Just how much copper can live in a barrel?

[ptf18]

Fellows: I spent "awhile" cleaning the bore of this rifle after posting my original note. I wasnt getting patches with gobs of blue on them BUT rather black and a lot on the first patch and lesser on the following couple. Then I would run 3 wet #9 patches thru the bore, followed by 6,7,8 passes with a wet bronze brush. I'ld then pull acouple dry patches thru.... which were black. With the bore dry I'ld fill it with Wipeout and leave it sight for 20-30 minutes. Before patching the Wipeout out of the bore I ran a clean bronze brush thru a couple passes then dry patches..... which again came out black.

I did this routine for quite awhile but then noticed that I was just getting "dark" patches" out of the bore.....

I said that was good enough. I shot the gun at 600 yards on Saturday. Gun seems to shoot fine.

I ran 3 Kroll patches thru it when I got home. Dont know if I should "attack" the bore again or leave as is. Over the life of this barrel (currently approx. 800 rounds down it) I "deep" clean it about every 150 rounds. Maybe I should be "deep" cleaning it more often.

 

[rardoin]

Strut64. Not being a chemist myself (or a smart a@#$) do you have any idea how Bore Tech removes copper without ammonia?

I note that BoreTech cu2+ has a very slippery feel when washing my hands after use...much like having bleach or other alkaline on my hands. Of course, it is not bleach. EDTA, a chelating agent, does have that same feel and would remove copper (albeit less aggressively than an ammoniated compound). I suspect it contains EDTA.

 

[JLT]

I note that BoreTech cu2+ has a very slippery feel when washing my hands after use...much like having bleach or other alkaline on my hands. Of course, it is not bleach. EDTA, a chelating agent, does have that same feel and would remove copper (albeit less aggressively than an ammoniated compound). I suspect it contains EDTA.

'Slippery' is from a surfactant that is added to the formulation to remove carbon fouling.

From what I gather, both Eliminator and CU+2 remove copper fouling electro-chemically. The formulation reacts with the copper, producing a positive charge at the elemental level (Cupric state). Binding agents in the formulation then attract the charged copper away from the barrel steel. I'm sure someone will chime in with a more thorough and correct explanation. Inorganic chemistry is a fading undergrad memory for me!

 

[rardoin]

'Slippery' is from a surfactant that is added to the formulation to remove carbon fouling.

From what I gather, both Eliminator and CU+2 remove copper fouling electro-chemically. The formulation reacts with the copper, producing a positive charge at the elemental level (Cupric state). Binding agents in the formulation then attract the charged copper away from the barrel steel. I'm sure someone will chime in with a more thorough and correct explanation. Inorganic chemistry is a fading undergrad memory for me!

Yes...I suspect the "binding agent" is EDTA which is very effective in chelating copper ions. The copper ions in the barrel are mostly in the elemental state unless is sits there long enough in a humid environment to oxidize.

 

[msinc]

To the original poster...if you are spending 5 days and the barrel still is not clean then the chemical you are using is what "sucks", not you!!!! Why not just go with throttle up on some JB Bore Cleaner and be done with it in 30 minutes tops???? Carbon, copper, either one or both, JB will make short work of removing it.