Alcohol Wash ?
 
Notifications
Clear all

Alcohol Wash ?

18 Posts
10 Users
0 Likes
6,496 Views
Avatar
(@ejwills)
Pennsylvania
Joined: 7 years ago
Posts: 17
Topic starter  

How to do an alcohol wash on an air gun ?


   
ReplyQuote
Avatar
(@jim_in_pgh)
Pennsylvania
Joined: 7 years ago
Posts: 1015
 

EJ, not sure what you are trying to accomplish.  I sometimes use 91% isopropyl alcohol to remove any oils or waxes prior to using cold blue on steel when refurbishing old guns.  I just use paper towels and alcohol, while wearing nitrile gloves.  IPA will remove any oils, grease or wax very effectively from steel.  This is essential before applying cold blue.  The gloves are important too, since fingers can transfer skin oils, which will mess up cold blue.  Afterwards, I follow with a generous cold water rinse, thorough drying, then a wipe down with Militec.  I've had pretty good results with Birchwood Casey Superblue.


   
ReplyQuote
Avatar
(@ejwills)
Pennsylvania
Joined: 7 years ago
Posts: 17
Topic starter  

I've read where they use an alcohol flush to clean gunk that has built up in the valves on some air guns.

thanks,

Ejwills.


   
ReplyQuote
Doug_Wall
(@doug_wall)
New York
Joined: 7 years ago
Posts: 297
 

Who is "they"??? In my 50+ years of airgunning, I don't recall ever hearing that before. Maybe wash with alcohol after disassembly.


   
ReplyQuote
Avatar
(@ejwills)
Pennsylvania
Joined: 7 years ago
Posts: 17
Topic starter  

I never heard of it either, maybe i just miss read the article.

Thanks,

Ejwills.


   
ReplyQuote
Avatar
(@bob_in_wv)
West Virginia
Joined: 7 years ago
Posts: 377
 

Here is the story:  https://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php?topic=141692.0;topicseen

 

Hope I didn't break any rules.

Bob in WV


   
ReplyQuote
marflow
(@marflow)
Washington
Joined: 7 years ago
Posts: 1594
 

I have a Hammerli  850 in it was new and had a leaking valve and at the time after posting over there they said to feed it some brake cleaner and blow it through the valve

they said they had done it and it worked, well I didn't I just bought a new valve but it is a idea or method that has been used

why didn't I just send it in, it was cheaper to buy the valve and with air tools the valves come out fast and after making a special tool they come apart easy also

you always need extras


   
ReplyQuote

James_D
(@james_d)
Pennsylvania
Joined: 6 years ago
Posts: 101
 

Rinse with distilled water. Acetone is good also for degreasing. Make sure gloves have no powder & paper towels or lint free cloth are free of any additives, perfumes, anything, as you said, will cause splotchy bluing. I'm learning ways to blu from a deep dark black to a purplish brown rust colored. Of all the Air gun companies that blue well, Air Arms & Webley (English, not Turkey) are of the best I've ever seen. 


   
ReplyQuote
James_D
(@james_d)
Pennsylvania
Joined: 6 years ago
Posts: 101
 

There is a product, I ran out so can is gone, can't remember name. Was sold at Wally World. Mainly for firearms. Gives a GREAT cleaning without any disassembly as it dissolves everything and as you spray it, you can see the clear fluid running off the rifle is now black with gunk. The areas you spray are dry with little to no residue before they wet dirty liquid hits the floor. It evaporates that quick.  It's great for a complicated bolt or any hard to reach areas say even with brushes. I wouldn't say it would work with layers of hardened gunk but for a quick spray down after a brick of .22's it is great. You know how small some chambers can be. This flushes all that unburnt powder & junk out fast & easy. I'm not recommending this as a pre bluing substance but it does work well.


   
ReplyQuote
Gratewhitehuntr
(@gratewhitehuntr)
Florida
Joined: 7 years ago
Posts: 1882
 

As pretreatment for blueing, I'd use wax remover, it can be purchased at a REAL paint store.

I did NOT proof read this article, but there is some decent information and a collection of part #s.

