Gun cleaning solvents: reverse engineering and DIY

General Gun Chat
71

I agree with both arguments. A few dirty jags isn’t particularly scientific. But nor will be a test on some powder burnt on a plate. in the too hard basket really.

PS. Noticed on a SDS That sodium hydroxide. When wet, attacks metals such as aluminum, tin, lead, and zinc, producing flammable hydrogen gas. Severe corrosive effect on brass and bronze.

Interesting. A common cheap chemical

72

Ok, go to your local scrap metal dealer and buy some. Should be around $9 a kilo to buy. I’d give you some but all I have is bar (which I’ve already offered). Or you could pick up a sink from the side of the road, do your testing and scrap it afterwards.

73

I am having the most stupid moment, I am actually 5 min from one… Why didn’t I think of that!

74

Again let me throw another twist into this. Dont stop your testing but another one of the reasons I look up the MSDS sheets is to see what brands are actually the same or very similar. It is very easy to get caught up with the opinions and trends of others. When in actual fact you are using basically the same product or you Home made DIY product.

It is important to understand these things and many others at the most basic level it really helps understand or untangle the industry.

75

That’s exactly what I did LOL And then sent it to a friend who know a lot more about these things than I do and he suggested some other additives. :smiley:

76

Did you end up testing that stuff on SS? Just asking because I came across some roughly 12g SS tube at work the other day. Pretty sure a few short cuts off it wont be missed.

77

No, not yet, but if you got some to donate for science, I’ll test it next week. Even have new Hoppes to baseline.

78

Sure, 3 pieces about 100mm long ok?

79

Perfect! 50mm per tube would be even better, easier to see inside.

80

I was thinking you could burn some powder in them- like a chimney to get them dirty.

81

That’s pretty much what I was thinking. That’s why I thought 50mm would be a lot more convenient and easier to see, than 100mm.

82

Ok 50mm it is.

83

But if you go longer you may be able to use them for something with reloading.

1 Like
84

Meh, I’ll just use them for testing. Already have all the ingredients too, so almost there.

85

Ok, I’ll pm you when they are ready. Just hacked or turned ends?

86

Turned would be appreciated, I get to keep skin on my fingers.

87

Not if I make them into punches. LOL

88

Quick update…

Mixed two variants of Ed’s Red.

Variant #1:
Equal (100ml) parts of:

  • Acetone
  • ATF
  • Low Odour Kerosine
  • Methylated Spirits

Variant #2:

Notes:

  1. A friend mentioned that he’s read a white paper on some of his biomed stuff and then tried to replicate and it worked well, so he suggested I’d give it a go.
  2. Acetone - mmmmmm. Keep away from wood, takes care of plastic residue and apparently caked on smokeless powder residue, so I included that. I’ll see what works best (variant #1 or #2) and then start eliminating Acetone in case there is no noticeable difference.
  3. Still will be using Hopes for my precision toys, but bulk of my cleaning and supplies is used up on milsurps, so this is where it will get used.
  4. Currently it’s all mixed together settling. I want to see if it separates, not a big deal, just shake the bottle prior to use, but still interesting.
1 Like
89

Forgot to mention, decided to keep ammonia out of it. From what I understand it’s there to take care of copper fouling. This is something I do a lot less than normal cleaning, so off the shelf solvent will do here just fine.

90

Acetones a bit rough mate, I never use it, just ATF, Kero and Mineral Turpentine. hasn’t caused any problems using it on blued/timber or stainless/plastic (Ruger paddlestock) while still being a good general carbon cleaner, Cheers.