I made a rookie mistake that I wanted to share so that others do not make the same error. I have used Hoppe's No. 9 for 50+ years, and it's an excellent bore solvent. My standard routine would be to clean my guns and then wipe them down and add a little gun oil before putting them away. However, in the past 10 years, I think that Hoppe's must have changed their formula a little. When going through my safe recently, I found a couple of handguns that I haven't shot in quite a while (a stainless SW1911, a nickel 19-4, and a blued Model 29-2) that were "stuck". The slide wouldn't slide, the cylinder wouldn't swing open, and the hammer locked up. I realized that I had cleaned them with Hoppe's No. 9, but didn't apply a CLP to them before putting them away. Over time, apparently the No. 9 had literally solidified and gummed up the works. I did finally get the handguns apart, sprayed them down with CLP, and they are all functioning flawlessly. Although Hoppe's claims that No. 9 cleans, preserves, and protects firearms...I'm not so sure! It's still my go to bore solvent, but I'll be sure to use a good quality CLP.

Interesting experience that somewhat matches my early use of CLP. I had been in the habit of cleaning as you describe; Hoppe's followed by lube. Then a gunsmith friend introduced my to Breakfree CLP, and I immediately changed my gameplan, cleaning with the CLP, then wiping away the excess and I was ready to go with a properly lubricated gun. Then came the fateful day when I, for some long-forgotten reason, cleaned a bunch of guns with Hoppe's again. Recent practice, though, caused me to put them away without adding lube, and eventually I was pulling guns out of the safe that were...umm, somewhat sluggish at least, and a few were locked up tight.

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Ain't This Fun Though?

That is very interesting information. I don’t consider your experience as a “rookie mistake”. There are lots of products on the market that make claims about performance. Most do not publish unbiased, independent analysis testing of their products.

I also have used Hoppe’s No. 9 for 50+ years. In the past, I did not experience any issues regarding gumming up the actions, or any rust on the firearms I cleaned with Hoppe’s No. 9 after prolonged storage. I have not lived in a high humidity State.

After getting heavily involved in frequent shooting (about once a month at the range), I did some research on firearm cleaners and lubricants. The Project Farm YouTuber did an excellent comparison about 3 years ago. After viewing that video I decided to only use Hoppe’s No. 9 for “cleaning” and use Clenzoil for the “lubrication”.

Obviously there are lots of options and choices for firearm cleaning and lubrication products.

Good to know as the Hoppes No.9 that I am now using is the newer stuff. My old bottle of No.9 was from the 1960's or 70's. I know the newer stuff does not smell quite the same as the older formula and the formula has changed over the years so as to eliminate the nitro-benzine.

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VCDL, GOA, NRA

Right. Hoppe's #9 is a fine bore cleaner and copper remover. And surprisingly (from the huge cleaner/lube testing) it is a decent rust protectant on blued guns.
What Hoppe's #9 DOESN'T do well is play well with others. I bought some Tetra Lube gun grease, and used it on my guns and my dad's after cleaning with Hoppe's #9. I cleaned mine often, but my dad didn't use his guns for a while. The Hoppe's #9 and Tetra Lube grease created contact cement. An extremely sticky orange glue. It was almost impossible to open two of his guns. We ended up soaking those two in CLP for a while, and eventually got them cleaned out and working.
Also, depending on how a gun is nickel plated, Hoppe's can cause nickel to flake or discolor. I searched online extensively, and could only find one cleaner and lube listed as safe for nickel....BreakFree CLP. I know, some use Hoppe's #9 on nickel and say "Mine are just fine" but use it on nickel at your peril.
Since BreakFree CLP is a pretty good cleaner and a mid-level rust preventative, I settled on BreakFree CLP for handgun cleaning. For rifle bore cleaning Hoppe's #9 is great as long as you don't mix it with other cleaners/lubes.
Hope this helps someone. God Bless, Marc

I've used Hoppe's #9 since the '60s as a cleaning solvent only. I thought (maybe mistakenly?) that was it's intended purpose, certainly not as a preservative or lubricant. Regardless, it's always worked well for me as a cleaning solvent.

As for a lubricant, a CLP will work, but so will just about any oil. I've cleaned guns with CLPs a long time ago; they don't really work as well as a true solvent, but they're better than nothing. As a preservative, a CLP will probably do the job, but again, so will just about any oil.

Duly noted. Of course, one does what one needs to do with what one has: I remember one humid Indiana afternoon between junior and senior years in college using 10W30 oil on the outside of my 439 after noticing perspiration was rusting the slide when I was mowing the grass of the gas station at which I worked - that's all that was in the back room.

Except for on my ARs, I personally avoid CLPs and use various appropriate solvents, lubes (I have quite a variety of lubes and a few different solvents) and protectants (only have a couple) as needed.

