I remember hearing a while back that liquid mercury can be used to remove lead from a gun barrel. I found a 1lb bottle of dental grade liquid mercury at my grandfathers place and it is unopened. I am aware of the hazards of it and have made preparations for safe use. but can someone explain to me how it works? also how many times could I use the same mercury? or should i just have it properly disposed of and use an alternate method. I have heard it works wonders though hate to just get rid of it

Mercury really is an easy way to remove lead from chambers and bores. However, it does present a health hazard, and should not be kept in a household with young children. You should make every effort to prevent spills. Working over a large flat tray is a good idea. Do not use cookware.

Plug the end of the barrel with a rubber or cork plug and arrange for some way to hold the barrel vertical while the mercury is doing it's work. Pour the mercury into the barrel unto it is full. Let stand overnight. Pour the mercury out and put it back into it's container.

The mercury amalgamates with the lead and makes it easy to wipe out with a swab. Used this way, the mercury is almost infinitely reusable.

awesome. I am working on machining a bench mount revolver bracket for this purpose. I am also making a barrel plug with a release valve to empty it into a funnel. I am just in the sketching and measuring phase at the moment but when i am done i will post about it.

it should be relatively safe.

also there are never children in my home so that wont be an issue.

>it should be relatively safe.

Not as safe as working up a proper cast bullet load that leaves no more lead than can be brushed out with a dry bronze brush...

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Pisgah

unfortunately I haven't started reloading my own bullets yet. i will be doing that full force in about 8 months hopefully..... from the research i have been doing the initial investment isn't as low as i had hoped. but in the meantime the bullets my friend loads for me are fairly soft, but so far very accurate.

There are a number of brass patch methods that are quick and effective
I use a Lewis Lead Remover. All it does is drag a brass patch through the bore. Quick, effective and cheap
No need for mercury

I’ve heard of mercury accidentally getting spilled on carpet and causing strange health problems for years.
Not strange health problems if you’re familiar with mercury poisoning

A pound will last the rest of your life. Since Mercury does not give off vapors, unless heated quite hot, the hazard is by absorption through the skin, or contaminated dietary sources. So long as you don't indiscriminately allow it to contact your skin there will be no problems.

Using it is even simpler than JT describes. After degreasing the bore (actually the Lead is what has to be clean) run a sharp, new, clean bronze bore brush through the bore a couple of passes to abrade the surface of the Lead and expose it well. Either wearing nitrile gloves, or using a piece of tape, seal the breech end of the barrel, pour it about 1/3 to 1/2 full with the Mercury, seal the muzzle, then rock the barrel back and forth a few times to be sure the entire surface is wetted, then pour the Mercury back into the bottle. Let the gun sit an hour or so then wipe it carefully with a dry patch. This will remove all the Lead probably, if not re-apply. There is no reason to fill the barrel and let it sit over-night.

The process uses 2-3 drops of Mercury, and most of what sticks to the Lead can be recovered if you are careful. The reason I say to use a tight patch instead of a bronze brush is two-fold. First, a brush will cause the small amount of Mercury in the bore, which is still liquid, to spatter. You will end up with hundreds of tiny globules all over the place. This is far better controlled by using a patch. Second, the Mercury will amalgamate with the bronze and make it brittle. Next time it is used you could lose a bunch of its bristles.

How long will a pound last? I have been using the same less than 1 ounce for the past 25 years without having to replenish the vial it is kept in. Maybe 1/2 of it has been used up! You will find a gray scum forms on the surface, simply use a Q-Tip to skim this scum off, it is Lead and Mercuric Oxide. This amount was given to me. I did buy a pound from Chem-Lab shortly after, but, as I recall, I have never used any of it!

Overall you use about the same amount of Mercury as contained in a standard fluorescent tube. No one ever seemed concerned about a haz-mat cleanup when you broke one of these, or made a big deal about simply putting the remains out in the trash! Admittedly it probably isn't a good idea to let children play with Mercury, as most of over 50 have done at some time in our life, but otherwise it isn't the great hazard it is made out to be.

