Yes, acetone is flammable but so is kerosene and mineral spirits though admittedly acetone has a lower flashpoint.
Thats one of the reasons to go to MEK instead, flashpoint significantly higher and less likely to evaporate out of the solution.
Hadn't thought of using brake cleaner in the solution instead. Most brake cleaners are non flammable, perchlorethylene or trichlorethylene, same as gun scrubber. Never seen it in consumer quantities in screw top containers but might be available in the dry cleaning industry.
As for concerns re flammability, gasoline/petrol is a least as bad and no one seems to worry about filling their tank or their lawnmower etc. Just use common sense.

I wouldn't leave a container of gas or Eds Red deliberately in the direct sun unless it was in an approved gasoline container which is designed for some expansion without rupturing or leaking. Those red plastic purpose built gas containers would be great for storing Eds Red.

Brake fluid is a spectacular penetrating oil .. its cheap, and could make up that 10% in the mix i use, if you like.

brake cleaner is NASTY, oven cleaner removes gunk VERY well.

DO NOT USE TOILET CLEANER .. it will pull blue right off!!

"brake cleaner is nasty" well yes, but not more so than any of the other chemicals we are using.

"Oven cleaner removes gunk very well" and so it should because it is either an ethanolamine just like the foaming bore cleaners in which case it's OK to use on guns or its sodium or potassium hydroxide (lye) which is also what's in most toilet cleaners and not so good to use on guns.

quote:

As for concerns re flammability, gasoline/petrol is a least as bad and no one seems to worry about filling their tank...

I use gas for wetting the double-sided grip tape and the inside of the grip when I regrip golf clubs. You pour it over the tape, that allows you to slide the grip on. Gets all over hell. Gotta be careful smokin' with all them fumes in the garage and a fire in the fireplace in the downstairs living room just beyond the door...

Ignoring the flammability issue (use common sense as always) why use gas apart from cost. Gas contains all sorts of additives which are much worse for your health than anything we have discussed above. eg nitrobenzene. Used in the original Hoppes #9 and one of the reasons it worked better than the new stuff.

Use Shellite instead, I think it's sold as Coleman fuel etc in the US. Essentially it's gas without the extra nasty stuff added because after all you are cooking with it not running an engine.

just made up a batch of jeffe's Purple Nerple
1qt 0-40 Royale Purple -because its a "real" synthetic
1qt lucas top cycl lube
1qt WD40
1qt ATF
1qt k1 kerocene
1qt brake fluid

This is great "nice to have it around" lube/waether protector

Yes, its PURPLE .. liek a NewOrleans Purple

It smells, but doesn't STINK

6 qts !!!! Going into the gun cleaner business are we?

So where do I get the Royal Purple oil and the Lucas Top Cylinder lube? I assume the Lucas stuff is by the same people who make that really syrupy stuff for adding to your oil? That should be easy enough to find if that is the maker of it. It ain't British, is it? I like that your recipe has no acetone...

Wipe-Out WORKS.

It's fast, easy to use, thourough & easy on the bore.

I do it once @ the end of hunting season, oil the bore & store the gun.

The following fall, I shoot 5-10 rounds to check the zero & re-season the bore. Then I do not clean for the rest of hunting season. If I do get caught out in the rain, I run a loose, DRY patch through the bore to remove any moisture.

HDPE will hold most of the contents but the acetone. Acetone will escape right through the HDPE over time.
A friend of mine gave me a large PETE liquor bottle full of Ed's Red about 10 years ago. It has not lost any volume.

The acetone I just bought came in a HDPE bottle.
The original Ed's Red instructions said to use PVC bottles, not HDPE because the acetone would evaporate through the plastic.

My experiments have shown just the opposite.

Ed's Red or any similar solvent simply dissolves PVC but HDPE containers seem to be just fine and I have had test containers going for years now just to see what happens.

The Sinclair solvent bottles are made of HDPE with a fluoride coating and they are specifically designed to keep solvents in.

any real synthetic oil will work. RP is a shell knock off company .. its a houston thing, though racing shops tend to carry both.

6 qt.. that's just the handiest size to make .. though when people come by and ask for a drop of it, they usually have 16 oz bottles!

Marvel Mytstry Oil. Smells good too!

that it does ... it certainly does.. kroil and seafoam, too .

If I may back track to a couple of earlier points-

If the GM TEC isn't available Mercury Quicksilver Power Tune was also recommended on the 6mmBR cleaning article for removing carbon.

Interesting to hear that nylon brushes are less abrasive than phosphor bronze (a bearing material). When nylon brushes first came on the market they were regarded as being too abrasive to use in a good barrel and the larger diameter bristles didn't get into the corners of the grooves as well as a quality bronze brush. That's the problem with a long memory, you don't know what to believe when opinions shift 180 degrees.

You can buy WD-40 in quart cans? Never seen it in anything other than spray cans...

I get it in gallon cans at home depot . for like 12.99 ...

Thanks!

I have a parts washing tank that was given to me by a friend, it and the parts cleaning solvent work great for gun cleaning. The problem is the price of the solvent.

Would the Ed's Red be a better (cheaper) choice?