Is Simple Green ok to use to clean muzzle loaders barrels?

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Aim1

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So, I always used fancy CVA foaming cleaner and then Bore Butter in my muzzleloaders for the first 6 years. Then last year I used plain hot water for my muzzle loaders and then some clean patches and then patches with Bore Butter for storage.

Well, after 7 years of no problems took them out last year and all 3 of the guns wouldn't even hit paper at 25 yards. I couldn't figure out what happened. Perhaps the bores got corroded somehow.

Talked to my friend about it and he said he's always squirted Simple Green down the barrel of his muzzle loader, waited a few minutes then ran a few patches down it. He then ran some patches with Bore Butter down last and he's never had a problem.

Is Simple Green ok to use to clean muzzle loaders barrels?


Maybe it's cheaper and better to use than foaming cleaner and better than plain hot water.
 
The only caution I can remember about Simple Green and metal is to avoid using it on aluminum.


https://simplegreen.com/faqs/
... caution and common sense must be used: aluminum is a soft metal that easily corrodes with unprotected exposure to water. The aqueous-base and alkalinity of Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner can accelerate the corrosion process.

Therefore, contact times for unprotected or unpainted aluminum surfaces should be kept as brief as the job will allow - never for more than 10 minutes. Large cleaning jobs should be conducted in smaller-area stages to achieve lower contact time. Rinsing after cleaning should always be extremely thorough - paying special attention to flush out cracks and crevices to remove all Simple Green product residues. Unfinished, uncoated or unpainted aluminum cleaned with Simple Green products should receive some sort of protectant after cleaning to prevent oxidation.
 
I use simple green for cleaning everything. I carry cleaning patches, wet with simple green and water in a zip lock bag in my range kit. They are just for tween shots at the range not general cleaning. But IMO simple green is just another detergent. Doesn’t list ammonia or vinegar as ingredients, non toxic and smells good.
 
If you're unable to even hit paper at 25 yards after being able to do so in years past, I would not immediately blame the condition of the bore without evaluating it first. Have you degreased the bore and examined as much of the barrel interior as possible with a strong bore light?
 
If you're unable to even hit paper at 25 yards after being able to do so in years past, I would not immediately blame the condition of the bore without evaluating it first. Have you degreased the bore and examined as much of the barrel interior as possible with a strong bore light?


No I have not. Was thinking about it but don't own a bore light or bore scope.

What do you think it could be?
 
I've shot some pretty bad looking bores in the past, including a badly pitted 1873 Springfield. Though it would not qualify for a match, I was able to get acceptable accuracy by having a properly sized and alloyed bullet, and grouping was pretty good when I swabbed the fouling from the bore after each shot. The more fouling that accumulated, the faster the group disbursed.

I would thoroughly clean the bore then get a good look at the rifling with strong light if your concern is storage corrosion. If the rifle you're referring to can be illuminated from the breech end then it would be fairly simple to check the full length. If the bore looks good then you should double check your bullet diameter or any other related load components that could contribute to an accuracy fall off.
 
For years I used a few drops of Simple Green in the hot water used for cleaning my BP guns. Never a problem. Now I use a few drops of Dawn dish soap. In truth, the water alone will do the job but using the soap is an old habit and does no harm. As usual, once the bore is completely dry I run a lightly oiled patch down it unless I'll be shooting the gun again in a day or so.

Jeff
 
and then Bore Butter ....
and there -- in two words -- is the problem.
"Bore Butter"

Do not, (I say again) do NOT use "Bore Butter" as a BP (or anything else) barrel/metal preserver/protector.
I care not what anyone or any company says or write -- do NOT do it.

After cleaning with soapy (coupla-drops dishsoap) water, dry-patch everything out and then use BreakFree CLP and/or RemOil -- or any other good gun oil -- like any other firearm.

Before next use, just run a drypatch down the bore a few times and then load as normal.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As for now, run boiling/slightly soapy water through the barrel;
Drypatch it out
Then JB bore paste it a solid 100-150 strokes to clean any/all residual crud out of the grooves
Drypatch it out again.

Load it. Shoot it. And report back






~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Throw the "Bore Butter" away.
All it is is THIS.
 
Some use hot water and are ok. Most find flash rust from the water and hot barrel. I tried hot water and will not do that again. I use room temp water with some window cleaner sprayed in it. . When done I rinse with just plain water. Completely dry the barrel . I coat the barrel with full strength ballistal. This has worked for me for years now. I shoot mostly pyrodex and very corrosive home made caps. A really bad combination unless your cleaning and preserving is top rate. I have seen tests and bore butter didn't do well at all as a preservative . I hope you get the guns shooting better.I have been there and done that.
Black Jack Shellac
 
Never used Simple Green on a muzzle loader but do use it on chainsaws. It doesn't hurt the plastic and is good for removing oil. Soapy water does a pretty good job with the water doing 90% of the work.

Tried bore butter and will never do that again. Makes cleaning the bore much more difficult and time consuming.
 
and there -- in two words -- is the problem.
"Bore Butter"

Do not, (I say again) do NOT use "Bore Butter" as a BP (or anything else) barrel/metal preserver/protector.
I care not what anyone or any company says or write -- do NOT do it.

After cleaning with soapy (coupla-drops dishsoap) water, dry-patch everything out and then use BreakFree CLP and/or RemOil -- or any other good gun oil -- like any other firearm.

Before next use, just run a drypatch down the bore a few times and then load as normal.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As for now, run boiling/slightly soapy water through the barrel;
Drypatch it out
Then JB bore paste it a solid 100-150 strokes to clean any/all residual crud out of the grooves
Drypatch it out again.

Load it. Shoot it. And report back






~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Throw the "Bore Butter" away.
All it is is THIS.


