Gun Cleaning Product Tests

In an effort to cut through some of the hype about gun cleaning products, the following information is presented for your enlightenment and enjoyment.  

Fr. Frog's Rule of Chemicals:  There are no magic cleaners nor lubricants.

Due to the number of graphics this page may load slow.  MS FrontPage says 23 seconds at 56.6

The Tests

The solvents tested included:  Accubore, Barnes CR-10, BreakFree CLP, Butch's Bore Shine, Ed's Red (a home brew), Hoppes #9 (current formula), generic brand household (3%) ammonia, generic brand  janitor's strength (10%) ammonia, KG12, Kroil, Marksman's Choice MC-7, Marksman's Choice Copper Solvent,  ProTech, and Sweets 7.62. These tests were done in 4 parts parts.  A copper solvent test, a copper fouling test, a carbon removing test, and a rust test test.  While the test conditions may not perfectly simulate a dirty rifle bore they are standardized and repeatable and I believe the results provide a valid comparison of the various products.  I addition, I've used all of these products to clean "real-world" firearms and the results match the findings of these tests.

If you have a cleaner not tested here and would like to have it listed contact me by clicking here and we can arrange to get a small sample from you.  Interestingly, while a couple of companies have seen this page and have emailed me and claimed to have some "super" cleaner that is better than everything else, only one has ever sent a sample for unbiased comparison testing.

The Results

Copper Removal Test - This test was done to ascertain whether a given cleaner dissolved copper.  It was conducted using a piece 1/4 " copper tubing and patches moistened with equal amounts of each solvent.  Starting with a clean piece of tubing a wetted patch was wrapped around the copper tube and was allowed to sit on the tube for 2 minutes.  The patch was then rotated around the tube several times, removed, and allowed to air dry. The patch was examine for a "greenish,"  "bluish, or "brownish"" residue which indicates copper removal.  

Copper Solvent Test
Accubore	Barnes CR-10	BreakFree CLP The tan color is the result of the color of the solution	Butch's Bore Shine	Ed's Red
Hoppes #9 The tan color is the result of the color of the solution	KG12  (Note faint tan stripe in center.  The copper test piece was actually etched)	Kroil	Marksman's Choice MC-7	Marksman's Choice Copper Solvent
ProTech	Sweets 7.62	10% Janitor's Ammonia	Household Ammonia (3%) after 15 minutes	Ammonia / Ivory Mix
BLANK	BLANK		BLANK	BLANK
		Unused patch

In the interest of completeness the household ammonia wetted patch showed no discoloration after 2 minutes.  Since ammonia is THE easy to obtain copper solvent the patch was left in contact for additional time and examined after every minute.  At about 15 minutes the patch had developed a uniform very light blue--barely noticeable--discoloration.  The ammonia / Ivory mix is 2 parts 10% ammonia, 1 part sudsy household ammonia, 1 part Ivory liquid dish soap.  

KG12 is a non-ammonia based copper remover (using, I believe, organic acids, amines, and hydrocarbon citrus distillates) from a company called KG Industries, LLC (www.kgcoatings.com).  It was designed for cleaning artillery pieces and now available on the commercial market.  It is the first product I've seen described as "non-ammonia based" that actually seems to work well.  While it does not show "green" on the patch (I was advised that any discoloration would be tanish) and it does not show a very dark stain on the patch, it definitely etched and dulled the surface of the test piece of polished copper tubing so it is attacking the copper.  This product would be a good one for folks who have "ammoniaphobia" and in a badly copper fouled barrel M1 Garand barrel it removed the fouling as well as or better than the 10 percent ammonia/Ivory soap mix and did it quicker.  The company has an interesting "test" described at http://www.kgcoatings.com/KG-12%20test%20results.pdf where bullets were soaked in various commercial products and the KG12 definitely eats copper.  While this may not accurately portray bore cleaning abilities of other products because bores are scrubbed too, it does show that this product aggressively attacks copper.  It quickly and completely cleaned a friend's very badly copper fouled Garand, and the barrel of an UZI.

All sample shown were photographed under identical lighting conditions and a clean unused patch is shown for reference.

