What's the Best Solvent/Cleaner for Corrosive Ammo??

I'm about to be the proud owner of a 5.45. I understand that the surplus ammo is cheap but corrosive, thus prompting my purchase. What is the best solvent/cleaner to use? Slip 2000, Balistol, Hoppes...?? I use Hoppes & Militec now on all my weapons but these all have non-corrosive ammo. All replies are greatly appreciated!!

Ballistol works great. Hell even pouring hot soapy water over all the innards would do the trick, followed by a normal cleaning with CLP or whatever.

I was trying to avoid the water route that's why I asked about Slip 2000 which is water based. I've never used Balistol but I would try it if it keeps my guns from rusting up.

i head glass cleaner works real good too

Water is the most effective thing, really. Use boiling water, it will evaporate instantly and won't sit anywhere to rust. Then, just follow that with normal cleaning.

Plus, it's cheap.

I put a Pyrex measuring cup in the microwave and heat the water up. I then just poor the water down the barrel from the chamber to the muzzle. After this I clean with GI Hoppies equivalent and give a good coat of oil. Never had any rust show up after this treatment.

Originally Posted By HypnoToad: I put a Pyrex measuring cup in the microwave and heat the water up. I then just poor the water down the barrel from the chamber to the muzzle. After this I clean with GI Hoppies equivalent and give a good coat of oil. Never had any rust show up after this treatment.

Do you also flush out the gas port, wash the gas piston and flush out the fcg with hot water or just clean as usual withouth the hot water bath?

Sweets 7.62 cleaner. It's hard to find, but good stuff.

I use windex, then follow up with normal cleaning. The ammonia in the windex neutralizes any corrosive residue.

Couple of points:

Sweet's 7.62 contains NO water and does NOTHING about corrosive salts.
Sweet's is GREAT on copper fouling but is useless for corrosive residue.

Ammonia has NO effect on corrosive salts. The only reason it does anything at all is because commercially available ammonia is mostly water, and it's the water present that does the job.

In order to prevent damage from the corrosive salts, you have to dissolve the salts AND flush them out.
NOTHING but water will do the trick, whether the water is mixed with other chemicals or not.

A good test of your cleaning chemical is to pour some into a small clear glass, then add a tablespoon of table salt.
Unless the salt dissolves into suspension and "disappears", the chemical is no good for cleaning guns of corrosive residue.

I use HOT water to thoroughly flush the bore and chamber, the gas block, the rear of the barrel and trunnion, the face of the bolt, the gas tube, the muzzle attachment, the gas piston, the area around the bolt carrier where residue may have come in contact, and anywhere else corrosive residue may be present.

After that, I make sure the metal is dry, then I clean normally with bore solvent and re-lube.

Making sure corrosive ammo doesn't damage a rifle isn't hard, it's just an additional step you have to add to normal cleaning.
Since nothing is cheaper than water, and nothing works better than water, I use hot water.

ive dunked my AK74s in my pool at night before, then cleaned them real well...

no issues here with corrosive

hot soapy water works great.

Windex.

I got the brown bear that came in the 700 round spam can it said non corrosive. I'v only fired around 80 rounds so far, and I cleaned the rifle with brakefree clp. Is this ok or do you need to use hot water with this ammo to. Thanks

Balistol/Water 50-50 mix is the best and most idiot-proof corrosive ammo treatment to be found IMO.

Mpro7 is a water based soap cleaner. It also has anti rust inhibitors in it as well. Not insanely expensive and it's relatively non-toxic and doesn't have horrible fumes/smell bad. BSW

Water. It is non-toxic, effective, and the price is right.

Popular for centuries, it has not been surpassed by anything.

Water, its what's for cleaning.

Originally Posted By grendelbane: Water. It is non-toxic, effective, and the price is right. Popular for centuries, it has not been surpassed by anything. Water, its what's for cleaning.

Whe you spill water under the wood, you have to remove it.

When I spill ballistol/water under the wood, I ignore it.

Originally Posted By jon101st: I got the brown bear that came in the 700 round spam can it said non corrosive. I've only fired around 80 rounds so far, and I cleaned the rifle with brakefree clp. Is this ok or do you need to use hot water with this ammo to. Thanks

All the currently available Russian commercial ammo is non-corrosive.
Where you have to watch out is with military surplus, or ammo that's been repackaged into commercial pack.
Much of it will SAY non-corrosive but may actually be corrosive.