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How God has blessed us!

You might cite your personal experience with Hoppe's #9 on nickel finishes. Different debate and different thread that's been covered many times, but briefly, Hoppe's #9 will do no harm to a nickel finish. I don't soak guns in Hoppe's (or anything else), but I've used it on a variety of nickel-finished guns (mostly S&W revolvers) for more than fifty years without any degradation of finish. If you use Hoppe's #9 or other solvents on a nickel finish that is that is already "broken" or flaking, that may be a different story.

Didn't think #9 was recommended for stainless or nickel?

Have been using hoppes #9 since 12 years old (56 years, but who's counting). It helps to clean it all off or it keeps working on anything ya missed and runs down hill and collects. Same with some oils.

And have never seen it hurt the stainless guns have used it on.

Read the Hoppe's #9 label. Cleaning nickel finishes and bores is fine, but don't soak your gun in it, as mentioned in an earlier post. Hard to imagine a need to soak any gun in anything, but there may be exceptions.

Same here. I clean my pistol thoroughly with #9, lube it with Hoppes Gun Oil, and wipe the pistol with a silicon cloth. Been doing that for decades with no issues, definitely nothing getting gummed up.

#9 is a cleaner, not a wonder all in 1 product. I don't believe it's advertised to be that.

I'm down to MPro7 as my main cleaner, Mobil1 synthetic as my main lube, and a silicone cloth as my main protectant.

Now that I have a small ultrasonic cleaner, I've been experimenting more and more. Initially it was for suppressor baffles, but I've branched out into small gun parts. AR and AK bolts are easy, but eventually I'm sure I'll try a S&W cylinder soaked in cleaner to see how it goes.

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Psalm 27:2

Synthetic motor oil in a low viscosity grade is as good as, if not better than, any CLP for gun use. And is far less expensive than all those Snake Oils on the market.

Am partial to Mobile 1

Rem Oil is the only thing that I use on all my handguns for the past 8 years with no problems ever showing up.......

Remington Rem Oil 1 Oz. Bottle
– Texas Fowlers

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Hipcocked & Locked

As I have stated before, light household lube oils such as 3 in 1 and similar (such as Rem Oil) work very well as bore cleaners, in addition to lubrication. Nothing else is needed.

I've used Hoppes #9 for years .It works well for removing powder and lead fouling in rimfires.
Never thought of it as a preservative or for storage . I always clean and then use a light coat of oil before putting my any of my firearms away.

Hoppes' did change their formula - back in the early 90's if I remember correctly, to remove some chemical that probably caused cancer in California Lab Rats. Not to mention the addictive aroma. The "new" formula works OK, but the old formula seemed to work better at removing lead. I guess they didn't want to name it Hoppes #10.

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

I think the nitrobenzine, or whatever it was, was eliminated long before the 1990s. It seems the only difference was that the original Hoppe's #9 had some (minimal) copper removing value while the current Hoppe's doesn't. It still remains an effective solvent. If you need to remove copper fouling, there are several good products available. Some work fast, some work slow, but they'll all get the job done.

As a kid in the 60's I was taught to clean my guns using Dad's cleaning kit. You know the one, it probably came from Sears or Western Auto and was in a metal case.

Hoppes was used to clean the bore, cylinder and action and "gun oil" was used afterwards to protect everything from rust.

I've never varied from that regiment much at all. I mean I've tried the CLP (clean,lube,protect) products over the last 60 years, but I don't change my regiment much.

The cleaning solution is for cleaning and the oil is used for lubrication and rust prevention. I've never had a problem with that process.

Copper fouling is best removed by using a product made for that specific purpose. I use Shooter’s Choice Copper Remover. There are others.

Shooter's Choice is one of the slow ones (overnight is best if you have significant copper fouling to remove) but it works well. It's been around much longer longer than many others in today's market.

Copper is easiest to remove with solvents that contain ammonia. Sweet's 7.62 contains a lot, and I do mean a whole lot, of ammonia. So much that one is advised to not let it sit in the bore too long as it will also absorb moisture and start to rust the bore, even chrome lined bores can be damaged, but it removes copper like no other solvent.

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VCDL, GOA, NRA

I've tried most of them over many years; my list includes Sweet's. It certainly works. The fastest and most effective I've found has been Wipe-Out Patch-Out used along with Wipe-Out Accelerator. Montana X-treme Copper Killer isn't far behind. There are many others, they're just slower.

The Shooters Choice copper remover’s instructions warn against letting it stand in the bore. I would guess that household aqueous ammonia solution alone might work, but I have no intention of using it. I believe the commercial copper removers use various ammonium salts instead of aqueous ammonia. There are claims that concentrated aqueous ammonia (10%) with a little dishwashing detergent does a good job of copper fouling removal. Some interesting observations on bore cleaners and copper removers. Gun Cleaning Product Tests

The hoppes 9 bought couple yrs ago does have blue on the patches, especially if you let it soak overnight. Does it effectively remove copper is another story.

