Here is a little cleaning tip to help get the most out of your bronze cleaning b

[skeetlee]

Fellas
I thought some of you might find this little tip helpful to get the most out of your brass cleaning brushes. After i use a brass or bronze brush i drop the used brush in a plastic bottle of acetone. The acetone strips the copper dissolving agents from the brush thus stopping the eroding effect the solvent has to this material. I used to spray my brushes with carb cleaner but we all know what a mess that is, not to mention the smell. I store my used brushes in the bottle with the acetone and when i go to retrieve them for there next use they are clean and ready for work. I just wanted to share this with you fellas. I know some guys use a brass brush one time and then they pitch them. i cant afford to do this and now there is no need to. Hope this helps. Lee

 

[deadlyswift]

Great tip Lee! I'll have to try that. Guess I'll do a bottle of acetone for each Cal.

 

[ChipEckardt]

Thanks!

Chip

 

[Tozguy]

Skeet, Just wondering if you use a special plastic bottle. Acetone might soften some plastics. Would using a small glass Mason jar with metal top be preferable?

 

[Eddie Harren]

Most folks don't use a copper or bronze brush with copper solvents.

 

[Greg110]

Gentlemen,

You all should make sure you're at least wearing rubber gloves. And keep the area well ventilated please. Acetone is carcinogenic. Just an FYI.

 

[VWguy]

Where did you get the idea that acetone was carsogenic. not hardly. Women use it on their fingernails. Google it.

 

[nosualc]

I just use rubbing alcohol. It's a little more user friendly.

-nosualc

ps - I always thought acetone was wicked bad for your health too. Looks like it's pretty harmless. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetone

 

[dtucker]

Lee, sounds like a good tip. Anymore i rarely ever clean a rifle at home. I clean it at the range before i leave. Any fine cleaning of the bolt or inside of the action i normally will do at the house.

 

[lloydx2]

Ive been doing the same thing with high grade lacquer thinner. I dont recommend storing the brushes in the solvent especially of it starts to get dirty (blue) The ammonia from the bore cleaner will build up in the solution and eat you brushes up. I had this happen once. Ive got a solvent resistant quart jar with lid. When I'm done brushing out I just stick the whole cleaning rod end in and stir it around. Then it comes out into a towel to dry it off, makes them look better than new. No air born vapor, no contact, no smell. You realize the the ammonia in the bore cleaner can be just as caustic as acetone

 

[K22]

90% Rubbing alcohol works great and is cheap and relatively safe to use. I dip my brushes in a small jar of it, let stand for a few minutes then remove. No need to store them in the alcohol since it removes all traces of the solvent. The alcohol evaporates leaving the brushes dry so that solvent is not diluted when I use the brushes for the next cleaning.

Every couple of months, depending on cleaning volume, I refresh the jar with new alcohol.

 

[skeetlee]

This works quite well for me, i can assure you that!! The dirt and grit settles tot he bottom of the bottle and when i pull a brush from the acetone it is clean and ready for use. Works quite well actually. The plastic bottle is a chemical safe bottle of course. That should go without even saying! Lee

 

[KMart]

I use one of the old (glass) Hoppe's No.9 4 oz bottles. It is about the right length for a bore brush with the Dewey adapter attached. The solvent I use is naphtha/paint thinner you can get at the hardware store. It doesn't vaporize nearly as quickly as acetone and some of the aerosol cleaners listed above, there by not stinking up the garage quite so bad. I don't store the brushes in the solution, only swish it around to get the crud off the brush.

 

[lpreddick]

instead of acetone, mek(methyl ethyl ketone) is very similar as far as it's cleaning properties but much less volatile. all of the mentioned precautions still apply. acetone and mek are both excellent solvents and are used in my homemade gun cleaning solvents...modified ed's red.

 

[BoydAllen]

Every time that I remove a cleaning rod from the bore, I pull it through a wadded up paper towel. After I have finished brushing, usually with Butch's, I simply pull the brush (on the rod) through a wadded up paper towel a couple of times. This seems to do a good job of wiping most of the residue from the barrel off the brush, and absorbing the remaining solvent. My brushes last very well, and when they are too worn for barrel cleaning, they are promoted to case neck duty. IMO the least noxious liquid brush cleaner is plain old rubbing alcohol. For more active copper solvents (like Pro Shot) I use a plastic jag (Bore Rider) and patches, drying and switching to Butch's for brushing. I don't need the copper solvent for my usual at the range cleaning of my hand lapped barrels, but it works well for barrels that tend to pick up more jacket material.

 

[ridgeway]

When brushing, I don't use he bronze brush with copper solvent. I usually run a few patches of bore tech carbon cleaner through and cycle when they stop coming out black. I then use a bronze brush with a 50/50 mix of kroil and hoppes #9. Brush a couple times and spray off with non chlorinated brake cleaner. When spraying, I hold a rag or paper towels behind it so the brake cleaner does not spray on everything in its path. My brushes last till they are worn out and get put to use as a neck cleaning brush like Boyd. All my copper wotk is used with a proshot jag and patches.

 

[SnakeEye]

I use rubbn alcohol, cheap and safe...

 

[gmorganal]

I buy a bottle of Berryman's B12 Chem Tool at Wal-Mart. It comes in a metal container with a metal lid. I unscrew the lid, stick in the brush still attached to my rod, swish it around a little, pull it out and tap the rod on something to knock off most of the chemical that is still on the brush, and I screw the cap back on. It lasts forever.

 

[johned]

Never forget....first liar doesn't stand a chance ;D

I have used carb cleaner for many years. Its a favorite of mine. For the past few years i just put the brush in a batle with hot from the tap water and add a ea spoon of dish soap. Cap a shake. Rinse and throw back in the brush drawer. No problemo, amigo. Most of the problem with cleaning with solvents is the RINSE. Most use so little rinse chem that they basically just dilute what is on the brush. Ware is cheap, clean and abundant. In the old days the bristles of the brass brush would fall off and clue me it was rotten. Since I have used soapy water I have never thrown a brush away for rot. Brass brushes don't hardly rust, either.

I have to admit, though, acetone is far more interesting.

HTH,

John

 

[alf]

I just use Bore Tech Eliminator and nylon brushes............