Removing heavy leading.

[venison]

I heard that using a brass pad (the ones used in the kitchen) in combination with a used brash brush and cleaning rod was an easy and fast method of removing heavy amounts of leading.

I want to use that method but it seems very difficult to find brass pads or even industrial brass wool in my area.

So far I found nickel pads. I tried them with a magnet but they seem non magnetic.

Can I use those nickel pads instead of brass pads?

 

[Sgt.Dusk]

0.00 steel wool will do just fine. But I think you should just buy a cleaning kit for you caliber. Theyre not that expensive....

IMO the best way to get rid of the leading is to shoot some jacketed bullets after each 500 lead bullets or so. 5-10 FMJ's is enough to do the job. That sweeps the barrel shining-clean.
!!Now if you already got REALLY heavy leading I suggest that you DONT shoot it clean with FMJ's because pressures can be higher that normal!!!

 

[venison]

I do have a cleaning kit for that caliber plus some chemicals like Outers and Hopes but I've been unable to remove the leading with them.

Most of the leading is concentrated in the throat (transition area between chamber and barrel). There isn't that much lead in there but enough to cover some of the grooves in the throat area.

I'm afraid that 000 steel wool could scratch the inside finnish of that barrel. Other than that I already used that product to remove rust out of blued parts with great success. 000 Steel wool, lots of oil, and following the direction of the factory polish. Can I really use it on the inside of a barrel without inflicting any damage or harming accuracy?

 

[Sgt.Dusk]

000 is really fine stuff. Ive used that with my revolver barrel, but
I think that in a long term use it is not recommended.
But as I said, when youve cleared that leading out you should begin using jacketed bullets to drive leading out after each shooting session.
Doing so you avoid scraping your barrel with anything metallic in the future.

Personally I feel a sting in my heart every time I drive even a brass brush through the barrel. The sound it makes tells me that it cant be good.

 

[Citroen]

For a Handgun

Try a Lewis Lead Remover. Not expensive and it will remove lead in long strips.
John
Charlotte, NC

 

[rcmodel]

The Lewis Lead Remover is about the best & only way to clean the forcing cone.

http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/store/ProductDetail.aspx?p=21587&title=LEWIS LEAD REMOVER

But, there is no rifling in the forcing cone.
It is just a reamed smooth taper between the end of the barrel and the beginning of the rifling.


rcmodel

 

[Sir Aardvark]

Venison:

Here is an item you should look for:

http://www.choreboyscrubbers.com/

They are Chore Boy copper scrubbers. About the only caveat is to NOT use them with a solvent designed to remove copper, as you will find that this solvent tends to dissolve the Chore Boy.

WalMart carries these, and since there is a WalMart just about everywhere you shouldn't have a problem getting some.

Another good place to find brass wool is at a woodworking shop, like Rocklers

http://www.rockler.com/retail/retail.cfm

The idea behind using brass or copper scrubbers is that these metals are softer than the steel that makes up your barrel, thus ensuring that you would only remove the contaminants in your barrel and not the steel of the barrel itself.
If you use the wrong product to aggressively clean your barrel, you could round-off the lands and grooves that make up the rifling in your barrel.
I do know that some alloys of Nickel have a high Hardness rating, so I would be careful using Nickel pads.

I have used the Lewis Lead Remover tool and I broke it the very first time I used it to clean my forcing cone. The concept is great, but the components could be manufactured to be a little bit more robust, IMHO.

I have used the brass screens provided with the Lewis Lead remover tool and a brass jag along with some JB Bore cleaning compound to scrub the barrels of my revolver to a mirror finish. I highly recommend the JB Bore compound

 

[MarshallDodge]

+1 on copper Chore Boys.

 

[Jim K]

Brass and copper scrubbers are available at super markets in the kitchen department, sold as pot scrubbers. They are also good for removing light rust without scratching a blued surface as steel wool can do.

Jim

 

[qbpc]

+1 lewis lead remover

 

[Texas Colt]

Another vote for the pot scrubber pads. You can find them in most supermarkets. Cut the pad into smaller pieces and wrap them around an old bore brush. It makes short work of lead fouling.

 

[venison]

All pads I found so far are either stainless steel or nickel. I'll keep looking for copper or bronze ones.

There are no Chore Boys here or so it seems. I guess they preffer the nickel ones because they don't rust that much.

 

[rcmodel]

Perhaps a better question then "how to get it out" is why is it leading so badly in the first place?

What are you shooting, and what are you shooting in it?