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Gunsmithing since 1961

I do not doubt the effectiveness of cleaning a gun with Mercury, I simply can not justify the dangers of using mercury when there are perfectly safe products to do so with. Mercury is very poisonous and just not worth the risk IMHO. Eventually, a spill will occur and you will wind up with the poisonous substance all over the place. May have been viable 100 years ago, but IMHO it's NUTS to use it today. Just my .02 cents.................

Chief38

The attitude regarding Mercury in recent years is to regard it as akin to high yield plutonium when a spill happens. I agree with the post advising against it, there are just too many safer methods available. I've found by simply shooting some jacketed bullets alot of the lead will be removed allowing for easier cleanup. After the jacketed, get one of the 'lead away' cloths and cut it into patches and run those thru the barrel.
I have old books that recommend Mercury, but I've also got modern ones that discount that method and warn against it.
As an example, recently in my area some High School kids got ahold of a bottle of Mercury, played with it at school (like all us old timer used to do...wow! it rolls around in your hand like a little silver ball!), split it up and took it home, where they promptly spilled it in their houses.
I read in the paper here that one house alone was going to cost $55,000 to clean and decontaminate.
Hardly worth it to get some lead out.
What are you going to do with the used Mercury afterwards? Please, just look at that method as a relic of a bygone era and forget about it.
In searching around my Grandfathers garage after his passing I found a whole can of DDT, instructions said it worked great for cockroaches, just spray it in your cabinets. Got bedbugs? Why just spray your mattress, viola, no bedbugs. Pesky Bald Eagles snagging fish out of your pond? Why a liberal application will eventually take care of those...This last was a JOKE, the can didn't say that, but it did say for headlice to use as an ointment.
That was the attitude back then with things like that, Ignorance was bliss. Not now, we know better.
Don't mean to Nag, that's my Wifes job, but think it thru, please.
RD

PS. I tryed to find the article on the incident in Chattanooga but could not, here is one from another state, check out the dollar amount involved in this:

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news...-112956-3514r/

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Got a Phd from Hard Knocks U

Mercury will evaporate at room temperature, which means that you will be breathing it and it will be absorbed into your bloodstream and body tissue.

All the negative hype about mercury is for real and people still die from mercury poisoning

Well i left the decision up to my wife..... as a result i will be returning the bottle back to my grandfather my wife told me she will personally buy all the needed supply's to clean the lead out as long as i promise her i will not use the mercury. to me that sounds fair

thank you all for the information i really appreciate it.

I'm afraid that like many things, the hype greatly exceeds the reality. I'm thinking that as a youngster, if I hadn't played with mercury so much, I'd be really smart today. Probably rich and good looking, too. Oh well.

We're told that by law, we're soon going to be introducing the dreaded CFL lights into every home. I've also heard horror stories that if you so much as break a single bulb, your home will be uninhabitable. Whoops, I did that, too. Oh well.

I'm afraid we've given the scare mongers way too much power. They've taken it and ran with it. Back in my youth a transformer on a power pole exploded and burned. Sprayed the guy's yard across the road with flaming oil. PCB contaminated oil. I don't recall the power company coming in and excavating the yard to a depth of 5', then replacing it with clean dirt (?). It didn't make anyone I saw around there grow an extra arm or leg.

If using mercury appeals to you, its probably best to use a little common sense. If we have any, that is. Probably best not to do it indoors. Also probably best to brush out the barrel outside, too. Of course that will mean your back yard will become a brownfield. But since there will be no visible traces, no one will ever know. Just set up a stand and if you want to let it soak for a while, do that outdoors, too. Then pour the mercury out of the barrel while still outside. Then the brushing so anything the brush removes stays out there. The caution against bronze brush is probably well taken. Use a stainless steel brush, don't over do the brushing part. Might even be wise to remove your clothes right after you finish. If you're really a nerd about it, take them down to the laundromat! Then someone else can contaminate their clothes in the next usage or two!

