• This Forum is for adults 18 years of age or over. By continuing to use this Forum you are confirming that you are 18 or older. No content shall be viewed by any person under 18 in California.

Kroil, really?

I actually squirted some kroil on some broken starter bolts from the bottom in a small block chevy. 3 days later i pulled the bolts out and the kroil had crawled straight up to the top of those bolts. No other penetrating oil ever did this in power plants where i used it a lot
When at sea on the carrier.. the guys would come ask me for some Wintergreen oil to penetrate the bolts on the planes to get em loose.
 
Back in the day when I only owned rifles with factory cromoly barrels, I used to clean for powder fouling, and then copper. My standard for powder was Hoppe's #9 until I read something in Precision Shooting Magazine about adding Kroil to the Hoppe's. I bought some Kroil and mixed it with the Hoppe's to 1/3 Kroil or a little less. The result was that for a given amount of brushing I got a lot more black out of the barrel.

When I told an older friend about my discovery, he was doubtful and so I told him that if he brought over a couple ounce bottle of Hoppe's with some room in it that I would give him some Kroil to try. He did, and I did. Sometime after that he reported back a favorable result.

Since then I have pretty much converted to stainless lapped barrels, that have very little work for a copper cleaner to do, and favoring the mildest solvent that will get the job done, have used Butch's as my primary solvent for more than a couple of decades without any problems. I do occasionally feel the need to use something else, but most of the time it is Butch's.

More recently, a friend who shoots a lot of short range matches, both group and score, told me that after he finishes the day's shooting, he patches in some kroil and runs a bronze brush up and down the bore, leaving it wet, until he gets a chance to do a full cleaning. He said that this makes it easier to clean the rifle and that he does not have problems with hard carbon. I think that it is because applying the Kroil while the powder fouling is still fresh and soft (like fouling on the outside of case that has just been fired) interferes with it hardening up just like the outside of neck fouling does over time.
 
I want to buy some Kroil and I've read how others say it works to get under carbon and copper fouling but does it really?

This is not about removing the bit of carbon from one session through a previously clean barrel - for that you could use a carbon solvent or one of the pastes applied with patches. I'm talking about carbon that is allowed to build up over hundreds of rounds without proper cleaning.

The key ingredient to removing that carbon is not the solvent.

I've proven his to my satisfaction using at least six commercial products with a nylon brush.

Nylon has great polishing properties. It polishes carbon to a mirror finish as well.

The key ingredient is the bronze brush.

Any penetrating solvent with a bronze brush will remove carbon buildup. Pick the one you fancy, apply elbow grease and a bronze brush. When the barrel is clean, patch it with whatever makes you feel good - plain AFT, Ballistol, Butch's, etc.

For copper, the copper solvents applied with a patch work very well. I prefer to apply the copper solvent with a nylon brush and a few strokes, let is sit for some time, then patch out. Repeat if necessary.
 
I'm with you, Ccrider. I learned about Free All a month or so ago. I use wipe out and the accelerator, then JB's on a worn out bronze brush. Then Free All and a new bronze brush......borescope shows bare metal.
So you agree nothing's better than FreeAll yet you still need to apply WipeOut then JB first?
-
 
Its like CLP cleans and lubs. Works for carbon at least, not sure on copper but 3K thru my 9 and clean it after each range day.. Easy to clean next time...
No "real" good comes from combo solutions (solvent/lube). The only point lube goes in is after all the cleaning. I've tried them back in the day, I discovered they're useless for effective cleaning. Its a sales gimmick for those who don't want to spend the proper amount of time. How can two separate mixed chem bases work effectively against each other.
 
True. I find it a little odd all the intricate cleaning methods with mixing and this and that to do certain things. I do the same every time and cleans fine.

3 wet patches of Butch’s
Let set 10-15 min
Bronze brush with Butch’s
Dry patch then two wet with Butch’s
Let set 5-10 min
A few dry patches
2 Kroil patches
Let set 5-10 min
3-5 dry patches and done.

Everything cleaned out. Actually took longer to type it than do it. Not adding in the wait time of course. ;) But I understand the voodoo people add to the simple process as it makes them feel better and if it does have at it.
 
Ditch the kroil, purchase Free All with the spray attachment on the can, 14 oz. Free All has a chemical that will actually dissolve carbon, but it takes time.

Free All will shock the heck out of you on getting old rusted bolts off a front ends, or rusted on bolts on a tractor/horse trailer.