Copper Fouling Test - This test was done to see if a given cleaner removed copper fouling without necessarily dissolving it. It was conducted with a clean and grease free piece of steel with a slightly textured finish which was exposed to a rotating piece of copper with approximately 10 pounds of pressures to generate a steak of copper on the surface of the steel.  The copper smear was then rubbed vigorously with patches wetted with an equal amount of solvent and allowed to stand for 5 minutes.  The sample was then rubbed briskly with another solvent wetted patch until the copper smear began to come off the metal onto the patch or 5 minutes elapsed, whichever came first.  This test did not photograph well as the copper smears were faint and the amount of fouling removed was slight (small particles coming off or slight patch discoloration) so the results are tabulated instead by observed appearance.

After-rust Test - Using the sample strip from the above test the sample was allowed to remain exposed to air at 50% relative humidity for 48 hours.  Any visible rust or etching was noted.

* - These are straight water based solutions which probably contributed to the slight rust.

Test Conditions - 48 hours exposed to air at 45-52 percent humidity at temperatures varying between 67 and 80 degrees

To further investigate reports of "damage" (so far unsubstantiated as far as I can tell) due to leaving ammonia based solvents in the bore too long I repeated the after-rust test but use a polished sample to see if any surface etching occurs.  None of the solutions including 10 percent ammonia showed any visible signs of etching.  It is my opinion that claims of bore damage were based upon the fact the the bore was initially rough an the extended use of copper removal solvents simple exposed the original rough bore.  Besides after using a copper remover you should clean the bore normally.  It has been reported to me by several correspondents that if there is any rust in the bore that ammonia based products can cause additional rusting (but then I don't let my bores rust).

Carbon Removal Test - A clean, grease free, steel strip was covered evenly with smokeless powder and the powder ignited.  This was repeated 3 times. The strip was then heated to near red hot and allowed to cool to try and simulated actual burned on powder fouling.  The resulting carbon smear was then rubbed lightly with patches wetted with an equal amount of solvent.  (In addition, I was able to try the solvents on several AR15 gas system and the results were identical.) While all of the solvents removed the test fouling easily it was obvious that they worked even better if allowed to soak for a minute or so.

Conclusions

I believe the results speak for themselves. The following points were noted.  Of common regularly available bore cleaners that I tested only Accubore, Barnes CR-10, Butch's Bore Shine,  and MC-7, showed any ability to remove cooper fouling but none of them worked at the level of the ammonia based "copper solvent" solutions, 10% ammonia, or KG12.  No doubt that regular use would help to minimize copper fouling build up.  Some of the solvents that did not show immediate ability to remove copper fouling may gradually lift it off after extended use but such tests are beyond the scope of this article.  It has been reported by numerous users of the homebrew Ed's Red, that continued use seems to reduce any copper fouling and to make it much easier to remove.

It should go without saying that you should never use a brass bore brush with copper removing solvents. (After all what is brass made of?  DUH!).

Household ammonia will remove copper fouling but it is too weak a solution to have an useful affect within any reasonable time, but 10 percent janitorial strength "strong ammonia" works fine.  (Household ammonia runs around 3 percent.) For really heavy copper fouling removal the best removal method is probably the Outers Foul Out electronic system.  For more information on homemade solvents you can click here. 

And Since You Asked

After testing literally dozens of products I have settled on the following for my maintenance needs.

General Bore and Gun Cleaning - Ed's Red homebrew
Copper Fouling Removal - KG Coatings KG12
Heavy Carbon Buildup -  - KG Coatings KG1
Lubrication - TW25B grease and aerosol
Degreasing - Walmart or other generic "brake cleaner"

Now what the heck am I going to do with all the bottles of other stuff?

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Disclaimer

All tests were conducted as fairly as I could and the results reflect what happened under the test conditions.  You're mileage may vary.  If you don't like the results feel free to spend the time doing your own tests.  If you are the manufacturer of one of the products tested don't send me hate mail if you don't like the results.  Adjust! Or, you could send me additional samples to test and report on. As far as I know all the information presented above is correct and I have attempted to insure that it is. However, I am not responsible for any errors, omissions, or damages resulting from the use or misuse of this information, nor for your doing something stupid with it. (Don't you hate these disclaimers? So do I, but there are people out there who refuse to be responsible for their own actions and who will sue anybody to make a buck.)

Updated 2007-01-29