Almost everyone's methods here will work to some extent. A little better alloy of lead (its also dangerous, just ask the EPA.) A better or different compound of bullet lube. Play with your velocities to lead less. Fire a few cylinders of jacketed bullets when you're done with lead for the day. Brushing out the lead, not waiting until it accumulates or starts to oxidize. Use the Lead-a-way cloth, or the lead remover (the little rubber stoppers in the kit are also the right size to plug the barrel for using mercury.) Or the dreaded mercury method, the one we all used on quarters when we were kids.

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Dick Burg

rburg - I see your side of the coin as well, be it cleaned by mercury or not (pun intended), sometimes the 'chicken littles' get too much of a voice and that does seem to be running us down the road to universal pussification.
Sometimes not tho, remember 'Jarts' or 'Yard Darts'? Fun for the whole family, tossing great heavy darts around the yard untill someone (like me) gets to playing chicken with his friends.
My little toe on my right foot still shows the after effects of that little game, even after 43 years.
Taking those off the market was not a bad idea.
We all had way much more freedom to screw ourselves up in the 'old days', we used to buy M80's from the guy down the street, real ones not the fizz-pops now, luckily we all grew old with all our fingers still attached.
I see alot of sense in some of the hand wringing, but as you said much is hyped up way out of proportion. We're kinda stuck with it, sadly.
RD

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Got a Phd from Hard Knocks U

well don't tell my wife but i removed the lead from my friends 357 with it before i give it back. it worked great but...... when i ran a plastic bristle brush through I got a fine mercury mist that well scared me lol hype or not i don't want to chance getting any more in my system

and i never had lawn darts...... but when i was younger i did some really dumb things with my buddys and fireworks lol we are lucky there were no serious injuries

I got mercury poisoning as a kid playing with some from a gauge of some type,let me tell you it was no fun,fingers and other parts I had touched swelled for days and I was in pain for a week. Made poison ivy seem like nothing.A couple years ago ,I was having trouble sleeping,angry all the time,joint hurt like heck, We get routinely tested for lead wasnt that,so had a heavy metals test at my DR. ,.18 parts per decaliter or something like that mercury again.Got over it .was in some stuff at work.With solvents available today leave that stuff alone,your just asking for trouble.

Does anybody know where you can purchase mercury these days? When I look online all I seem to find is Gallium under the heading of mercury; are they the same thing and will they dork the same removing lead? I wan to use it to clean my .357 cylinders of lead from firing 38's through it; that lead is hard to get rid of.

Mercury vapor is a significant inhalation hazard . . .

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Wisdom comes thru fear . . .

..... and a good way to turn your home into an unsellable toxic waste site.

Yea but that doesn't answer my question; does anybody know where to purchase it? The alleged risks are on me, I promise I wont hold you responsible. LOL

Get some copper chore boy,wrap it around a brass brush and it will clean out those chambers in a few minutes.

How hot to you have to make mercury before it gives of a deadly vapor? I', just going to pore in in my .357 cylinder and get ALL the lead out and never use it to for .38's again. I have used chemicals in the past and still have trouble cambering a .357; I want to clean it with mercury.

Does anybody know where you can purchase mercury?

Knock your socks off, buddy. I hear DDT is an incredibly awesome insecticide . . .

(I can't help myself with this, but given your post, you have have already hit your mercury limit for the year . . . )

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Wisdom comes thru fear . . .

LMAO.................................

You might have some luck with chemical supply houses..or not. As around and likely as not, someone will have a quantity. I knew a guy up in Indiana who had a jug of it. He wanted to sell it for big bucks. Failing that, think if any of your friends are HVAC guys. Thermostats of old had one or two little glass tubes of it. When the bimetallic spring turned the mercury made contact with 2 electrodes, turning on or off the furnace or air conditioner. Boilers had much more robust contacts. I've still got a few of those I've scavenged with more lined up when we scrap the boilers.

We built a new house 6 years ago. First year, I broke a CFL bulb by door. It should render the whole place uninhabitable. I did nothing but toss out the remains. Yes, in the trash for weekly pickup. Didn't see any little beads running across the tile. My opinion is if you're that nervous, you should never approach a CFL, much have one in your home.

