Bore cleaning with hand cleaner, anyone else?

A

akell

Guest
Hello Gentlemen, it is nice to be here.
Does anyone else use mechanic's waterless hand cleaner on a bore?
I can buy a gallon for less than $10.00, and it works like a charm. Am I ruining my rifle?
 
most likely

akell said:
Hello Gentlemen, it is nice to be here.
Does anyone else use mechanic's waterless hand cleaner on a bore?
I can buy a gallon for less than $10.00, and it works like a charm. Am I ruining my rifle?
Click to expand...

Unlike the JB or USP paste that are made of diatomacious (sp) clay for abrasion, hand cleaner has honest to god sand, albeit very fine, and other abrasive ingredients in it. Diatomacious clay is basically microscopic sea shells, whick are a lot softer than the S/S or chrome moly steel in your barrel. The abrasive in your hand cleaner is more on the order of the hardness of glass, and heck of a lot bigger particle size. You scratch the living s*&^ out of your bore every time you use the hand cleaner.:confused::(
 
It depends

There are abrasive and non-abrasive types of the waterless hand cleaners. I don't think GoJo brand has abrasives in it at all, it's just a chemical cleaner. But I've used some that like David says, are abrasive as all get out, and I would not use those for the reasons he mentioned. As for the non-abrasive types - I have no idea if they are chemically harsh on a steel bore or not. You might try putting some on a polished steel plate and letting it set, covered with plastic film (so it doesn't dry out), for a day or two. Wash it off and inspect the sample. If it etches the metal in that period of time I'd not use it.
 
Gojo has several different ones. The one I buy does have abrasive in it though I dont know "what" the abrasive is made from.
At work we have 2 kinds a gel similar to gojo that has a small ammount and a dryish one that is like sand only from what they told us it is some kind of salt..... fwiw.
With everything available out there and the cost being rather minimal compared to a ruined barrel why use anything but the right stuff
 
akell said:
Does anyone else use mechanic's waterless hand cleaner on a bore?
Click to expand...

I don't think you'll find many in this crowd.

After paying nearly $500 for a new barrel [$315 for the Krieger I use] and then having it chambered [$175], $10 for a 2 ounce jar of JB Non-Embedding Bore Cleaning Compound, which can last well over a year depending on how often you shoot and how it's used, is a bargain. It also offers peace of mind, in knowing that you're using a product that was designed to clean and protect your expensive bore.

If you've never seen it, here's what it looks like: http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=1160/Product/J-B-reg-NON-EMBEDDING-BORE-CLEANING-COMPOUND
 
Hi David, Diatoms are microscopic organisms that have a silicon dioxide shell. Just like most sand. However it is extremely fine (microscopic). Studied the little rascals in college zoology classes. They look like little pill boxes, with a top and a bottom. Don
 
Best Advice

akell said:
Hello Gentlemen, it is nice to be here.
Does anyone else use mechanic's waterless hand cleaner on a bore?
I can buy a gallon for less than $10.00, and it works like a charm. Am I ruining my rifle?
Click to expand...

Vern has beat me to it, go with the JB

Dick
 
Thank you very much for taking the time to share your knowledge and experience, gentlemen. I appreciate all your advice.
 
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