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Ed's Red Bore cleaner

3K views 4 replies 3 participants last post by  Unknown1 
#1 ·
Ed

I am trying to make a mixture of Ed's Red and be darned if I can fine Varsol anywhere. My main purpose is to use it for cleaning plastic from choke tubes. Any ideas and/or substitutes?
 
#2 ·
The acetone in the recipe I use cleans the choke tubes.
Don't think the Varisol is totally necessary. I think the original recipe included Varisol or Lanolin as an option. Mix it in a glass 1 gallon bottle that you can seal airtight or else it will evaporate.

My recipe:

Equal parts of:

K1 Kerosene

Aliphatic Mineral Spirits
Federal Spec TT-T-2981F

Acetone

Dexron II, IIe, or III Automatic Transmission Fluid (ATF)

Gene Batchelar
Wheaton, IL
 
#4 ·
OK. Maybe I should have said it differently. I would not mix this stuff in anything BUT a glass or metal container.
I don't use an eyedropper, but transfer small quantities from the larger mixing container to a smaller container that fits on the cleaning bench.

Gene Batchelar
Wheaton, IL
 
#5 ·
<blockquote><I>"For safety in your workplace do not use a glass container if you have available a metal solvent can."</I></blockquote>I put my jar inside a 3" long piece of 3" PVC sewer pipe mounted on a plywood square. I can't knock it over, I don't move it around the bench and I can just dip the patches wrapped around a bore brush right into the jar.
<blockquote><I>Other ingredients to play with are tolulene, xylene, MEK, alcohol. (Butches' bore shine contains alcohol) None of these are as toxic as Kroil or PB blaster.</i></blockquote>
Before you get too carried away with re-inventing the present formula, don't lose sight of its development as an update of Hatcher's formula:

Quoting Ed Harris...<blockquote><I>"This formula is based on proven principles and incorporates two polar and two nonpolar solvents. It is adapted from the one in Hatcher's Notebook for "Frankford Arsenal Cleaner No.18," but substituting
equivalent modern materials. I had the help of an organic chemist in
doing this and we knew there would be no "surprises."
... Some discussion of the ingredients is helpful to understand the properties of the cleaner and how it works."</I></blockquote>

I'm happy with what Ed developed; it wasn't a slap-dash affair. I can't see the need to guess at how it could be changed. Others can go ahead on if they want to!

MK
 
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