.

 

[coloradoclyde]

+1, powerful or not it's still an oxidizer and has no place in my rifle bores. To each his own, but I'll stick with ballistol and water! :hatsoff:

But, but .....is it always an oxidizer.????????

What makes it become an oxidizer ????????

 

[b737tvc]

ya but if your reducing the hydrogen peroxide to less then 1% or more, why use it then....just saying, my vote is warm soapy water, works great.

Beaver T.

 

[hanshi]

Never will I understand the weird things folks come up with for a simple gun cleaning. Instead of hydrogen peroxide, I highly recommend dihydrogen oxide.

 

[FishDFly]

What is the pH of soap?

 

[Stumpkiller]

+1, powerful or not it's still an oxidizer and has no place in my rifle bores. To each his own, but I'll stick with ballistol and water! :hatsoff:

But, but .....is it always an oxidizer.????????

What makes it become an oxidizer ????????

H2O2 is unstable and becomes H2O + O+. Oxygen is a diatomic element and likes to be O2 (bubbles), but the free ions also REALLY like iron. Free oxygen sticks to Fe in the steel and becomes Fe2O3 = rust.

Any compound that releases oxygen is an oxidixer.

 

[LongrifleDoc]

I can understand. and completely agree with, the caustic effects of hydrogen peroxide but I have seen many posts on this forum about using Murphy's Oil Soap because it is supposed to be safe for the finish on the stock, especially when cleaning a pined firearm. But a ph of 11 seems really high.

What soap do you suggest or is Murphy's Oil Soap somehow OK?

 

[b737tvc]

Depends on the soap, its base is alkaline. But different soap very on the scale.

Beaver T.

 

[Danny Ross]

I'm glad you asked this question because I was thinking about it the other day. As you mentioned it has been recommended by others on here. I couldn't understand its benefits when cleaning a BP gun. As I have read this there isn't. Must be one of those somebody tried it, then told others about it, then They told somebody about it, who told somebody else, that told somebody else it was good to use. Think I am going to try some snake oil and I'll have then spread the word about It. :hmm: DANNY

 

[coloradoclyde]

What happens to the peroxide solution when it is combined with sodium hydroxide?
and then 2-propanol

 

[smoothshooter]

A lot of combinations work, but I have used 70% isopropyl alcohol with complete satisfaction. The 30% water dissolves the fouling, and the 70% alcohol dissolves the patch lube, with the added benefit of evaporating in a couple of minutes so a drying patch is not necessary. However, if shooting is done for the day, wiping down the inside of the barrel and all outer metal surfaces with an oil patch is required.