I would guess the lead salts in your primers are a lot worse than the mercury or metallic lead in ammo or cleaning it.

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Dick Burg

Mercury in liquid form is just not that hazardous given reasonable care. Over 50 years ago, I had a job that involved actually wading (really!) in liquid Mercury, and I did it for over two years without any health problems, even though I had essentially constant daily exposure. Liquid Mercury is not hazardous, but exposure to Mercury vapors, and ingestion of soluble Mercury salts is. At room temperature, vaporization of liquid Mercury is vanishingly small, so vapor exposure is no consideration at all. And there is no absorption through skin. Nonetheless, one must be extremely careful in using it to avoid spills. I have a small plastic bottle with perhaps 3 ounces (liquid measure, not weight) of Mercury I occasionally use for lead removal. I always use it outside, never inside, and always provide containment against any possible spillage during use. I have no idea where someone finds Mercury today. I've had my little bottle for many, many years, and keep it stored carefully inside another sealed container. Nothing beats it for lead removal.

Unfortunately liquid mercury has a vapor pressure at room temperature (vapor pressure determines the RATE of evaporation, not the total amount which is determined by ventilation), and breathing in the vapors is very hazardous, causing mysterious symptoms and nerve damage. It should not be left open in a room without proper ventilation. Outside is a good idea.

As to buying mercury, it is a controlled metal, not sold to the public. We're lucky the EPA was turned down from putting lead into that category---so far.

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Science plus Art

It will work as described but is overkill. I shot up some lead bullet 9mm loads that would not feed in autos in my Ruger Blackhawk Convertible. Of course that leaded the barrel badly.

It took all of 15 minutes to get it out. Mercury is just not worth the risk. I used to use a Lewis Lead Remover but have found that running a few tight fitting patches with a brass jagged tip gets most of it, and a single patch cut from a lead remover cloth gets the rest. I still use the Lewis on the forcing cone sometimes,

My old man worked at a power plant, they had Mercury for replacement in instruments and switching gear. He woul plug
barrel with rubber plugs and fill barrel with Mercury, let set
and pour Mercury out into old tin pie pan, skim off dirt and
return to bottle. Did'nt affect any of us, my brother ain't to
bright, but can't be traced to Mercury. When we were kids at
school they had us "shine" silver dimes with Mercury, we all
handled it bare handed. The last I saw for sale was refills for
pressure gauges on the fans that ventilate mines. Military
ships use it in Barometers.

Mercury will dissolve lead. That is a fact. The harmful effects of mercury on human beings are also known. Mercury is also a hazardous material so disposal is very expensive and complicated. If one simply tosses it in the trash and it is traced back to you, it is a felony. There are lots of really good methods at lead removal and the Lewis lead remover is one of those.

Mercury barometers were phased out in aviation, National Weather Service, and the military over 20 years ago. I was the project officer for the USAF mercury-free electronic barometer still in use.

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Science plus Art

So if you just look at mercury you should proceed to gouge your eyes out with a spoon, followed by burning your house down then killing yourself, if possible get to outer space and have someone jettison you to the abyss to save all humanity.........that's how bad it is.

I carefully used the mercury treatment for lead removal for many years. Once I started using the Lee Liquid Alox lube, I never needed it. I don't have leading that isn't easily removed with a bore brush. And, I don't work for Lee.

No doubt mercury is toxic under certain conditions BUT then again as a children when getting a tooth filled the dentist would give us some mercury in a rinse cup to play with. They used it to make amalgam fillings from silver for our teeth. I'm 63 now and so far have had no known ill effects.

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Sceva
OGCA SWCA NRA

You have a smart wife and you are smart enough to listen and take her up on her offer! Good Luck!

Finally a couple of guys with a level head about this. I know it's by far the nest lead remover and I know it's hazard risk isn't near what people here say. I'd be inclined to say I'm amazed that people who shoot guns are so paranoid about mercury since as it is said here, shooting a gun indoors is far more hazards then a pool of mercury in front of you. I have ha dot laugh thinking maybe I'll glow in the dark or something if I get a bottle of mercury in my house.

