"Bore Soap"?

[Alexander-M]

Last year, during the World Bench Rest Matches at the Bench Rest Rifle Club of St. Louis, one of the German Team members was our guest at home. My wife and I enjoyed his company and the very interesting conversations we had. Just before he left, he gave me a bottle of what he called ‘Bore Soap’, which he did not want to take back with him on the airplane. He just said that it was very good to clean the bore.

The clear plastic bottle is unmarked, and the fluid is light yellow, with no smell that I can detect. I have used it several times, and each time the results are the same. Regardless of what cleaner/solvent I use first, the patches with this ‘Bore Soap’ always show blue. Below is a picture that illustrates what I am saying. Patch #17, the first with the ‘bore soap’, shows blue, as do a few more patches afterwards.

Steps A: Patches 1 > 4 with Butch’s Bore Shine (BBS)
Step B: Stiff nylon brush with BBS (brush has aluminum stem)
Steps C: Patches 5 > 9 with BBS (allowed 15 minutes after patch 8)
Step D: Stiff nylon brush with BBS
Steps E: Patches 10 > 16 with BBS (allowed 15 minutes after patch 12)
Steps F: Patches 17 > 22 with ‘Bore Soap’
Steps G: Patches 23 > 25 with Breakfree CLP

I have tried to contact our new German friend to ask him about the ‘bore soap’ but has not been able to reach him.

Does anyone have an idea of what this solvent/cleaner may be?

Thanks!
Alex

 

[Ggmac]

Is it water or oil based ?

 

[wedgy]

There is not bronze or copper on the winding of the plastic bristle brush ?
Have you tried any other copper solvent after the BBS ?
Might be some good stuff you've got there.

 

[DennisH]

It has to be a "metal conditioner" of some kind. I use Mercury Engine Power Tune since they quick making GM top engine cleaner.

the above with Wipe Out (foam) works very well for me, sometimes too good. I have to run 5 shots through the rifle before competing, just to get some copper back in the lands/groves.

Good Luck, keep us informed.

Dennis

 

[coford]

What you describe reminds me of TM bore cleaner made by Tom Meredith. It is light colored, has no smell, and works very well on copper. I have had very good luck with it - especially on overnight soaks because it stays all the way around the bore better than other products and does not run to the bottom. I believe it is some kind of detergent based cleaner and not solvent based - but that is just a guess.

 

[DennisH]

What you describe reminds me of TM bore cleaner made by Tom Meredith. It is light colored, has no smell, and works very well on copper. I have had very good luck with it - especially on overnight soaks because it stays all the way around the bore better than other products and does not run to the bottom. I believe it is some kind of detergent based cleaner and not solvent based - but that is just a guess.

I try not to use any, will only use the Mercury Product in serious conditions followuped with Wipe-Out.

Everyone has their method.

Dennis

 

[1shot]

I have found Balistol to do exactly as the OP described. Regardless of how much time I spend on the bore, I finish with a patch soaked with lighter fluid, left to dry, then followed by Balistol before storing. When I punch the bore, I get more blue.
Lloyd

 

[Alexander-M]

"Is it water or oil based ?"
• I can't tell. My fingers feel just slightly greasy after touching a patch with the Bore Soap, and when I wash my hands they feel very slick.

"There is not bronze or copper on the winding of the plastic bristle brush ?
Have you tried any other copper solvent after the BBS ?
Might be some good stuff you've got there."
• The nylon brush has an aluminum 'winding', as shown below, and it does not react with the Bore Soap.
I have tried Kroil, Hope's 9, Gunzilla (CLP), and Breakfree CLP.

"Top Engine Cleaner . . ."
• I also used Carburetor Spray cleaner, and it worked great to det the carbon out, but never showed the copper signs as the Bore Soap does.

"TM Bore Cleaner . . ."
• Possibly, although a description I just read (MidwayUSA) states that it works with bronze bore brushes. This may be true, but do the brushes (bronze) make the patches blue? See picture, below.

"Ballistol . . ."
• Perhaps similar, but not in spray form.

"Everyone has their method."
• Yes! Ask 10 guys and end up with 20 different methods!

Notice in the picture below how patches with Bore Soap turned blue by just coming in contact with a brass jag or brush. No problem with the aluminum counterparts.

Thank you all so much for your replies. If I find out what this Bore Soap really is, I will let you know. Hopefully, someone (in Germany?) will read this thread and have an answer.

Alex

 

[Titan700]

"Is it water or oil based ?"
• I can't tell. My fingers feel just slightly greasy after touching a patch with the Bore Soap, and when I wash my hands they feel very slick.

"There is not bronze or copper on the winding of the plastic bristle brush ?
Have you tried any other copper solvent after the BBS ?
Might be some good stuff you've got there."
• The nylon brush has an aluminum 'winding', as shown below, and it does not react with the Bore Soap.
I have tried Kroil, Hope's 9, Gunzilla (CLP), and Breakfree CLP.

"Top Engine Cleaner . . ."
• I also used Carburetor Spray cleaner, and it worked great to det the carbon out, but never showed the copper signs as the Bore Soap does.

"TM Bore Cleaner . . ."
• Possibly, although a description I just read (MidwayUSA) states that it works with bronze bore brushes. This may be true, but do the brushes (bronze) make the patches blue? See picture, below.

"Ballistol . . ."
• Perhaps similar, but not in spray form.

"Everyone has their method."
• Yes! Ask 10 guys and end up with 20 different methods!

Notice in the picture below how patches with Bore Soap turned blue by just coming in contact with a brass jag or brush. No problem with the aluminum counterparts.

Thank you all so much for your replies. If I find out what this Bore Soap really is, I will let you know. Hopefully, someone (in Germany?) will read this thread and have an answer.

Alex

Fingers crossed looks like great stuff

 

[rardoin]

It might be EDTA based as it is water soluble, slightly acidic and will feel slippery to the touch.

 

[Changeling]

Can't you just email the German?

 

[Alexander-M]

Can't you just email the German?

Actually, shortly after his visit, he emailed me to thank us for our hospitality. I replied to let him know that he was welcome back anytime he came to the USA, and I used that opportunity to ask him about his 'bore soap'.

My emails bounced, twice.

Thx -

Alex

 

[BoydAllen]

The only document of its kind that I have ever run across:
http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/748807.pdf
It is a little long, but if you want to learn something....

The first post in this thread has some interesting information.
http://www.varminthunters.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-6951.html

 

[waldo1979]

Looks like Boretech eliminator to me

 

[Alexander-M]

Looks like Boretech eliminator to me

Yes! After running out of several other products, it was time to get re-stocked, so I tried Bore Tech Eliminator a month ago, and that must be it!

The way Eliminator looks in a clear bottle, the tiny amount of 'foam' it exhibits, the way it feels between my fingers, and the fact that it does make patches blue after others have been white, would seem to indicate that Bore Tech Eliminator is the "bore soap' my German friend gave me.

Alex

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

Eliminator really is pretty good stuff...but put some on a patch and scrub the outside of your barrel, sometime. Danged if it doesn't turn the patch blue. Go figure. It is an effective copper solvent but I don't trust it when reading a patch, after seeing blue on a patch that never entered the bore. Not sure what causes that but I stay with Patch Out and Accellerator until I find something that I like better. It works very well too, and I trust the read I get from the patch better. Just my 2 cents worth though.

 

[Shaggy357]

Add 2 and 2. German. Beer. Light yellow. No wonder he didn't want to take it on the airplane.
In all fairness, the Germans have some good solvents that have been handed down over the years. Remnants in old cleaning bottles that came with some of my Mausers worked much better than what I had, especially when using corrosive ammo....