[qajaq59]

They seem to have improved everything else so how about something to clean a bp pistol besides hot water and soap?

[Chawbaccer]

Can't improve on water and soap.

[bigbadgun]

Whats wrong with soap and water?

[Das Jaeger]

is good if you like rust . :neener:
I use straight Ballistrol or Prescision Rifle BP cleaner , straight .
Both are cheap but not free like water ? Unless you live on a creek , your water aint cheap either :D
WATER AND METAL dont mix :banghead:
I had a Pietta Navy I tried the soap and water thing , once , it flashed rusted as it dried , NEVER AGIAN :what:
Water and soap is fine if you like it . I have evolved and cut off my tail
though , I prefer to move on as I find a better product to do a better job :D

Cheerios, Jaeger

[4v50 Gary]

clean the guns.


That's how my father did it.

[scrat]

Rumor has it if you take water from your faucet and heat it up. then use some mild soap like Dawn. this is supposed to be the new wonder way of cleaning black powder. But you didnt hear it from me

[Loyalist Dave]

Both are cheap but not free like water ? Unless you live on a creek , your water aint cheap either.

It don't rain where you live?


WATER AND METAL dont mix. I had a Pietta Navy I tried the soap and water thing , once , it flashed rusted as it dried , NEVER AGIAN

Well hot water has been shown to rust bp guns fast as it dries..., which is why the NMLRA did tests and found out in the 80's (iirc) that cold water and soap works just fine. Followed by a rust preventative like olive oil, or ballistol these days if you wish.

LD

[scrat]

Agree with dave +1

[TomADC]

I read on another board a bottle of Windex with vineigar pour it into a gallon jug and fill the rest with water. The gun writer Mike Ventr**** can't recall proper spelling likes it.
I just use hot soapy water.

[AbitNutz]

Oh man I just put it in the dishwasher....it's not like my wife uses it. We keep all our food as restaurants.

[scrat]

vinegar does work but it has to be dilluted as vinegar is also used to remove the bluing from your gun. so if anything what some people do is mix warm water with a little soap and a very small amount of vinegar. this is used primarily at the range in between when the fouling gets a little bad. otherwise hot water and soap are best used at home as for the rust. that will only happen on areas where the bluing has been removed other wise just use the hot water and soap then wipe them down and put on a small amount of lube like balistol or borebutter.

[BHP FAN]

Simple Green.

[sharps59]

Grease cutting DAWn hot water in my sonic cleaner. hot water been usig it for 20 years no sign of rust yet. on blued or brite metal muskets

[TomADC]

I'm switching to Ballistrol, to many folks giving it a thumbs up.
I'm evolving plus we are on a water watch here:D

[GENTLEMAN OF THE CHARCOAL]

Hell, I clean mine just like I used to clean the modern cased. I use a cleaning rod, bore brushes, patches, good solvent, good oil, a couple of tooth brushes, a couple of pipe cleaners, and I clean that sonofab**** U.S. Marine Corps inspection ready. But ain't any water getting close to any of my pieces unless I'm out hunting in the rain or fall in the river or accidentally pee on them or something....

[NobleSniper]

Actually urine will decimate the corrosive agents............. Ammonia ;)

[BHP FAN]

I have read somewhere of fellows un-jamming BP Sharps rifles that way...

[Smokin_Gun]

Anyone in here take a hot shower and not use a towel to dry off?

If Wash/Clean a Rev and leave it to dry it sure as heck may/will rust.

Hot water and dishsoap scaldin' hot a with a good soakin' and scrubbin' and scaldin' campfire hot rinse water will allow the absored heat will evaporate the rinse water residue left after patch and towel dryin'.
Ya gotta dry the water off:neener:

[BCRider]

I've learned a couple of tricks from shooting BP over the summer. First is that hot water and liquid laundry soap does a pretty decent job of getting most of the muck out. But I did find some signs of flash rusting from warming the parts to dry in the toaster oven if it was left in the soapy water to soak for too long. In this case "too long" = anything more than about two minutes tops. On the one gun I let soak for 5 to 7 minutes then rinsed in hot water and then wiped dry and baked for about 7 to 10 minutes on "warm" the barrel patches with Ballistol on them came out rust stained. Same with the cylinder that got the same treatment. The other gun dunked, brushed and rinsed with hot water then dried and baked right away. It had only the slightest coloring of brown when I ran the Ballistol soaked patch down the bore. I'm not sure if it ws a bit of flash rust or just some powder stain. So yeah, steel and soapy water don't mix if you leave them in for long at all. Just get'er done and get it out and dry ASAP.

Das Jeager, I don't doubt for a second that you had an issue with flash rust. Some alloys of steel are really prone to that if you "wash" them with anything that strips off the last of any oils. It would take longer with a solvent degreaser but when you add in the oxidizing nature of water and steel things can get ugly in a hurry. Other alloys are not so prone to this. And surface coatings such as blueing seems to really help.

