Sweets Corrosion Test on Barrel Stub

[Fuj]

Salvaging a well worn and used Bartlein for a mule fire forming
barrel. I took about 5/8th off the muzzle where the scope said I
needed to. After viewing the Sweets thread again, I figured that
muzzle cut off would make good, for a dog and pony show.
Now like what says on the bottle; Don't leave in the barrel longer
then 15 minutes. I'll post up a pic after 24 hours

FORUM Boss: Here is a copper penny soaked for 12 hours, posted by Forum member Fuj later in this thread:



Here's that 1956-D penny I soaked for 12 hours. I chose it because of sharpness it still had, and real copper, and not the newer plated pennies. Sharpness is gone and etched surface. If I went 6 months, I
would bet the penny would be gone.

 

[Ned Ludd]

Salvaging a well worn and used Bartlein for a mule fire forming
barrel. I took about 5/8th off the muzzle where the scope said I
needed to. After viewing the Sweets thread again, I figured that
muzzle cut off would make good, for a dog and pony show.
Now like what says on the bottle; Don't leave in the barrel longer
then 15 minutes. I'll post up a pic after 24 hours

I'll be interested to see the "after" pics. Sweets is primarily ammonia, about 5%. That should be an effective copper remover, but it might also have a detrimental effect on the barrel steel, although that effect could take repeated use to become visibly evident. There are other non-ammonia-based copper removers that are also very effective, such as Boretech Cu+2. The primary difference as advertised is that they can be routinely left in the barrel for hours to overnight without harm. It will be interesting to see how the ammonia affects your barrel stub. Do you know what kind of steel the barrel was made from (i.e. SS or CM)? That might also affect how long you can treat it with the Sweets without any noticeable negative effect.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

It probably wont corrode under the solution- dip it in and let it dry on there if nothing happens after 24hrs

 

[LHSmith]

IIRC, submerging the stub will not affect it. It needs to be in the presence of air to attack the steel. A member on here had a stub immersed for years and could not detect any ill effects.

 

[David101]

I will be following along very interested in the results. I have done my own testing on a barrel stub and found no damage. I just left drips on the surface no indications anything was there after several weeks and multiple applications. This was on a stainless barrel.

 

[JEFFPPC]

I have read several article supposedly by folks with related education who state that as long as you do hot let the ammonia present in bore clesners dry it will not harm the barrels. If you let it try it may form an ammonia salt that may OR maynot cause a problem. I have soaked many barrels throughout a roughly 2000 round life and never encoutere s problem. I heard of a much harsher dest being done than Fuj is foing by some shooting engineer types. No problem found. Hats off Fuj, your the only respondent doing the right thing. Let us know what you see.

 

[JEFFPPC]

Hey Fuj, you cant spell but you have intelligence and commen sense. Get that wild cat done and come down and show us how it works. Great job doing this testing.

 

[Fuj]

Hey Fuj, you cant spell but you have intelligence and commen sense. Get that wild cat done and come down and show us hoe it works. Great job doing this testing.

Yeah, about 2 months out from that first UBR match, and I'm
getting nervous about getting things done. Barrel and reamer
may not be here in time to get any validation bench time in. It's
the sign of the times. And yeah, my spelling sucks....LOL

"DESTRUCTIVE" !!

After 12 hours, not a hint of change as of yet on that SS cut off.
However, I threw a 1956-D wheat penny into a separate glass.
This morning, that glass looks like a mess of royal blue ink.

Also, as was mentioned about Sweets having 5% Ammonia......
Austin's Floor stripper is 20%

 

[JEFFPPC]

Fuj, thanks for the info but no floor cleaner for me. I'll stick to Sweets. So the barrel piece looks good, imagine that.Stay warm up there.

 

[butchlambert]

I did leave a barrel stub in white ammonia for several tears. No visible damage. Left it on the shelf for another couple years, no damage. It is a gizzy now.

 

[johara1]

Salvaging a well worn and used Bartlein for a mule fire forming
barrel. I took about 5/8th off the muzzle where the scope said I
needed to. After viewing the Sweets thread again, I figured that
muzzle cut off would make good, for a dog and pony show.
Now like what says on the bottle; Don't leave in the barrel longer
then 15 minutes. I'll post up a pic after 24 hours

I think you will find the reason the muzzle was worn at the end was from improper cleaning and a dirty rod and more than likely a dirty coated rod.... jim

 

[Fuj]

I think you will find the reason the muzzle was worn at the end was from improper cleaning and a dirty rod and more than likely a dirty coated rod.... jim

I do not know the true history of this used Bartlien other then
I picked it up for $50 bucks for a mule barrel. I doubt a bad
cleaning was the culprit of the amount of wear I was finding.
Looks more like someone did not cut off enough if any of the
muzzle end after lapping. I may cast it and measure the slug.
But either way the barrel is just going to be used to fire form
brass. I just want the muzzle to be at least a little respectable.

Sweet's is starting to get a light golden color after about 19 hours.
Was not there at 10 hours in.

 

[MislMan]

Please take pictures along the way/timeline. There ismuch interest on this. Thanks!!!

 

[jelenko]

I do not know the true history of this used Bartlien other then
I picked it up for $50 bucks for a mule barrel. I doubt a bad
cleaning was the culprit of the amount of wear I was finding.
Looks more like someone did not cut off enough if any of the
muzzle end after lapping. I may cast it and measure the slug.
But either way the barrel is just going to be used to fire form
brass. I just want the muzzle to be at least a little respectable.

