Haven't tried it yet, but Hoppes has a stronger solvent made to get rid of copper. It specifically mentions it on the label...

ammonia dissolves copper. I use Sweet's ammonia-based cleaner, and let it sit for a while, per the instructions on the bottle. I think a lot of people are in too much of a hurry to scrub. Be patient and let the chemicals to do the work.

I've got a bottle of the Hoppes stuff sitting on my shelf in the closet. The label says you have to leave it overnight.

I've done that and nothing's happened yet.



















Maybe I should take the lid off the jar?

WM

Originally Posted by Wandering Man

I've got a bottle of the Hoppes stuff sitting on my shelf in the closet. The label says you have to leave it overnight.

I've done that and nothing's happened yet.



















Maybe I should take the lid off the jar?

WM

Get some elbow grease and use it too.

Sweets 7.62 solvent works well.

The best I've found (I normally just use Hoppe's No.9) for copper fouled barrels is a combination Kroil oil and J-B cleaning compound paste. Soak the barrel with the Kroil using a patch. I suppose any gun oil would do. Kroil seems to clean better. Then put the compound paste on a clean patch (follow the directions). The combination of the two rubbed together inside the barrel really produces a shine.

Be very careful of using any paste or compound inside your barrel which may contain some kind of fine abbrassive. Sure it will make your barrel "shine" and many times will "sand" away that pesky copper build up..........but beware, that damage may be done to your lands and grooves. You want these parts of your barrel to stay nice and sharp.......... and not smoothed over at the edges using an abbrassive compound. This will happen in time by the force of the bullets....so no need to speed the process up.

Once you have gotten your barrel copper free.......try and keep it that way by using TW25B inside the barrel. This lubricant puts down a chemical barrier that inhibits the copper from bonding to the barrel's metal walls. Just a little will do the trick............so use it sparingly, and send a dry patch down the barrel as your last act of cleaning the barrel.

Do a google on this stuff and you can read what the military thinks about TW25B.


JF.

I use Butch's Bore Shine. It's ammonia based and does a very good job. I usually run a brush soaked in it down the bore first to break up any loose debris. Then soak with patch, wait, brush, and repeat if needed. I think it works better than Hoppes, but I never tried their stronger formula.

The Hoppes Copper Solvent (black label) does a decent job. I just soak the barrel with a patch and let it sit for 5 minutes or so. I then run an otis brush wet with the solvent down the barrel 3 times. Run a dry patch down the barrel until it looks clean, then repeat the process just to make sure. The first cycle usually does a good job. The Hoppes Elite works ok, too. You just have to let it sit longer for the solvent to do it's job.

Dottio on the JB paste and kriol oil. both can be found at Brownell's of course!

Originally Posted by lumbermill

The Hoppes Copper Solvent (black label) does a decent job. I just soak the barrel with a patch and let it sit for 5 minutes or so. I then run an otis brush wet with the solvent down the barrel 3 times. Run a dry patch down the barrel until it looks clean, then repeat the process just to make sure. The first cycle usually does a good job. The Hoppes Elite works ok, too. You just have to let it sit longer for the solvent to do it's job.

I have tried that stuff, went so far as soaking the barrel in it overnight. It didn't budge the stuff inside. I may have to take it to a "pro."

As nobody has mentioned it yet, I will. Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc. Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin. So, if you use a brass or bronze brush to try to scrub out copper, the chemical copper solvent (ammonia) dissolves the brush bristles, and transfers more copper to the barrel.

If you have tried many different solvents, and there still is copper in the barrel -- you are not using a brass/bronze brush to scrub, right? Just let the chemical work, and wipe it out with a patch over a non-brass button. If the fit of the button is loose, use two patches.