[Das Jaeger]

( GENTLEMAN OF THE CHARCOAL ) Hell, I clean mine just like I used to clean the modern cased. I use a cleaning rod, bore brushes, patches, good solvent, good oil, a couple of tooth brushes, a couple of pipe cleaners, and I clean that sonofab**** U.S. Marine Corps inspection ready. But ain't any water getting close to any of my pieces unless I'm out hunting in the rain or fall in the river or accidentally pee on them or something.... )

------------------------------------

Hee hee hee , you Da Man ! :D .....Especailly Cap and Ball revolvers , water is for drinkin and flushing toilets only . :D

Jaeger :rolleyes:

[SHIPCHIEF]

Hoppes #9 Blackpowder....
I just started using it. No results yet. I'm not really sure how to use it.
So far I did the soapy water pump and scrub, followed by scalding water rinse and a quick dry patch. Then the Hoppes #9 Blackpowder stuff soaked on a patch several strokes to make sure it's clean. And use the same Hoppes patch to wipe down the outside of the still hot barrel.
I suppose I need to get Hoppes water displacing oil for final?

[TheWall]

I just started using Blue Wonder with excellent results -- especially on nipples. Follow immediately by Ballistol and it's pretty easy clean up.

Be forewarned, the stuff (Blue Wonder) stinks to high heaven. But I rather like the smell of Ballistol.

Here's a helpful link:


http://www.bluewonder.us/BlackPowderCleaningInstructions.html#Traditional

[Allison]

Shipchief... I've been coating the cylinder and nipples inside and out
with Hoppes BP #9 and let it set while I clean the rest of the gun. They
then go into the hot soapy water, rinsed, toweled off and dried with
a hair dryer. By giving the Hoppes time to do its job, it seems to speed up
the cleaning process and make it easier.

[Tomahawk674]

I have a concern about Black Powder. I am going to be getting some 38S&W cartridges filled with Pinnacle powder (same as Goex?).

Those are for the little top break I restored. The thing is, it's a real pain to take the trigger guard of to clean the internals, and I was thinking about how much fouling could get in there through the cylinder bolt opening. On my cap and ball, fouling easily makes it's way in there, which is obvious when I clean it.

Isn't Pinnacle/Goex corrosive if not cleaned well? I would have to submerge the frame into soapy water or something, and try to rinse and dry it somehow.

That's why I was asking Oyeboten about the bp through his revolvers. The good thing was that he said that the fouling was comparable to smokeless.

[arcticap]

Pinnacle has an ascorbic based formula like APP. If left uncleaned then the residue can absorb moisture which could lead to surface corrosion. Using lubricants and/or solvents inside the frame should help to lessen that possibility.

[GENTLEMAN OF THE CHARCOAL]

Hey!! Some of ya'll make fun and deride us for using an inline and shooting what ya'll refer to as a 'substitute' powder. THEN ya'll turn right around and use 'Dawn' dishwashing liquid to clean your guns and dry them with a damn hair dryer. Man, I'll bet that bar of soap or the dishwashing liquid and especially the electric hair dryer would have just impressed the hell right out of ol' Jim Bridger and 'Kit" Carson. What'll ya'll think? Hell, I bet that's how they cleaned their guns every day. One thing I'd bet my life on. If they'd had BlackMag3 or Triple Seven back then they'd damn sure been using it and you can carry that to the bank.

[kwhi43@kc.rr.com]

I use "Nair" around the nipples myself.

[GENTLEMAN OF THE CHARCOAL]

Oh..You use Nair?!! Well hell son you're alright. Just dust on along. You'vd nothing to worry about!....

[SHIPCHIEF]

FFFFFFt!
I seem to recall some story about using the hot water out of the coffee pot to clean a posse members gun....
So the Old Timers finished with hot water too. They might have even set the gun by the campfire on a warm rock to make sure it gets dry.
I bet the microscopic amount of flash rust couldn't be measured over the years, it can barely be seen on a pure white cleaning patch used to verify a dry bore and oil it.
So you don't clean your gun? just swamp it out with a bunch of chemicals and call it good? Oils encapsulate the steel to prevent oxygen from contacting it, but oil won't prevent the barrel from corroding if corrosive residue remains. The residue will silently etch your steel right under that goop you use. Oxygen and sulfer remain as exhaust products. Water is God's solvent, (scientists call it 'the universal solvent') heat and soap speed it up. All the constituents of Black Powder are water soluable and respond to soap. Unfortunatley steel does too. But not fast enough to matter if you get right to your cleaning, and dry-oil it quick too.
Don't clean your gun at all? then atmospheric moisture and oxygen will add to the residue and speed up the corrosive process.
It would be nice if there was a way to clean with hot soapy water, then mop oil into the clean wet barrel in such a way that air never contacts the steel.
I suppose the first patch after cleaning & hot rinse could be mostly dry with a little oil on it so the cotton fibers would pick up moisture while laying down water displacing oil?:banghead: Or a fully oil saturated patch to lift the water and let the heat vaporize it and carry it away?

[janobles14]

t/c no. 13 is still the best stuff ive found