Cleaning Solvent Recommendations

[Bill]

Well then,

After receiving my new OTIS cleaning kit in the mail yesterday, I went about stripping down and going over my Glock, USP, AR15, and Remington 870Express.

Normally, I just hose down the parts with a can of BreakFreeCLP and scrub things over. This usually accounts for large amounts of waste, and I'd like to try some alternatives. SO, I put some BreakFree in a tupper wear container and used it as a "bath" for my parts while I worked on other exterior pieces. This worked way better, and now I'm looking for some solvent recommendations. I know people have their own "secret" sauces, and I'd like to see if there is anything better than BFCLP, or whether I should just keep on using it.

 

[hole punch]

what kind of solvent are you looking for? i use Hoppe's #9 as a powder residue solvent, but it seems to eat into the finish on the Saiga if I go crazy with it. Also, I use Barnes CR-10 for copper fouling and lead or if I've been shooting corrosive primed ammo. Lately I've just been using straight Break Free CLP on everything, but it really doesn't pull out the deep-in shit as well as the Hoppe's, nor is it as "slick" as the Rem Oil, etc, as a lube.

 

[Russ D]

These two work very well.

 

[Qbeam]

I use Hoppes #9, followed by Corrosion X as a preservative/oil after cleaning. I've also used Breakfree, Sweet's 7.62, Butch's Boreshine, MPro7, Hoppes Copper Solvent, Shooters Choice and others. Most of us have used several different types of solvent and oil/preservatives, and it's a personal choice after that.

 

[bean93x]

i hear a 50/50 mix of kroil and shooters choice works really well with removing carbon and all that nasty crap and will wipe a bore/ barrel clean after a few patches

 

[slayr15]

clp is all i use (clean ,lube ,protect) .

 

[Topher]

I use Shooters' Choice for lead and Sweet's for copper.
Then finish off with some CLP.

 

[E.Shell]

I've been using Wipe-Out + the Accelerator almost exclusively for a couple years, and unless I'm in a big hurry to get a certain rifle clean, it's all I ever use. I am tickled with it - it gets EVERYTHING out effortlessly. I no longer brush, and used to go though a dozen bore brushes a year. I used to go through Sweets at a rate of a couple bottles a year. I used Shooter's Choice & Kroil to clean the bench guns and for cleaning up my rifles that shot moly too.

I've got or have had almost all of the solvents, like Butch's, Montana Extreme 50BMG, Sweets & Shooter's Choice, but have given up most of the stuff invented back in the 1900s.

I am usually cleaning 2 to 4 precision rifles every other weekend with just patches and just can't imagine returning to the brush and swab thing.

I bring the rifles home from the range, run a wet patch through with Accelerator, fill the bore with Wipe-Out and then go unpack/sort out/clean up the rest of the gear. In an hour or two, I'll push most of the fouling out with a couple dry patches. I'll clean the bolt, bolt ways and locking lugs, and wipe down exposed metal with my oily rag. I'll hit it again, first with the Accelerator, then fill the bores again with Wipe-Out. I'll let this application sit overnight, then patch it ALL out in the morning. Grease the bolt lugs and put it together. Done. (Seriously)

I've even gone in behind Sweets and MX and removed jacket fouling with Wipe-Out that didn't show up after soaking with the other solvents.

If I'm cleaning in a hurry, like between match relays (rarely) or at a motel at a match someplace, I'll use the Accelerator and then "Patch-Out", a faster acting solvent related to Wipe-Out but takes a little more work.

I "think" my barrels are lasting longer, and I KNOW it's way less effort to achieve a thoroughly clean bore.

 

[Russ D]

Guess I gotta order me up some Wipe-out now!

 

[eddiek2000]

... Wipe-out...

+1 Do some research. Awesome Stuff!!

 

[jorjohn11]

This year I've tried Tetra, Sweet 7.62, Hoppes, and a couple of others and keep going back to Shooters Choice.

 

[trbon8r]

So Wipe Out is safe for all types of barrels, including chrome lined, and won't etch the barrel if it sits overnight?

Ed, when you say you "fill the bore" with Wipe Out, you mean you run a patch through the barrel using Wipe Out? Or are you doing the old plug the barrel and pour method?

