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Thread: Lead Fouling

  1. #1
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    Lightbulb Lead Fouling

    Would welcome advice on best method / products to use to remove lead fouling from the barrel of my ROA.
    In front of the forcing cone lead fouling appears to have almost filled the shallow rifling.
    Obviously I should have looked closer sooner.

    Thanks
    Al.
    AlBur
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  2. #2
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    Phosphor bronze brush and a lot of elbow grease. Surprising that you have lead fouling though - mine never gets lead fouling - what have you been firing - what load?

    There is an alternative to the brush. Birchwood Casey Lead Remover Cloth. It's really intended to remove the blackening you get on the face of nitro revolver cylinders, but I have successfully used it on barrels. It is a bit of a faff to wrap the correct thickness on a jag, and will need to be re-wrapped frequently to maintain a tight fit to the barrel. Don't worry that it has gone black - it actually works better when it is black.
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    As said, plenty of elbow grease.

    in some of the old gun books they reckoned turpentine made the leading easier to get off. I have never tried it but maybe you could soak your cylinder overnight and see if it makes the job easier.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Turnup View Post
    Phosphor bronze brush and a lot of elbow grease. Surprising that you have lead fouling though - mine never gets lead fouling - what have you been firing - what load?

    There is an alternative to the brush. Birchwood Casey Lead Remover Cloth. It's really intended to remove the blackening you get on the face of nitro revolver cylinders, but I have successfully used it on barrels. It is a bit of a faff to wrap the correct thickness on a jag, and will need to be re-wrapped frequently to maintain a tight fit to the barrel. Don't worry that it has gone black - it actually works better when it is black.
    Good idea, however, this is another occasion when you should have looked back over the ML forum and seen sage advice from your uncle tac.

    B-C lead removing cloth is pretty costy here in yUK, but there IS a viable and MUCH cheaper alternative!

    Kleeneze 'miracle cloth' appears to be ZACKLY the same thing, is TWICE as much for your money, and HALF the cost of the B-C product.

    I've been using it for years.

    Works.

    I have to ask what you are using for lead, let alone what load you are using. I've been shooting my ROA since March 2nd 1986 - most weekends, and I've NEVER encountered leading of any kind in any part of the barrel. The load has always been the same - 30gr of 3Fg or the sub equivalent, so it's not a pussycat load we are talking about here.

    tac
    Last edited by tacfoley; 25-09-2015 at 01:28 PM.

  5. #5
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    I used to use a Lewis Lead Remover for 9mm pistol,it removed it with gusto
    basically a pull thro bronze pad over a rubber plug.Very simple no chemicals
    But I never had a prob with the ROA

  6. #6
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    Lightbulb lead Fouling

    Used the bronze brush & elbow grease method & have successfully removed the fouling.
    Will try some of the alternatives next time. Thanks for the advice.

    In reply to Tac. cast lead balls / bullets. melted, cleaned & cast from some very old Lead recovered from a bay window roof.
    My ROA has a nitro cylinder so I use 4 grains Unique behind 0.457 ball or the Lee ROA bullet.

    Al.
    AlBur
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  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by AlBur View Post
    Used the bronze brush & elbow grease method & have successfully removed the fouling.
    Will try some of the alternatives next time. Thanks for the advice.

    In reply to Tac. cast lead balls / bullets. melted, cleaned & cast from some very old Lead recovered from a bay window roof.
    My ROA has a nitro cylinder so I use 4 grains Unique behind 0.457 ball or the Lee ROA bullet.

    Al.
    Try using 3.5gr instead and you might just find that the leading magically goes away.

    tac

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    Thumbs up Lead Fouling

    Will do. Thanks. Much appreciated



    Al
    AlBur
    Always Remember "Utopia Does NOT Exist"

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    It might also be helpful to try some lube? Either the traditional method, or try coating the balls with Alox - as it was explained to me this helps reduce leading because the Alox on the base will vaporise, and prevent the lead from sticking to the barrel (more normally used in pistol cal cartridges but I don't see why it would be any different in a nitro stoked muzzle loader) - certainly helps in my Marlin .357. A very little goes a loooong way.
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  10. #10
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    Lightbulb Lead Fouling

    I roll them around in the Lee lube. Gives them a nice thin even coating of lube.


    Reflecting on Tac's advice, which suggests I could be pushing the "missile" too hard using 4 grains of Unique (max working load is 4.3 stamped on the cylinder). This could also explain the "lead spitting" from the side of the cylinder. I had been thinking that the cylinder timing was a touch off. As the cylinder is an after market "drop in" I do not suppose the revolver was given a thorough checking out after the cylinder was installed.

    Al.
    AlBur
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  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by AlBur View Post
    I roll them around in the Lee lube. Gives them a nice thin even coating of lube.


    Reflecting on Tac's advice, which suggests I could be pushing the "missile" too hard using 4 grains of Unique (max working load is 4.3 stamped on the cylinder). This could also explain the "lead spitting" from the side of the cylinder. I had been thinking that the cylinder timing was a touch off. As the cylinder is an after market "drop in" I do not suppose the revolver was given a thorough checking out after the cylinder was installed.

    Al.
    In the Ruger factory the cylinders are line-bored using a 'barrel'-form gauge/guide that aligns each and every chamber to within 2.5 ten-thousandths of an inch. I'm not going to say that the after market cylinder is not made
    as well as this, after all, it costs a great deal of money. However, I reserve my 'jugement individuelle' to suggest that I would be very much surprised to see that it goes near matching the precision of the original piece.

    tac

  12. #12
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    Lightbulb ROA Cylinder

    Hi
    Did actually trace the RFD who imported the nitro cylinders from USA (Bob Dunkley) hoping to recover the original BP cylinder for the revolver. He sold many nitro cylinders over the time he imported them. Unfortunately he subsequently sold off all of the accumulated BP cylinders.

    Al.
    AlBur
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  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by AlBur View Post
    Hi
    Did actually trace the RFD who imported the nitro cylinders from USA (Bob Dunkley) hoping to recover the original BP cylinder for the revolver. He sold many nitro cylinders over the time he imported them. Unfortunately he subsequently sold off all of the accumulated BP cylinders.

    Al.
    Pity, that. Me, I leave things alone. The only time I ever saw a revolver made better than a ROA it was my Korth - at four times the price.

    tac

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