Coated bullets

[Bayou City Boy]

Lock-Eze or Lock-Ease is a very common form of colloidal graphite. Its used to lubricate locks and can be fund in most hardware stores, etc.

First off, I always clean a rifle after a shooting session or at the end of a big game season on rifles not shot a great deal. Careful cleaning procedures will not ruin a barrel. And I never shoot a dry bore for the first shot down a clean barrel. L-E is what I use for lubrication in a clean barrel for the first shot; others use a thin layer of some type of gun oil.

I have used colloidal graphite for years and picked up the idea from BR shooters in West Texas in the early 1980's.. BR shooters initially used it to keep the first shot down a clean barrel in the same grouping as subsequent shots. They also fund as a bonus that using it reduced copper fouling. This has been the biggest reason I use it - the copper fouling issue. I have seen some internet claims of improved accuracy from using it, but I have not seen that in my experience where I can say its the graphite making the difference..

I clean a barrel as normal after shooting. I then apply a L-E saturated patch to the clean, dry bore and leave the rifle with the muzzle down for 15-20 minutes to let the liquid carrier evaporate. What is left is a dried micron+ range "painted" graphite coating on the steel in the barrel. After the liquid carrier is evaporated, I run a clean dry patch down the barrel to remove any excess graphite. I then put the rifle away until its used again, and its ready to go for the first shot or so. I use it every time I clean a barrel, both large and small bores.

One additional benefit of L-E is that the liquid carrier also has a good anti-corrosive element in it. I live in the very humid Gulf Coast region, and I have never had a single chrome moly barrel rust with a coating of L-E in the bore. Some of my rifles have set for six months between shooting and cleaning sessions, and the bore is fine.

Basically its just a last step in cleaning a rifle bore. It provides a lubricating surface in the barrel to eliminate metal to metal contact for the first shot or so, and it works as a great rust/corrosion protectant between shooting sessions.

Greg Tannel sells a similar product with supposedly a smaller graphite particle size for cleaning like I described as well as a graphite/oil solution for barrel break-in. Every new barrel he puts out comes with the break-in oil/graphite solution. Even though I got the idea from others years ago, if today Greg thinks it works, it must have something about it that is beneficial. His barrel break-in oil/graphite solution is not what I'm talking about here. I'm talking barrel cleaning and L-E treating only, and not breaking in a new barrel. Two different subjects. Call Greg for his break-in oil if interested.

As an aside: I am not a big believer in breaking in a barrel, but I suppose if you are that you could use L-E as I described after each cleaning in the Break in process. It will just take extra time with the drying. Greg's oil graphite solution can be shot immediately after applying a thin layer in a barrel with no drying required.

I do a lot of 17 caliber shooting and it is not uncommon for me to run 150 rounds through a 17 Remington rifle shooting PD's before I clean. Accuracy stays good and the barrel cleans up very easily. An addendum to that is all my 17 caliber barrels are good quality custom barrels. In a 17 with a possibly rough factory bore, you're probably not gonna' get that kind of performance even with the colloidal graphite.

Also, I have found that it easily comes out of a treated barrel if for some reason you choose to re-clean the barrel again before shooting,

That in a nut shell is my experience with it. YMMV as they say....

As for any MSDS concerns raised, colloidal graphite comes in many forms and is used by industry and the space program for dry surface to surface lubrication. MSDS sheets contain information for the most volatile or hazardous form of a chemical substance as a CYA feature for the publisher of the MSDS. However, its generally sold unregulated in normal forms which means normal prudence is expected to be used much like you would do when buying a can of Krylon to pretty up a rifle. Hexane and Propane, etc. are used in aerosol forms of the liquid solution and are also used in many other aerosols we use daily like even possibly in your under arm spray if you used an aerosol one in the past prior to when "the hole in the ozone" was discovered. WD-40 is an example most folks might be familiar with as being an example of an aerosol. My plastic squeeze container of Lock-Eze says it contains petroleum distillates (solvent) and it is not an aerosol. No hexanes or propanes, etc. as there is no pressure in the container. And it is almost odorless.

