Home brewed barrel cleaner

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Bro.D

Member
Ok, call me cheap, a self-sufficient person or just an experimenter at heart but I want to begin the process of developing my own cleaning solvent for my barrels. I read with interest a post a week or so ago with great interest about how to "roll your own." A few suggested the use of the old formula GM TEC. I'm not interested in trying to hunt down the Old formula GM TEC like so many other things in Benchrest and so I'm beginning with some other easily accesable products. For those of you who have some knowledge in this area please help. If a person was to have say, some Marvel Mystery oil, Parson's ammonia and Kroil, what ratios would you mix these three products togeter to make safe and effective barrel cleaner? If there is another product that you have found to be successful that is also readily available throw that in as well. Bro.D
 
Why brew your own, when Butch's Bore Shine is so available and reasonably priced, and it works really well?
Bpb
 
I like a mix of ATF Automatic Transmission Fluid and Marvel Mystery Oil w/o ammonia. The ammonia is corrosive to brass and Stainless steel.

Another tip : I use a soft carnuba paste wax on a bore swab then patches until clean.

Any homemade case sizing lube recipies?
 
I mean nothing personal!

bob harrison said:
Why brew your own, when Butch's Bore Shine is so available and reasonably priced, and it works really well?
Bpb
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I am with Bob on this. Why would an otherwise reasonably intelligent person mix products with unknown chemicals together to put in their expensive rifle barrels when there are tested and proven products designed for that purpose already on the market?

There are only two kinds of people who would attempt this: Trained chemists and fools.:)

And another thing, just because you would drink it doesn't mean it won't harm your barrel.:)

Concho Bill
 
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A very good sizing wax is 1/3 Johnsons Paste wax, 1/3 vasoline and 1/3 STP or similar product. Melt it all together in a small tin and let it cool. Amounts can be adjusted as you feel the need. The wax seems to keep the cases clean.

Donald
 
Case lube

I am with everyone else as far as Butch's is concerned.
As for the case lube, I have been using GB wire pulling lube for case sizing. It works better than anything else I've tried. It drys to a white powder and is easily wiped off with a paper towel. At $5/quart at Lowe's it is dirt cheap. A pencil eraser sized drop on your fingers will lube ~20 cases.

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Ok...

I guess the cat is out of the bag; I am cheap. I for one do not think that Butches is all that great a deal, not if I can make something on my own that will do a comperable job at half the price. I guess that is why I make my own bullets, and do my own stock and lathe work. I know any one of you could say that if a $20 bottle of bore cleaner is going to break you then maybe Benchrest is not for you. I guess I come from a different school that says that just because someone charges that much for a product I don't have to buy it. I even haggle with car dealers when I purchase a different vehicle.
As far as being a fool, I guess I will take my chances. So far and I've read the board for a fair amount of time I have not heard one horror story of mixing these three ingredients together. In fact I copied the formula from another post that puts some pretty experienced shooters in the fool category. Anyway, the search goes on.
 
Bro.D I have been using this for the last 25 years 1 gallon gm top engine cleaner.8 oz 28 percent ammonia.2tablespoons atf.I tryed the marvil oil to greasy.Hope this helps Kenny
 
Thanks,

Kenny. This is the exact type of thing I am looking for. Kenny, do you use the old or new GM TEC formula? Also, you are using the 28% ammonia, did you ever try the kitchen variety? If so, what was your opinion of it in your cleaning efforts? Thanks, Bro.D
 
Bro.D I"m still using the old gm,i still have some.28% is right,I get it at a drafting shop,or any place they make printing plates.Kitchen stuff never tryed.As far as cleaning goes works well i use sweets in the barrel when i'mm reloading.I have never seen any signs of pitting using a bore scope. Hope this helps ya Kenny
 
Another mix for sizing lube is liquid lanolin and Isopopyl alchohol sprayed on from a pump type sprayer. Yeah I'm cheap innovative poor. And this elitist sell product wind just isn't for me. If I have extra I spend on good bullets or New parts not the piddly stuff.
 
I may be missing something, but I read all the raves on Imperial and decided to try it, I have been using RCBS for years. My first experience was trying to move the shoulder back on a 243 case and make a long neck 22-250 using Imperial. I had very little success with any level of wax. I cleaned my dies, switched to RCBS and it worked. My latest experience was full length sizing 6BR using a Redding bushing type and Imperial, again with different amounts of wax. The result was as if I used no case lube. I cleaned my die switched to RCBS and the press handle almost fell down. Am I missing something with this Imperial. My experience the RCBS definitely outperforms the Imperial. Has anyone tried it for shoe polish??
 
IMO, Imperial sizing wax is good for light duty resizing like F/L sizing benchrest brass fired in benchrest chambers. It is not for case forming or F/L sizing high performance, large case capacity cases where there is a great amount of case surface and a great amount of case resizing involved.
 
JerrySharrett said:
IMO, Imperial sizing wax is good for light duty resizing like F/L sizing benchrest brass fired in benchrest chambers. It is not for case forming or F/L sizing high performance, large case capacity cases where there is a great amount of case surface and a great amount of case resizing involved.
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After this I will quit kicking a dead horse. The first time I noticed the ineffectivness of Imperial was using a Harrell custom die, bumping the shoulder and base of my 6PPC. The gun is a Stolle Panda, Jewel trigger, Hart barrel HV built by a leading BR gun builder. It qualifies as BR quality. Also the 6 BR is not much larger than the 6 PPC. My original question, which I did not clearly state, would be what is the advantage of using the Imperial, and am I not using it correctly.
 
Some of us are cleaning our barrels and some of us are re sizing brass. About resizing brass, I used to use pure lanolin and now I use RCBS. Some here have used vaseline and Johnson paste wax. I suppose some use goose grease and others use axle grease and those who use them will champion their benefits. I guess that anything that reduces friction will work some. Have any of you ever tried KY Jelly for resizing brass?

Concho Bill
 
Bill

I think you are absolutely on track. An old farmer in the south, being agravated with the Georgia state bird, commonly known as a "Gnat", once extolled on the virtues of Vaseline by saying "you can apply it to a hoe handle and stretch a gnat's rear end over it". I know nothing whatsoever about KY jelly. Does that have anything to do with the state of Kentucky, maybe Bart could shed some light on the subject.
 
Bill Wynne said:
Some of us are cleaning our barrels and some of us are re sizing brass. About resizing brass, I used to use pure lanolin and now I use RCBS. Some here have used vaseline and Johnson paste wax. I suppose some use goose grease and others use axle grease and those who use them will champion their benefits. I guess that anything that reduces friction will work some. Have any of you ever tried KY Jelly for resizing brass?

Concho Bill
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Bill,I have use my grandmothers kentucky blackberry jelly as a lub, after you size a case just lick it off.
 
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