Yea I'm going to make some phone calls and see what I can track down. Since it is such a good lead remover, I really thougutn someone here might know where to get it.

I shoot Penn Bullets exclusively and barrel leading isn't a problem at all; he has his own foundry and makes a quality hard cast bullet. But 38's through a 357 makes for a real mess cleaning up the cylinder for a 357 to fit in it again no matter how good your lead bullet is.

Like anything that is poisonous or toxic, different people have different levels of sensitivity to it. It can have a wide variety of health effects, mostly neurological.

Mercury gives off trace vapors at room temperatures. Trace amounts of mercury can also be absorbed through the skin (look it up). Most mercury gets into the body from being eaten - usually eating contaminated fish.

The trouble with mercury is that the body has no way to metabolize it so once it gets into the tissues for all practical intents and purposes, it is there for life. So it accumulates and over time, if you accumulate enough it can cause you some serious health issues.

This persistence in tissues is why fish end up with so much of it. If the water is polluted they absorb it and accumulate it in their bodies too. You eat them, you get the mercury they accumulated over their lifespan.

And yes, fluorescent bulbs have small amounts of mercury in them. But then so does just about every kind of bulb you can think of except for the simplest old fashioned incandescent bulbs. Fluorescent, Metal Halide, High Pressure Sodium, and of course Mercury Vapor bulbs ALL have small amounts of mercury in them. BUT those trace amounts are NOTHING compared to the amount of exposure you get from breathing vapors and skin contact from handling the liquid metal.

Mercury DOES work well as a lead removal tool, but as others have mentioned, it also carries some health risks if used improperly. AFAIK, Mercury Displacement Relays are still available and commonly used in some industrial heating applications. Because of the way they're designed, they tend to last almost forever, in hi-cyclic resistive applications. One mfg. still in the business is DuraKool. I'd think that 1 single-pole 40-50amp relay should contain enough liquid mercury for a lifetime of use for lead removel. Just sayin'..........

I remember as a child in grade school in the 60's, teachers would bring mercury to school and let us play with it. Great at cleaning dimes. Just nostalgia, not a recommendation.

Anecdotal evidence (I did it and I'm OK) does not diminish the fact that there are significant risks associated with the use of mercury for whatever purpose including lead removal. Yeah, we old guys all played with it as kids. Who knows how that affected our health? There are safer and better methods of cleaning handguns as enumerated by previous posters. But hey, it's your life so do whatever you want.

You know the old uncle at Thanksgiving that takes off on a demented political rant?-Mercury...

I would venture to say the majority of solvents used to clean your guns vapors are more detrimental to your health than any mercury vapors you might breath under the same conditions.

Common sense doesn't appeared all that common.

Understand what your working with benefits and risk goes a long way.

I always love things like this, folk try to advise/ warn / give better, safer,or tell of their past experience in an effort to help someone not make a bad decision ( especially where its not needed) .
Folks saying, hey I used it with no problem, is okay, everyone can make their own decision.
But to poke fun and act like everyone is chicken little for trying to give a little sage advise about something that COULD cause a bad situation, is pretty idiotic.
Shot over half a million wadcutters in 30+ yrs of PPC and never used anything but a good condition stls steel chamber brush and a couple passes , cleans everything out.
There was a time I raced Harleys in the rain, and let the tractor idle down the field while I threw hay on the wagon, got away with a lot of stuff like that, Lord watches over fools----Sometimes, so I dont advise others its ok to do those kind of things.

" mad as a hatter" look it up !!!!

Yea another reasonable reply. This has gotten out of hand; I'm not drinking the stuff and as others have said nobody here making the BIG warnings should ever be eating fish and definitely the chemicals we use routinely to clean our guns have significantly more risk then poring some mercury down a barrel and letting it sit a while.

Guys take a chill pill man. OH and dont breath while shooting your gun; the smoke and lead vapors are deadly.