And like any smart shooter knows, cleaning a rifle should be done in a well ventilated place to begin with. For years I have used light surgical-type plastic gloves when cleaning a rifle as just about 100% of the products we use have contact issues with them, many more severe than contact with pure petroleum based products or something like CG. I would be much more concerned with the substances in some of the barrel cleaning solutions we widely use (known carcinogens) or that might be in powdered bullet lubricants than what's in colloidal graphite. As an example, the old favorite Hoppes contained high levels of Benzene for years, the same Benzene that is still present when you fill your car with gasoline.

With CG, the issues are very normal for any chemical substance containing petroleum based materials, and short of drinking it or bathing in it, with normal diligence it's not going to affect you other than it might cause all your babies to be born naked.

Personally: Having spent 30 years working in the petro-chemical business with a technical degree, I would likely be more concerned with the MSDS (if they were required to provide one) on a Big Mac, Fries and a Coke than I would be with non-aerosol colloidal graphite. If you missed it in 7th grade science, put a nail in a glass of Coke and also put one in a glass of CG and see which looks the best tomorrow... Keep in mind your body needs stored iron (like in a nail) to allow for oxygen absorption by the blood.

Again, YMMV...

-BCB

[boomer68]

Just a followup on this. What is the best method of cleaning the barrel when using WS2?
I have Wipeout and Butches.

Thanks

[Fred_C_Dobbs]

A well-conditioned barrel should be cleaned as little as possible. I use Wipeout periodically just as a reminder how little copper buildup coated bullets leave. My regular bore cleaner is Ed's Red (homemade).

[Griffy]

I realize the Lock-Eze is a colloidal graphite, so does that mean I can substitute another brand in-place of Lock-Eze? Home Depot, Rona, Canadian Tire and Wal-mart do on carry Lock Eze here but they do carry another product called JIG-A-LOO Graphite lubricant. It is only in the spray can form. It claims to be weather proof, fights rust, sprays on clean, quick dry, lubricant without: wax, grease, oil or detergents.

Thanks in advance.

[Fred_C_Dobbs]

I realize the Lock-Eze is a colloidal graphite, so does that mean I can substitute another brand in-place of Lock-Eze? Home Depot, Rona, Canadian Tire and Wal-mart do on carry Lock Eze here but they do carry another product called JIG-A-LOO Graphite lubricant. It is only in the spray can form. It claims to be weather proof, fights rust, sprays on clean, quick dry, lubricant without: wax, grease, oil or detergents.

Thanks in advance.

AFAIK, graphite is graphite. A "colloidal dispersion" implies that the graphite particles are in a particular size range but I don't think in this application the size of the graphite particles has any affect on lubricity. But I notice that Jigaloo's web site (which is on a web server in Canada) says that Jig-A-Loo is a silicone lubricant.

[jo191145]

Griffy

You might be getting two seperate Jig A Loo products confused. Theres the silicone as Fred pointed out and Graphite Extreme. The Graphite will not spray on clean by any standards

I'd agree with Fred. Graphite is graphite. Only problem is not all colloidials are created equal.
Lock Ease has mineral oil added into the carrier. This allows a shooter to spray it on a patch and run it through the bore wet.
In my tests Lock Ease sprayed onto a stainless barrel remains wet overnight. It does not completely dry.

Graphite Extreme on the other hand has no oils in the carrier. It drys almost instantly on stainless leaving a nice dry coating of graphite.
Problem is can you spray a patch and run it through the barrel before it drys?? Never tried it myself but chances aren't good would be my quess.

I have used both Lock Ease and Graphite Extreme to break in new factory barrels. To do so I used the Stoney Point Case Guage as a chamber protecter and flushed the entire bore until it poured out the muzzle. Then just shoot, no cleaning required. Had to clean the chambers as the case guage idea really does'nt work well.

Lock Ease seemed to work much better for this extreme expieriment. Alas I would not recommend anyone else do it. Because it does not entirely dry it leaves large amounts of liquid in the barrel. Not a good thing!!! Its very easy to create pockets in the steel from swaging a bullet through liquid. Lock Ease should be used by patch only!! This particular 204R barrel is now a freak of nature. Very littlle copper or carbon fouling is ever noticeable. It does'nt shoot very well tho

I used graphite Extreme on a 243 tube. Barrel coppered some but I'd bet it would have been worse without. I used it dry as is. Maybe a scootch of oil on top might help.

