ed zeransky
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don't forget dawn dish soap...read about that in the draper manuscripts. :shocked2:Rifleman1776 said:
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glass cleaner
- Thread starter ed zeransky
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I use to wash a lot of windows professionally and we made our own window cleaner.
5 gallons of water
1 cup vinegar
1 cup ammonia
Couple of drops of dawn dishsoap.
Amounts are approximates from memory.
Personally I think the peroxide, alcohol, and Murphy’s oil soap concoction works better than windex for MLs
I wonder how it would work on windows?
:hmm:
5 gallons of water
1 cup vinegar
1 cup ammonia
Couple of drops of dawn dishsoap.
Amounts are approximates from memory.
Personally I think the peroxide, alcohol, and Murphy’s oil soap concoction works better than windex for MLs
I wonder how it would work on windows?
:hmm:
Billnpatti
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Using hydrogen peroxide as a cleaner is a waste of money. The stuff is very unstable and quickly turns into water when you mix it into one of the usual cleaning concoctions unless you use it immediately. Let it set for even a little while and it is just soapy water with whatever else you have chosen to add. Even if you choose to use it immediately after mixing and before peroxide can turn back into water, it is an oxidizer and can react with the iron in your barrel to form rust. Alcohol is okay and won't do any damage and will help as a cleaner. While just plain old soap and water will do an excellent job of cleaning, water with soap and alcohol will also do a good job of cleaning. But peroxide is not a good idea and is usually a waste of money. That's just my opinion and you know what they say about opinions. :grin:
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I usually mix it at the time of cleaning, and when I don’t it still seems to outperform Windex in my opinion.
Besides I highly doubt that it is going to lose all of its extra O2 molecules turning it completely back to water (but I’m not a chemist.) Even left to sit a while it still works ok.
I haven’t done an actual cost comparison but peroxide and alcohol are cheap and a bottle of Murphy’s has lasted me more than a decade.
Compared to Windex, which is something like $5.00 a bottle or more and is mostly water I wonder where the real waste of money is?
Besides I highly doubt that it is going to lose all of its extra O2 molecules turning it completely back to water (but I’m not a chemist.) Even left to sit a while it still works ok.
I haven’t done an actual cost comparison but peroxide and alcohol are cheap and a bottle of Murphy’s has lasted me more than a decade.
Compared to Windex, which is something like $5.00 a bottle or more and is mostly water I wonder where the real waste of money is?
gunmaker43
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Been using "windex" for couple decades--at least, no rust problems, bores are still bright shiny steel. Oil after cleaning with light mach/gun oil...HC/PC boys can use creek water or indian pee as required.... :stir: ..Tom
AZbpBurner
54 Cal.
Rifleman1776 said:
The real mountain men also had neither toiletpaper or frequent bathing habits. I have neither mule nor desire to go to certain lengths for the sake of authenticity.
Staggerwing
40 Cal.
I have a bit of a general cleaning question. I'm a newbie who just finished building my first percussion long rifle. Providing the rain holds off I'll be shooting it for the first time some time this week.
I've read everything from sticking the barrel in a bucket of water and pulling water up by plunging the ram rod to running several wet patches and dry patches to clean the barrel.
At least starting out, weeks could pass between shooting the gun.
So my question is, whether I use Windex or soapy water or some other concoction, can I effectively clean the barrel with a few wet patches followed by dry and a light coat of oil or do I need to use more water than that?
I've read everything from sticking the barrel in a bucket of water and pulling water up by plunging the ram rod to running several wet patches and dry patches to clean the barrel.
At least starting out, weeks could pass between shooting the gun.
So my question is, whether I use Windex or soapy water or some other concoction, can I effectively clean the barrel with a few wet patches followed by dry and a light coat of oil or do I need to use more water than that?
You should be able too but as you will find out just as there are many cleaning methods that work each gun is different and shoots different according to the loads and many other factors. However you decide to do it, run patchs down the barrel until they come out clean. And use a good oil afterward to prevent rust.
Billnpatti
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Here's my cleaning method and it has worked for me for many years. My guns are all like new with absolutely no rust and no residual fouling. Pristine bores.