Then to, a lot of importers or sellers mis-state the facts. As example, one of the importers had Bulgarian 5.45x39 military surplus listed as non-corrosive on their web site and ads, but it IS corrosive.
Also watch out for ammo listed as "Mildly corrosive" which is like being "mildly pregnant".

When dealing with AK ammo, when in doubt, use hot water first before normal cleaning.

Question on field cleaning your AK after corrisive ammo:

Does anyone have a "quick clean" method? Do or did the Russian soldiers have a portable method to keep the rust from taking hold? Or did they just pour some water from their canteen through the bore between combat spells?

Anyone?

Seriously, Ballistol is the quickest method I have found.

The bore is usually chromed, the gas tube is what rusts first.

I remember reading a translation of a old soviet TM about rifle maintenance.

It had instructions on how to make this bore cleaner that was to be applied to all areas that had contact with powder fouling. The recipe involved crystals of some sort, boiling water, and an admonition that the shelf life was 3 days. I believe that 'eye of newt' may have been involved too.

Get some mpro7 and don't worry about it. BSW

Fire rifle until barrel is good and hot, pour water down barrel and boil it. :)

Actually wouldn't have to get it up to the boiling point, but if you clean while the rifle is still hot, you don't have to cart around a hot water bottle. I do this with Mosin Nagants at the range.

jm

I started hoarding up Bulgy 5.45 a few months ago, thinking it was "Non-Corrosive" as the add stated...
Ooops. I'm glad I was set straight a few weeks ago about that mistake, and this thread has reinforced my studies on how to clean after firing corrosive ammo. I picked up an ORF AK-74 last week, so I want to make sure I clean this puppy correctly. THX for the info guys!

Originally Posted By dfariswheel: Couple of points: Sweet's 7.62 contains NO water and does NOTHING about corrosive salts. Sweet's is GREAT on copper fouling but is useless for corrosive residue. Ammonia has NO effect on corrosive salts. The only reason it does anything at all is because commercially available ammonia is mostly water, and it's the water present that does the job. In order to prevent damage from the corrosive salts, you have to dissolve the salts AND flush them out. NOTHING but water will do the trick, whether the water is mixed with other chemicals or not. A good test of your cleaning chemical is to pour some into a small clear glass, then add a tablespoon of table salt. Unless the salt dissolves into suspension and "disappears", the chemical is no good for cleaning guns of corrosive residue. I use HOT water to thoroughly flush the bore and chamber, the gas block, the rear of the barrel and trunnion, the face of the bolt, the gas tube, the muzzle attachment, the gas piston, the area around the bolt carrier where residue may have come in contact, and anywhere else corrosive residue may be present. After that, I make sure the metal is dry, then I clean normally with bore solvent and re-lube. Making sure corrosive ammo doesn't damage a rifle isn't hard, it's just an additional step you have to add to normal cleaning. Since nothing is cheaper than water, and nothing works better than water, I use hot water.

I always wondered how soviet troops cleaned their weapons in the field.Probably not with hot water..how did our troops clean their M1s in the field..they were shooting corrosive ammo also..this topic is so overblown.If you dont clean your weapon it will get dirty and rust and probably fail at some point...just faster with corrosive primers.Ive shot lots of surplus ammo in my Ak ..I use old GI solvent in the little green bottles and then wipe with clp..not a single problem so far

Our troops were issued with a bore solvent that contained water.
This is the blackish, foul smelling stuff you can still occasionally find at gun shows from the surplus dealers.

The Ordnance manuals stated that if bore solvent wasn't available, water, hot or cold could be used, but best was hot with a few flakes of GI soap in it.

I have no idea what the Russians did, or if soldiers were required to give their weapons maintenance in the field.
I assume they did something, and likely it was with some type of solvent or they just used water.
One of the reasons the Soviets chrome lined weapons, even the ultra-crude PPSH submachine gun was that the bores didn't rust as easily.
Possibly they figured that by the time the weapon pitted to the point it was unusable, they'd got their moneys worth out of it.

I have used either Simple Green or Windex. I like Simple Green better since it is a better all around cleaner. Since it is water based it works great and has a pleasant smell.

Be VERY careful with Simply Green.
It attacks and damages aluminum, and may damage some gun finishes.

The same tired old crap regurgitated over and over. Please think about what your saying. the corrosive salts left behind in modern ammo(i'm not talking black powder here) are a result of primer fouling. This stuff isn't deposited in the bore and gas tube any differently than with non corrosive ammo. In other words its going to come out with any normal cleaning. Its not magic, just don't leave it in there and put the gun away for a month.

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