Steaming your bore
I recieved a bit of advice and am trying to clarify it.
No disrespect to the guy who posted this but here's what he said:
"One of THE best and quickest ways to clean a gun bore (with corrosive ammo or not) is with steam. One of those little "Shark" steamers is perfect, and even come with a nozzle small enough to fit most chambers. A 15-second burst of steam not only removes almost every trace of fouling, but allows the steel to dry instantly. An oiled patch afterward with the steel still warm soaks right into the pores of the steel."
How true is this? Not to sound skeptical but if it is the best way to clean your bore from fouling why spend all the money on solvents when you can spend $35 at target and be set for the life of the steamer?
Other thoughts or experience?
No disrespect to the guy who posted this but here's what he said:
"One of THE best and quickest ways to clean a gun bore (with corrosive ammo or not) is with steam. One of those little "Shark" steamers is perfect, and even come with a nozzle small enough to fit most chambers. A 15-second burst of steam not only removes almost every trace of fouling, but allows the steel to dry instantly. An oiled patch afterward with the steel still warm soaks right into the pores of the steel."
How true is this? Not to sound skeptical but if it is the best way to clean your bore from fouling why spend all the money on solvents when you can spend $35 at target and be set for the life of the steamer?
Other thoughts or experience?
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There is no reason steam won't work, just be careful where you point that hot steam because plastic or painted surfaces won't much like it.
Just how effective these little at-home steam cleaners really are for generating a good volume of steam is something I've always wondered about.0 -
Steam would knock out the corrosive salt residue from the primers. It's not going get the fouling out from the bullet jackets, like Shooters Choice, or Butch's. 0 -
And it won't "dry instantly" unless you have run enough steam through the barrel to get it very hot. 0 -
Nonsense.
Steam is just really hot water (period).
Hot water is good at getting rid of the salts from corrosive primers.
But hot water simply is NOT good at getting rid of hydrophobic (ie oily) compounds in gun fouling, nor metal deposition (eg leading or copper fouling).0 -
Wouldn't it work the same as steaming something like a greasy or oil coated truck engine to get it clean? 0 -
Didn't some of the "really" old timers recommend cleaning the bore of their old Springfields with hot soap and water and a tight patch or two on the cleaning rod tip? I'm thinking about Townsend Whelen (think .35 Whelen).
Look back a few days on this forum and you'll see where I described taking my basic training M-1 into the shower with me and gave us both a pretty good cleaning. I believe at that time also we were using corrosive-primed ammo. (1952)
Think about it.
OleDuk[:)][:)]0 -
quote:Originally posted by OleDuk
you'll see where I described taking my basic training M-1 into the shower with me and gave us both a pretty good cleaning. (1952)
Think about it.
OleDuk[:)][:)]
No offence meant Duck, but 58 years later I'm not so sure I want to think about you standing in the shower [;)]0 -
It's not a pretty sight, Mark, but my back at least is still straight!!
Best laugh since New Years!!
OleDuk[:D][:D]0 -
I like the idea. Steam is very effective on greasy oily stuff and should be fast and easy as a quick get-the-gunk-out cleaning job or a good first step in a thorough bore cleaning. As said already, it ain't going to remove copper or lead though. 0 -
Hot soapy water is the way that most of the traditional muzzleloaders clean their rifles...the hotter the better. It opens up the pores and releases the grime, and most hydrophobic compounds. I have traditional sidelocks that I still use that method. They do dry almost instantly, but it is a good thing to run a dry patch to make sure.
As for the steam cleaning in the original question...
It takes some doing to generate the steam pressure needed to clean at this capacity. If you are using steam at this much pressure...50-100 psig, be careful. It is very hot, and has the ability to cut and cook you at the same time. Steam at 50 PSIG is 298 degrees, and steam at 100 PSIG is 338 degrees. It will leave a mark.
Best0
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