Which Copper solvent?

1960Nick

Active Member
Sugetions on what is the best bore cleaning solvent & is it best to use 2 products one for genral carbon fouling followed by one for copper or one product that claims to do all in one go?

Forgot to mention it is a stainless barrel if that makes a difference?

Any opinions on Sweets copper solvent?
 
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I have tried many over the years. Can’t say I have noticed much difference. I suggest picking whichever is least smelly and seems least toxic. Leave it in the bore as long as you can. Yes, I would use the two stage system you describe.
 
KG1 is a dedicated carbon solvent and is indeed very good at it. In fact it also does a pretty good job at dissolving copper at the same time.
Ballistol does an even better job on carbon, but nothing on copper.

KG12 is the dedicated copper solvent in the line. To be honest I cannot find much of a difference between KG1 and KG12 except for the colour.
The best copper solvent ever is Robla solo. Nothing beats Robla. But it contains ammonia, so you must be careful not to let it dry off in the barrel as it will leave ammonia salts which attract moisture and thereby rust.
 
lt may also depend greatly upon your barrel's attitude and aptitude towards fouling, dependant on the number of shots fired before cleaning.
"Sweats" is also a high ammonia content solvent and should be used with great care. As has been mentioned by Rider, KG products give good service as do "Wipe-Out/Patch-Out.
 
Sweets is very good but as rat whiskers says very high ammonia make sure you clear it out of your barrel properly kg are a lot safer
 
KG1 is a dedicated carbon solvent and is indeed very good at it. In fact it also does a pretty good job at dissolving copper at the same time.
Ballistol does an even better job on carbon, but nothing on copper.

KG12 is the dedicated copper solvent in the line. To be honest I cannot find much of a difference between KG1 and KG12 except for the colour.
The best copper solvent ever is Robla solo. Nothing beats Robla. But it contains ammonia, so you must be careful not to let it dry off in the barrel as it will leave ammonia salts which attract moisture and thereby rust.
After trying countless 'wonder' products over the years, I have finally settled on KG1 for removing the carbon then KG12 for the copper. Both products do an excellent job. On completion, I wipe the barrel through with ballistol. This combination works well for me and my borescope confirms it.

Jamsie
 
Sugetions on what is the best bore cleaning solvent & is it best to use 2 products one for genral carbon fouling followed by one for copper or one product that claims to do all in one go?

Forgot to mention it is a stainless barrel if that makes a difference?

Any opinions on Sweets copper solvent?

Sweets is ammonia based and needs to be used in a well ventilated place. You all so need to rub it rapidly to bring it to a froth. I stopped using it because I do my cleaning inside the house.
 
Sweets is ammonia based and needs to be used in a well ventilated place. You all so need to rub it rapidly to bring it to a froth. I stopped using it because I do my cleaning inside the house.
Before ammonia can damage your health you'll need a lot more than the human nose can bear. If you will, the nasty smell of it protects you from suffering any harm.
I have worked in the industial cooling industry for 20 years. Our main coolant was ammonia and even though it is enviromentally harmless it is indeed poisonous. But not to the point where the slight smell of it which was omnipresent in our test facilities and customer plants would cause any health issues.
Our engineers used to say that a whiff of ammonia frees up your nose :rofl:.
 
Lol, that it surely does. Sweets was always great for cleaning out the sinuses. However the better half has a sensitive nose so its KG12 now.
 
Using bore tech cu+2 copper remover does what it says on the can, removes the copper, ammonia free.

Hear you go;

Bore Tech Cu+2 Copper Remover™ uses a revolutionary and patented chemical technology that rapidly removes copper fouling and is 100% barrel safe, odor free and biodegradable. Cu+2 Copper Remover’s cutting edge formulation is ammonia free and removes heavy copper fouling faster than the competition without the safety hazards, harmful toxicity, and offensive odors found in petro-ammonia based solvents.
 
Gents

Thank you very much for the help & info, looks like the Sweets will go to the back of the shelf when it arrives & I will be having a close look at KG 12 & Bore Tech Cu+2 products to remove copper fouling.
 
Before ammonia can damage your health you'll need a lot more than the human nose can bear. If you will, the nasty smell of it protects you from suffering any harm.
I have worked in the industial cooling industry for 20 years. Our main coolant was ammonia and even though it is enviromentally harmless it is indeed poisonous. But not to the point where the slight smell of it which was omnipresent in our test facilities and customer plants would cause any health issues.
Our engineers used to say that a whiff of ammonia frees up your nose :rofl:.

When i was a kid i found a blue bottle with full length ribs down the front with a curly brown label "Ammonia" being a little monkey as i was a needed to explore, carefully unscrewed the cap and had a whiff. This was 45 years ago plus i still remember it very well and you are definitely not exaggerating i thought i was going to die !!! talk about tears i though the inside of my little nose had been melted away.

Dare not tell my dad or i'd of had a whack.
 
When i was a kid i found a blue bottle with full length ribs down the front with a curly brown label "Ammonia" being a little monkey as i was a needed to explore, carefully unscrewed the cap and had a whiff. This was 45 years ago plus i still remember it very well and you are definitely not exaggerating i thought i was going to die !!! talk about tears i though the inside of my little nose had been melted away.

Dare not tell my dad or i'd of had a whack.
Lucky you did not soak some iodine crystals in with it an allowed it to dry 🧨 = nitrogen triiodide, contact explosive.
 
Bore Tech copper solvent is the only solution I use

Bore tech carbon and I also use CLR (very carefully) on really stubborn areas of carbon fouling

If you do use CLR you need to only use a few patches and swab out with alcohol after to remove all traces of CLR
 
I have used several over the years, I use the KG range at the moment (and will continues to do so), the trick is to leave what ever you use in the barrel long enough to work and to clean frequently. It stands to reason the more rounds you throw down a barrel the more copper it creates. I use a bore scope and can confirm KG works.
bryn
 
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