Gunlovin’
Don’t mention “professional” over there either, ask me how I know.
Sweet7.62 contains ammonia, which is always fun to ask people to smell something called Sweets, but anyway, the ammonia is not good for the chrome lining, so I’m told.
Bob
No need to ask I witnessed it. While im no professional I respect those who are in this industry.
Guess im gonna stop using sweets.
I think im going to follow your style Bob and just spray down and use a boresnake then lub.
One more favore to ask of you Bob, do you happen to know where I can order Slip 2000 lub, the stuff that Pat recommends to be exact, Ive just been using Rem oil and seen a few issues.
Pat has already made this thoughts on this matter very well known:
Wow glad he didnt have to waste his time to repost all of that, I must have missed that. Thank you.
Thank you Bob also.
Rob
Ammonia is a weak acid. Which is why it is good at dissolving metals, like copper. With enough time and in a strong enough dose, it can eat away a fair amount of metal. Most folk don’t soak a gun in 100% ammonia for years, so isn’t to bad.
The other issue is that ammonia is fairly hygroscopic, like brake fluid, anti-freeze, or sugar/salt on a humid day. It will pull some water out of the air. Most ammonia based cleaners will start getting wetter in your bore, so you are in effect, washing your gun barrel out in a water/acid bath.
This is why most of the makers of such products say to only use it for 10-20 minutes at a time, and clean it out and use oil patches quickly afterwards.
It is hard stuff on metal, but in limited doses for removing coppering, it isn’t to bad.
Actually ammonia is a weak alkali. It’s base, not acidic.
I’ve read over and over that it is harmful to chrome lined bores, but I’ve never made any effort to source any barrel mfg info/guidance on whether or not to use any solvents/cleaners containing ammonia, or whether or not there are any restrictions. I do follow your other recommendation, let it sit for only 10-15 minutes ata shot and then patch out and apply a final protective coat of whatever corrosion inhibitor you normally use.
I’m wondering if the ammonia combines chemically with CO2, at which point it may become acidic (like acid rain, pH-neutral H2O plus CO2), but I know for certain that ammonia, by itself, is base.
I was thinking of ammonium, I never explain in enough detail. Anhydrous ammonia sucks up water and makes ammonium hydroxide, the ammonium is a weak acid, ammonia a weak base. Ammonia-ammonium in an aqueous solution does an equilibrium dance between NH4+ and NH3. Your solution will be basic, but most of the ammonia has changed to ammonium.
CO2 dissolved into water does about the same thing with the whole carbonic acid deal, which is why the pH of lab pure water exposed to the air drops to 5.6-7 or so fairly fast, this is considered a normal baseline. Acid rain isn’t so much the CO2 but the NOx and sulfur compounds producing nitric/nitrous acid and sulfuric acid in the rain.
So to be more complete, ammonia based cleaners end up washing your barrel in a mixed salt water solution. A good brew for corrosion to happen.
My head hurts.
Stop sniffing the ammonia (actually, the ammonium hydroxide).
And BTW, where the heck does the salt come from? Isn’t salt NaCl? I’m undersatnd how when you start with NH3 and H2O, at some point you get the NH4+, but I’m trying to figure out where the salt enters the equation? But I’m trying to go on high school chemistry from 27 years ago and about 5 minutes from a Google search.
The main reason we (armorers) don’t accept dirty weapons is that we can’t properly perform our annual gauging or Pre-Fire Inspections unless the weapon is clean. It’s too easy to overlook a hairline crack when a part has dirty oil (black, same color as the rest of the weapon) on it. So when it comes to issued gear, I’d say better to be clean and safe, then risk experiencing a possible catastrophic bolt failure.
I 2nd that, works like a champ