 

[gunconnection]

We recommend Blue Wonder for cleaning your bore, and then follow it up with some CLP.

 

[E.Shell]

So Wipe Out is safe for all types of barrels, including chrome lined, and won't etch the barrel if it sits overnight?

I cannot say about the chrome lined barrels, many products will "darken" chrome, and Wipe-Out may also do this. Marc357 has a very accurate chrome-lined FN-SPR and he also uses Wipe-Out. Marc has never commented about the FN, but he may not use it in that rifle. I use it with good results in both chrome-moly steel and stainless steel.

I use it in my AR-15 barrels, on those extremely rare occasions I have absolutely nothing else to do and happened to clean the bore on one. but have never had the occasion or cared enough to look at the bore. I clean my AR-15 match barrels regularly, but they're not lined. When using it to clean an AR-15, care must be taken to flush the gas tube from the breech end to avoid having the foam congeal and plug the tube, which I do with aerosol brake cleaner before my final patching.

I'd suggest e-mailing and asking the question if you'd like to use it on chrome. gethelp@sharpshootr.com

Wipe-Out does not pit the bore. I have a Hawkeye bore scope kit and can see the bore surface and all I see is clean steel. I have left it in longer than recommended several times, and have had to use repeated applications on ill-maintained barrels after purchasing used rifles. It took about 5 overnight soakings to fully clean a MN 91/30 I bought that initially seemed clean, but looked worn. I kept getting blue "jello" (compromised copper fouling) out of it time after time, and when I finally stopped getting color, the rifling actually look good.

There are a couple rather poor copies of Wipe-Out marketed now, which came out within a year of Wipe-Out's introduction. I would avoid these copies, since they DO have a reputation for pitting and for less effective performance. Some folks may be turned off by what they *thought* was Wipe-Out, but they used a copy and assumed it was the same stuff.

Ed, when you say you "fill the bore" with Wipe Out, you mean you run a patch through the barrel using Wipe Out? Or are you doing the old plug the barrel and pour method?

Neither. Wipe-Out comes in an aerosol can and dispenses like shaving cream. I use a flexible drinking straw over the nozzle to allow me to fill the bore from the breech end. At first, I made a helluva mess, but after discarding the "from the muzzle" method and with a little practice, very little mess or waste occurs.

I put the rifle on a bipod or in a rifle vise, with the muzzle sloped slightly downward and a couple layers of paper towel under the muzzle. I run a couple, wet patches with Accelerator down the bore, then fill the bore from the breech and let it soak. As the Wipe-Out works, it turns blue with jacket fouling and a little will drip from the muzzle. The material I push out of the barrel resembles jello. I usually give it two applications; once with a couple hours of soaking, then patch it out and give it another overnight. Since my bores don't have several generations of accumulated fouling, and the fouling is only a few hours old, this will do it for my match guns.

Here is more product info:http://www.sharpshootr.com/wipeout.htm

While those with C&Rs might be able to get it reasonably form Midway, I bought my last few cartons from Mid-South Shooters Supply, who had the best deal the last couple times I bought it:http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/item.asp?sku=00216WOA510

 

[alucard0822]

A wise man once said that unless you are using wipeout, you are working too hard, and not really cleaning your rifle.

Although, I only use CLP on chrome lined stuff, and dump near scalding hot water down the barrel, and in the action if I have been shooting corrosive ammo before using wipeout, and completing the cleaning with a patch lightly oiled with CLP if the rifle is going to sit for any length of time. I clean the actions with CLP or Tetra, and lube with militec

 

[smokey]

A wise man once said that unless you are using wipeout, you are working too hard, and not really cleaning your rifle.

Although, I only use CLP on chrome lined stuff, and dump near scalding hot water down the barrel, and in the action if I have been shooting corrosive ammo before using wipeout, and completing the cleaning with a patch lightly oiled with CLP if the rifle is going to sit for any length of time. I clean the actions with CLP or Tetra, and lube with militec

just make sure if you have something where corrosion is a problem you're not relying on militec to prevent the corrosion. it works great at making things slippery when it's baked into them but doesnt do well with water...here's a test on it and some other lubes

http://www.6mmbr.com/corrosiontest.html