If it is a percussion rifle, I remove the nipple and plug the hole with a small sharpened dowel. I then make a mixture of warm water (like you would use to wash your hands) and a small amount of dish soap which I pour into the bore with the gun standing on the butt. I let the water sit in the bore for a few minutes to soak everything loose. I then pour out the water and add some more and repeat. Doing this soaks loose all of the fouling in the breach area. When the water that I pour out looks pretty clean, it is time to remove the plug from the nipple hole and start wiping with wet patches. When the patches come out looking clean, I dry the bore with a few dry patches. At this point, there is still some residual moisture in the breach area that needs to come out. Spray some WD-40 down the bore until it starts to drip out of the nipple hole. This will remove all residual moisture. But, it is not a good protectant despite any claims to the contrary. So, you need to use some more dry patches to wipe out as much of the WD-40 as you can. Then, use a patch moistened with a good gun oil such as Birchwood-Casey's Barricade. Great stuff!
This takes care of the bore. You also need to clean your hammer face, the area around the hammer and any other place where you find any fouling. I also like to remove and clean my lock every time I clean my gun. To make this job as simple and quick as possible, I buy a can of spray automobile brake cleaner or carburetor cleaner. Both work quite well and dry quickely. Take your lock out of your rifle and take it outside and give it a good flushing with the spray cleaner. It will flush out all of ther dirt and crud and leave your lock sparkling clean but it will also strip away all lubrication from your lock. So, lightly oil the working parts. I say lightly because too much oil will attract dirt. Just a drop into the working parts is all you need. Then, wipe your lock with an oily patch to protect it from rust and you are ready to re-assemble your clean rifle. Wipe the outside with a light coat of Barricade to protect it and it is ready to put away. Unless you are going to put it into long time storage, you don't need any grease in or on it. Stuff like RIG is excellent stuff for long time protection but is messy to clean up and not needed for storage for periods of less than a year. Of course if you are in a tropical climate and do not have a climate controlled place to keep your gun, you may well benefit from using RIG and then spending the time to get it all off before going shooting the next time.
When you get ready to shoot your gun the next time, be sure to wipe it off, swab out the bore and fire a couple caps before loading it.
If your rifle is a flintlock, the cleaning procedure is the same except that you have no nipple to remove and you plug the touch hole with a small feather or toothpick. The area around the pan will require more cleaning than if you were shooting a caplock. A toothbrush is a handy thing to have when scrubbing this area. I have found that a Popsicle stick is awfully handy for scraping duties in this area. Do not use anything metal for scraping. Stick to wood or plastic for scraping duties when removing stuck on crud. Also a very important caveat is to never use a brass brush in the bore of your rifle. When it gets to the breach area and you try to pull it back out, the bristles will hold it fast and you may have a real problem on your hands. You can turn the brush clockwise to turn the bristles so that the brush will come out but it is best to just not use a brush and you will avoid the stuck brush problem. You don't need a brush anyway. Oh, BTW, if your rod tips are not cross pinned, do that right away so that you don't pull off your jag in the bore sometime. Not cross pinning is a mistake often made and it is a bad one. Cross pin those tips right now while you are thinking about it.
If it is a percussion rifle, I remove the nipple and plug the hole with a small sharpened dowel. I then make a mixture of warm water (like you would use to wash your hands) and a small amount of dish soap which I pour into the bore with the gun standing on the butt. I let the water sit in the bore for a few minutes to soak everything loose. I then pour out the water and add some more and repeat. Doing this soaks loose all of the fouling in the breach area. When the water that I pour out looks pretty clean, it is time to remove the plug from the nipple hole and start wiping with wet patches. When the patches come out looking clean, I dry the bore with a few dry patches. At this point, there is still some residual moisture in the breach area that needs to come out. Spray some WD-40 down the bore until it starts to drip out of the nipple hole. This will remove all residual moisture. But, it is not a good protectant despite any claims to the contrary. So, you need to use some more dry patches to wipe out as much of the WD-40 as you can. Then, use a patch moistened with a good gun oil such as Birchwood-Casey's Barricade. Great stuff!
