cheap cleaner for pyrodex?

old fart · September 15, 2009, 05:45 PM

i am on a tight budget and have heard of some cleaners that work to clean a muzzleloader, i was wondering if they work and what others i might use. i have heard that windex will clean a muzzleloader good, as well as boiling lemon peels in water and using the water to clean it. what else can i use?, i have a optima and can clean fairly easy. i have checked in stores and those factory cleaners are more than i can afford right now. my wife won't let me use the bathtub any more she don't like that black mess in the tub. so i need something besides just hot water. i will need something i can use on my back porch to take pyrodex out of the barrel good, thanks for your help.

Doc Hoy · September 15, 2009, 05:52 PM

But make sure to get it good and dry and oil it up afterwords

rantingredneck · September 15, 2009, 05:56 PM

Take a bucket of hot soapy water and a patch and jag. Put the muzzle or breech end of your barrel in the hot soapy water and put the patched jag down in the barrel and work it back and forth. The vacuum created will suck water up into and out of the barrel. Repeat with clean patches until the barrel is clean. Run dry patches down it afterward. I've even used my wife's blow dryer and a funnel here. Then oil it.

Pahoo · September 15, 2009, 06:20 PM

As Doc Hoy and rantingredneck, has replied, for B/P and Pyrodex as this is still one of the best ways to wash away the "Salts". I then would follow up with a mineral spirits flush and wash. You do have another choice and that is to use a non-sulphur propellant. You can also make your own wash like Moose PiXX.

Be Safe !!!

thallub · September 15, 2009, 06:31 PM

I have used Windex with vinegar to clean my BP guns for many years. Mike Venturino, the former BP editor of Shooting Times magazine put me onto it. It is less than 5 percent vinegar: That is enough to really eat up Pyrodex residue or the residue from BP and all the BP substitutes. The vinegar attacks the base in the Pyrodex. Sometimes you can see it fizzz as it is sprayed on.

The CASS guys use it too.

http://www.curtrich.com/frontiersmen3.html

[/QUOTE] CLEANING:
After each stage wipe off the front of the cylinder and the hammer, hammer notch, and nipples with a shop towel. If fouling around the hammer is dry and crusty, then use a shop towel wetted with Windex with Vinegar and water. If, using American Pioneer Powder, Pinnacle, or 777, you need bore cleaning between stages, something is wrong.

At the end of the day take the cylinder out. Spray it with Windex with Vinegar. Clean the nipple area with the toothbrush. Personally, I never remove the nipples. Instead I clean the outside of the nipples with the toothbrush, then turn them 180° with a nipple wrench and repeat, then retighten. Don't lube the cylinder. It's stainless. Dry it. Toothbrush fouling off the frame after dousing with Windex/vinegar. Clean and lube the base pin with lubricant of choice. Run a Bore Snake through the bore (Windex on front end, lubricant on back end). Lube with lubricant of choice. Reassemble. [/QUOTE]

arcticap · September 16, 2009, 12:12 AM

Quote:

Personally, I never remove the nipples.

I'm curious why the quoted author chooses not to remove his revolver nipples?
I imagine that could create some problems after a while.

Hawg · September 16, 2009, 12:54 AM

Quote:

I'm curious why the quoted author chooses not to remove his revolver nipples?
I imagine that could create some problems after a while.

Not unless you need to replace them at some point. I've got one I bought new in 69 and it still has the original nipples and they've never been out. I could probably get them out with a little heat but I see no reason too as they're still in good shape after no telling how many thousands of rounds.

Doc Hoy · September 16, 2009, 06:04 AM

Hawg,

I agree with your thinking on the nipple removal issue. I take mine out every time I clean just because it seems like you should. I liked to be able to get the breach plug out of my front stuffers when I was still shooting rifles. I traded a very good condition Hawken fifty off because I couldn't get the breach plug out. I told the guy about it but he said, "I don't care." He was more right than I was.

