Pandemic lube

[JoJoLesh]

Many lube and cleaner recipes have rubbing alcohol in them.
Unfortunately people are panicking in the US and stores do not have rubbing alcohol in them.
Where I live, I can't even buy liqueur as vodka or Everclear could fill in.

What I can buy is Denatured Alcohol, at the hardware store. It is used for shellac and some other finishes.

But the question remains:
Can Denatured Alcohol be used in place of Rubbing Alcohol in patch lubes or bore cleaners?

Isopropanol (Rubbing Alcohol) and ethanol (Denatured and normal drinking Alcohol) are not the same. They are different chemicals, CH3CHOHCH3 and C2H5OH respectively. Question is, will they work the same for our purposes?

My biggest concern is the additives in Denatured Alcohol. I do know that because of these additives, and notably the residues they leave behind, that Denatured Alcohol is not good for cleaning electrical components. Still, maybe it doesn't matter for patch lube.

Thoughts?
Experiences?
Does everyone have toilet paper?

 

[Brokennock]

I don't use any alcohol in my patch/wad lube. I do however use it to remove the lube from the bore before shooting because I also use thr same beeswaxlive oil mixture as a metal protectant post cleaning. I've used rubbing alcohol and denatured alcohol, I think the denatured cleans faster but I've noticed no other difference.
I would say try it.

 

[Grimord]

I use the denatured alcohol for swabbing the bore every 3-5 shots and for cleaning the pan and frizzen. It cuts the crud, and dries fast. I have never used it in a patch lube so i cannot say if it is a substitute.

 

[Griz44Mag]

I use the denatured alcohol for swabbing the bore every 3-5 shots and for cleaning the pan and frizzen. It cuts the crud, and dries fast. I have never used it in a patch lube so i cannot say if it is a substitute.

WINDEX.
Has enough alcohol in it to dry fast, and does an excellent job of bore wiping between shots.
I have been using it for a couple of years now, and have only good things to say about that.
For cleaning I is MCM (Miracle red oil, Colemans camp fuel, Mineral spirits) I have used this on all of my firearms for decades. It cleans anything, black or otherwise, leaves a nice protective thin film behind and will not harm steel, plastic or wood.
I use MAP (Murphies, Alcohol and Peroxide) for soaking black powder parts. It will boil away anything and leave the parts super clean. The type of alcohol does not matter.

 

[Nazgul58]

In the Automotive section is HEET, gas line antifreeze. Get the Iso-HEET, it is 99% isopropanol.

Don

 

[renegadehunter]

I use denatured alcohol for drying the bore and patent breech after cleaning, swabbing out the rust preventative in the bore before shooting, and for combining with Castor oil when using a Dutch S. style patch lube. No issues of any kind with it. It was difficult to find high percentage Isopropyl around here before the panic buying started, so I've just always used denatured alcohol.

 

[dave951]

Windex does a great job of cleaning, just remember to oil afterwards.

For lube, I don't see why you couldn't use denatured alcohol. Try it and let everybody know if the "hack" works.

Yes, I have enough TP for a month of normality. Not so much if there is an onslaught of dysentery.

 

[Howard Pippin]

Many lube and cleaner recipes have rubbing alcohol in them.
Unfortunately people are panicking in the US and stores do not have rubbing alcohol in them.
Where I live, I can't even buy liqueur as vodka or Everclear could fill in.

What I can buy is Denatured Alcohol, at the hardware store. It is used for shellac and some other finishes.

But the question remains:
Can Denatured Alcohol be used in place of Rubbing Alcohol in patch lubes or bore cleaners?

Isopropanol (Rubbing Alcohol) and ethanol (Denatured and normal drinking Alcohol) are not the same. They are different chemicals, CH3CHOHCH3 and C2H5OH respectively. Question is, will they work the same for our purposes?

My biggest concern is the additives in Denatured Alcohol. I do know that because of these additives, and notably the residues they leave behind, that Denatured Alcohol is not good for cleaning electrical components. Still, maybe it doesn't matter for patch lube.

Thoughts?
Experiences?
Does everyone have toilet paper?