Lead bullets do not cause severe leading unless there is something wrong with the load. (To fast, or too much pressure) bullet alloy, (Too soft, or too hard) or bullet lube. (Not enough, or the wrong kind)

Figure out the cause and the leading will go away.


rcmodel

 

[Harley Quinn]

What are you shooting and getting all this lead? If it is a small barrel in a pistol you can soak it and the chemicals will help a lot.

I have known some in days of old to fill the barrel with chemicals and stop each end up and let it sit and then it comes out easier. Depends on how much time you want to spend brushing it

Need more information to give advise

HQ

 

[Texas Colt]

Lead bullets do not cause severe leading unless there is something wrong with the load. (To fast, or too much pressure) bullet alloy, (Too soft, or too hard) or bullet lube. (Not enough, or the wrong kind)

rc, I have shot many different guns with lead bullets and have always had lead fouling. It doesn't seem to matter whether it is factory ammo or reloads, hard cast or soft cast, flat base or bevel base, fast powder or slow, revolver or semi-auto. They all leave lead in the bore.

The only exceptions are my 45-70 and 38-55 where I use gas checked bullets.

Any thoughts? :banghead:

 

[rcmodel]

Well, there is a big difference between severe leading, requiring a Lewis Lead Remover or bronze wool to get out, and a few light streaks in the bore that is easily cleaned out with normal cleaning.

For instance, all .22 LR ammo is lead, and they don't lead at all.
.38 Special wad-cutters are lead, and they don't lead at all.

I shoot a lot of cast-bullet 32-20, .38 Special, .44 Special, .45 ACP, and .45 Colt handloads in Colt and S&W guns, and they don't lead.

If you are getting severe leading in all guns, with all lead bullet loads, I don't know what to tell you.


rcmodel

 

[Texas Colt]

Thanks rc. Maybe my expectations were set too high. I would have to admit that most leading I get would not be classified as severe.

I had read so many articles, posts, etc. where guys say they get no leading after hundreds of rounds that I came to expect a clean bore when shooting cast bullets.

 

[ninja45]

You will always get some residue in the barrel of whatever you are shooting, be it lead or copper jacket. So, it is important to clean your barrel when accuracy starts to suffer, and that will depend on what you are shooting!

 

[mrmeval]

Some of the 'stainless' pads I've seen are aluminum. You can spot them cause they will easily leave streaks. I had them contaminate a chemical bath.
Someone thought saving money was good and got them at a dollar store.

 

[BruceRDucer]

What about another post I saw in these forums, which suggested mixing some CREAM OF WHEAT to gun loads. It seemed to lessen the accumulation of lead.

[Am I just stoopud or what?]

 

[proud2deviate]

What about another post I saw in these forums, which suggested mixing some CREAM OF WHEAT to gun loads. It seemed to lessen the accumulation of lead.

[Am I just stoopud or what?]

Of course ya ain't stoopud. One important distinction; this is for shotgun loads. The Cream of Wheat is mixed in with the shot to act as a buffer material. The shot tends not to mash up so much as it travels down the barrel, which would hopefully improve patterns and reduce leading.

To the OP; what type of gun are you talking about that's getting leaded so bad? If it's a smooth bore, then a cleaning rod with a brass brush chucked in a drill can work wonders. I did this with the most heavily leaded barrel I've ever seen, and it was sparkling inside of five minutes. Obviously, you should not do this with rifled barrels.

EDIT: Whoops just re-read the OP's second post, which mentioned grooves. So not smooth bore. Disregard

 

[Harley Quinn]

Originally Posted by BruceRDucer
What about another post I saw in these forums, which suggested mixing some CREAM OF WHEAT to gun loads. It seemed to lessen the accumulation of lead.

[Am I just stoopud or what?]

Healty, hearty and makes your morning of shooting better because of the smell of fresh cooked "cream of wheat"

I remember this being done back long ago, for the reasons already mentioned.

 

[actionflies]

Use the chore boy method. Buy the chore boy copper scrubbing pad in grocery stores and cut it into a patch, wrap it around a copper cleaning brush and run it through the bore. Much cheaper than the lewis lead removal.

 

[brickeyee]

Nickel IS magnetic.

A Lewis Lead remover (brass or bronze pads) or some copper chore boy (make sure it is NOT copper plated steel) can also work.

 

[koginam]

Lyman foul out works real good removes lead and powder residue, also with different solvent will remove copper cladding, we use it in the shop easy and throughly cleans everything.