I have pistols that have the nipple frozen in place. What I find is that I can't get a decent fitting nipple wrench. For the 1863 Remington that I got from Smokin Gun, I finally had to make my own. I can get them to fit better if I file the notch that goes over the nipple shoulder deeper into the wrench. On some I think I will drill the relief hole to a larger diameter.

Nipple wrenches are like screw drivers. Their design makes it easy to dress them up a little.

Anyway, the only reason I take the nipples out every time is that it just seems like the right thing to do. No functional or operational advantage.

B.L.E. · September 16, 2009, 06:40 AM

Quote:

Take a bucket of hot soapy water and a patch and jag. Put the muzzle or breech end of your barrel in the hot soapy water and put the patched jag down in the barrel and work it back and forth. The vacuum created will suck water up into and out of the barrel. Repeat with clean patches until the barrel is clean. Run dry patches down it afterward. I've even used my wife's blow dryer and a funnel here. Then oil it.
__________________

I do much the same thing exept I spray some water displacing lube down the barrel before drying the barrel.

It's something I learned from cleaning engine cylinders after they have been honed. Wash the honed cylinders with hot detergent and let them dry and you get flash-rusting. If you spray water displacing oil before drying, you don't.

Also, after a gun has been cleaned, I often let a fish aquarium air pump blow air through the barrel overnight just to make sure any leftover moisture has a chance to evaporate. Just stick the hose on the nipple and plug it in.

robhof · September 16, 2009, 09:35 AM

You can use the oven on warm for about 30 min. to dry the gun, with any plastic or wood removed and either Pam or crisco it, while still warm then thorough wipe down with paper towels or clean rags. The heat opens the pores of the metal and absorbs more oils to preserve for storage or til next shoot.

grymster2007 · September 16, 2009, 11:54 AM

I've been working pretty hard to clean my BP guns. I use both BP and Pyrodex and clean the same way for each.... lots of elbow grease. I've heard that some screw the grips off their revolver and place the rest of the gun in the hot, soapy water. Is that a lot more trouble than holding just the barrel in the water and using a jag on it?

Doc Hoy · September 16, 2009, 02:55 PM

I think it really has to come all apart every time you shoot it. When I clean, the wood never goes into the water. But everything else does.

On a Colt, the barrel, cylinder (with the nipples removed) triggerguard and backstrap come off and are cleaned individually. I don't normally take the trigger, bolt, hand and hammer out to clean because you can examine all of that to make sure it is getting clean in the process. In the case where I think a fragment of cap may have gotten into the works, of course I take it apart.

On a Remington the grips come off and are set aside. The triggerguard, the cylinder (with the nipples removed) come off the pistol. Again, you can see into the pistol with the trigger guard off so you can tell what is going on in the trigger, bolt, hand and hammer area.

There are probably folks out there who take them completely apart (no two pieces assembled but I don't go that far. I generally run at most fifty rounds through a pistol in a day of shooting. I clean when I get home. If I don't have time for cleaning, I don't go shooting.

Hawg · September 16, 2009, 03:58 PM

Quote:

lots of elbow grease.

You're doing something wrong. A few strokes with a tight patch in soapy water is all it takes. On a Remington I remove the grips and cylinder. Set the grips aside and the rest goes in the water. Once it's clean I spray every nook and cranny liberally with WD-40 to displace the water and then lube. You don't get much powder residue in the action. Just swish it around a few times and it's good to go. I generally spray the action out thoroughly with Remoil after the WD-40, just don't get it in the bore or chambers and it won't hurt anything.

grymster2007 · September 16, 2009, 05:45 PM

Quote:

You're doing something wrong.

Again.... still?

I been using hot, soapy water, but just dropping the cylinder in, then dunking the barrel, swishing it around and running brushes through it. Then I'd use a wet rag to wipe down the recoil shield and frame, dry everything off and re-assemble. Next time I'll try removing the grips and dropping the whole thing in the bucket.

Don't worry; with enough iterations you guys can teach even me to do it right.

Hawg · September 16, 2009, 06:59 PM

Quote:

with enough iterations you guys can teach even me to do it right.

Maybe.

All I meant was it doesn't take much elbow grease.

grymster2007 · September 16, 2009, 08:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hawg Haggen

Maybe.

