The Accurate Reloading Forums
Gun cleaning patches?

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https://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/645100744/m/1421004262

26 October 2020, 02:15
RCflash
Gun cleaning patches?
Since the evil virus arrived, We are repeatedly reminded to be safe; social distancing and all that.
The small fitness place I visit had and has large supply of hand sanitizer and 'handi-wipes' available and we are expected to use them on the equipment.
One of the worst places for transmitting bacteria/virus/crud is the door handles on businesses and restrooms. So I use one of those wipes on the door handles when i leave. Several ended up on my truck and before I tossed em, I wondered 'are they good for anything else?'

So I dried one and used it for gun cleaning patch material.... just to see if was any good.

The stuff I have is ok for that. Kind of thin material but it holds solvent[s] and can be easily cut and folded to fit the rifle bore. The white color helps see what stuff came out from the cleaning process. Have been saving some of the wipes and now I have a decent supply.

Any one else tried any of that stuff ? or materials like that?

Warning: if you begin to collect some of these wipes for your firearms, you run the risk of being observed by and ripped on by your spouse for being too cheap to just go and buy some real patches.
26 October 2020, 06:28
Michael Michalski
...or you could buy a bolt of muslin and cut your own custom patches. Smiler


NRA Benefactor Member
US Navy Veteran
26 October 2020, 08:49
30.06king
I'm cheap. I buy packs of patches in bigger size than required then cut them down into segments that fit the bores I clean.
Don't know that I'm so cheap that I would recover fabric that possibly contains CV spores but in other circumstances I could imagine myself doing what you have done so I understand your thrift. Hoping it proves safe for you. I would be inclined to subject the fabric to high temperature boiling first.


Hunting.... it's not everything, it's the only thing.
26 October 2020, 19:13
dpcd
I use old cotton T shirts. And I just found that my wife had bought a huge bundle of rags from Costco; guess what was in it? New pieces of T shirts.
But as to your question; I did have some industrial strength non woven towels here at one time and they were stronger than woven cloth and worked well for bore cleaning. No idea where they came from.
27 October 2020, 18:34
F. Guffey
Has anyone ever tried etc. and then you go into: Warning: If you begin to collect etc..

I have a 4'X4' paper sheer and a 12"X12" paper sheer. When it comes to stacking and cutting both beat my wife's pattern cutting green board with the round pizza looking cutter. She took that away from me, I thought the green board was cut proof.

And then one day I thought it would be a good ideal to put all of the pearls of bore cleaning on one place, I had no ideal no one else on any reloading forum was interested, it seemed they had it the way the wanted it so I quit contributing.

I did not quit trying. So in my travels and dumpster diving I found a couple of dumpsters full of material used for manufacturing clothes.

It was then that I went back over my list of gun barrel cleaning pearls and discovered cutting patches was not necessary. I got some help from the wife and I thought about reloaders that have got it the way they want it, I have not cut a patch since.

F. Guffey
28 October 2020, 08:08
NormanConquest
A buddy of mine owns Springco.USA + he told me recently that when working on the grinding disks he puts cleaning patches up his nostrils in lieu of a mask to keep from fogging his glasses. I tried it + it worked.


Never mistake motion for action.
28 October 2020, 20:19
nopride2
I buy light flannel from the sewing store. Cut different size patches for bore size.

Dave
29 October 2020, 06:41
Uncle Grinch
A late friend of mine who was very money conscious and may I say... well off, used old dryer sheets as patches. He said they clean better due to their textured surface. I’ve never tried them since I bought what may be a lifetime supply of t-shirt remnants 30 years ago.


Shoot Safe,
Mike

NRA Endowment Member
www.Marionroad.com
www.mausercentral.net
31 October 2020, 06:39
Use Enough Gun
Hey, I just buy them by the hundreds or thousands either online or at Sportsman's. Easier and cheaper in the long run for me than spending hours looking for material, cutting up rags, etc., etc., etc. Big Grin
02 November 2020, 02:26
Mark
Many years ago on this forum someone told me about the blue heavy duty paper shop towels, and I still use them to this day as patches.


for every hour in front of the computer you should have 3 hours outside
03 November 2020, 08:24
SpicyCrabDip
Shop towels work great. However, my wife has a tendency to chop up my old shirts every other week and turn em into rags, I've got too many hanes brand patches at home.
04 November 2020, 17:16
cgbach
For those of you that like to make your own my wife put me on to this. She has a hard fabric cutting board that is marked with grid lines. You lay the fabric on the board and use a straight edge and a rolling cutter (looks like a pizza cutter) to slice the fabric. I can do 4-5 layers at a time and the grid markings let me make patches to any size I want. It is very fast and consistent and the edges are very clean. I custom make patches for about every bore diameter I have.
C.G.B.
04 November 2020, 20:17
nopride2
quote:
posted document.write('<nobr>'+ myTimeZone('Wed, 04 Nov 2020 05:16:47 GMT-0800', '04 November 2020 17:16')+'</nobr>');04 November 2020 17:1604 November 2020 17:16Hide PostFor those of you that like to make your own my wife put me on to this. She has a hard fabric cutting board that is marked with grid lines. You lay the fabric on the board and use a straight edge and a rolling cutter (looks like a pizza cutter) to slice the fabric. I can do 4-5 layers at a time and the grid markings let me make patches to any size I want. It is very fast and consistent and the edges are very clean. I custom make patches for about every bore diameter I have.C.G.B.

