WS2 Question

[Paul]

I was at the range the other day doing a little 204 shooting. A guy at the range asked me what I had coated my bullets with. After I told him that it was WS2 Tungsten Disulfide, he told me not to use it due that it may contain graphite in it's production and that some people have had problems with their barrels after use.

Have any of you had or heard of any issues using WS2?

[Bayou City Boy]

There's no need to worry abut the graphite part. BR shooters have been using colloidal graphite for years to coat a clean unfired barrel to keep the first shot from the clean barrel closer to subsequent shots. It also help to reduce copper fouling.

Greg Tannel, who is one of the nations premier gunsmiths, sells a colloidal graphite solution (Grafoil) and recommends folks use it on a new barrel. He's no dummy about what he's doing...

As for the WS2, it contains sulfur and it is a sulfide. You mix moisture in a barrel with a sulfide and you can have corrosion problems if not strictly attended to by frequent cleaning. Same with Moly...

The guy you heard it from maybe meant well, but he's a little bit off base on this one.

-BCB

[Paul]

My misunderstanding. He did not say graphite as I stated but an ingredient that may flash into carbon. Sorry my bad.

[jo191145]

Paul
If you use oil to apply a WS2 pretreatment to your barrel the oil will flash into carbon. I use alcohol.
This happens to everyone who uses oil wether or not WS2 is present.
Keep on shooting

[Bitman]

Don't mean to hijack this thread, but what do you fellows use to clean the WS2 from your barrel after shooting? Or what is your exact cleaning process after you've been shooting and using WS2 coated bullets?

[jo191145]

Personally I clean as normal or less aggressively. If you pretreat the barrel the first bullet imbeds the WS2 as the first layer of fouling. No real reason to clean down to bare steel as long as the rifle is shooting well and any copper/carbon has been removed. WS2 looks grey on the patch. When I hit all grey I stop.

Want it all out? Rubbing alcohol and a brush will do it or Kroil or any mild solvent. It cleans out easy compared to moly and does not build up upon itself like Moly. Hence I leave it.

[Rick in Oregon]

jo1911 and BCB are both correct, in that WS2 can be hydroscopic in damp climates, and may not be the best choice for everyone if they live near the coast or in a humid climate. I live on the high desert with minimal humidity, and have used WS2 in some of my high volume squirrel and PD rifles for over ten years without any negative effects. You just have to pay attention to it's proper use and act accordingly.

[Bayou City Boy]

jo1911 and BCB are both correct, in that WS2 can be hydroscopic in damp climates, and may not be the best choice for everyone if they live near the coast or in a humid climate. I live on the high desert with minimal humidity, and have used WS2 in some of my high volume squirrel and PD rifles for over ten years without any negative effects. You just have to pay attention to it's proper use and act accordingly.

Ifn' were gonna' toss out big words, hygroscopic is a more correct term... and I'm not even sure if WS2 and moly are hygroscopic in nature (substances which attract moisture), or if the mere presence of water and the sulphide content of the materials may merely combine chemically with no special affinity for attracting each other to form acidic corrosives. They may combine simply if/because they are both present...

Here's a link from Wikipedia with some further explanation...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hygroscopy

The word hydroscopic is mentioned in the last part of this link... At any rate, as has been mentioned, sulfides and water when mixed are not good for chrome moly steel.....

-BCB

[Jim White]

There's no need to worry abut the graphite part. BR shooters have been using colloidal graphite for years to coat a clean unfired barrel to keep the first shot from the clean barrel closer to subsequent shots. It also help to reduce copper fouling.

Greg Tannel, who is one of the nations premier gunsmiths, sells a colloidal graphite solution (Grafoil) and recommends folks use it on a new barrel. He's no dummy about what he's doing...

As for the WS2, it contains sulfur and it is a sulfide. You mix moisture in a barrel with a sulfide and you can have corrosion problems if not strictly attended to by frequent cleaning. Same with Moly...

The guy you heard it from maybe meant well, but he's a little bit off base on this one.

-BCB

Never tried WS2 (don't know where to get it either) but I have tried moly back in my competitive days and I liked it, if for no other reason the barrels cleaned up easier. Back then I shot more often so I never worried about the moisture but now I keep it (moly) cleaned out
because I don't shoot it as often.

Anyway, is there a significant difference (good or bad) between the two?

Thx

[jo191145]

Jim

lowerfriction.com
is where most shooters buy dry bullet lubes. Moly, WS2 and more recently hbn are used. Tip: look for the "samples" to buy a lifetime supply for shooting. They have some comparitive info on the site also.

I'm no chemist but from what I've read.
WS2 is at least less prone to reacting with moisture than moly. WS2 does not build upon itself like moly will which makes getting it out of the bore much easier. Its lubricating properties are higher along with its resistance to heat.
Just from personal expierience WS2 is mucho betterer than moly.

hbn is the newest kid on the block as far as bullet lubes go. I just bought a lb sample bag. Looks to be enough for three lifetimes.
Seeing as I was out of #4 steel shot which is my choice for plating media I just chucked around 400 39bk's in a clean bowl and tumbled. No washing of the bullets and it seemed to work fine.
Havent tried them yet tho.

FWIW I do not always use lubes at this point. If I feel a particular barrel has a problem settling in to a consistent bore condition I'll try lubes.

[Bayou City Boy]

hbn.... Hexagonal Boron Nitrate, or white graphite... The space industry has been good for the shooting public.... especially those who like to treat bullets with "wonder lubes"...

-BCB