Cleaning compound?

[drax05]

Windex with Vinegar will not remove gun blue. Stuff is about three percent acetic acid. i've used it since 2000. Soooooo vinegar won't remove bluing?????? I mentioned I use it to tone down blued guns, I was not joking, below was done in about 5-10 minutes, just a little while ago on one of many Rem 870 bbls I have accumulated, just to make the point

 

[Hatchet Jack]

Nothing complicated. Quite simple actually. I mix 3 things together, equal parts in old milk jugs. Keep them stored in my gun room.
Technique when I get home...........
*Run 2 to 3 wet patches of M.A.P. down the bore.
*Plug nipple with a tooth pick and fill barrel with M.A.P. and let sit for about 20 minutes.
*Remove nipple and let M.A.P. drain out.
*Run a few dry patches.
*Coat bore and flame channel with Rem Oil
No buckets of water to mess with or worrying about getting things dried out.

 

[Okie Hog]

Yep, vinegar will trash bluing, i've long known that.

However, Windex with Vinegar; which contains 97 percent water and other stuff mixed with three percent acetic acid don't trash the bluing on my guns.

i use the stuff to clean the bores of my antique Colts and Winchesters.

No i don't need to mix up some concoction when Windex with Vinegar works extremely well for me.

Mike Venturino, the former black powder editor for Shooting Times magazine, has cleaned his black powder guns with Windex with Vinegar for decades.

 

[Newtire]

Like bobbythehunter, I use some dish washing detergent in water.
I've tried water, "Moose Milk", other home mixes and some commercial products, but did not get any better results than dish soap and water.
Note that milking a moose can be rather risky.

(Because the question frequently comes up:
One of many ways to make Moose Milk:
#1 4 ounces NAPA Auto Parts #765-1526 Soluble Cutting & Grinding Oil
1 ounce Murphy's Oil Soap
7 ounces 91% Isopropyl alcohol
16 ounces tap water

Another Way
Castor Oil 4 oz.
Murphy's Oil Soap 1 oz.
Witch Hazel 4 oz.
Isopropyl Alcohol (91%) 8 oz.
Water (non-chlorinated) 16 oz. )

I still just use water and dish soap.
Ron

Thaks Ron, I'll give that a try. I should have specified that I use a lot of Black MZ and it leaves behind a kind of oily residue that water just doesn't work too well on. I used to see cutting oil at Napa but not lately. Will give them that part# and see if they can order me a bottle. Thanks again.

 

[AZshooter]

For the last 20 years or so, I've used a simple mixture of GoJo hand cleaner(without pumice), water and a few drops of dish detergent. I keep it in little squeezy bottles and it works great.

 

[RonRC]

How do you choose a cleaner given the long list of variations of even one cleaner. How bout if we put all the ingredients together.
#1 4 ounces NAPA Auto Parts #765-1526 Soluble Cutting & Grinding Oil
1 ounce Murphy's Oil Soap
7 ounces 91% Isopropyl alcohol
16 ounces tap water
Castor Oil 4 oz.
Witch Hazel 4 oz.
1 part ballistol
1 part pinesol
Glycerin
Dimethicone
Methyl gluceth-20
Ascorbylphosphate
Diazolidinylurea
Steareth-21
Now, try saying methyl ethyl gluceth steareth methyl ethyl ether
1-(2’’-hydroxyl cyclohexyl)-3-[aminopropyl]-4-[3’-aminopropyl] piperazine trans-1,4-bis[(4-pyridyl)ethenyl]benzene)(2,2'-bipyridine)ruthenium(II)
(!, 2) di-a-bolical Beelzebub
1 minced 2, 3 bloviating political hacks

 

[Hanshi]

Ron, that sounds like a great cleaning solution and may be just what I need. It beats squeezing mink, milking moose and saves water (that many use) so I think I'll try it. But I'm only familiar with 2 or 3 things on the list. You did omit a couple of items; salt, diluted nitric acid, jellyfish venom and powdered scorpions. And remember, there are three kinds of people in this world; those who can do math and those who can't.

This decision is driving me crazy!

 

[James Cooper]

At the range, I always have a small bottle of ballistol and water 7:1. Shake it and wet a patch to swab the barrel a couple of times and dampen one to wipe down the lock area. Dry with a soft rag. I feel the oil in the mix will help prevent any flash rust until I get ready to clean at home. At home I use blue windshield washer fluid with a little Murphy's soap in a plastic pail and scrub/flush out the bore. The nipple goes in a small jar of Windex to soak for a bit. Clean it with a pipe cleaner and a piece of wire. The beauty of black powder is that most dang near anything with water in it will clean the fouling so you can decide what you like. Straight Windex makes a great wet patch solvent at the range. Blue washer fluid will too. Moose milk, spit, creek water etc. will all work. The key is how well YOU clean it and oil it to prevent rust. Yes, gun oil is OK for the bore, just wipe it out with isopropyl alcohol before you load it. Easy.

 

[[email protected]]

What is the ideal between shot swabbing formula? I have been using TC's #3 because I had a few bottles and at the range trying to keep the barrel the same between shots as i play with all the other variables powder, patches, lube, ..... always clear fowling with it. Plus, what is the easiest way to make a jar of premoistened patches to swab with so as not too wet or dry? Always good to hear experience speak.

 

[Hanshi]

In my humble opinion N. Y. Yankee gave good advice. WW fluid (blue), DGW "Black Solve", plain water and other wet solutions work very well at the range and even back at home.

 

[James Cooper]

tbvaughan, Go to the department store and get a small plastic storage tub, the size that fits in the palm of your hand. Then go over and pick up a bottle of Windex. Go home and find an old pair of flannel pajamas or shirt. Cut up into one and a half inch squares (just cut by eye) and spray them with the Windex to dampen. Put 'em in the little tub and put the tub in your range bag. Good for at least two range sessions.