I believe that the only difference in rubbing alcohol and alcohol used like in gasoline antifreeze is the percent of pure alcohol. Most rubbing alcohols are about 70%. I understand that anything stronger has a tendency to burn the skin. They are all poisonous.
Squint

 

[Grenadier1758]

Rubbing alcohol is isopropyl alcohol and the alcohol used in antifreeze is usually isopropyl but generally antifreeze uses ethylene glycol which has more lubricant qualities. Denatured alcohol is ethyl alcohol that is treated to make it poisonous and is usually 91% or higher. As far as cleaning properties, whether isopropyl alcohol at 70% or denatured ethyl alcohol at 91%, there is no noticeable difference in cleaning quality. Both will displace water, wipe out fouling, and dry a bore while quickly evaporating.

Sure, you could use Everclear, which is about 95% ethyl alcohol, or some other form of drinkable alcohols, at some ridiculous expense compared to rubbing alcohol. Save the drinkable alcohols for a time when it is appropriate to toss off a shot.

 

[Rifleman1776]

I have never been a fan of using alcohol or hydrogen peroxide for my ml activities. That means I don't use them for patch lube or cleaning. Reason is, those liquids evaporate and/or lose potency very quickly. Make up a solution with either one and quick as a blink they are gone and useless. Even denatured alcohol (which I use for woodworking projects) absorbs moisture very quickly despite being kept in a well sealed bottle. Others disagree with me but I've made it to a ripe old age in this ml craziness, so, I guess I haven't missed much.

 

[JoJoLesh]

Sure, you could use Everclear, which is about 95% ethyl alcohol, or some other form of drinkable alcohols, at some ridiculous expense compared to rubbing alcohol. Save the drinkable alcohols for a time when it is appropriate to toss off a shot.

Short story:
I can't buy Everclear.

Long story:

Early this year I moved to West Virginia. Because moving is expensive, I had many months before my plates needed renewal, I needed to gather the needed paperwork, and I still had a home in the previous state; I didn't immediately file for residency here.

Now the DMVs are shutdown.
And the governor here, In his great and ineffable wisdom, has prohibited sale of liquor to any out state resident. Yes they do check my ID. For a while I couldn't even buy beer. Pennsylvania, about a 10 min drive, shut down their liquor stores too.

Yes, it is true. Weep for me now that you have heard my tale of woe and sorrow.

 

[Mark Herman]

I buy sanitizer from a beer brewery that has 80-90% alcohol.

 

[Grenadier1758]

You don't need to use everclear. The denatured alcohol you can get in the hardware store is perfectly suitable for cleaning the fouling from a muzzleloader.

You're in West Virginia? I thought all you needed to buy alcohol was a rabbit hutch, a quart jar and a $20. Put the quart jar in the rabbit hutch with the $20 and in the morning you have a quart of quality moonshine. Times have changed I suppose.

 

[Archer 756]

As was posted awhile BABY WIPS why do things the $$$ way

 

[JoJoLesh]

You don't need to use everclear. The denatured alcohol you can get in the hardware store is perfectly suitable for cleaning the fouling from a muzzleloader.

You're in West Virginia? I thought all you needed to buy alcohol was a rabbit hutch, a quart jar and a $20. Put the quart jar in the rabbit hutch with the $20 and in the morning you have a quart of quality moonshine. Times have changed I suppose.

Shoot, wish someone would have told me!
I am new here and a Damn Yankee to boot. I don't quite know the ways of these hill folk yet.

thinking about it, has anyone tried antifreeze as a patch lube or cleaner? I am thinking that it has a few good properties for those uses.

 

[Grenadier1758]

Yes, I know people who use antifreeze as a patch lube and cleaner. It does work and work pretty well, but really no better than any of the other cleaners and lubricants. Mix it 50/50 and its as good as anything else. It is more hazardous material controlled and dumping the used antifreeze after cleaning can be considered dumping hazardous waste in some localities. I don't recommend antifreeze for that reason and the fact that its not any better than any other cleaner/patch lubricant.

 

[Ontario47]

There is a big difference in using a liquid (or solid or gas) as a solvent (cleaner) and using it in a chemical reaction. Methanol, ethanol, denatured alcohol, isopropanol, will all work about the same as solvents. They are also about the same external disinfectants (like soap and water), which is both a cleaning (mechanical) and chemical (poison the germs) process. The only safe internal (metabolic) chemical to drink is ethanol (grain alcohol) not because it is an alcohol (OH group) but because it is exactly two carbons,five hydrogens, and the OH group angled at the end of the carbon chain.

PS , "Heet" is a methanol mix (internal poison) so is most antifreeze a poison. PPS, Yes I am a retired Science teacher and plastic pocket protector personality