This takes care of the bore. You also need to clean your hammer face, the area around the hammer and any other place where you find any fouling. I also like to remove and clean my lock every time I clean my gun. To make this job as simple and quick as possible, I buy a can of spray automobile brake cleaner or carburetor cleaner. Both work quite well and dry quickely. Take your lock out of your rifle and take it outside and give it a good flushing with the spray cleaner. It will flush out all of ther dirt and crud and leave your lock sparkling clean but it will also strip away all lubrication from your lock. So, lightly oil the working parts. I say lightly because too much oil will attract dirt. Just a drop into the working parts is all you need. Then, wipe your lock with an oily patch to protect it from rust and you are ready to re-assemble your clean rifle. Wipe the outside with a light coat of Barricade to protect it and it is ready to put away. Unless you are going to put it into long time storage, you don't need any grease in or on it. Stuff like RIG is excellent stuff for long time protection but is messy to clean up and not needed for storage for periods of less than a year. Of course if you are in a tropical climate and do not have a climate controlled place to keep your gun, you may well benefit from using RIG and then spending the time to get it all off before going shooting the next time.
When you get ready to shoot your gun the next time, be sure to wipe it off, swab out the bore and fire a couple caps before loading it.
If your rifle is a flintlock, the cleaning procedure is the same except that you have no nipple to remove and you plug the touch hole with a small feather or toothpick. The area around the pan will require more cleaning than if you were shooting a caplock. A toothbrush is a handy thing to have when scrubbing this area. I have found that a Popsicle stick is awfully handy for scraping duties in this area. Do not use anything metal for scraping. Stick to wood or plastic for scraping duties when removing stuck on crud. Also a very important caveat is to never use a brass brush in the bore of your rifle. When it gets to the breach area and you try to pull it back out, the bristles will hold it fast and you may have a real problem on your hands. You can turn the brush clockwise to turn the bristles so that the brush will come out but it is best to just not use a brush and you will avoid the stuck brush problem. You don't need a brush anyway. Oh, BTW, if your rod tips are not cross pinned, do that right away so that you don't pull off your jag in the bore sometime. Not cross pinning is a mistake often made and it is a bad one. Cross pin those tips right now while you are thinking about it.
Staggerwing
40 Cal.
Thanks so much for taking the time to write all that out. Sounds like a good protocol to follow.
According to S.C. Johnsons SMDS, Windex Glass Cleaner (ammonia free) is...Mooman76 said:
Percent by weight-
Water: 60-100
Isopropanol: 1-5
Vineger: .01-1.0
hanshi
Cannon
This isn't aimed at Claude; just a general comment.
The problem with hydrogen peroxide is that it's unstable in the peroxide form and loses oxygen atoms until it reaches stasis. Oxygen is a HIGHLY reactive gas and bonds with many substances. In a steel bore it will bond with the steel and form rust (FE2O3), that red stuff we all hate. Otherwise.........
The problem with hydrogen peroxide is that it's unstable in the peroxide form and loses oxygen atoms until it reaches stasis. Oxygen is a HIGHLY reactive gas and bonds with many substances. In a steel bore it will bond with the steel and form rust (FE2O3), that red stuff we all hate. Otherwise.........
The first time I cleaned my Pedersoli Frontier, I removed the barrel, stood it in a bucket of hot water (with a bit of car window washer in it) and pumped it through the barrel. When the water was black I replaced it and went through the process twice more. I then ran patches down until they came out clean and ran some lube down. The next day I thought I'd just check it again and the patch was clean. Out of curiosity, I ran a bronze brush down a couple of times (yes, yes, I know what Bill said but it wasn't a tight fit) followed by a patch, which came out black!!! 'Twould seem that there was a bit of gunk in the rifling that the hot water/patch combo didn't loosen.
Make of this what you will.
Make of this what you will.
Stringbean
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I have and continue to try to be period correct but when I find myself wanting to try something new I go ahead and do it. One of the most period correct things we can do is to make do with what is available to us. If it works and you already have it, then why not. "if there isn't any reason why we shouldn't then we might as well should"
