Is all the Copper rerally out

[brooksb]

curious what others think, or if they've tried this? I Brush out the bore with Wipe-out Patch-out thoroughly then run several wet & dry patches through, then spray Wipe Out aerosol and leave it in hours then finish up with wet and dry patches using Wipe-out/Patch-out until patches are clean. So after all this, If I run a wet patch through and let the barrel soak for any time exceeding ten minutes the patch comes out blue and the longer I let the barrel soak the bluer the patch comes out. I got the same results cleaning with Butches'. So have others noticed this and if so your thoughts?

[Rick in Oregon]

Simple answer:
If you are still seeing blue patches, you've still got copper.

You might want to try something like Holland's Witches Brew, Sweets 7.62, JB Bore Cleaning Compound or Barnes CR-10.....all of which have worked very well for me over the years for the "copper-be-gone" feeling.

[randyman]

I was cleaning my guns yesterday and have always used wipe-out patch-out. Last year I tried some of their Accelerator first and the first couple of patches come out looking like I dipped them in mud. So far, I've run 13 patches thru and the last 8 or so are the same shade of light blue. So, instead of continuing to run patches down the pipe, I ran a brush through with some more of the Accelerator and set the gun aside and took the wife out to the Elks for dinner. This morning, I first ran a nylon brush with some Accelerator on it then started running patches with some WO-PO on them. After 20+ patches they are still the same shade of light blue with no sign of them getting lighter in color. Maybe I've got a copper lined barrel! Maybe I'll try one the brands that Rick mentioned and see if I get different results. Still have 3 more guns to go so I better stock up on patches. Randy.

[Rick in Oregon]

Randy, if you're just getting a faint blue color on the patches, your rifle is most likely clean. There will almost always be small traces of it in the bore unless we're talking hand-lapped custom barrels from one of the noted makers. Those bores clean up easy, unlike most factory barrels. To get that faint trace out, you'll be chasing your tail for quite a spell.....been there.

Many experienced shooters WANT that light coating of copper, feeling it "seasons" the barrel and seals those micro pores. Personally, I like as much of the stuff out of my barrels as humanly possible, but I'm certain some is in most of my barrels too. That faint trace will most likely not affect your accuracy to any measurable degree. I would not fret much about it either.

[brooksb]

Ok, Randy and I talked by phone, based on your last post Rick sounds like he and I are both in the chasing our tail mode. I gonna pick up one of the products you recommended though.

[Jim White]

One other thing, make sure your traces of blue aren't coming from the brushes or jags themselves, whether is the bristles or the core. Patch Out/Wipe Out has worked well for me when I use it but it isn't the fastest acting stuff out there. Accordingly, it could just be the condition of your barrel.

[Gamikatsu]

here is what i've always used in my tikka t3, .30-06, which copper foules like no other. Wipe out foam. let soak until foam breaks down, nylon brush it probably 20 strokes each direction, using bore guide. 3-10 patches with a tight jag until seemingly clean. re apply wipe out foam, wait 24 hours. tight jag patches till clean. usually i give it another go, and another 1-2 hours with a fresh application of wipe out foam, but its almost always clean, just a light light grey color, that i imagine is probably from the throat.

[randyman]

Maybe I'm doing this all wrong but even after soaking and scrubbing with Wipe out accelerator and follow up with Wipe out/Patch out,nylon brush, repeat, repeat, I still have some blue on the patches but I'm calling it good after 20 or more patches. I use a brass jag so don't know if that's what I'm picking up or not. I feed the patch from the muzzle end and the patch looks pretty clean when viewed through the mag well. I then pull the rod and patch back through and out the muzzle and that's when I get the blueing. It sort of makes sense as this is the bullet direction. On my bolt guns I remove the bolt and clean from that end. The photo (duplicated) is of patches from 3 different guns each kind of in order as they came out of the gun. The really nasty black ones are from the bolt in my AR .204 and just an oily cloth in the middle. Randy.

[brooksb]

If I walk away with a clean patch after foaming the barrel twice with Wipeout brushing and wet & dry patches in between I always thought I had a clean copper free barrel. The first time I let a wet patches soak in the barrel after all that the next dry patch looked like the blue ones in Randy's plate. Since then a series of wet patches soak in the barrel and dry patch out before the blue fades. I have taken Rick's advice and have another product to hopefully speed up the process

[robert w.]

Proshot copper solvent IV or sweets 7.62.i dip my brush in the solvent ,make a pass ,dip again n make another pass let soak while i clean n oil the bolt then 10 passes with brush.usually 3 or 4 patches on a jag n its clean,wet 1 more with oil n run through with another dry patch never shows blue but light grey thats normal.
How many rounds between cleanings? Do you clean it while still warm from use? Try changing a few things.i clean at the end of every shooting session n if 20 rounds are shot n more shots intended i clean at the 20 round mark

[brooksb]

thanks for the input, I purchased Sweets, but haven't used yet. I attempt to clean as soon as possible after a shoot but that ranges from several hrs to days. I almost always shoot way more than 20 but don't usually clean after 20. While squeak shooting I run a snake through after about every 50 or a solvent pass through or 2 and dry patch. This year squeak shooting I plan on a clean with solvents during the day more, and a more thorough one each night which I hadn't previously done consistently.

[MZ5]

Best chemical copper removers I've ever used are KG-12 and Boretech Cu+2. They work a bit differently, and of the two I find KG-12 somewhat more effective, but they're both the very best chemical copper (only) cleaners. Even with those, if you want or need every last molecule out, you'll want to get some JB Bore Paste or other abrasive (nearly always called non-abrasive) and scrub it very well with a patched soaked with said paste wrapped around a tight-fitting bronze brush. That combo should require a good amount of force to push through the bore. After a dozen or two back-and-forth strokes of that, clean thoroughly and then repeat your very best chemical copper remover's procedure about 3 times. It's tedious, but that's what it'll take to get _everything_ out of a production barrel (and possibly even aftermarket, depending). At that point, it should be clean enough to apply something like Dyna-Bore Coat, which means it's CLEAN.

[robert w.]

Jb's bore paste was my next thing to share too

[Jim White]

Sorry, I missed this thread being continued. Since it's been a couple of weeks, did you get it all out? As far as WO/PO it does work but it's not quick. It once took me 2-weeks to get my 30.06 clean. One thing about WO/PO, it clearly states NOT to mix it with any other chemicals, so be careful if you're gonna try something else and make 100% sure EVERYTHING is out.

One thing I did do to help out my 30-06; I took a good brush, a patch, some JB Bore Paste (the one that is red in Color) and some Kroil. I stroked that barrel 1000 times and it did seem to make a difference. It's called "burnishing" and I got this from an old BR shooter.

One thing I've done too is use lead-out or lead-away patches and stroke it several hundred time on a stubborn barrel followed by SWEETS 7.62. Depending on how bad it is, it may take some effort. But again, WO/PO works but it can be slow going and FWIW, my barrel looked like a new penny when I put light down the muzzle, it was in the lands and grooves; it was bad.

Don't for get that using brushes or jags with any brass can give false results.

HTH

[brooksb]

Thank you, yes Butch's even works faster than wo/po I'll start using Sweets, and has been suggested in previous answers to my Question I won't attempt to get rid if all traces of copper.