Thanks.

Will try this.

Do you mean BP as in Barrel Protector?
 
BP as in Barrel Protector?
"Black Powder" * :)
(or any of its substitutes)



*
A drop or two of Simple Green (or of dish soap) is all that's needed.
Just something to break the surface tension of otherwise plain water.

Other have noted that true boiling water will self-dry totally clean so fast that things will flash rust. But at this point you need total clean-out more than anything else.
(Besides, that very thin (coupla microns)"flash" rust can be totally prevented by BreakFree quickly swabbed down that same hot/dry/clean barrel. )
 
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There are better and worse products than Bore Butter.
At least it stays where it's placed and isn't runny like CLP or Rem Oil.

Bore Butter can help to dissolve fouling that's left behind in the nooks and crannies of the rifling after cleaning
After cleaning and applying in the bore, it's a good idea to go back after a few days and check the bore by swabbing it out to see if any residue that was left behind loosened up or dissolved into a liquid.
Sometimes trace amounts of powder residue are left in the rifling grooves which the Bore Butter helps to dissolve.
After swabbing again then reapply a new coat of Bore Butter and repeat until you're satisfied that no more residue is left behind.

Also Bore Butter can have a finite lifespan.
A fresh coat can be reapplied within a year or so.

I wouldn't blame the Bore Butter if the bore isn't being cleaned well enough.
It contains mineral oil and micronized paraffin wax, which mineral oil is also the main ingredient in Ballistol.
Many people rely on Bore Butter and have been dedicated users for many years without any problems.
 
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Next thing `ya know, someone's gonna bring up how they "condition" their BP barrels :what::evil::cuss:
(Protect me oh Lord, from succubi that whisper "bore-butter-barrel-conditioning" in the night")

There's a reason that God (and the Marines) made/adopted true gun oils -- BreakFree and RemOil being two of the best,
 
I also have used Bore Butter and similar for many decades without problem. I suspect those folks who have had trouble with it live in climates much different from mine.

I also have found that "true gun oil" results in misfires and bloopers in my BP guns. I do not doubt those who claim success with it, but will not use it myself.

Ballistol seems to be the only thing agreed upon by most BP shooters. I have come to depend upon it more and more - though I still happily use either bore butter or mutton tallow/beeswax for whatever needs doing.
 
I use corrosive homemade caps made from H-48 formula and homemade black powder and ive tried just about everything. But i stick with distilled water and a detergent of either dawn or my favorite... LA Awesome. Its very gentle on bluing and all metals yet will clean what even break/carb cleaner wont. Its very inexpensive...found only in dollar stores. As for a preservative and rust preventer i use Barricade. If any of you have a dollar to spare i ask that you go to a local dollar store and buy some LA Awesome and dilute with distilled water half and half...or even 25% La Awesome to 75% distilled water. Bore butter may work for some...but ive not had good results in my humid location. This is what La Awesome looks like..and i hear some of the competitors and pros are using it..
20191127_094155.jpg
 
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Ditch the Bore Butter.

I clean with windex. Swab the bore multiple times and it's sqeaky clean. Dry patch and oil patch, done. I always go back a couple days later and oil patch again to insure it's as clean as it looks. Warm water and Dawn work well too, just more messy. Always remember to dry patch and oil a couple times later.
 
For years I used a few drops of Simple Green in the hot water used for cleaning my BP guns. Never a problem. Now I use a few drops of Dawn dish soap. In truth, the water alone will do the job but using the soap is an old habit and does no harm. As usual, once the bore is completely dry I run a lightly oiled patch down it unless I'll be shooting the gun again in a day or so.

Yeah, in fact it was (iirc) BullRunBear I think that clued me in, on another forum, to try a couple drops of Dawn in the water, to reduce surface tension. Not much suds, but it does reduce cleaning time on some very dirty barrels when I've been doing blank-firing demos.

Water works, and just about anything that has a pH that is base, will help. I've even when at a long BP event, used a teaspoon of baking soda in a couple gallons of water. KNOW that water dilutes the residual compounds in the ash in your barrel, which otherwise soak up moisture from the air and form acid compounds, BUT if you use a base, like a lot of "black powder solvents" or even windshield wiper fluid (popular and has a touch of ammonia) that those acidic compounds are counteracted, but combine with the pH-base chemical to form salts. So a clean water rinse and a drying are needed.

No matter what, once the bore is dry you need to use some sort of rust preventative. I have used olive oil when it was all that I could get, but a modern rust preventative is better. You also need to check the bore the following day, with a quick, dry patch, followed by the reapplication of rust preventer. Old tech = old practices and old techniques.

LD
 
The only caution I can remember about Simple Green and metal is to avoid using it on aluminum.


https://simplegreen.com/faqs/
... caution and common sense must be used: aluminum is a soft metal that easily corrodes with unprotected exposure to water. The aqueous-base and alkalinity of Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner can accelerate the corrosion process.

Therefore, contact times for unprotected or unpainted aluminum surfaces should be kept as brief as the job will allow - never for more than 10 minutes. Large cleaning jobs should be conducted in smaller-area stages to achieve lower contact time. Rinsing after cleaning should always be extremely thorough - paying special attention to flush out cracks and crevices to remove all Simple Green product residues. Unfinished, uncoated or unpainted aluminum cleaned with Simple Green products should receive some sort of protectant after cleaning to prevent oxidation.

Do many guns have aluminum in them?
 
Do many guns have aluminum in them?

No.
I've only seen very few external aluminum parts such as a blackened trigger guard, anodized ramrod and polished ramrod tips on plastic ramrods, far and few between.
However some cleaning rods and accessories are more commonly made from aluminum.
 
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