On Foam Barrel Cleaners:

Pete Wass

Pete Wass

Well-known member
I HAD :rolleyes: to order some things the other day from Midway so decided to try some Foam Barrel Cleaner. I wanted the kind they didn't have so took the Gunslick and bought a small can of it because I didn't want to be saddled with a larger quantuity if it didn't work.

I went to the range yesterday and ended up shooting 50 shots through the rifle I was working with , which is not a big deal; do it at every match. Last evening I decided to try the foam on it to find out if it was any damn good.

I filled the barrel and got a bit too exuberant and wasted some but not much. I left it for about an hour and then patched it out. It took three or four patches to get the blackish/blue uck out but the patches began to come out clean.

I then got the Hawkeye out and looked. WOW! I was somewhat impressed, I must say. There was copper in the crevices like the can said there would be but not much. I deem it to be GOOD STUFF! ( NO BRUSHING! )
 
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spermacides

Funny - it works great for me too. Darrell Holland refers to it as spermacide foam on his website and says don't waste your time. Only bronze brushes and elbow grease will clean a barrel- go figure!!!
 
Peter -- not having a bore scope I don't know if regular cleaning with the ammonia chemicals such as Butch's Bore Shine and the other leave copper in the crevices similar to what you saw with the foam so here is my question. Was the barrel "cleaner" with the foam than when you were using the others as I mentioned? Randy J.
 
@ first blush

Randy J. said:
Peter -- not having a bore scope I don't know if regular cleaning with the ammonia chemicals such as Butch's Bore Shine and the other leave copper in the crevices similar to what you saw with the foam so here is my question. Was the barrel "cleaner" with the foam than when you were using the others as I mentioned? Randy J.
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I am thinking it cleans the barrels as well and without brushing or having to use stinky chemicals. The compound seems to be benign to handle.

Back when I shot Rimfire I tried some Quicksilver, which seems to be similar. I still have some and will try IT to make a comparison if I can.

It is preliminary but DANG, it looks good so far.

It is pretty tough to pull the copper out of the cracks and fissures and I am not sure a person wants to, eh? I think all one needs to be concerned with it the main parts in the bore; of course if a big wad of copper accumulates somewhere, it's sure to be problematic.

I'll try to remember to bring the borescope so you can look inside your barrel.
 
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Wipeout works well for me but you HAVE to get the accessory spout. Without it you have to spray down the bore from the muzzle. With 30 caliber bores the foam either doesn't make it to the throat or too much gets there and into the action and creates a mess. But it sure seems to work as advertised on carbon and copper fouling.
 
I try to provide............

something to get down "in the nooks & crannies" so I don't put copper to that use, Pete. After all, it is a dissimilar metal. I feel if you can get all the copper out, why not replace it w/something harmless or beneficial like, Lock-Eez, or,(I'm going to try)2 micron synthetic graphite; I'm using 70nm Boron Nitride mixed in MPro7 now, & it seems to be doing a very good job, but I want to give it some time. I figured there has to be some porosity, so I may as well put something good in there to replace the bad I take out.;)
Vic; If you measure the diameter at the muzzle, and subtract .020, you can order the appropriate Caplug to put over the muzzle to catch that stuff, while you spray it in the chamber(this doesn't work for ports or brakes, unless the brake's removed). You just have to be aware of the different sounds the spray makes so you know when to stop and let it settle a bit, or the bubbles start popping as it begins to fill, then it starts going all over the place. Once the bore is clean, the Caplug is handy to keep on the muzzle to protect it, and it keeps the fluid, that creeps by capillary action, from dripping out and creating a mess; or, for the guys who store rifles upside down, :D:D, from running down and getting in the trigggers, the bedding, etc. Neat little gadgets, $20 or so gets maybe 300 or so; I use five or six different sizes, and they're very inexpensive. For the job they do for me, they're really cheap. ;)
 
Iaaaaaaah - - - -

Do you realize how much fire is present when one of them primers is poked? Do you realllllly think you are going to be able to coat the nooks and crannies with Lock Ease and have it stay there?

I use to be tickled seeing a friend putting 4 or 5 drops of lock ease on a patch and expecting to coat his barrel so that it would make some sort of meaningful difference :p . With all the fire and pressure, etc, etc, S - - - happens in a rush and often. We aren't talking about our driveways here or our kitchen floors! :D
 
The guys around here use Wipeout. But they use the wipeout accelerator first. I don't have a boresight but our smith does and he is the one that turned us on to it. The blue is the copped dissolving. The can says the leftover wipeout prevents rust etc.

I have asked about this subject before with no replies.

Who knows?

good day Link
 
Wipeout

I've posted this before but will do so again. I like Wipeout. Follow the directions and it does a pretty good job. But, if you will retreat the barrel then use a brush you will find that there was a lot of "stuff" that will come out that will not be removed if you only use patches.
 
I'm with Dew if you use a brush when you thinks its clean theres alot more stuff to come out. I like the wipeout and its what I've been using but I think there may be something better out there.
 
Link said:
The guys around here use Wipeout. But they use the wipeout accelerator first. I don't have a boresight but our smith does and he is the one that turned us on to it. The blue is the copped dissolving. The can says the leftover wipeout prevents rust etc.

