I have two stainless 4" model 64-5s with significant barrel leading discovered on cleaning after the last range outing.
I've been using the old-fashioned elbow grease method with the available cleaners I have which claim to remove barrel leading with minimal success.
I am looking for a product/method which is "more aggressive" without having to scrub until next Christmas, but not damaging to the exterior stainless finishof the revolvers.
I can't find any information regarding use of mercury for lead removal (I know an older shooter who has some) but not clear on disposal methods for this dangerous product.
Someone also suggested firing some +P JHP rounds and problem will be resolved.
Any suggestions?
Echo47

For me the best and fastest is a Lewis Lead Remover. I've been using them since the '70s. Available at Brownells. Buy one kit and then adapter kit(s) for other calibers.

The Lewis Lead Remover is an indispensable tool for .38 Special, .45 ACP & .45 Colt. Works quickly, efficiently, cheaply and won't harm your gun when used properly. Sold by Brownell's.

Back in the day, using mercury as a lead remover was pretty straightforward: plug one end of the barrel (beeswax worked well), fill the barrel with mercury and plug the other end. Let the barrel sit for a while, then pour the mercury back into the bottle to be used next time. A few passes with a bronze brush and the lead is gone.

That was before folks knew or worried about the dangers of using mercury of course.

Disposal wasn’t an issue: the mercury got reused.

All I'll say about the mercury method is that it is regulated as a hazardous material for a reason, and the traces left behind in the barrel will be spewed out the first few rounds you shoot afterwards.

Get a Lewis Lead Remover, or get some Chore Boy (all copper) pads and use a few strands from one wrapped around a regular cleaning brush to scrub it out of the bore.

I was out of screens for my LLR some years back so I tried some copper chore boy wrapped around an old brush.Thats all I use now-fast and easy

The very best method is mercury, referred to a few posts up. That being said it is very dangerous and not nearly as cheap as it used to be. It will, however, take the bore right down to the steel. Like others above I have had very good luck with the Lewis Lead Removal tool. Cheap, effective, easy to use.

I have a method that works for me, I do a regular cleaning with Hoppes and a brass brush, usually to get the bulk of the lead and the easy stuff. I then use liberal (excuse the Liberal word) amount of canola oil, yep the one you have in the Kitchen. I let a rag soaked in it sit in the barrel for a few hours or over night. The next day the lead and fouling comes out in chunks. You can use the left over oil for frying(just kidding).Experts say Fire Clean was just canola oil and that stuff was $18 an ounce.

There are also lead removal cloth products for stainless. I had a similar problem and after the LLR quit removing stuff, cutting bore patches of that stuff worked very well.

When you're down to just a wee bit in the angles of the rifling, jacketed bullets work well.

The 50/50 mix of hydrogen peroxide and white vinegar method works well for me. Really heavy leading may take several applications.

That canola oil method sounds interesting. I'll have to try it.

Birchwood Casey lead remover cloth, a patch on a very tight jag or brush works pretty well. WipeOut cleaner solvent helps.

Isn't that hard on the blueing - or ar you only doing this with stainless guns?
Seems like I've read of people stripping blued guns for refinishing using vinegar....

I still use Mercury and have about two (liquid) ounces of it I use for de-leading barrels. I use great caution to avoid spills, and always outside. It is not nearly as hazardous as it is made out to be, so long as you take care to not spill any. For years, I worked around great quantities of it every day without any ill effects. The main problem today is finding any of it, but it can still be had.

Brass wool wrapped around an old bore brush and a little CLP has always worked well for me.

Not cheap, but definitely effective and usable on blued or stainless guns: Outer's Foul Out III. Equally good at removing copper fouling (with the appropriate solution).

Lewis Lead Remover....it will do it !

Second best is bore brush, wrapped with #000 or #0000 steel wool , with plenty of Ed's Red Bore Cleaner....a smearing of JB Bore Paste also helps get the lead out !

Copper wool very aggressive on leading. Amazingly so. You'll ask yourself, "How does it do that?"

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I've still got it made.

Apart from mercury I have tried all the above mentioned methods and have the Foul Out to be the most effective. I found an original Foul Out and a Foul Out II on ebay with a couple gallons of solutions - lead and copper.

I used the LLR and Copper Chore Boy and then followed it with the Foul Out and it still pulled lead out of the barrel. Whether or not this remaining lead was problematical I can't say, but it was there after the LLR and Chore Boy.
However it's not fast.

I think I'll stick with my Lewis lead remover, the mercury thing sounds a little to hazardous.

Go to the nearest Walmart / Ace Hdwe and buy " Chore Boy " the pure copper scouring pads . Cut a piece about the size of your thumb , or a bit bigger . Wrap it around an old bore brush for that caliber and start scrubbing . The lead will be gone in a couple of minutes . Copper is much softer than the barrel so no harm to the barrel . Regards, Paul

Any copper wool/pad will do. I couldn't find Chore Boy locally, so I bought 'O cedar Copper Scrubbers.' Works fine.

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I've still got it made.

i just picked up an old Winchester model 90 in 22LR caliber that's heavily leaded. Any recommendations for dealing with this specific case?
Jim

I learned this in basic training from an old hand. Use a copper or bronze bore brush, dip in Hoppes, and scrub in short fast strokes (I mean like 1/2” inch, enter from the muzzle, of course) and work your way starting from the cone to the muzzle. The lead will come completely off in many flakes. Easy as you please.

When looking to buy copper scouring pads , just make sure it says , " 100 % copper " . Many off brands are actually steel coated with copper .

Chore Boy's can be hard to find, depending on how many
crackheads are in your neighborhood.

Anyone try aluminum window screen?

