Removing lead from bore of Gen 3 Colt SAA?

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I don't have a lot of experience shooting uncoated lead. I've shot a few hundred rounds through this revolver, roughly 100 jacketed and mostly MBC LRNFP. I wipe it down with oil after each use but haven't really cleaned the bore or chambers until yesterday. There is some stuff remaining in the bore. I use Hoppe's #9 and Ballistol primarily but am out of Ballistol right now. I didn't let solvent soak very long in the bore. Will hoppe's eventually get under the lead or do I need to get a Lewis lead remover or something?

The gun is still very accurate. I wish I could afford Ivory. The Eagles on the OEM grips chew my hands up.
 
Lewis Lead remover or an old bronze brush wrapped with COPPER Chore Boy cleaning pad strands. Either one will fix you right up!
(be sure the Chore Boy pads are 100% copper and not just copper plated steel)
 
Quicksilver!

I'll get back to that........

I use "Butch's Bore Shine", About $12 for 3.75 ounces. Follow the directions, in a well ventilated area with what drband suggested for
brushes.

(be sure the Chore Boy pads are 100% copper and not just copper plated steel)

Quicksilver, or more commonly known as mercury worked well back in the day when we did not know any better.

I remember my Dad using mercury in the early 1960's, may have contributed to his early death.
I would not use mercury unless you are in laboratory setting.

Stay safe!

B.L.J.
 
I would not use mercury unless you are in laboratory setting.
Yep, nasty stuff when combined with lead. Played with it all the time when I was a kid, rolling it around, but that's not so bad, using it to remove lead is.

I still have a very small bottle of it I collected from old mercury switch thermostats.
 
I still have a very small bottle of it I collected from old mercury switch thermostats.

By the request of my lovely wife, I disposed my mercury (about a pint or so, about 15 pounds) to the county on a hazardous material collection day.

You should have seen the look of the collection officer's face when I handed it to him!

Stay safe, do not poison yourself!

B.L.J.
 
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Howdy

Forget the Ballistol. It is not a very powerful solvent and will not do much more than dissolve Black Powder fouling. Won't touch the lead.

Can't speak much about the other stuff, mostly my Colts only get fired with Black Powder ammunition.

If you want to try some, BP ammunition never leaves lead behind. Maybe because it burns at a higher temperature, but my experience with Black Powder is there is never any leading when I am done shooting.
 
You really don't want to be in the same room with any solvent that will touch lead fouling, and mercury amalgams are nasty biohazards. Fortunately, a tuft of copper chore boy does the trick.

It will take you longer to wrap it just right so it's tight in the bore than it will to run 20 strokes and be done.
 
Butch's works quite well if you give it the time it needs. It is also not very hazardous, having something like ammonia in its formula, which dissolves the lead. The resulting converted substance shows up as blue on the cloth patches. I use it all the time, and I shoot a LOT of lead, though not at excessive velocities.
 
Lewis Lead remover or an old bronze brush wrapped with COPPER Chore Boy cleaning pad strands. Either one will fix you right up!
(be sure the Chore Boy pads are 100% copper and not just copper plated steel)
Choreboy and a shoelace with a little clp, all ive ever needed. The rest is hype to me.
 
I've always stayed away from this. Peroxides oxidize things (like lead), and lead oxides are particularly toxic.
I dont do the vinegar because its acidic. Vinegar literally etches steel, why put that in a bore that ideally has a mirror finish. That makes no sense to me. Like i said before a copper choreboy tied to a boot lace and drag it through the bore has worked for me for as long as ive been shooting ( 20+ years).follow up with a piece of old t shirt patch to wipe loose debris. I cant understand the $20 bottle of magic schmoo that does nothing to lead. I will use a lead removing cloth on stainless guns (revolvers mainly) to get the carbon off the cylinder and muzzle if im not going to be shooting that one for a while, otherwise i dont bother. Slime it up a little with the oil of your choosing when done thats it. I use a small pick to scratch at hard carbon in tight areas but i never had a gun not come out clean as new from the method decribed earlier. I used to keep a bunch of brushes in copper ( bronze), fluffy stuff, plastic ,ect. In various calibers as well as bore snakes and magic oils. To me its all just a sales ploy .
 
Years ago I had a Super Blackhawk that was leaded up pretty bad. Read about using choreboy and was amazed at the slivers of lead I was pulling out each time. Worked great for me.
 
I dont do the vinegar because its acidic. Vinegar literally etches steel, why put that in a bore that ideally has a mirror finish. That makes no sense to me. Like i said before a copper choreboy tied to a boot lace and drag it through the bore has worked for me for as long as ive been shooting ( 20+ years).follow up with a piece of old t shirt patch to wipe loose debris. I cant understand the $20 bottle of magic schmoo that does nothing to lead. I will use a lead removing cloth on stainless guns (revolvers mainly) to get the carbon off the cylinder and muzzle if im not going to be shooting that one for a while, otherwise i dont bother. Slime it up a little with the oil of your choosing when done thats it. I use a small pick to scratch at hard carbon in tight areas but i never had a gun not come out clean as new from the method decribed earlier. I used to keep a bunch of brushes in copper ( bronze), fluffy stuff, plastic ,ect. In various calibers as well as bore snakes and magic oils. To me its all just a sales ploy .

The vinegar isn't going to harm your barrel steel in 5-10 minutes, if it does you need to buy better quality firearms.
 
The vinegar isn't going to harm your barrel steel in 5-10 minutes, if it does you need to buy better quality firearms.
Vinegar doesn't dissolve lead either. Copper yes, lead no. Lewis lead remover easiest and best but more $$. Copper chore boy - NOT copper over steel - will also work.
 
Forget the Chore Boy. https://www.big45metalcleaner.com/

Or, plug the barrel and use a 50/50 mix of white vinegar and hydrogen peroxide.

Yep. This stuff is miraculous for removing leading. I've used it many, many times before I figured out how to prevent the leading. I remove the cylinder, put a rubber plug from the hardware store in the forcing cone, then use a syringe to draw the solution out of the container, then squirt it in the barrel where it sits for a few minutes. When you dump it out, you'll see all manner of lead particles. A couple of dry patches, then a little Hoppe's #9 to protect the bore and you're done! Don't drink it, don't dip your finger in it and pick your nose, don't squirt it in your eyes, etc, etc and you'll be fine,.

Now about the revolver. We could probably be of greater help if we saw a picture of it! ;)

35W
 
That's a beauty. I'm really happy for you!

When you said it was leading, I figured it was a 45 Colt. I bought this one, a 45 Colt, a couple of years ago. Unfired in the tattered simulated wood grain cardboard box.

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I wanted desperately to keep it, but the bullet caster in me measured the diameter of the cylinder throats and they were eeeeenormous. Meaningful accuracy with cast bullets would've pretty much hopeless.

It sounds as though yours isn't leading too terribly bad, so maybe the throats aren't terribly oversize. You can get a pretty good idea of their diameters with a set of calipers or by dropping bullets of a known diameter through them and seeing how easily they drop through. Using bullets that are at, or even slightly larger than the diameter of the cylinder throats would probably eliminate leading. Of course, if you don't handload, then none of this matters! :D

Again, you have a gorgeous revolver!

35W
 
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