Solvents that etch barrels

[59FLH]

Is anyone making one big enough to get rifle barrels in?

There are companies who market ultra sonic systems specifically for firearms. Gunsonic will do 36” length with 7.5 gallons of solution in a table top model. There are others as well.

 

[ELR LVR]

I don't think Sweets is all that bad, so long as you don't leave it in there for days on end.

The main reason doing that would be bad is because ammonia is ionic ... an electrolyte ... and copper is strongly cathodic, so if you leave ammonia in a copper-fouled barrel, you can get galvanic corrosion. Your barrel and the copper fouling in effect become a battery with the copper supplying the positive charge and the barrel supplying the negative. But any electrolyte will do the same thing if two dissimilar metals are in contact with it, whether the electrolyte is an acid (like HCl toilet bowl cleaner) or a base (like ammonia) or an ionic salt like table salt (NaCl) or the potassium chloride (KCl) left by corrosive primers.

In general most metals are attacked far more by acids than by bases like ammonia -- aluminum and copper being two common exceptions. Bases (ammonia, lye, etc) are the opposite of acids, and they eat metals like copper and aluminum. But they shouldn't harm steel in the absence of copper or some other more-noble (cathodic) metal.

When I've got a lot of copper to remove, I skip the Sweet's and go straight to 10% janitorial ammonia, available at Ace/True Value hardware stores. It'll take your breath away, but it rips out copper fouling like you wouldn't believe.

Someone on here said Sweets years ago had more Ammonia in it
I dont know when that might have been but
20 years ago I was cleaning one of my custom ELR rigs and left Sweets in overnight
Didn't hurt it one bit
---
On a side note, Marvel Mystery Oil ---
I was reaming a chamber one day and had a coffee can full of Marvel so when I pull the reamer out
I would dip and swirl it in the can of Marvel Mystery oil to clear the chips so i dont blow those tiny shavings all over the shop wall
I left the chamber reamer in the coffee can and forgot it for a couple days
when I pulled the reamer out, it looked darker, not bright and shiny
evidentally the Marvel etched the surface, it didnt dull any of the flutes but
I was fretting if I ruined my reamer
luckily, the etching didnt hurt it but just discolored it, I inspected the cutting surfaces with 30x loupe
and could not see damage.
BUT, after seeing that I dont thinkk I would leave Marvel in a gun barrel

 

[Syncrowave]

On a side note, Marvel Mystery Oil ---

IIRC, MMO (like Kroil) contains Oil of Wintergreen (for those not familiar with wintergreen, think: Teaberry Chewing Gum), which gives it its distinctive odor. Supposedly, oil of wintergreen penetrates down into smaller capillaries better than any other oil. I believe it's commonly used by gunsmiths to free up seized screws.

 

[ELR LVR]

IIRC, MMO (like Kroil) contains Oil of Wintergreen (for those not familiar with wintergreen, think: Teaberry Chewing Gum), which gives it its distinctive odor. Supposedly, oil of wintergreen penetrates down into smaller capillaries better than any other oil. I believe it's commonly used by gunsmiths to free up seized screws.

Correct, thats what I've read also, Oil of Wintergreen, I have read older mechanics use it to soak an old engine on top of the pistons to free the rings for the same reason.
I figure that's what must have discolored my reamer

 

[Pete Wass]

You mean ThorroClean/ThorroFlush?

I watched a couple of YouTubes on this product. Sounds similar to the RemClean process I have used

 

[Pete Wass]

Correct, thats what I've read also, Oil of Wintergreen, I have read older mechanics use it to soak an old engine on top of the pistons to free the rings for the same reason.
I figure that's what must have discolored my reamer

I've never seen any results from using Kroil in the cleaning processes I've used.

 

[Pete Wass]

There are companies who market ultra sonic systems specifically for firearms. Gunsonic will do 36” length with 7.5 gallons of solution in a table top model. There are others as well.

Thank You, that sounds doable.

 

[ELR LVR]

I've never seen any results from using Kroil in the cleaning processes I've used.

Kroil may be good with cleaning lead , such as for pistols
I think I've read about a 4 part mix of solution using Kroil
"Ed's Red" seems to come to mind
Kroil, ATF, Kerosene, (and something else like Hydrogen peroxide)
---
I mixed up a batch once when i read of it years ago
its still in the bottle
I didnt see it do much better than Hoppes
maybe it was better for Black Powder, like I say it was many years ago

 

[Syncrowave]

"Ed's Red" seems to come to mind
Kroil, ATF, Kerosene, (and something else like Hydrogen peroxide)

1 part ATF
1 part K1 kerosene
1 part mineral spirits
1 part lanolin

is the recipe I have. (I added ~½ teaspoon 1-micron HBN to a quart.) I still use it.
For cleaning my AR-15 service rifle, I just push one patch through with that stuff and done.

 

[ELR LVR]

1 part ATF
1 part K1 kerosene
1 part mineral spirits
1 part lanolin

is the recipe I have. (I added ~½ teaspoon 1-micron HBN to a quart.) I still use it.
For cleaning my AR-15 service rifle, I just push one patch through with that stuff and done.

Awesome thanks,
I know I've read a couple different variations of it, one having the peroxide to help attack lead (Pistol use)
similar to how Sweets uses Ammonia for Copper

 

[Syncrowave]

Maybe it's done, but I'd be hinky about using peroxide on steel. Sounds like a good way to get rust.
I'm also curious how they got something water-based and polar (H2O2) to mix with stuff that's oil-based and non-polar (kerosene, mineral spirits, ATF, lanolin), unless they made a strawberry milkshake emulsion...

 

[jpjulian]

Years ago it was popular to mix Shooter's Choice solvent with Kroil. I recall it was popularized by the BR crowd. Around the same time frame, roughly 25-30 years or so ago, it was also common to use Shooter's Choice followed by Sweet's. The Shooter's formula was different then and if the Shooter's was not thoroughly dried out of the bore when the Sweet's was introduced there was some chemical reaction that could damage a bore in a short time. A friend, who became a double Distinguished, used that combination on a new Krieger service rifle barrel. It was etched and badly pitted with less than 400 rounds through it. My understanding is Shooter's Choice modified their formula to prevent such a chemical reaction and many believe Sweet's reduced the percentage of ammonia.