Interesting technique!

Dollar stores have $1 cans of canola oil cooking spray...put one of your old nozzles/wands (you save em, right??) and go to town!

The FireClean guys filed suit over the allegations. The guys who
did the spectroscopy--comparing FC with various household
cooking oils--showed the judge their findings, and the case was
dismissed.

I've never had that problem. But I've heard that comment too, and if some spills I wipe the spill off immediately.

Given a little time Kroil will work its way under the leading and can be removed using a brass bore brush.

I read about using peroxide and white vinegar while searching for an efficient way to clean rimfire suppressors. The result, if I recall correctly, of the mixture interacting with lead is the creation of lead acetate; a poisonous substance that is easily absorbed through the skin or through breathing the vapors. That admonishment dissuaded me from trying the process.

The canola oil sounds much less hazardous.

I tried the Lewis lead remover and found it to work ok, but felt like it was more trouble than it was worth. I use the stainless steel bore brushes that they sell at gun shows. I found them to work better than anything else. Pick a brush that fits your bore without being too tight and just run it back and forth. The lead will just flake out. Use a slightly larger brush to clean the forcing cone and chambers. These brushes are stiffer than bronze but a mild steel much softer than barrel steel.

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Billy
Gunsmith, M/C mechanic

Rub steel with more steel? NO!!!!!!!

Saying the steel is softer than barrel steel (which probably isn't true, especially in the case of stainless barrels) is like saying using 500 grit sandpaper is OK because it's softer than 100 grit. Water is 'soft' too, yet over time it created the Grand Canyon.

Do your guns a favor and throw those brushes away. And if you ever decide to sell any of your guns here, please remind me you cleaned them with stainless so I won't even be tempted.

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So many S&W's, so few funds!!

^^^ Yup. What he said. I am continually amazed at the mis-treatment done to guns. Mercury, vinegar, steel bore brushes, steel wool, bore paste....

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Well, the OP asked about aggressive cleaning methods for removing lead and these answers fit that request.

True dat...

I would bet a long bit chucked in a power drill would clean 'er right out, too.

Aggressive shouldn't equal destructive but technically, I guess you're right.

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So many S&W's, so few funds!!

That’s ok for chambers on a revolver but never on a rifled barrel.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but years of using those brushes has done no damage to my bores. That is barrels made of stainless steel and carbon steel. The mild stainless steel they are made from is much softer than barrel steel. You can make faces all you want but it doesn't change the facts.

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Billy
Gunsmith, M/C mechanic

You're not bursting my bubble. I am a retired journeyman die maker who worked with all kinds of steel, copper, bronze and aluminum and also have a degree that included metallurgy classes. So I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree.

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So many S&W's, so few funds!!

Just kiddin'.

My boys discovered the joy of using the Lewis Lead Remover after they put 100 cast SWCs through my Model 629. The LLR also has an attachment that cleans the forcing cone. I highly recommend it.

Lewis Lead Remover. Safe, easy to use. Been around for years. Very cost effective. Get one and you will never look back.

I was taught this method during a few weeks spent on a casual assignment at the Fort Benning, Georgia, post armory cleaning all sorts of weapons heavily used in training, frequently with bores heavily fouled by jacketed bullets. Works perfectly well for leading removal.

Use a worn bore brush of proper size wrapped with strands of 0000 steel wool, run it through the bore dry multiple times until rifling appears to be clearly defined. Then clean normally using bore cleaning solvent, good bore brush, and patches.

In the 48 years since that experience I have used this method on dozens of firearms (pistols, rifles, revolvers, shotguns), and all have been completely cleared of lead deposits within a few minutes. In my revolvers I have adapted a variation for cleaning cylinder chambers with leading at the forcing cones, just chuck a section of cleaning rod with steel wool wrapped bore brush into a drill, insert and give each chamber a brief treatment. Leading on cylinder faces and around barrel/frame attachment can be scrubbed off with hand-held steel wool.

No damage to rifling, bore, or revolver finish. My 6" Model 19 went through several seasons of PPC competition using lead bullets, has been cleaned in this manner dozens and dozens of times, and still performs perfectly after 43 continuous years of use and tens of thousands of rounds fired.

Tom, I don't want to get into a pissing match with you. You are a moderator and I don't want to get thrown off this forum. At the same time I don't want to be talked down to. You are not the only one here with credentials.

I have spent many years dealing with and studying metallurgy. I started building racing motorcycles in the late '60s before going into the Army and in the mid '70s went to gunsmith school at the Colorado School of Trades on the GI bill. That was over 2000 hours of study and hands on training with some very knowledgeable people. And part of that study was metallurgy. I have since spent many years gunsmithing and building race bikes, machining parts, soldering, welding and dealing with many different types of metal.

You are right we will have to agree to disagree. No hard feelings.

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Billy
Gunsmith, M/C mechanic

Wouldn't you be concerned about tiny particles of the 0000 steel wool becoming imbedded in the stainless steel barrel of the OP's revolver? Isn't stainless softer than the steel in steel wool?

No. Steel wool is not "harder" than either the carbon steel or stainless steels used in firearms. It is significantly harder than lead, so it easily cuts through and removes leading deposits. It will also remove fouling from jacketed bullets, which can be a serious problem with some types of ammunition.

0000-grade steel wool can also be used to remove minor surface rust on blued steel firearms or for cleaning up exterior surfaces of stainless steel firearms. It will not damage bluing and it will not scratch or scour stainless surfaces. I suppose that a person could over-do things by hard scrubbing, but light to moderate pressure has never caused any damaging effects in my experience.

I've used this method in handguns, and the "Chore Boy around a brush method" for my cast-bullet-only rifles.