I have asked about this subject before with no replies.

Who knows?

good day Link
Click to expand...

About 2 years ago, I spoke with the company prez, Terry Paul (I think)-----anyway, he advised that the Wipeout remaining after the last clean patch would provide protection for 6 months here in Alabama.

So far, so good......

Jim
 
vicvanb said:
Wipeout works well for me but you HAVE to get the accessory spout. Without it you have to spray down the bore from the muzzle. With 30 caliber bores the foam either doesn't make it to the throat or too much gets there and into the action and creates a mess. But it sure seems to work as advertised on carbon and copper fouling.
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try sticking a soda straw over the Wipe Out spray nozzle,,, then run that thur the loading port into the chamber/barrel, works for me,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, I use a folded paper towel pushed into the chamber quickly after foaming(with a small wooden dowel) to prevent foam from backing into the action/trigger,,,,,,,,,,,,

the wind is my friend,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

DD
 
Welllllll

I filled the barrel on my Hall with the foam last night before I retired. When I awoke I went into the gun room to see what the story was in the Rock on the Hall. I noticed a puddle of blue at the muzzle,which was encouraging. :)

I then ran a patch through the bore. It came out black and blue so I am feelin all right about things! I ran a second patch in and could feel quite a bit of resistence in the breech part of the bore. Got out the Hawkeye and sure enough, there was a big CARBON stripe down one of the lands. :eek: :(

I then got the nylon brush and Iosso and made a few short stroked passes through it and let it sit for 30 minutes or so. Of course the next patches were black but the big carbon stripe is gone. Carbon deposits remain in the groves however. I had shot this rifle in Florida and had forgotten to clean it until yesterday. :rolleyes:

Based on this episode I am climbing the fence a bit. I will do a big cleanup on the barrel next week and report on the results of how the Foam does with the fouling in the Kreiger on my HBR rifle. Stay tuned. :confused:
 
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I had trouble getting it to go all the way down the barrel. My caliber was .224-- that's a small diameter hole.

Maybe it works better on larger bores.
 
I must be backwards.
When I used Wipe-Out I inserted a rod quide in the chamber and sprayed it in from the muzzle. With a little expierience its easy to get it to just foam out of the rod quide on to a towel. No worry about getting it in the action. You'll lose quite a bit from the muzzle tho.
Easily fills bores from .204 to .308

Works great on copper. Usually will not remove all the carbon so I attack that prior to using it. Now I just use Patch-Out with a nylon brush. Either product vastly outperforms Sweets on copper.

Still want to try the KG products someday.
 
A powder charge uses up the oxygen it generates as well as the miniscule amount of air in the case. Without free oxygen there can be no oxidation.

Materials in the bore only burn away if vaporized and ejected into the air at the muzzle.

Can't say how any particular substance will react to that much heat, and it will tend to form compounds with substances left behind as fouling or residue.

In the days of corrosive primers anything that coated bores or sealed crevices after firing would lock corrosive salts and vapors under the coating. Cupro-nickel jackets destroyed many a rifle barrel by sealing salts in where solvents weren't effective but moisture and air could later seep in.
Apparently some European pistol ammo of today has reverted to use of a Cupro-Nickel like jacket material. Perhaps in an attempt to combat erosion.
Since chromed bores are more common in European firearms perhaps these jackets renew the plating in some way by sealing cracks or fissues.
 
jo191145 said:
I must be backwards.
When I used Wipe-Out I inserted a rod quide in the chamber and sprayed it in from the muzzle. With a little expierience its easy to get it to just foam out of the rod quide on to a towel. No worry about getting it in the action. You'll lose quite a bit from the muzzle tho.
Easily fills bores from .204 to .308

Works great on copper. Usually will not remove all the carbon so I attack that prior to using it. Now I just use Patch-Out with a nylon brush. Either product vastly outperforms Sweets on copper.

Still want to try the KG products someday.
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I use the stuff all the time. I typically run 2-3 wet patches with a carbon remover- I use some stuff made by NOW products that is water base but works fantastic.

I then run a nylon brush through it with the same water-based stuff for maybe 5-10 strokes and run a couple of dry patches through. I can then let it sit with foam. I usually do two applications; one with the barrel right side up and then once inverted. If you don't the foam has a tendency to slide down and settle on the bottom of the barrel and you will get the bottom clean but not the top.

I spray from the muzzle with a bore-guild inserted. Most of the time it blows out the back of the guide and I KNOW it's full.

I have treated several of my rifles with Ultra bore Coat. It really works as advertised. I can get my treated barrels clean with less than 10 patches and NO brushing. Using a brush afterwards just give me a clean wet patch. Hasn't hurt accuracy and in fact, helped my .260 a little.
 
Slugger

Good observation. I noticed the tendency of the foam to "sag" inside the bore and used to squirtt mine twice also. Right side up and upside down.
The little .204's did not seem to suffer from this as much.

LOL's I chucked down the change for some Ultra Bore Coat too. I was looking for miracles in problem factory and old milsurp barrels. Nothing ventured nothing gained. They did seem to clean up easier but I was not impressed overall. The fact that using a brass brush with UBC is forbidden turned me off.
A good squirt of Lock Ease is just as effective.
 
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