No, diesel fuel will not dissolve copper. I've never tried it, but I suppose it might do a decent job on powder residue and then you would remove the copper with a brush. I like using wipeout myself. It dissolves copper and carbon based residue. As to your othter question, yes we do pay a lot for solvents compared to what the components would cost in bulk; your paying more for the packaging than the product, but I don't have a problem with dropping $5 on a bottle of solvent that will last me a couple of years. Are solvents really a big enough part of your budget to even worry about?

In a conversation with someone with Lothar Walthar re barrel cleaning. He said never use amonia based solvent. If any amonia residue is left in the barrel it will combine with the combustion material and cause very significant damage to the barrel. His reccomendation was Hoppes Number 9 or Deisel fuel. Then he went into a lengthy dissertation on how big a rip off solvents are. Most of the ingredients are available at a fraction of the price of comercial solvent. So What is in this stuff? Will deisel fuel really disolve copper fouling? Can effective solvent be had for a fraction of it's list price? Thanks "D"

D Hunter,

You can visit John Schaefer's page on solvents and how to make them at home to answer your question.

http://home.sprynet.com/~frfrog/homemade.htm

Solvents are like perfume: it costs about 25 cents a quart to make them, the rest is packaging and sex appeal.

John researches the patents for the patented solvents to get the recipes, and he keeps a gallon of Ed's Red handy on his work bench.

I haven't tried diesel fuel as a solvent, from experience with it elsewhere I suspect it will not remove jacket fouling. As a former diesel boat sailor I do love the reek of it though -- nothing like the thunder of four main engines to get you going in the morning.

I don't find it hard to remove the ammonia-based solvents from the bore.

jim dodd

Jim, great link, thanks for sharing it.