Gota try this. I'm assuming these are available at a fabric store.

Dave
05 November 2020, 03:19
Bobster
That's a great idea and I can see how it works. I'm gonna try that. Dang that might be an idea for a new type of preventative. Nostril virus filters. They'd be like those hearing protectors but would go in your nostrils. They would not work for mouth breathers though. Smiler Hell that might benefit humanity.

quote:
Originally posted by NormanConquest:
A buddy of mine owns Springco.USA + he told me recently that when working on the grinding disks he puts cleaning patches up his nostrils in lieu of a mask to keep from fogging his glasses. I tried it + it worked.

14 November 2020, 08:00
JTEX
quote:
Originally posted by Use Enough Gun:
Hey, I just buy them by the hundreds or thousands either online or at Sportsman's. Easier and cheaper in the long run for me than spending hours looking for material, cutting up rags, etc., etc., etc. Big Grin


Yeah...me too. Life is just too short to be that cheap......and I go through lots of patches.
15 November 2020, 05:16
packrattusnongratus
I usually buy them from RMC Oxyoke. I started with them when I ran out of military surplus .50 cal cleaning patches. I used those for quite a few years as I was shooting black powder guns in competition. I have bought a couple of yards of unbleached muslin with the nap on both sides. Works well. I now just get a large batch at a time from Oxyoke. They carry lots of muzzleloader supplies as well. Be Well, Packy.
21 November 2020, 02:32
butchlambert
quote:
R

Why don't you guys picked them up at the range and let your wife wash them, geezzzz!
21 November 2020, 03:07
358WCF
quote:
Originally posted by butchlambert:
quote:
R

Why don't you guys picked them up at the range and let your wife wash them, geezzzz!


When they go thru the dryer some strays always clog the vent, if air drying they blow away. Clothes pins are rough on 3/4" rounds. Besides they end up being too stiff to properly distribute the solvent. 8=P
22 November 2020, 06:00
Bobster
i tried some at the shop and results were not spectacular. A lot of shredding and fibers everywhere. What they are good for is wiping out shotgun barrels after cleaning.

quote:
Originally posted by RCflash:
Since the evil virus arrived, We are repeatedly reminded to be safe; social distancing and all that.
The small fitness place I visit had and has large supply of hand sanitizer and 'handi-wipes' available and we are expected to use them on the equipment.
One of the worst places for transmitting bacteria/virus/crud is the door handles on businesses and restrooms. So I use one of those wipes on the door handles when i leave. Several ended up on my truck and before I tossed em, I wondered 'are they good for anything else?'

So I dried one and used it for gun cleaning patch material.... just to see if was any good.

The stuff I have is ok for that. Kind of thin material but it holds solvent[s] and can be easily cut and folded to fit the rifle bore. The white color helps see what stuff came out from the cleaning process. Have been saving some of the wipes and now I have a decent supply.

Any one else tried any of that stuff ? or materials like that?

Warning: if you begin to collect some of these wipes for your firearms, you run the risk of being observed by and ripped on by your spouse for being too cheap to just go and buy some real patches.

22 November 2020, 22:44
Atkinson
I buy a big bag of commercial patches 2"x2" and they last of ions..but an old cotton shirt, T shirt, or whatever works just fine...


Ray Atkinson
Atkinson Hunting Adventures
10 Ward Lane,
Filer, Idaho, 83328
208-731-4120

rayatkinsonhunting@gmail.com
22 January 2021, 20:34
clayman216
Cotton t shirts, better yet flannel PJs, anything soft cotton cut up. I will sit by the tv and cut up several hundred and I’m good to go for a long time. I cut them to the size that works best for me and the bore sizes I own.
22 January 2021, 21:28
packrattusnongratus
I cut up old shirts but only if they have the fuzzy stuff on both sides. Usually I end up buying some Oxyoke Originals. They look like the old 50 cal cleaning patches we bought surplus for the muzzleloaders. I used to shoot competition. Black powder is messy, but it stinks so good! Be Well, Packy.
03 March 2021, 03:59
Atkinson
I can't wait to see all you guys walking around town wipping off the handles to the rest room doors, the toilets and sinks in all the Texaco service stations, God bless ya, I feel all better now..Our youth will be sickly whimps, they will have no germ tolerence, doubtfull they will live past age 15 but will surly be gray haired by 10 and blind by 12..Anyway don't pick your nose after a visit to public rest rooms and wash your hands before you caress your pinky tiny!! rotflmo


Ray Atkinson
Atkinson Hunting Adventures
10 Ward Lane,
Filer, Idaho, 83328
208-731-4120

rayatkinsonhunting@gmail.com