Peroxide/vinegar for lead??????

[Ridgerunnr]

I shoot a ton of lead bullets out of my 9mm ..non eof my products work very well on lead. I read on another forum that a 50/50 mix of peroxide and white vinegar removes lead slick...anyone use it? any thoughts?

[Terry N.]

It kinda, sorta works. Sometimes. Buy a Lewis Lead Remover from Brownells. It always works.

Better yet, find out WHY your pistol is leading and resolve the issue(s). The most common cause is bullets too small for the groove diameter of the barrel. Slug your bore; I'll bet you find that it measurs closer to .358" than .355".

[ranger]

Peroxide is water with an extra, loosely bound, oxygen. Rust is "iron oxide." Vinegar is a weak organic acid. Supports oxidation/rust... No doubt these will attack lead, but what else will they attack? You want the risk? (I don't.)

Ask at the auto parts store about carb cleaners from the days when gas had lead in it. They would attack lead without harming zinc and other metals they made carbs out of.

The old standby was "mercury" the metal. It is liquid and bonds with lead. Fill the barrel. Let stand for a time. Lead gone. But getting mercury today is more difficult. Small amount lasts forever, but try to get it. If you can...

Brass wool is available. Will mechanically attack lead without being hard enough to bother steel. Lewis lead remover uses brass screen. [Steel wool if you are brave (and stupid? Not for me).] Some of the yellow "wipe out" cloths will do lead. Brass brush will but takes longer.

9mm is a bit hotter than most pistol calibers. You using a good enough lube on those bullets? As said, check bore. If oversize that encourages leaving lead behind. Or undersize. Bullets hard enough for velocities? Heavier bullet slower might be a big change. Jacketed are a pain in the budget, but that is what it was designed for. Lead you have to adapt. Luck.

[30378]

Be careful with vinegar. The acid in it will remove some variations of blue finishes.

[Larry L]

I use carb cleaner on my pistol barrels for lead issues. I think the "cleaning" part is because the spray is so cold. I follow it immediately with a dry patch that fits TIGHT. As tight as you can get and still push it thru. The lead falls out with the patch. A real leaded up barrel may take a few patches but it's the least harmful way I've found to clean lead.

[Ridgerunnr]

The bullets I use are .356 with a moly coating..not sure of bore dia. Loads are very mild relaods for USPSA shoots.147 gr moly lead w 3.2 gr powder..puts her at 950 fps or so. Leading is primarily at throat area at first inch of barrel or so..I forgot about the brass wool stuff..I'd use jacketed bullets if someone besides Cabelas had them! Too darn pricey.. Good ones are hard to find but I'll stay w lead until the usualy suppliers start selling again..For some reason everyone is out of them

[TinMan]

Leading at the breech/chamber end is usually a sign that the bullet base is not obdurating enough. Try bumping up the load a bit to get the heel of the bullet to deform a bit more. It needs more pressure to seal off faster.

[faith1]

I used to shoot alot of 45 acp & heard about that mix to unlead the barrels. It worked great on my stainless barrels. Then one day, when I wasn't thinking, I also dropped a regular blued barrel into the mix to soak. It was ruined. Major pitting very quickly. Again, it works very well on all stainless barrels, but don't use it on regular blue steel or you'll regret it.

[Terry N.]

Leading at the breech/chamber end is usually a sign that the bullet base is not obdurating enough. Try bumping up the load a bit to get the heel of the bullet to deform a bit more. It needs more pressure to seal off faster.


+1. You need either higher pressure or softer bullets. Most commercial 'hard cast' bullets are TOO DAMN HARD for most (99%) handgun applications. The manufacturers make them so hard because they resist deformation during shipment. Same reason they use those hard waxy lubes - because they don't rub off during shipping.

[Larry L]

Have you considered shooting plated bullets? I don't shoot lead anymore since I tried plated bullets. I'm using Rainier and Berrys and have great accuracy with them. Most of my autos will get them to shoot right at an inch from bags at 25 yds. The Rainier 200 gr HP plated is my carry load for my 1911 45 ACP. It performs as well as any XTP bullet I've tried.

[Ridgerunnr]

Yep I shoot plated too. I load minimal charges to minimize recoil. I looked high n low for plated bullets..Unless I Wanted to pay Cabelas hi way robbery prices it was back to lead. The 147 gr w 3.2 gr powder at 950 fps is a nice soft load and dead accurate..I mean one hole type accurate! I am startin to think the buildup after 250 rounds might be the moly and not the lead..not sure tho ..Plated would be nice..but cant find any priced right..I run thru at least 5000 rounds for competition so price is a big issue

[coopershooter]

I shoot a lot of lead out of my revolvers. when i'm done shooting, i load one cylinder full of jacketed bullets,
shoot,
lead all but gone!

[amafrank]

I have a friend that shoots suppressed .22's a lot. He filled an AAC suppressor over a summer. .22's have problems with lead fouling, unburned powder, grease and all manner of other woes. He tried sending the suppressor back to AAC but customer service there is a joke so he needed to come up with another solution. He ended up using the H2O2 and Vinegar solution to clean the cans out. On stainless steel it works well but leaving the suppressor in the solution too long will pit it. Aluminum, copper, lead, zinc, and any copper based material like brass or bronze will disappear fairly fast. Regular steel seems to "fog" on the surface after a short exposure and longer times in contact with the solution make the pitting deeper. I'd say that the answer is not using this material in the barrel. Do like the others suggested, lewis lead remover....
my 2 cents
Frank

[coopershooter]

When your almost done shooting, load and shoot a mag full of jacketed bullets. The lead will be gone.
I do this with my revolvers. It works!

[John Ciccone]

I do alot of shooting with fine target pistols, never would use peroxide and vinegar.

The gentilist way to do it is to use Outers Foulout 3 electrolytic system. Then commerical lead solvents made for firearms.