# Never underestimate the value of Simple Green



## Grenadier (May 11, 2007)

Y'all might get a kick out of this cleaning experience.  

I came back from a range session, where I was shooting a lot of surplus 9 mm ammo out of my Glock 17.  As expected, the ammo wasn't exactly the best of fodder to feed my baby, but hey, it's been through Hell and back.  

After the session, where I had fired off 250 rounds, a field stripping of the pistol showed extensive carbon fouling.  Not only was it dirty, but it also smelled as if someone had left fecal matter in my Glock!  

Anyways, I gave it the usual scrub with Hoppes #9, followed by CLP, and most of the carbon fouling came out fairly quickly, but there was still a layer of black gunk that simply would not come out with the organic solvents.  I even tried more aggressive solvents, as well as my own home brewed "Ed's Red."  

In the end, I almost gave up, and decided to simply wipe down the gun with Simple Green, before transferring it to the 91% isopropanol bath (my final cleaning step).  Surprisingly, Simple Green, a non-toxic cleaner that smells somewhat like root beer, was able to get this layer of black gunk off, revealing the beautiful metal surface beneath.  

I'll just be grateful that I was able to get that crud out.  I am, however, somewhat tempted to try this again, and this time, collect the gunk so I can see what the heck it exactly is...  Maybe some 600 MHz Nuclear Magnetic Resonance can elucidate the composition.  

So, to summarize, I give Simple Green a thumbs up, and suggest that anyone who is shooting ammunition of dubious quality, should at least have a bottle of it just in case if the usual doesn't cut it.  

On another note, my somewhat oddball friend has confirmed that Simple Green is non-toxic, just as the label says.  He claims that just because it smells like root beer, does not mean that it tastes like root beer...


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## tellner (May 11, 2007)

The only problem with NMR would be if there were a lot of magnetic steel in there. The results could be, hmm, unfortunate for the equipment.


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## Grenadier (May 11, 2007)

tellner said:


> The only problem with NMR would be if there were a lot of magnetic steel in there. The results could be, hmm, unfortunate for the equipment.


 
Nah, I was going to dissolve the gunk in Simple Green, filter and collect it, and add 10% D2O (we get excellent water suppression with the Avance 600) in a Norell 509UP tube.


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## Obliquity (May 11, 2007)

Grenadier said:


> I give Simple Green a thumbs up, and suggest that anyone who is shooting ammunition of dubious quality, should at least have a bottle of it just in case if the usual doesn't cut it.


 

If it works so well, why not just use it all of the time?


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## Grenadier (May 11, 2007)

Obliquity said:


> If it works so well, why not just use it all of the time?


 
Works well on that one particular unknown substance.  It's still too polar to dissolve your regular carbon fouling.


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## Obliquity (May 11, 2007)

Grenadier said:


> Works well on that one particular unknown substance. It's still too polar to dissolve your regular carbon fouling.


 

That seems like a reasonable answer.


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## K31 (May 12, 2007)

Don't know about 9mm but I've run across a tar-like sealer applied to the base of bullets (and neck mouths) of European ammo.


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## Grenadier (May 12, 2007)

K31 said:


> Don't know about 9mm but I've run across a tar-like sealer applied to the base of bullets (and neck mouths) of European ammo.


 
I've seen this on the Czechoslovakian brand, Sellier and Bellot.  They use a reddish-color lacquer for the above mentioned areas to seal off the ammo.  They even advertise the ammo as being "oil-proof."  

Just for giggles, I soaked a dozen 9 mm 115 grain S&B FMJ cartridges in a jar of medium weight mineral oil (the same stuff used in most gun oils), and let them sit there for a week.  The lacquer stayed on, despite being immersed in oil.

I took the cartridges out, cleaned them off with Dawn dish detergent and water, dried them out, and loaded them into my Glock 17.  The lacquer still stayed on throughout that time.  

Each one of those cartridges went "BANG" when I pulled the trigger, and no noticeable accuracy differences, no noticeable chrony differences either.  Amazing stuff, indeed.  

I did, however, notice that when some of my Coppertone sunblock spilled onto a few S&B cartridges, that the lacquer was, indeed soluble, judging by the color of the sunblock going from pure white to pinkish.


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## K31 (May 13, 2007)

Grenadier said:


> I've seen this on the Czechoslovakian brand, Sellier and Bellot.  They use a reddish-color lacquer for the above mentioned areas to seal off the ammo.  They even advertise the ammo as being "oil-proof."



No, the stuff I'm talking about is black and it is tough. I was trying to take apart some rounds that had this stuff in them with a kinetic bullet puller and some would come apart with 4 hits, some took 20 even 40. (I found out later the trick is to break these by seating the bullet deeper beforehand.) But can you imagine how this stuff effects accuracy? You can't see it externally because it's in the case neck and on the base of the bullets.


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## Rich Parsons (May 13, 2007)

Grenadier said:


> Y'all might get a kick out of this cleaning experience.
> 
> I came back from a range session, where I was shooting a lot of surplus 9 mm ammo out of my Glock 17. As expected, the ammo wasn't exactly the best of fodder to feed my baby, but hey, it's been through Hell and back.
> 
> ...




I use Simple Green on my Bike and Convertible to keep the wheels clean form tar and brake dust as well as the front from bugs. It gets a free and works nice and does not discolor (* Chrome wheel on '00 Firebird and Blue Black Metalic Paint / Aluminum wheels and Black paint and plexiglass on my '03 Honda Sabre *). 

If I ever run into something like this for my gun I might try this as well.

Thanks


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