Hoppe's#9 vs pitted bore, bore is winning.

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hovercat

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I have happily used Hoppe's#9 over 30 years.

I purchased a Remington model 14 in rough shape as a project. After cleaning the bore pretty well with brushes, patches and my trusty #9, I left the bore wet with #9 and propped it in the corner, tissue in the action, to soak a couple days.
Lots of copper as expected, so I did my wet/dry/wet patch/soak routine about 5 times until all clean. Then on a whim, before putting it up, I ran a brush through it a few times. Next patch came out black as coal, and the one after that. Like I was starting out with the original filthy bore.

My Hoppe's works fine on my good condition barrels, but I think this one needs another product. Any recommendations?
 
Get some J & B bore paste and put on your new brush and work it down and out. You will be amazed at how good it cleans and irons out a lot of the pitting.
 
Uhh, you can't fix pitting... I would get a bore scope and get a look at the barrel from the inside. If it is pitted but rifling is good, see how it shoots. If it shoots good then keep it as a plinker and then when the time comes, rebarrel it and start over.

Regular Hoppes doesn't do much for removing copper, buy a copper solvent like Boretech's Eliminator. It will also remove carbon. You can look at Slip2000 for their Carbon Killer, use it with the Eliminator as copper and carbon can build up in layers.
 
I am an old dude. I have always been of the opinion that Hoppe's is terribly overrated. I quit buying it around 1970. It's OK but there are much better solvents around today. But it's got that Banana Martini smell, you know? My experience has also been that anytime you clean a bore as well as possible that if you clean it again 2 days later you will get more crud out of it. (pitted or not) Even if you get all of the crud out of the pits the next time you shoot it the pits will be filled in again. Don't sweat it, just keep shooting it. I use Breakfree CLP for powder fouling, Lewis Lead Remover for leading and Sweet's 7.62 Solvent for copper fouling. And a big old can of Elbow Grease.
 
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Drail - I'm sorry but I disagree slightly about the Hoppe's. For just dirt and lead fouling, it does a good job for its cost.
That being said, I also agree that there are better products for the bigger problem of copper fouling.
 
Thanks to all for the replies. Trying to get all the other guy's crud out before dirtying it up myself. I do believe it is in layers, it is about 100 years old, after all.
I will have to see what the local sportsman whse stocks after work tomorrow.
 
Hoppes changed the recipe sometime in the late eighties or early nineties. Has not been worth using since. Shame, it used to be good stuff.

Anyway, the best stuff I've found for general fouling is "Shooters Choice" solvent. For copper, I second (or is it third now) the recommendation of Sweets' 7.62.
 
Don't knock Hoppes#9 to me. In the summer when the tiny "fruit flies" are a problem around the kitchen trash can, I drop a couple of patches with #9 in the can and the problem is gone. (Discovered that by accident cleaning my guns in the kitchen one summer.)

Seriously I use Hoppes#9 for cleaning after use of guns whose barrels have been properly maintained. For the badly neglected bores of a used gun or two I have picked up over the years, I have gone to the stronger stuff for cleaning out decades of neglect. But you do not want to use thr strong stuff for routine cleaning.
 
hovercat said:
Thanks to all for the replies. Trying to get all the other guy's crud out before dirtying it up myself. I do believe it is in layers, it is about 100 years old, after all.
Click to expand...
Be careful that all of your bore cleaning efforts don't do more harm than good.

For initial cleaning of a new acquisition with a less-than-perfect-bore I also clean it thoroughly with Sweet's and, after removing all of the Sweet's and goo, I use one of the FOAM cleaners in the little cans. That always seems to get it back down to steel.

Then I can start filling the pits up with my mess. ;)

EDIT:
BTW, I start with my regular bore cleaning regimen which includes the use of Hoppes#9 ... I find that it does an adequate job for normal cleaning and, like 'most everyone else, I love the smell of the Amyl Acetate.
 
1911 guy said:
Hoppes changed the recipe sometime in the late eighties or early nineties. Has not been worth using since. Shame, it used to be good stuff.

Anyway, the best stuff I've found for general fouling is "Shooters Choice" solvent. For copper, I second (or is it third now) the recommendation of Sweets' 7.62.
Click to expand...
I think I have messed up a few new rifles with Sweets 7.62. I say the best copper remover is outers foam or other brand. No brushing scouring just let it soak. I had old mausers that when I used the foam on them bluish green paint came out of the barrels and that is after I cleaned them many times with brushes
 
IMO, Wipe-Out (a foam) is as good as it gets. You can runs dozens of patches with a typical cleaner and they keep coming out dirty. Shoot in some Wipe-Out and let it sit, then run a couple thru, and you're good to go
 
An ancient, poorly or non-maintained barrel is going to defy any solvent.

Pick a solvent and keep cleaning until it's all gone. No solvent will remove pits.

As noted by 50Shooter, use a bore scope. If it shoots well, just keep up the cleaning. If it doesn't, re-barrel.
 
I bought a rifle awhile back that the barrel was filthy, used Hoppes#9, but like you it just wasn't cutting it. I bought a bottle of Remington 40X Bore Cleaner. I was amazed by the job it did. You might want to give it a try.
 
Bore tech eliminator is good, wipe out/patch out is good, Butch's bore shine is good, Sweets is good if the fouling is copper, JB's bore paste is good for stubborn carbon, Shooters
Choice is good, & I am sure there are many others, but I have used all these successfully. I usually use Hoppes for light cleaning, or as a pre soak & " rinse" if I am using one of the above stronger bore cleaners. I always finish with a light coat of CLP or Prolix to protect the bore.
 
Fremmer said:
Foaming bore cleaner.
Click to expand...
+1 (or more)

I use Gunslick foaming bore cleaner and have been amazed at what comes out of some of the dark bores I've bought. One in particular was a Finn-captured 91/30 with a sewer pipe bore. I bought it because the price was right and it had that "been-there/done-that/got-the-T-shirt" look. I didn't think it would shot at all considering how the bore looked, but it cleaned up nicely. It's still frosted, but it's a definite shooter. It's also the only gun I've ever had to do 3 treatments of bore cleaner to get clean.

Matt
 
First there is no way to remove pitting except to remove the metal down far enough to get to the bottom of the pits. And if the pits are deep enough to be visible, that means removing so much metal the barrel would be ruined. I don't know of any magic cleaner that will really get all the dirt and crud out of pitting without a lot of work. It is like one of those street sweepers trying to get all the dirt out of potholes.

Over the years, powder fouling, primer residue, metal scrapings, general crud, and the remains of old cleaners have gotten into that pitting and getting it out is not easy. In fact, many shooters eventually decide to just let it be and try not to add too much to it.

Abrasives may make the unpitted area shiny and the barrel may look better, but they still won't get the crud out of the pits or eliminate them.

Jim
 
Buy some Eezox. There is about nothing it wont clean up.:) It smells good too. Its the best solvent/rust preventer I've ever used but its not a lube, so oil accordingly.
 
If you have layers (and that means alternating layers of copper-over-powder-over-copper-over-powder-over....) then attack it that way with something that doesn't wear your barrel (and your arm... and your wife) out.

Please see KG-1 to simply apply wet, wait 2-3 min, and dry-patch out uncovering the copper.
Then KG-12** to simply wet patch, let sit for 2-3 minutes, and dry patch out uncovering the next powder layer.

No brush scrubbing, no prolonged forever patching, no foul smelling ammonia (or whatever), no floors ruined by dripped solvent, no divorces over "what's-that-smell" questions from the little lady...




**Copper comes out a brown crud w/ KG-12. Don't look for "blue"
 
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