Copper fouling / cleaning

[sksgunman]

Hello,

I just bought an SKS and have a question about copper fouling and whether I should try to get it out.

I bought it from someone else, did some basic cleaning, shot maybe 50 rounds through it, and then tried a more thorough cleaning.

I noticed that my patches were coming out blue-green, which I learned was copper fouling. I ran a bunch of patches of hoppe's #9 through it and didn't seem to be making much progress so I decided to get some dedicated copper cleaner: hoppe's black copper cleaner. After a few passes of the Hoppe's black the patches started coming out white.

I took it out again and shot maybe 25 rounds. When I went to clean it I noticed blue-green patches again. I decided to try to speed things up by using the Hoppe's black copper cleaner, leaving it sit in the barrel for up to 5 minutes, and the patches started coming out bright blue. I got maye 7 or so bright blue patches when the blue started to fade a little and I decided to call it quits.

I was surprised that I had to use the Hoppe's black as a) I assumed the barrel was fully clean of copper from my first round of cleaning, and b) that Hoppe's #9 would be close to enough to clean up any fouling that accrued after shooting only a few rounds. I basically expected to need the Hoppe's black once or so a year. The fact that I was getting so much copper in my patches, and also the brightness of the blue, was both really surprising to me.

Is it possible that I just did not really fully clean it the first time, and this is still old copper from the previous owner? I have heard it is possible to have alternating layers of copper and carbon. Or is shooting 25 rounds really enough to get all this copper deposit in the barrel? This one just seems really unlikely to me. I am also a little worried that the blue might represent damage I'm doing tot he barrel, but based on what I've read that also seems unlikely.

I'm new to shooting, so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Edit:

I should I'm shooting TulAmmo, in case it's useful.

[Prince50]

Copper cleaner can pull metals out of the alloy, but you would have to leave it there for quite some time. Is your Russian Chrome lined? What year is it, we can help. generally before 1952 can be carbon steel barrel, and after that date is chrome lined. either can foul pretty quickly with copper.

You seem to be doing just fine with your cleaning cycles.

Darin

[sksgunman]

Thank you Darin.

The date on mine is 1952 and the seller thought the barrel was chrome-lined. It is definitely nice and bright.

Would you recommend trying to get the rest of the copper out or just leaving it? And in general do you think I'm ok to use the Hoppe's copper remover for a few passes after each range visit? My understanding is that it is relatively mild in the world of copper removers, and I never leave it in longer than 5 minutes, and also I try my best to get rid of the copper remover afterwards with dry patches and then Hoppe's #9.

Sorry for the information dump but as I said I'm new and just really want to know if I'm doing something wrong. I'm a big fan of the sks and want it to last.

[Prince50]

You are doing great, and copper fouling is never a good thing to leave in the barrel. It needs to build up quite a bit to affect accuracy, but you are doing the right thing taking it out each time you clean.

As you noted, keep the sit time down to a minimum and you will not hurt anything with copper remover.

Darin

[sksgunman]

Cool, very good to know! Off to the workshop I go cheers

[Dannyboy53]

You are doing great, and copper fouling is never a good thing to leave in the barrel. It needs to build up quite a bit to affect accuracy, but you are doing the right thing taking it out each time you clean.

As you noted, keep the sit time down to a minimum and you will not hurt anything with copper remover.

Darin

I have never used the copper cleaner sksgunman speaks of, will it hurt to use a brass or stainless brush with it?
Thanks,
Danny

[Prince50]

I rarely use stainless brushes. they are harder than most steel, so will damage the barrel or chrome.

Very rarely I turn to stainless brushes to remove active or raised rust from the barrel. The pitting will remain, but he stainless brush can do wonders to help a rifle regain it's shootability.

Bronze or brass brushes used in conjunction with copper remover will degrade the brushes, and some of the blue on the patch will be from the brush, and not the barrel. The brushes will still last, but should be cleaned of the solvent after use, or the ammonia will continue to degrade the brush.

Nylon brushes work great for copper removal, as they do not add to the color on the patch.