I am always trying to make lead clean up easier. I am familiar with the standard removal methods. It was mentioned on another thread that this works quite well. Has anybody been using this with good results? Thanks, Bob

It didn't do much for me on lead. Everything else is pretty much dissolved but I still had lead on the face of a revolver cylinder.

The best method I've found is....shoot coated bullets. The lead flashing on the cylinder face was reduced probably 80-90%.

I use a lot of gas checks and the clean-up, chambers, cylinder face, and barrel is not much different than shooting plated or jacketed. It does add some expense (.03/rnd) and minimal time during size/lube (about 2 secs/rnd), but to me they are worth it.

Hate to tell you this but there are really no SAFE CHEMICALS that will dissolve lead efficiently and effectively and/or prevent its build up. The best way I know of is with a Lewis Lead Remover for the barrel and chambers, and a lead-a-way cloth or Flitz which are both abrasives. Any type of oil or protective chemical you put on the gun will quickly burn off after a cylinder full of ammo and basically become useless. There ain't no magic for lead!

I haven't. I got a bottle of it to try on my Rimfire Challenge guns' comps which get crudded up with a lead/carbon mix. The results from the Slip 2000 were, at best, disappointing. It just didn't do much.

Don't know about lead, but it works great on exactly what it is for....Carbon. The one place I saw how good it was is on how well it does on two things important to me. The gas cylinder on the HK P7 will get a layer of carbon in it on the base that is tough to fully remove even with the HK tool. Carbon killer does a great job on both the cylinder and the piston and will make a hard run P7 run like a brand new gun. The other is on AR bolts and bolt carriers. I love the stuff for many cleaning operations.
Back in the old days at the PD when we shot tons of lead .45 Colt ammunition in our duty revolvers and lead .38 in our back ups, the Lewis lead remover was invaluable.

It is really a carbon cleaner not lead and copper. Works very well on AR parts that are allowed to soak. It is also reusable.

Loose carbon maybe, but it doesn't touch the burned on stuff on the face of the cylinder. I have a bottle of the SLIP stuff, never use it. Doesn't work any better than any of the other dozen gun cleaners I have.

As for lead removal: I learned from the pro shooters that a 50-50 mix of hydrogen peroxide and vinegar will soften it up. I used that on my compensators that had leaded up. It turned the lead soft like peanut butter and then I could scrape it free with a wooden stick tool. Had to soak it overnight. My stuff was stainless, not sure if it is safe on blue steel.

The old hydrogen peroxide and vinegar trick can help but it WILL quickly ruin bluing.
In addition, apparently the mix of the two chemicals forms some sort of really dangerously unhealthy chemical compound.

As for the bluing, I once had a young man come in with his face just white.
He'd taken his dads mint condition S&W Registered Magnum out to the range and after firing was shocked to see lead in the barrel.
He wasn't a very knowledgeable shooter and made the mistake of asking someone at the range what it was and what to do.
That person recommended the peroxide and vinegar mix.

After using the mix he was horrified to see white "freckles" all over the blued finish.
He turned even whiter when I told him the chemical mix had sprayed off the bore brush and the "freckles" were where the bluing had been removed.
I explained that there was no fixing that, and that no one could refinish it like it was before.

I often wondered what the scene at the house was like that night.

The rings around the chamber mouths is actually discolored steel. A carbon remover will remove carbon fouling, but doesn't work too well on leading.
It doesn't work at all on discolored steel.

If you insist on getting all traces of firing off, the "lead-away" type cloths will work.
Why you'd want to get all traces of firing off when they will just reappear the next time you shoot it is a question.

Over the years I've found the fastest and safest ways of cleaning a leaded revolver are to use a bronze chamber brush in the chambers, a Lewis Lead Remover in the bore, and a lead-away cloth to remove the leading and carbon build up on the cylinder face.
I use the cloth just enough to remove the build up, not to try to remove the discolored rings.

The chamber brushes sold by Brownell's are not only larger, they're made of an extra-stiff bristle that works better then the softer over-caliber bore brushes many people use.

If the revolver is blued I use a bore solvent and a brass "toothbrush" to scrub the cylinder face, since a lead-away cloth WILL strip bluing right off.

If you're in no hurry you can do most all of it with one product....Kroil.
Apply a good coat of Kroil to the chambers, bore, and cylinder face and let soak a few days. Then brush everything with the appropriate brushes.
The Kroil will penetrate under the leading and help loosen and lift it so brushing will remove it.

On my SS revos, the rings on the cylinder face are just burned on carbon. I remove them with a nylon brush and some fine polish. Same exact thing on the burn areas on the frame near the cylinder face.

Just advising people they will be disappointed if they believe the SLIP ads showing that all you have to do is apply it and then you get gleaming steel. It doesn't work at all on burned on carbon. Believe me, I soaked cylinders in it a week to test it.

Kroil is a fine product, I have a couple of gallons. It will penetrate under most fouling, but it does not remove burned on carbon. I also tried soaking in that for days. The only thing I have found that comes close is the Berryman's chemical carburetor dip tank. It doesn't dissolve the burned carbon, it softens it and makes it easier to rub off. It's a lot like trying to get the burned on gunk off a barbecue grill..... no magic easy solution.

As to why clean it off..... sometimes it's good to get the gun 100% clean, especially if it's going back in the safe for a while.

Thanks for the responses! It is marketed as carbon killer. I have no big issue with that. A video I watched stated that if you ran some in the bore and let it soak, the lead would be easy to remove. Another forum member stated this also. I use plated bullets for many applications. Have loaded some coated 9's, but have not shot any yet. Bob
Don't think I will waste my money on it!

The usual 50/50 mix of white vinegar and hydrogen peroxide creates peracetic acid.

Made up with your usual grocery store vinegar and peroxide you have a pretty benign and handy disinfectant and cleaner. It is an oxidizer and will attack metals (including stainless steel) if left on for long periods. It will attack the areas with no oxidized "skin" first. Like the threads of your comp...

It dissolves lead. This where it gets nasty. Soak a leaded comp in the solution and you'll see a precipitate form. That's lead acetate. It's nasty because lead acetate is VERY easily absorbed thru your skin putting lead into your body so be carefull.

Just look up Peracetic Acid.

I was using it to clean my comps but since I started regularly spraying them with PAM (yes the stuff you spray on your pan when cooking) I haven't needed to.

And speaking of damaging the blueing on guns...... the SLIP 2000 page for carbon killer now includes a warning that it is only for cleaning internal parts as it may "damage and even remove some finishes".

Interesting, I don't remember that from when I used it some years back. Maybe they changed the formula as the original stuff I tried did not work at all on burned carbon (?)

https://www.slip2000.com/

The bottle I have (and wasn't impressed by) is the current stuff with the warning.

I think they found out that it attacks some of the newer gun finishes, especially some of the paint types.

I have found that Slip 2000 Carbon Killer does work very well on AK gas blocks, gas pistons heads, and AK-74 muzzle brakes.
It also works well on AR bolt carriers and gas keys, and on the "tail" of bolts.
I intend to try some of the other brands and see how well they work.
A lot of people report good results using automotive carbon cleaners but I'm leery of using them on gun finishes.