Rust stopping oil

Hi,

I have a new Perdersoil Hawken 50cal. It is 2 moths old, I shoot it every weekend and clean it as best I can at the end of the same day I've shot it.

How I clean :-

Remove the barrel and nipple.
Put barrel in bucket and pour full kettle of boiling water down barrel.
Ramrod patch with the boiling water until patches run clean.
Empty bucket and dry barrel.
Pour 1l of 6-1 Balistloil down barrel and all over barrel.
Dry with patches.
Soak patch with pure Balistloil and run patch in barrel.

The above clearly is not good enough as I discovered last night when I decided to run a dry patch in the Hawken. I had a gritty rust spot about 3" from the bottom of the barrel close to the nipple. Also the clean patch was quite brown (but the barrel felt smooth) The last time I shot and cleaned this gun was one week ago.

I ran a few clean patches down and a bronze brush, then more patches and finally a wool mop soaked in very expensive Boretech gun oil I use in my competition 22LR. I don't expect it to rust again.

I always thought Balistloil was the best stuff, but it's clearly not!

What can I use instead of Boretech or Balistloil?
Or how can I clean better?

Thanks.

You will get many opinions. Mine is to stop using hot water. It causes flash rusting. I use G96 or Fluid Film for oil.

I use tap water for cleaning and it is not hot at all.

Sanitizing hand wipes cut down works great for cleaning a barrel.

Fleener

Sunbeam said:

Hi,
Remove the barrel and nipple.
Put barrel in bucket and pour full kettle of boiling water down barrel.
Ramrod patch with the boiling water until patches run clean.
Empty bucket and dry barrel.
Pour 1l of 6-1 Balistloil down barrel and all over barrel.
Dry with patches.
Soak patch with pure Balistloil and run patch in barrel.

I ran a few clean patches down and a bronze brush, then more patches and finally a wool mop soaked in very expensive Boretech gun oil ….,
.

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OK well first, the boiling water from the kettle is very old school, I was taught to do this back in the 1970's, and it is quite unneeded. It was thought that quick drying was better, but that's been found to be not so accurate, and other folks thought the hot water cut through residue bullet lube better than cold, but no it only promotes "flash rust". Plain water, often with a single drop of liquid dish washing soap per quart, will do the job. The soap drops the surface tension, and allows the water to penetrate stuff faster. IF you have a very badly fouled bore, then soapy water as one would use for dishes will work, followed by a clean water rinse.

Ballistol is a water soluble oil. I've never had any luck with a water soluble oil preventing rust.

I often finish with a plain gun oil, and I've actually used plain olive oil. Both worked. A good application of Hoppe's Gun oil, or another brand such as Boretech, should do the trick. It is, as you mentioned, rather pricey. A plain oil works fine.

I always always run a patch down the barrel two or three days after I put the rifle up, to look for trace rust. Then I apply some more oil. One can think they've coated the barrel and be wrong. Normally I don't find rust, but it's not unheard of.

I also use a dry clean patch to swab out the bore well before I fire it again as BP and petroleum products do not like each other.

LD

Loyalist Dave said:

I also use a dry clean patch to swab out the bore well before I fire it again as BP and petroleum products do not like each other.

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Yes, I totally see how your cleaning works and I can move to that method, no problem and it will save me from getting scolded and having to wear rubber washing up gloves etc.

I did think about dish soap, but as it contained salt, I wasn't sure??

As you say, some oils don't like Black Powder, so that is something I need to check before using. I assume even if the 'wrong' oil was used, after a pre-shoot clean (I always do) the remaining oil would be so low it would be OK, or not ????

Dave was speaking of petroleum based oils. A wipe of the stored barrel with a patch dampened with rubbing alcohol will remove the oils, petroleum or non petroleum before loading for the first shot.

The salt in dish soap, if any, will be far less salt than the salt deposited by the fouling. If you use oils or grease or heavy lubricant, you need to use a surfactant soap (dish washing soap) to penetrate the oils , grease and baked on crusty fouling. Warm or tepid water is as good as boiling water. Better since you don't have to so cautious in handling the boiling water.

Clean with a bucket of soapy water, then rinse with plain water. Run a couple of dry patches to soak up some of the water left in the barrel. Run a couple of patches soaked with rubbing alcohol or WD40 to displace any of the remaining water. Clean the flash channel too. I like to run a patch with straight Ballistol down the bore to grab any loose fouling that may have escaped the cleaning. Then its time for the rust inhibiting storage lubricant. Use what works for you. I use Barricade, but other rust inhibitors work too.