 

http://autobodystore.com/ms8.shtml

 

Very potent, and I generally double the nitrile gloves on my right hand.

Do not get it near an entire gun, high probability of melting something.

 

The only thing stronger (in my shop) is methylene chloride, and it's total overkill.

 

The other chemical I use, for STEEL, is lye/water.

I hate meth addicts for reducing the availability of lye!

No fumes, doesn't evaporate, non carcinogenic.

Ruins aluminum!

 


   
ReplyQuote
CarlosMendez
(@carlosmendez)
Kentucky
Joined: 7 years ago
Posts: 84
 

I use denatured alcohol.  A plus, it is safe on plastic.


   
ReplyQuote
Avatar
(@xmdx13x)
Texas
Joined: 7 years ago
Posts: 110
 

Ive done an alcohol flush on several old multi stroke pneumatics and then reoiled them and got them running again. The link provided should help.  Is there a particular gun your trying to work on?


   
ReplyQuote
Avatar
(@ekmeister)
Texas
Member of Trade
Joined: 7 years ago
Posts: 739
 
Posted by: marflow

I have a Hammerli  850 in it was new and had a leaking valve and at the time after posting over there they said to feed it some brake cleaner and blow it through the valve

they said they had done it and it worked, well I didn't I just bought a new valve but it is a idea or method that has been used...

You said brake cleaner has been used for that, so you must have read the posts about it.  It's just that I've found every brand of brake cleaner spray I've used is some pretty aggressive stuff.  It dissolves heavy grease and grime in a jiffy, but I'd hesitate to use it on anything that has flexible seals, for fear it might also damage the seals (unless the manufacturer of the air gun in question gave me his express blessing to do so).  In fact, I seem to remember that I got a little bit of it on a rubber timing belt once, and it damaged it.  Fortunately, I was in there to replace the belt, so I had a new one at the ready.

Considering the situation with a somewhat similar cleaner might be useful here.  If you look for something to clean the throttle body of your fuel injection system, many of the old standby cleaners for carburetors often have a caution on the can, "Not for use on fuel injection throttle bodies".  That's because some of them contain a chemical that will destroy seals used in a modern throttle body.  (I can't remember which chemical that is, but having used brake cleaner, carburetor cleaner, and throttle body cleaner many times, the brake cleaner appears to be the most aggressive of the three.  Thus, the need for caution IMO).

Now, alcohol seems to be a milder cleaner, assuming we're talking about isopropyl alcohol, which I've used with good results.  I still limit its time in contact with any seals to the bare minimum, just in case.  I can't speak on the subject of denatured alcohol, except I remember that it used to be recommended for cleaning tape heads.

With those things said, if I was going to clean something that utilized flexible seals, and I couldn't get the manufacturer to tell me it was OK, I'd at least try to find out what the seals were made of if at all possible.  Then, a quick Google search on "material and chemical compatibility chart", or, "Buna N chemical compatibility chart", etc, should soon yield some useful results.

Here is one such chart/table/app I found in years past, but I see it's still working today.  You enter the the chemical (like Alcohols: Isopropyl) on the left, and material (like Buna N: (Nitrile) on the right from the drop-down menus, then hit the "View Compatibility" box.  Your compatibility results will show, with notes.  There are variations of the same type of app or charts all over the web.

https://www.coleparmer.com/Chemical-Resistance    

Of course, I know it might not be easy or even possible to find out the composition of any seals in question.  In that case, I think I'd still be cautious when it comes to brake cleaner, and not do the cleaning routine someone has suggested unless you highly-trust the source, and know they got results that didn't hurt anything, including in the long haul (not just 'it's been 24 hours, and everything is fine').


