I have used Ed's Red for a long time with much satisfaction for removal of powder residue. Used specific copper cleaners when neccessary. Saw a modified Ed's Red on frfrogs page which adds GM carb cleaner and is claimed to remove copper as well. Can't get GM cleaner downunder but used Quicksilver engine cleaner instead. Could not get the solutions to mix. I'm sure I've read previously that Quicksilver and GM are the same product. Any suggestions. Thanks. Ozziedoc
Yes, just use one of the products like Hoppe's Elite or MPro 7 that are intended for removing carbon from bores and leave the hazmat products for the auto mechanics!
GM TEC cleans a little faster but it has some dangerous solvents, so handle with care. MPro-7 is non-toxic, non-flammable, non-corrosive, and biodegradeable. It comes in liquid or gel, and is also sold as "Hoppes Elite" cleaner.
Posts: 1615 | Location: Washington State | Registered: 27 May 2004
Hoppe's products are sold worldwide, here's a retailer in OZ that has Hoppe's products in their catalog, there's a list of dealers in the "Where to buy" header at the top of the page.
Thanks for the link but it's not as easy as that. Can't get these liquids in the post and UPS type services are not developed like in the USA. Most of the listed dealers are actually for the photographic side of the business (Tasco and Ricoh sales)and what little of Hoppes distributed around Victoria is the hardware ie rods, brushes etc. I have emailed the distributors to find out if they have supplied any dealers around me with any of the solvent range but given that I have checked out all the local dealers, and there are not many since the Great GunGrab of the late 90's, without success, I'm back to Sweets or trying the homemade concoctions. I must admit that some of the foaming cleaners are finding their way onto the local market but haven't got round to them yet.
I checked USPS regs for OZ, they don't list any restrictions that would prevent me from sending it to ya, I've shipped quite a bit of reloading gear to friends in OZ, if you can't get it, I'd be happy to get it to you, it would cost less than $20 USD for me to buy and ship a 4oz bottle, less than $30USD for a couple or if I can find an 8oz bottle.
You should be able to get Forrest bore foam, it's also sold worldwide, it's made by Milfoam which is made in Finland and used by their military, not quite as good as WipeOut IMO, but still a very good copper cleaner. It's also marketed as Outers and Gunslick as well as Hoppe's.
Thanks for the offer. I'll take a raincheck on that if you don't mind. Got a reply from Tasco and they gave me an address of a dealer they say they have supplied Hoppes products to. Not terribly far away so I'll give them a call early next week before I drop in. Have previously tried to mail order some of these solvents from the US but some companies have declined to ship liquids, similarly Sinclairs catalog states that they will not ship cleaning solvents. However just checked Brownells and they will ship the newer non volatile, non oily, non flammable cleaners so I do have a back up there. Thanks again for the offer. Ozziedoc
The question of shipability has made me search for MSDS of these products. Interesting results. Hoppes Elite/M-Pro have essentially the same active ingredient as Mercury's Quicksilver Powertune Engine cleaner which I have used successfully for years. Was just experimenting with alternatives as you do. Apparently Toyota's injector cleaner is the same but I haven't found the MSDS yet.