I second that!

Model-P · September 17, 2009, 12:24 AM

Do you guys that dunk the frame with the action parts still assembled ever get rusting from water droplets in the tight spots, like between the hammer screw and hammer? How can you get all the water out soon enough?

Hawg · September 17, 2009, 03:27 AM

I get no rust at all. As soon as it comes out of the water I give it a few vigorous shakes and then spray liberally with WD-40 to displace what's left. Then it gets a liberal spraying with Remoil. I tear mine down completely maybe once a year and I've never found any rust.

Doc Hoy · September 17, 2009, 05:21 AM

Hawg +1

September 15, 2009, 05:45 PM	#1
old fart Senior Member Join Date: May 24, 2009 Posts: 405	cheap cleaner for pyrodex? i am on a tight budget and have heard of some cleaners that work to clean a muzzleloader, i was wondering if they work and what others i might use. i have heard that windex will clean a muzzleloader good, as well as boiling lemon peels in water and using the water to clean it. what else can i use?, i have a optima and can clean fairly easy. i have checked in stores and those factory cleaners are more than i can afford right now. my wife won't let me use the bathtub any more she don't like that black mess in the tub. so i need something besides just hot water. i will need something i can use on my back porch to take pyrodex out of the barrel good, thanks for your help.

September 15, 2009, 05:52 PM	#2
Doc Hoy Senior Member Join Date: October 24, 2008 Location: Naples, Fl Posts: 5,440	Liquid Dish Detergent in hot water But make sure to get it good and dry and oil it up afterwords __________________ Seek truth. Relax. Take a breath.

September 15, 2009, 05:56 PM	#3
rantingredneck Senior Member Join Date: January 12, 2007 Location: North Carolina Posts: 4,728	Take a bucket of hot soapy water and a patch and jag. Put the muzzle or breech end of your barrel in the hot soapy water and put the patched jag down in the barrel and work it back and forth. The vacuum created will suck water up into and out of the barrel. Repeat with clean patches until the barrel is clean. Run dry patches down it afterward. I've even used my wife's blow dryer and a funnel here. Then oil it. __________________ NRA Member NC Hunter's Education Instructor PCCA Member (What's PCCA you ask? <- Check the link)

September 16, 2009, 06:04 AM	#8
Doc Hoy Senior Member Join Date: October 24, 2008 Location: Naples, Fl Posts: 5,440	I Agree BUT Hawg, I agree with your thinking on the nipple removal issue. I take mine out every time I clean just because it seems like you should. I liked to be able to get the breach plug out of my front stuffers when I was still shooting rifles. I traded a very good condition Hawken fifty off because I couldn't get the breach plug out. I told the guy about it but he said, "I don't care." He was more right than I was. I have pistols that have the nipple frozen in place. What I find is that I can't get a decent fitting nipple wrench. For the 1863 Remington that I got from Smokin Gun, I finally had to make my own. I can get them to fit better if I file the notch that goes over the nipple shoulder deeper into the wrench. On some I think I will drill the relief hole to a larger diameter. Nipple wrenches are like screw drivers. Their design makes it easy to dress them up a little. Anyway, the only reason I take the nipples out every time is that it just seems like the right thing to do. No functional or operational advantage. __________________ Seek truth. Relax. Take a breath.

September 16, 2009, 09:35 AM	#10
robhof Senior Member Join Date: September 16, 2007 Posts: 712	robhof You can use the oven on warm for about 30 min. to dry the gun, with any plastic or wood removed and either Pam or crisco it, while still warm then thorough wipe down with paper towels or clean rags. The heat opens the pores of the metal and absorbs more oils to preserve for storage or til next shoot.

September 15, 2009, 06:20 PM	#4
Pahoo Senior Member Join Date: February 16, 2006 Location: IOWA Posts: 8,783	As Doc Hoy and rantingredneck, has replied, for B/P and Pyrodex as this is still one of the best ways to wash away the "Salts". I then would follow up with a mineral spirits flush and wash. You do have another choice and that is to use a non-sulphur propellant. You can also make your own wash like Moose PiXX. Be Safe !!!

September 15, 2009, 06:31 PM	#5
thallub Senior Member Join Date: November 20, 2007 Location: South Western OK Posts: 3,112	I have used Windex with vinegar to clean my BP guns for many years. Mike Venturino, the former BP editor of Shooting Times magazine put me onto it. It is less than 5 percent vinegar: That is enough to really eat up Pyrodex residue or the residue from BP and all the BP substitutes. The vinegar attacks the base in the Pyrodex. Sometimes you can see it fizzz as it is sprayed on. The CASS guys use it too. http://www.curtrich.com/frontiersmen3.html [/QUOTE] CLEANING: After each stage wipe off the front of the cylinder and the hammer, hammer notch, and nipples with a shop towel. If fouling around the hammer is dry and crusty, then use a shop towel wetted with Windex with Vinegar and water. If, using American Pioneer Powder, Pinnacle, or 777, you need bore cleaning between stages, something is wrong. At the end of the day take the cylinder out. Spray it with Windex with Vinegar. Clean the nipple area with the toothbrush. Personally, I never remove the nipples. Instead I clean the outside of the nipples with the toothbrush, then turn them 180° with a nipple wrench and repeat, then retighten. Don't lube the cylinder. It's stainless. Dry it. Toothbrush fouling off the frame after dousing with Windex/vinegar. Clean and lube the base pin with lubricant of choice. Run a Bore Snake through the bore (Windex on front end, lubricant on back end). Lube with lubricant of choice. Reassemble. [/QUOTE]

September 16, 2009, 11:54 AM	#11
grymster2007 Senior Member Join Date: May 22, 2007 Location: In the oak studded hills near Napa Posts: 2,203	I've been working pretty hard to clean my BP guns. I use both BP and Pyrodex and clean the same way for each.... lots of elbow grease. I've heard that some screw the grips off their revolver and place the rest of the gun in the hot, soapy water. Is that a lot more trouble than holding just the barrel in the water and using a jag on it? __________________ grym

September 16, 2009, 02:55 PM	#12
Doc Hoy Senior Member Join Date: October 24, 2008 Location: Naples, Fl Posts: 5,440	As Ronald Reagan always said, "Well...." I think it really has to come all apart every time you shoot it. When I clean, the wood never goes into the water. But everything else does. On a Colt, the barrel, cylinder (with the nipples removed) triggerguard and backstrap come off and are cleaned individually. I don't normally take the trigger, bolt, hand and hammer out to clean because you can examine all of that to make sure it is getting clean in the process. In the case where I think a fragment of cap may have gotten into the works, of course I take it apart. On a Remington the grips come off and are set aside. The triggerguard, the cylinder (with the nipples removed) come off the pistol. Again, you can see into the pistol with the trigger guard off so you can tell what is going on in the trigger, bolt, hand and hammer area. There are probably folks out there who take them completely apart (no two pieces assembled but I don't go that far. I generally run at most fifty rounds through a pistol in a day of shooting. I clean when I get home. If I don't have time for cleaning, I don't go shooting. __________________ Seek truth. Relax. Take a breath.

September 17, 2009, 12:24 AM	#17
Model-P Senior Member Join Date: February 24, 2009 Posts: 727	Do you guys that dunk the frame with the action parts still assembled ever get rusting from water droplets in the tight spots, like between the hammer screw and hammer? How can you get all the water out soon enough?

September 17, 2009, 03:27 AM	#18
Hawg Senior Member Join Date: September 8, 2007 Location: Mississippi Posts: 16,194	I get no rust at all. As soon as it comes out of the water I give it a few vigorous shakes and then spray liberally with WD-40 to displace what's left. Then it gets a liberal spraying with Remoil. I tear mine down completely maybe once a year and I've never found any rust.

September 17, 2009, 05:21 AM	#19
Doc Hoy Senior Member Join Date: October 24, 2008 Location: Naples, Fl Posts: 5,440	To Model P Hawg +1 __________________ Seek truth. Relax. Take a breath.