   
ReplyQuote
marflow
(@marflow)
Washington
Joined: 7 years ago
Posts: 1594
 

well I never used brake cleaner but the owner of the 850 store suggested it and I only used it as an example that the idea of running a cleaner or solvent through a valve had been talked about before

but was the valve on the gun maybe and then again a Hammerli 850 is a little different to say some PCP rifle or pistols

I know brake cleaner well and I would be real careful  with it's use

alcohol on wood finishes can be a real problem, alcohol on finish comes off, brake cleaner could be worse

so if you had a valve  in hand some sort of cleaner might work but is it the right way no

the 850 valve is a bitch to remove and to take apart and to get resealed so it doesn't leak, so cheating on a 850 might be a short cut, again is it right NO but that wasn't the topic


   
ReplyQuote

Avatar
(@ekmeister)
Texas
Member of Trade
Joined: 7 years ago
Posts: 739
 
Posted by: marflow

well I never used brake cleaner...

I know brake cleaner well and I would be real careful  with it's use

alcohol on wood finishes can be a real problem, alcohol on finish comes off, brake cleaner could be worse...

the 850 valve is a bitch to remove and to take apart and to get resealed so it doesn't leak, so cheating on a 850 might be a short cut, again is it right NO but that wasn't the topic

No, of course you're right, brake cleaner wasn't the original topic. It was alcohol. But, when I saw brake cleaner mentioned for internal use where seals could be involved, I kind of jumped because of the potential for damage. Someone who wasn't paying close attention might only vaguely-remember that it was mentioned in the way of a possible valve cleaner (10/12/18 Edit: for various air guns, since multi-stroke pneumatics were also mentioned in this thread) use it, and wind up with a major problem. Hence my comments. Thanks.


   
ReplyQuote
marflow
(@marflow)
Washington
Joined: 7 years ago
Posts: 1594
 

of course you have to understand the make up of a Hammerli 850, it has a exterior valve and the only o-ring is one the outside to seal the tank and has a valve stem inside and if a piece of something gets on the face of the stem you leak your tank out the barrel form the area the co2 come though

again the valve on the 850 is problematic to remove and take apart

so the bottom line is if you had a certain style of valve like a 850 you might try to clean with X type of cleaner

and the post was about clean a valve with alcohol and with that or any liquid you could flush a valve to maybe clean the crud holding it open but which airguns that might work on is an unknown

the 850 valve is an interesting part because it can be test for leaks sitting on a work bench using a single 12gr adapter and with that in mind cleaned with said brake cleaner

and there is no way I would use it on a gun that had a valve built into a receiver with O-rings,  never

take care it's been interesting

mike


   
ReplyQuote
Avatar
(@ekmeister)
Texas
Member of Trade
Joined: 7 years ago
Posts: 739
 
Posted by: marflow

of course you have to understand the make up of a Hammerli 850, it has a exterior valve and the only o-ring is one the outside to seal the tank and has a valve stem inside and if a piece of something gets on the face of the stem you leak your tank out the barrel form the area the co2 come though...

...and the post was about clean a valve with alcohol and with that or any liquid you could flush a valve to maybe clean the crud holding it open but which airguns that might work on is an unknown...

...brake cleaner...and there is no way I would use it on a gun that had a valve built into a receiver with O-rings,  never

Mike, you obviously know a lot more about the Hammerli 850 than I do.  I know for a fact that I got to see and hold one once, not so sure I ever got to fire it though, and I definitely didn't get a peek at its working parts. 

As to this thread, I had the image of someone perhaps glancing over it and quickly picking out words like, "clean", "valves", and "brake cleaner", without reading the details, and feeling like it was thus 'full steam ahead' on any rifle that used stored gas of any type.  You obviously know that's not the case, and I do too.  More clarifications and notes of caution have since been added.  With those in place, hopefully it will keep other readers from coming away with the wrong impression to the point of causing unnecessary damage.


   
ReplyQuote
marflow
(@marflow)
Washington
Joined: 7 years ago
Posts: 1594
 

the Hammerli 850 seems to be a little over looked today with all the PCP's on the market and some don't like co2 and that's fine

the 88gr tanks are not real cheap and if you have a leak in any way, it is a waste but you can make single 12gr setups for testing or short shooting session or buy the 2 x 12gr setup

and they will hit what you aim at and to make quiet, so there are just in my herd

been a nice back and forth

take care

mike


   
ReplyQuote

Airgun Warriors