I have tried several methods as recommended by people on this board. In the end I am back to my simple regime used for near 25 years.
Quite simply I throw a squirt of dish soap into a bucket (whatever is at the sink), add lukewarm tap water. Remove barrel from stock and nipple from breech, immerse breech end in bucket to soak. Remove lock from stock, dip into the bucket and scrub fully with toothbrush. Dry with paper towel and set aside. Damp a paper towel and wipe lock area of stock from powder fouling. Take a patch and soak in bucket, place over barrel muzzle and slowly run it down barrel with ramrod and cleaning jag. Pump soapy bucket water in/out of barrel several times, replacing dirty wet patch a few times until patch is clean. Remove barrel from bucket and use toothbrush to scrub area around nipple and breech. Wipe all down with paper towel. Run dry patches down barrel until dry. Use only pure olive oil to lube inside barrel, as well as wiping over barrel externals and lock, ensuring well covered. Reassemble everything.
I never had any issues using this method for years, then started to listen to others on this board and tried “better” methods, only to start having issues. I am now back to my old tried and true, all issues gone.
Walk

I clean similar to walking eagle. When done, I use any regular gun oil if I plan to shoot soon, like next day. For any longer storage I use RIG gun grease. Oil or grease, I am not stingy with the amounts. I really posted to mention RIG. It is very good for storing guns.

I used to use Ballistol when I was done cleaning but I only use Barricade now. I think it last longer when putting up your firearms until their next use.

I've used Hoppes gun oil as the final rust proofing swab for years with no issues, but I've always lived in dry climates.

I do my final wipe down before storing with FP10.
It's a very good oil with a long reputation. I see no signs of rust in muzies or moderns.
With the muzzies, I rack them muzzle down for a few days to get good drainage and keep the oil from accumulating in the breech end of things.

I leave my smoothbore in the garage. Hot or cold, damp or dry, all year long. I use Barricade for rust prevention after cleaning and never have I found any rust. Good stuff.

There's no one answer here, many different ways to clean and they are all good. Use what you feel works best for you. Here is what I do. Done away with hot water years ago. I like ballistol works for me. I mix it 1 to 6 and spray this down the barrel let sit and clean lock and the rest of the firearm with a rag with the 1 to 6 mix. Wipe down the bore intill its clean enough for me. Then wipe all down with pure ballistol. My guns are clean and rust free.

I clean with bucket of tepid water and a couple drops of soap. Always do a rinse of plain tepid water. After drying with patches I put some denatured alcohol down the bore and let it come out the nipple. Dry patches until no moisture is seen after that.
When I first got my rifle it had sat for several years without being shot. I found that it had a bunch of bore butter in the barrel during this time. The bore butter was really dry and a similar color to rust but once I got it out the bore was fine.
I started out storing with just plain old Hoppes gun oil. Not a rust preventative by any means, but never saw any rust when using it. Later I found a bottle of Ballistol at a local store and wanted to try it, both for storage and Dutch's dry lube system. I stored with it 3 or 4 times without any rust, but then after I let the rifle sit for about 4 months (I had checked it a week after cleaning but didn't check it after that) and found some slight rust in the bore when I ran a patch before shooting. I then went and got some Barricade and have used it since with no rust.
So I guess my experience is that the only thing I have found rust with is Ballistol.

I use the same method as walkingeagle. Warm soapy water, doesnt really matter what kind of soap as i have use clothing soap. Dry with many clean patches and use a patch moistened with olive oil on all metal surfaces.
If in doubt swab the bore again after a couple of days.
I also use straight olive oil to lube my patches.

I like the idea of the birchwood casey rig grease mopped down the barrel.
I have just ordered a small tube of it, I'll see how it goes and if it works for me, I'll get the big tub

After a little work with the bronze brush, my bore is now clean and rust free. Very sad at how much rust formed in my barrel even after all my cleaning in only a week with a known 'good' product, Balistloil.

100% Balistloil used wet seems to work for me as a patch lube, so I can use what I have left for that

Thanks.

I'm not familiar with Rig, but assume it would be best to remove it from the bore before shooting.
One of the reasons I went with Barricade was so I didn't have to do this if it was going to stay loaded for a bit and I wanted to keep the barrel protected, such as when hunting. I run a denatured alcohol swab down the bore if just going to the range. I do find the barrel seems to clean up a bit quicker when I have tried to remove the barricade rather than leaving it in.

Yes, I always pre-clean with a few clean patches before I start my days shooting to remove the protective oil from my last clean. Don't want to 'egg' my barrel

After cleaning,drying the bore, pour a shot of alcohol down the bore to flush out the breech. Next follow up with a sloppy wet patch of alcohol, run that down the bore a half dozen times, then follow up with your favorite gun oil.

Why alcohol and would IPA Isopropanol Alcohol do?

Sunbeam said:

Why alcohol and would IPA Isopropanol Alcohol do?

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No need to overthink this.....
It's just a light solvent to use to remove residual oil from the barrel and ignition area.
Windex, brake cleaner (although a bit harsh) or even auto window wash fluid will do as well.
Alcohol is suggested because it evaporates really fast and you don't have to wait so long for the barrel to dry before loading powder.