Maybe, just maybe spraying Graphite Extreme liberally onto a slightly oiled patch would work more like lock ease

[Bayou City Boy]

This is the Lock-Ease (colloidal graphite) that I use and discussed:

1. It is not an aerosol. IMO, an aerosol can of the stuff would be a real PITA to use in comparison to this plastic squeeze container which allows me to easily soak a bore patch of any size.

2. It does not contain mineral oil. It contains an evaporating petroleum solvent as a liquid carrier.

3. It dries in a chrome moly or stainless barrel in about 15 minutes...

4. I bought this bottle over a year ago at Ace Hardware. I checked today and it is on the shelf there.

5. I use it as the last step in barrel cleaning and the bore is always free of liquid when I fire the rifle.... Sometimes the barrel has set six months or more between shooting sessions with no corrosion or rust.

6. In my experience, it reduces copper fouling in small bore rifle barrels.

7. I have used it for over 20 years and still have all my fingers, toes, and eyes, and I know of no tragic consequences about to beset me for using it. All three of my children were born naked, but I was not using L-E when they were born.



With anything else, YMMV........ Mine might also...

-BCB

[Griffy]

Thanks. I found a bottle of Lock Ease in Scheels Ace Hardware in Fargo ND. I did enquire at Sinclairs as to whether they sell the product. I was advised that they had a number of requests for Lock Ease and are looking at bringing it in.
Griffy

[possium8]

I use Lock-Ease in my barrels after cleaning but does anyone coat their bullets with graphite also? I started doing it after reading some of C.S. Landis's books and the mention of graphite wads between the bullets and powder.

[Fred_C_Dobbs]

I use Lock-Ease in my barrels after cleaning but does anyone coat their bullets with graphite also? I started doing it after reading some of C.S. Landis's books and the mention of graphite wads between the bullets and powder.

An old school reloading friend told me about the graphite wad trick years ago and I've been looking for the material even since but can't find it. It was supposed to reduce throat wear but I never rightly figured out how. No matter because I think the graphite material is no longer being made.

Functionally, there's very little difference between Moly, WS2 and hBN. The difference is in how easy they are to apply or to clean up after. I can't see that graphite would be a material improvement.

I use Lock-Ease even in the rifles I only shoot nekkid bullets in because is reduces the CBS's shift in POI. I know of some competitive shooters and LEA marksmen who do the same with Lock-Ease or Kroil or a couple other snake oils because they're pretty anal about the CBS shift and they don't always have the luxury of shooting a fouler.

[Griff]

So I've jus done a bit of other research regarding this and this is what another gun forum user had to say about moly...

"Molybdenum Disulfide contains sulfur free radicals that can become problematic when humidity increases or the bullets get wet. When they do, the sulfur acts as a corrosive agent that actively attacks barrel steel. In short, you gotta keep your moly coated bullets dry. Moly also fouls your barrel quite a bit but extended periods without cleaning have been documented. Still, when you have to clean the barrel, you gotta get it to the squeaky clean level, not just pass a few patches through.

Try using Hexagonal Boron Nitride to coat your bullets. Works just as well as moly, but doesn't foul as much or contain sulfur free radicals so it won't damage you barrel if the bullets get wet. It also goes on clear instead of a matte grey finish."

So... is HBN the solution?

[Fred_C_Dobbs]

..."Molybdenum Disulfide contains sulfur free radicals that can become problematic when humidity increases or the bullets get wet....

I do recommend hBN over the other coatings, however, I think this is pure BS. That's a very old knock and I think it was only ever a myth. I have no direct or second-hand knowledge of a single case of this happening. I think this ranks right up there with fears that the atom bomb would set the atmosphere on fire. It might have been theoretically possible but it still was un-darn-likely. I've combed through the material data sheets for Moly, WS2 and hBN and all three are very stable compounds and all relatively inert.