Use the arrow and drop down to the 14 oz pump sprayer

Very inexpensive postage from the company.

Free All works to work through the carbon, and the carbon is in layers. Nothing beats a high quality bronze bristle brush, with a max of 100 strokes on it, 60 strokes does a better job.

If carbon persists, then to to an Iosso or Montana extreme plastic brush, brush with one of several products, JB, Montana Extreme Copper Cream, or Flitz rifle bore cleaner.

Different calibers, different powders, shot strings, Barrel quality, barrel erosion, frequency in-between cleanings, will all demand a very different approach in each.

The approach of one method fixes all is very incorrect thinking. A bore scope will give you a PHD in gun cleaning, but ignorance is Bliss....till it is not.
 
Last edited:
Mostly use Kroil Some old BR shooters told me about it decades ago. It's like a 1911, been around forever and still gets the job done.
 
Ditch the kroil, purchase Free All with the spray attachment on the can, 14 oz. Free All has a chemical that will actually dissolve carbon, but it takes time.

Free All will shock the heck out of you on getting old rusted bolts off a front ends, or rusted on bolts on a tractor/horse trailer.


Use the arrow and drop down to the 14 oz pump sprayer

Very inexpensive postage from the company.

Free All works to work through the carbon, and the carbon is in layers. Nothing beats a high quality bronze bristle brush, with a max of 100 strokes on it, 60 strokes does a better job.

If carbon persists, then to to an Iosso or Montana extreme plastic brush, brush with one of several products, JB, Montana Extreme Copper Cream, or Flitz rifle bore cleaner.

Different calibers, different powders, shot strings, Barrel quality, barrel erosion, frequency in-between cleanings, will all demand a very different approach in each.

The approach of one method fixes all is very incorrect thinking. A bore scope will give you a PHD in gun cleaning, but ignorance is Bliss....till it is not.

My cleaning regiment has been evolving for years, with Free All as the latest iteration begining a year ago. While it helped with carbon better than other solvents, an abrasive paste was required after up a couple of fclass matches. Last week's match I sprayed and brushed ten strokes, resprayed and left longer than before for two full days, and after about twenty strokes all the carbon was gone. No abrasive required for the first time. The longer soak time made a major difference!
 
Charlie, If you can, use a wool mop, dripping wet with the Free all after you are done with the last match. Put a rag with rubber band over the muzzle. Let that Free All sit for 4 hours to a couple of days, then brush. You will notice a big difference in how the carbon comes out.

Last year, a friend passed and my brother bought Billy's Rem 7400 in 30/06. This 7400 had never been cleaned and the muzzle's bore looked as if it was gold coated. I put a cork in the muzzle and filled the barrel completely full of Free All. 8 Months later, I pulled the cork, and a blueish slurry poured out of the bore. The Free All had gone down beneath the layers of carbon and Copper and had free'd up the fouling, but some still remains. I need to brush it now.
 
Ditch the kroil, purchase Free All with the spray attachment on the can, 14 oz. Free All has a chemical that will actually dissolve carbon, but it takes time.

Free All will shock the heck out of you on getting old rusted bolts off a front ends, or rusted on bolts on a tractor/horse trailer.


Use the arrow and drop down to the 14 oz pump sprayer

Very inexpensive postage from the company.

Free All works to work through the carbon, and the carbon is in layers. Nothing beats a high quality bronze bristle brush, with a max of 100 strokes on it, 60 strokes does a better job.

If carbon persists, then to to an Iosso or Montana extreme plastic brush, brush with one of several products, JB, Montana Extreme Copper Cream, or Flitz rifle bore cleaner.

Different calibers, different powders, shot strings, Barrel quality, barrel erosion, frequency in-between cleanings, will all demand a very different approach in each.

The approach of one method fixes all is very incorrect thinking. A bore scope will give you a PHD in gun cleaning, but ignorance is Bliss....till it is not.
I ditched Kroil for Free All about ten years ago. Let the naysayers stay in the dark. ;)
 

Upgrades & Donations

This Forum's expenses are primarily paid by member contributions. You can upgrade your Forum membership in seconds. Gold and Silver members get unlimited FREE classifieds for one year. Gold members can upload custom avatars.


Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.

You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.


To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.

Forum statistics

Threads
164,769
Messages
2,183,800
Members
78,507
Latest member
Rabbit hole
Back
Top