Sweet's is starting to get a light golden color after about 19 hours.
Was not there at 10 hours in.

Any thing noticeable on the surface of the steel?
Interesting though - my sweets [now about 16 years old] comes out with a golden color.

 

[BoydAllen]

Years ago, make that decades, a well off fellow who wrote for Precision Shooting on a regular basis, Merrill Martin, said that he could tell if Sweets had been used in a barrel, with his bore scope. I had a phone conversation about this some time before he was going to attend one of the Prairie Dog Conferences that my late friend Chuck Cornett put on. Since I knew he could easily afford it, I suggested that he get a camera and monitor rigged up for his scope, and invite those at the conference to have their barrels looked at without telling him whether they had used Sweets, to test himself. They would look in the barrel, he would make his diagnosis, and then check with the owner as to whether he was correct. At the time this was an expensive proposition, not like it would be today with the Teslong stuff. Anyway, he was able to de exactly what he said, correctly spotting barrels in which Sweets had been used. The thing to remember is that prairie dog shooters, the dedicated ones, put a lot of rounds down range, so the whole wear and cleaning effects time line happens faster than for many other types of shooting. Another prominent shooter/engineer/gunsmith who has written about this in the past is Jim Borden. Cleaning solvents that are petroleum based and contain ammonia, do not seem to have this issue, and several work as well as Sweets, so there seems to be no reason for using it. It has been a long time since I have used it. I have the use of a bore scope, and my barrels are all clean without it.

 

[INTJ]

Years ago, make that decades, a well off fellow who wrote for Precision Shooting on a regular basis, Merrill Martin, said that he could tell if Sweets had been used in a barrel, with his bore scope. I had a phone conversation about this some time before he was going to attend one of the Prairie Dog Conferences that my late friend Chuck Cornett put on. Since I knew he could easily afford it, I suggested that he get a camera and monitor rigged up for his scope, and invite those at the conference to have their barrels looked at without telling him whether they had used Sweets, to test himself. They would look in the barrel, he would make his diagnosis, and then check with the owner as to whether he was correct. At the time this was an expensive proposition, not like it would be today with the Teslong stuff. Anyway, he was able to de exactly what he said, correctly spotting barrels in which Sweets had been used. The thing to remember is that prairie dog shooters, the dedicated ones, put a lot of rounds down range, so the whole wear and cleaning effects time line happens faster than for many other types of shooting. Another prominent shooter/engineer/gunsmith who has written about this in the past is Jim Borden. Cleaning solvents that are petroleum based and contain ammonia, do not seem to have this issue, and several work as well as Sweets, so there seems to be no reason for using it. It has been a long time since I have used it. I have the use of a bore scope, and my barrels are all clean without it.

The big question is does using Sweet's affect accuracy? I have personally seen where Iosso (which cleans 1000 times faster than Sweets), increases throat erosion. However, it's probably not enough of an increase to affect the accuracy of the barrel over its 1200 round competition life.

I wonder if it's the same with Sweets?

 

[hoz53]

Years ago, make that decades, a well off fellow who wrote for Precision Shooting on a regular basis, Merrill Martin, said that he could tell if Sweets had been used in a barrel, with his bore scope. I had a phone conversation about this some time before he was going to attend one of the Prairie Dog Conferences that my late friend Chuck Cornett put on. Since I knew he could easily afford it, I suggested that he get a camera and monitor rigged up for his scope, and invite those at the conference to have their barrels looked at without telling him whether they had used Sweets, to test himself. They would look in the barrel, he would make his diagnosis, and then check with the owner as to whether he was correct. At the time this was an expensive proposition, not like it would be today with the Teslong stuff. Anyway, he was able to de exactly what he said, correctly spotting barrels in which Sweets had been used. The thing to remember is that prairie dog shooters, the dedicated ones, put a lot of rounds down range, so the whole wear and cleaning effects time line happens faster than for many other types of shooting. Another prominent shooter/engineer/gunsmith who has written about this in the past is Jim Borden. Cleaning solvents that are petroleum based and contain ammonia, do not seem to have this issue, and several work as well as Sweets, so there seems to be no reason for using it. It has been a long time since I have used it. I have the use of a bore scope, and my barrels are all clean without it.

I wonder how Martin could tell. Do you have any ideas about that Boyd?

 

[johara1]

The big question is does using Sweet's affect accuracy? I have personally seen where Iosso (which cleans 1000 times faster than Sweets), increases throat erosion. However, it's probably not enough of an increase to affect the accuracy of the barrel over its 1200 round competition life.

I wonder if it's the same with Sweets?

What are you shooting to only get 1200 rounds out of a barrel? I see more life out of a barrel that cleaned correctly.... jim

 

[johara1]

I do not know the true history of this used Bartlien other then
I picked it up for $50 bucks for a mule barrel. I doubt a bad
cleaning was the culprit of the amount of wear I was finding.
Looks more like someone did not cut off enough if any of the
muzzle end after lapping. I may cast it and measure the slug.
But either way the barrel is just going to be used to fire form
brass. I just want the muzzle to be at least a little respectable.

Sweet's is starting to get a light golden color after about 19 hours.
Was not there at 10 hours in.

If they didn't cut the end of the barrel off it would have been smaller from not being lapped.... jim

 

[INTJ]

What are you shooting to only get 1200 rounds out of a barrel? I see more life out of a barrel that cleaned correctly.... jim

If you have to ask, then you would not understand..........