I also avoid the CLP products, but I do keep a little of it on hand for trying to clean Titanium cylinders.

I have an array of cleaners and solvents but the three I use most are mineral spirits, Hoppe’s, and Bore-tech copper remover. To protect, I like to dry the external surfaces and use Sheath/Barricade.

Lubricating, cleaning, and protecting are separate functions in my thinking. I’m not fond of the one-does-all theory.

I started to type pretty much the same thing. I get blue patches with standard Hoppes 9, so I assume it is removing copper. I also have some Hoppe 9 Copper Remover which seems to remove it a bit faster.

In one of my CWP classes a student showed up with a NIB semi-auto.....It would NOT run........I pulled the dipstick out of my truck and "lubed" his gun with the oil dripping off the end....Gun ran fine after that.
If you go back in the Browning archives....OL John reccommeded cleaning with diesel and lubing with motor oil.
Search the formula for "Ed's Red"......A great gun oil/lube......made with ATF.
The SMELL of the old HOPPES would make a great scented candle.

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S&W Accumulator

I used Hoppe's #9 in the '40s,'50s, and '60s. But after they changed their formula I only still use it as cologne.

Cloward pre-64 243 custom for sale....unfired.

I have a friend that wipe down his guns with Ed's Red, but I never would do to the acetone potentially damaging some wood finishes. I do use it for cleaning shotgun bores though.

I've used a lot of Ed's Red and find it to be the equivalent of Hoppe's #9 as a bore cleaner. I've never had a problem with the acetone, but I don't wipe down stocks with it.

I bought a bottle a couple years ago that was “synthetic blend”. Bought by mistake as it looked very similar on the bottle. I didn’t like it at all. It felt sticky if I recall. I never used that bottle again and always made sure to get the original bottle since then. Not the product I was used to for sure.

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Bobby SWCA #4067
SWHF #1144

For what its worth I clean with Hoppe's #9 (all blued steel guns0 and wipe them down after cleaning without any oil, been doing this for 40 plus years and no rust or problems. I do think where you live makes a difference I am in CA with very mild weather and shoot almost exclusively at the range. I do use gun oil on the bushing and barrel mating surfaces of my 1911

I use Hoppes for bore and cylinders and Ballistol for cleaning and protecting.
Maybe a little Hoppes oil for inside

I don't worry about it when using it as a bore cleaner like you do, but using it as an oil on the metal, I'd think some would have to get on the wood.

Ed's Red or Hoppe's #9 is "not an oil on the metal", at least for me. I wipe down the metal with a lightly oiled (whatever oil is handy) soft cotton cloth. There's a difference between a solvent and an oil.

Hoppes #9 isn't a CLP, it's a bore cleaner.

Hoppes BoreSnake Oil CLP is their version of a CLP.

Yes, I'm nearly certain I still have this same kit. Mine is around 55 years old.

After I clean with Hoppes 9 I oil the gun.

AND This bears repeating. DO NOT use Hoppes 9 or any other solvent that has ammonia in it's formula because the newer blued finishes that they started using a few years ago will turn plum colored. So at the range instead of people admiring the blued finish they will be telling you how your plum gun matches your handbag.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

Advertising works. People will buy what is claimed to be the goodest and bestest. People will pay ridiculous prices for tiny bottles of stuff that some gun mag writer is pushing to increase advertiser revenues.

A number of the popular products in recent years are little more than canola oil with a variety of colorants and scents added. Basically the same stuff you might have in your kitchen cabinet, about $2 per quart at the grocery store but several dollars per ounce with a big advertiser's name on it. By the way, canola oil is a trade reference to the vegetable oil harvested from seeds of the rape plant; apparently the advertising folks figured out they might have problems selling "rape oil" in modern North America.

All of this stuff comes from chemical companies in various formulations for different uses and industrial applications. Whatever works for you is probably just what you need.

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Life of the party until 8:00PM

Hoppes No.9 is still my go-to, general purpose firearms cleaning solution and likely will be for years to come since I bought it in the big, 32 ounce bottle. My standard practice has always been to use it as a solvent, a cleaning agent, one that is wiped off, then oil or wax applied to prevent corrosion.

I'm not worried about it changing the color of the bluing on any of my blued firearms as mine were made well before 2000, when S&W went to it's current, EPA friendly oxide finish. Not worried about it on my nickel plated S&W either as S&W plated directly to the steel, no copper intermediate layer to worry about dissolving.

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VCDL, GOA, NRA