I used some sweets yesterday to clean the barrel in my 6.5-06IMP, and noticed that after each time of letting it sit for 10-15 minutes, it pulled heavy blue spots on the patches. Then, If I would run Shooters choice in the tube, it would come out green. I would then go back to the Sweets, and it would pull out even more blue. This went on for 10 patches or so, and I try to keep all my barrels perfect.

Is this the sweets eating my sinclair brass jag? or is this ALL fouling?

Thanks

Sweets will cause the patch around the jag to turn blue.I have used the same jags for years and although they must have lost some material they still look the same to me.I do rinse the jags immediately after using them to minimize the effect of the copper solvent.

Depending on how badly your bore fouls it could be mostly fouling. I have a M70 that seems to never quit showing copper. The only way to tell for sure is to look at your bore. Try putting a Q-tip down the muzzle of your rifle a inch or two, and with a good light behind it you should be able to tell if there is any fouling remaining in your barrel.
The solvents you are useing will eat your brass jags and brush. They are made to attack copper and don`t care where it comes from. I would be careful though alternating or mixing solvents in my bore. There have been reliable reports of bore damage when one solvent is added to a bore that another hasn`t been totaly washed / wiped out of.

Sweets is good stuff! Rinse your jag off with warm water!

I put Sweet's in an Addams and Bennet 243 bull barrel [with terrible fouling] overnight. In the morning there were spots on the muzzle where the Sweet's etched spots into the metal.

Sweets Rule # 1 - Never use a bronze jag or bronze brush to apply solvent. Use a nylon brush or bore mop.

Sweets Rule # 2 - Never mix other solvents with Sweets i.e. - a few patches of Sweets followed by a few patches of Shooter�s Choice followed by a few more patches of Sweets. Always patch out Sweets with lots of oil and clean patches before moving to another solvent.

Sweets Rule # 3 - Never leave in the bore for more than 15 - 20 minutes under any circumstances. Ammonia is hygroscopic - left in the bore it will quickly attract moisture.

Sweets Rule # 4 - Always patch out Sweets when finished. Run several oil patches through the bore to ensure all solvent is removed. Always finish with an oil patch, never leave the bore unprotected.

Sweets is great stuff, however, break any of these cleaning rules and you will be sorry...

If I went through with some Kroil intermitently, that should have cured any problems of the solvents mixing as well as to have stopped the reaction of the solvents,.......right????

I finished with Kroil, and then dry patch, and then montana extreme bore oil. Am I protected?

JustC - You should be OK with your cleaning and finishing routine. I do like the Montana X-Treme solvent and gun oil. Actually, I no longer use Sweets since I found the Montana X-Treme solvent. Works like Sweets but is safer for prolonged soaking (if needed). The only down side is the solvent vapor will knock you out.

There is nothing wrong with getting a handful of bore mops and keeping them oiled up to run down the bore from time to time. I store mine in a plastic 35mm film container ready for use. Every few months, I set aside some time to run a mop down each bore.

Another Cleaning Note - One of the most over looked areas of cleaning is the rifle magazine. I routinely find corrosion in this area due to solvent contact. A drip of Sweets left in the magazine will quickly begin the corrosion process. Bore guides help control this, however, they do not eliminate this problem. Check this area often.

Thanks Zero Drift, that makes me feel better. I was worried after some of the comments that I may have caused injury to my barrel. I try to be very attentive to not doing anything that will cause harm to my barrels. I think I will simply use a 10-15 minute routine with the Sweets and a nylon brush, and then follow with Kroil and then Shooters Choice and finaly another kroil and then Montana oil. No need to overdo the sweets if that is not necessary, as I have heard that it isn't.

Follow Zero Drifts advice on the sweets;
I was cleaning the barrel of a once very accurate .223 Ruger Number three with Sweets and during the 10-15 minute soak time, got called away on an emergency Search and Rescue case...It was in Galveston Texas, very humid. I got back about 8 hours later and the sweets in combination with the fine Gulf Coast humidity left me with a completely rusted and etched in barrel .
Shame on me for cleaning the gun while on duty. I've yet to find a reasonably priced replacement barrel for that number 3 and it now shoots into 4 inches instead of the 1-1.3 it used to shoot into routinely.

Listen to Zero Drift when using Sweets...or most any other aggressive copper solvent.

regards,
Graycg

PS...anyone know where you can get a Ruger Number 3 barrel job done inexpensively?

The thing you have to remember about copper fouling is it is in layers. After you finish with the Sweets or Barnes CR-10, you might run some JB Bore Compound in your barrel. That will expose additional copper if it's present. You won't be able to tell by the patch because it will probably be black from the JB. Run another application of your copper remover in the barrel and check for color. You don't want to use bronze bristle brushes because the ammonia in copper solvents eats the bristles, producing a bluish green color that you'll probably take for additional copper. Be sure to complete with gun oil to protect the bore. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal