General cleaning question

[ledge]

I just received a barreled receiver from CMP. I have been using a foam bore cleaner, I applied it to the bore seal both ends and let it sit for a few hours. My patches are coming out an inky blue color. What does the color represent?

Thanks.

Information

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[Bill Hollinger]

What brand of foam cleaner?

Sounds like a reaction between the copper left over from many years of use and the cleaner. Keep it up until it comes out clean.

[AKA Hugh Uno]

copper fouling from bullets. and foam bore cleaners are a PURE GIMMICK. they don't work any better (and usually are less effective) than more aggressive bore cleaners such as Shooters CHoice, Sweets, Butch's etc.

[Too Much Coffee]

Try some routines of cleaning and then shooting a few rounds for a bore that has some issues. You will not know how bad a barrel is until you shoot it. Nicks on the crown/muzzle are bad along with a ME over 3. If the rifling looks normal out to the crown, shoot it and try it. If it shoots to your liking, keep trying the shoot 10 or less rounds and cleaning routine. It might surprise you!

A well used barrel of military rounds has layers upon layers of copper and the black bullet sealant. It takes some effort to get this out without damaging the bore anymore. The shoot & clean seems to loosen some of these layers up. Nothing better than a little trigger time and the smell of Hoppe's in the morning
HTH
Mark

[ltcboy]

Or you can try this. I have and it works great....


http://www.surplusrifle.com/reviews/...hesurplus2.pdf

Although, I didnt use the flashlight... I used a battery charger.

[campperrykid]

What they said.
The amount of copper that comes out can also be a rough indicator of how much the gun has been fired. With milsurps that come out of storage like CMP guns , RC K98k's , and so on -- it can be useful info. Also it can serve as a BS detector when somebody says a barrel is unfired . Test fire would , of course , leave a little copper.

[colt100]

copper fouling from bullets. and foam bore cleaners are a PURE GIMMICK. they don't work any better (and usually are less effective) than more aggressive bore cleaners such as Shooters CHoice, Sweets, Butch's etc.

Why are they a gimmick?

[AKA Hugh Uno]

Why are they a gimmick?

when I personally tested Wipe-Out in these badly fouled barrels I got from CMP each a couple or more years ago, it was not nearly as effective as Sweets, Shooter's Choice, or Butch's). Were I to recommend ONE cleaner, it would be Butch's as it works very well and does not contain ammonia.

If I recall correctly (and I can't check right now), Wipe Out's major ingredients were WATER, SOAP, and Naptha. Thus, my additional concern, in an M1, would be water migration from the gas port hole to the op-rod. Which, without a wipe-off with a rust preventative, might RUST.

Wipe out is OK for BLACK POWDER clean up, but again, you would still have to deal with water-related issues.

Finally, WATER isn't a horrible bore cleaner in and of itself and can actually remove a bit of copper fouling, especially in a warm/hot bore when cleaning (post corrosive ammo usually) at the range.

Thus, I guess my use of the word "gimmick" was a bit excessive. Wipe-Out/Foams are not as bad as copper bracelets to reduce arthritas, but you can certainly clean copper out faster, cheaper, easier, perhaps safer?, with other products.

[JBS]

Interesting home tests. Gun Cleaning Product Tests

On a side note: Butch Fisher put his original Butch’s Bore shine on the market back in 99 I think. I joked with him once about how he should have named it Bore Squeak as that was the sound the second patch would make when bushed through the bore. He laughed hard and said he had notice that and though about it but decided it was to girly. Anyway I digress. He had 3M test the soaking effects way back when and got a no damage or etching report from them. He achieved this by using a buffered ammonia rather than common ammonia. The product now belongs to Lyman and I believe they have adjusted the formula a bit as it now has water listed on the label. I use it as an overnight soak on my match barrels and have several that have never been touched by a bore brush, the fouling, carbon and jacket wipe out with a patch. I miss Butch he was a hoot. Plug the bore and fill, let soak for a couple days for really bad bores.