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

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dave951 said:
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.
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So you spray a patch with Windex, swab multiple times, then dry patches, then oiled patch?
 
An acquaintance of mine used to soak his bp revolver in a bucket of warm water with a small amount of some kind of laundry detergent dissolved in it. Dont recall what kind. After soaking for a while he would run some kind of bore swab thru the barrel multiple times while it was still in the bucket and then used a toorh brush on some areas.

Then he rinsed it with hot water and dried it with a hair dryer. Not even a blow dryer. Some kind of thing that had a hose on it that went to a plastic contraption that was made to sit on ones head.

Once dry he had some kind of oil he swabbed onto the inside barrel and the external and other surfaces. I vaguely remember it was some kind of transmission fluid, but my memory from that long ago is kind of foggy.

He did not even remove the wooden grips. I think he had lacquered them or something so they were more or less waterproof.

It seemed kind of crazy to me fourty years ago but it also seemed to work.
 
Simple Green is my cleaner of choice. I use patches soaked in it for cleaning, and a solution of it as a soak for revolver cylinders. I make a point of flushing with water afterward, then drying.
 
Aim1 said:
So you spray a patch with Windex, swab multiple times, then dry patches, then oiled patch?
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Stand the gun upright at a slight tilt with nipple facing the ground. 5-6 shots of Windex in the muzzle. Watch it run out the nipple. Swab bore clean and dry. Oil patch next. Easy. Wipe nipple area with windex patch, wipe dry, wipe with oil patch. Done. Next gun.
 
Do many guns have aluminum in them?
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Probably not too common in long guns (including muzzle loaders), but a lot of handguns have aluminum frames, and some rimfire pistols (such as the SR-22) may have aluminum slides.

Even in long guns some parts can be made of aluminum. Trigger guards, triggers, stock "pillars", etc. Nothing in the bore is going to be aluminum, but as mentioned, it's pretty common for cleaning equipment to have aluminum parts or to even be made primarily from aluminum.
 
JohnKSa said:
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.
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Can I assume that anodizing is adequate protection?
 
It seems there are a multitude of ways to complicate a simple task. Hot water right out of the kitchen sink/bathtub/lavatory faucet will do the job. A tiny bit of what ever dish washing soap is available makes it do the job slightly quicker and the metal will dry almost instantly in either case. If you live where the humidity is very high you might need to take a hair dryer to it to facilitate drying. I've used this method for many years. I oil the inside of the barrel and apply Johnson's paste wax to the outside when it's clean. I have never had any rust problems.
 
doubleh said:
It seems there are a multitude of ways to complicate a simple task. Hot water right out of the kitchen sink/bathtub/lavatory faucet will do the job. A tiny bit of what ever dish washing soap is available makes it do the job slightly quicker and the metal will dry almost instantly in either case. If you live where the humidity is very high you might need to take a hair dryer to it to facilitate drying. I've used this method for many years. I oil the inside of the barrel and apply Johnson's paste wax to the outside when it's clean. I have never had any rust problems.
Click to expand...

You got that absolutely right!:)
 
For over thirty years, I've used very hot water with a drop or two of dish soap. That works so well I would have never risked using a cleaning product not designed for the task.

Lately, for no good reason, I've been using "moose milk" (9:1 hot water to Ballistol).
 
ilbob said:
An acquaintance of mine used to soak his bp revolver in a bucket of warm water with a small amount of some kind of laundry detergent dissolved in it. Dont recall what kind. After soaking for a while he would run some kind of bore swab thru the barrel multiple times while it was still in the bucket and then used a toorh brush on some areas.

Then he rinsed it with hot water and dried it with a hair dryer. Not even a blow dryer. Some kind of thing that had a hose on it that went to a plastic contraption that was made to sit on ones head.

Once dry he had some kind of oil he swabbed onto the inside barrel and the external and other surfaces. I vaguely remember it was some kind of transmission fluid, but my memory from that long ago is kind of foggy.

He did not even remove the wooden grips. I think he had lacquered them or something so they were more or less waterproof.

It seemed kind of crazy to me fourty years ago but it also seemed to work.
Click to expand...
Auto trans fluid, and acetone was used frequently as a thread release, also many of the high performance oils for autos is Auto trans derived. It's synthetic based and B/P compatible, but too much can quench powder, must be thoroughly removed from inside barrel and ignition areas before shooting.
 
Can I assume that anodizing is adequate protection?
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Aluminum oxide is a very stable, inert and very hard substance. So if there's an uncompromised layer of anodizing over the entire piece of metal I would think that you're going to be hard pressed to find a cleaner that will cause damage.

The key is that the anodizing can't be compromised anywhere. If there are scratches that go through the anodizing, or if there are holes drilled after the anodizing was performed, or if there are portions of the material that weren't anodized or where the anodizing has worn off, then you'd want to follow the recommendations for minimizing the contact between aluminum and Simple Green.
 
I just inherited an ASM 1860 Army Model and am trying to learn as much as possible before I fire it.

Using soapy water to clean them was a surprise to me. Why doesn't normal cleaning solutions like Hoppes No. 9 work? I am sure there is a reason, I just don't know what it is.

Thanks
 
Hoppe's #9 is a very good solvent for a number of thing besides cleaning firearms. It's even an excellent fluid for drilling and tapping aluminum and I use it for stubborn gunk on all kind of things. It's designed for smokeless power firearms and I have no doubt it will clean a blac kpowder gun. My question is why bother? It certainly costs more than water and will be no more effective.
 
Darwin Teague said:
I just inherited an ASM 1860 Army Model and am trying to learn as much as possible before I fire it.

Using soapy water to clean them was a surprise to me. Why doesn't normal cleaning solutions like Hoppes No. 9 work? I am sure there is a reason, I just don't know what it is.

Thanks
Click to expand...

There's Hoppe's No. 9 Black Powder Gun Bore Cleaner & Patch Lube which works better than regular Hoppes No. 9. --->>> https://www.amazon.com/Hoppes-Powder-Cleaner-Lubricant-Bottle/dp/B000PW20XS
Regular Hoppes could work but it depends on which type of powder is being used since the residues they produce can be more or less stubborn due to their ingredients.
Some people do use waterless cleaning methods for BP rifles but usually not for revolvers because of all of the surface areas having different shapes and hiding places for harmful residue.
If going waterless, it's a good idea to have several different cleaners on hand because one may not be completely effective.
Soapy water is also less expensive yet can be very effective.
All cleaning methods can require some elbow grease, but waterless methods probably require more effort since more friction, rubbing and repetition are usually required to physically remove the most stubborn deposits.
Some harmful powder residues are better neutralized with water, depending on the specific solvent.
 
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