Then how come after a couple hundred shots with a round nose bullet then a hundred strokes in the cylinder of my revolver and I still cant properly chamber a .357 in it? It takes hours and dental picks to scrape every bit of lead out of a cylinder and it still wont be perfect. The only fool proof solution is mercury which people here talk like I wont live through the first application.

You must have something else going on. I've been shooting and cleaning revolvers for longer than you've been alive I'm guessing, and I've never had anything close to that problem. I'm not exactly calling BS, but you get the idea . . .

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Wisdom comes thru fear . . .

When I was a kid one of my friends fathers was an refrigeration mechanic and he had a mason jar full of mercury from thermostats, we played with it all the time. Never had anything bad happen.

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Back to back World War Champs.

Have you tried a Lewis Lead Remover? They really do work. A piece of lead wipe away cloth wrapped around a bore brush works too. If it's that bad, you can get a reamer from Brownell's that will clean out the lead. Stay away from the toxic chemicals. I know that some here think that it's Government hyperbole but Mercury is very, very bad for humans, not withstanding those here who used it as a toy when they were kids.

EXACTLY. The effects are not immediate and may take decades to show up. And since the effects are cumulative you may not end up with enough of it in your system to cause a problem until you're older and received enough exposure. By then it is too late - you can't undo it. And it does give off detectable vapors at room temperature. The most common kind of mercury detector used when cleaning up mercury spills is called a Jerome meter and that is how it detects the mercury - by the vapors.

I would venture to say you are incorrect. 99.9% of anything you take in by absorption, ingestion, or inhalation can be metabolized (broken down and expelled) from your body. Mercury is one of the few substances that can't. Every molecule you take in STAYS in your tissues for the rest of your life.

Anybody remember the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland? Ever wonder what that was all about? Back in the 1800's men's hat were made of felt. Mercury compounds were used in the production process of making felt - especially in the dyes. Over a period of time breathing the vapors the people that made and worked with the felt hats - called hatters - developed dementia and other neurological disorders from mercury poisoning. That's where the expression "mad as a hatter" comes from. People thought that hatters were "mad" (crazy) because of the symptoms of mercury poisoning.

Anybody who wants to know the facts can find them easily enough. Mercury is nothing to trifle with. You may never accumulate enough in your system over the course of your lifetime to cause you any problems. On the other hand you may. Nobody knows - how sensitive you are to it's effects is a major factor, and is a total crapshoot.

I know I've played with it as a kid, and I also know I want to stay away from it as much as reasonably possible now, because once you have had enough exposure to develop health problems from it, the damage is almost irreversible. You may be lucky enough to have a higher than average tolerance for it. You may not. Want to take the chance? I don't.

It isn't a case of use it today and get sick tomorrow. It's effects are CUMULATIVE - as in you won't see them for years - possibly decades - until you have enough in your system that it damages you. If you're supremely confident that you are one of the lucky ones who can tolerate lots of exposure before it affects you, then by all means, have at it superman! Since I can't say that is true for me or mine with any degree of certainty, and exposing myself and my family to it isn't necessary, I'm not going to take that chance personally.

Unless you're shooting case after case of ammo that was produced more than 50 years ago you don't have to worry about exposure from shooting at indoor ranges. Mercury fulminate was pretty much replaced in all ammo primers by the 1950's or 1960's.

My dad is a research chemist and we used to play with mercury at his lab on the floor and handle it all the time. It only caused me a little twitch.....

Just kidding...

Don't eat the stuff, wash up carefully and use some basic safety common sense. The posts above document how you would carefully clean the lead out with it by amalgamation.

In the old days, we used to clean our guns with di-nitrobenzene. It worked Great! But was a carcinogenic or so they said so it got hard to obtain and we stopped. I also like carbon tetrachloride as a great solvent, but it too was carcinogenic so we could not get it easily any more. Freon was a good cleaner in some cases, but it got hard to get and we stopped, casing head gas condensate is another good cleaner you can't get any more easily.

The bottom line is pretty simple. If it works well, it is probably bad for you and some researcher will come along and prove it causes cancer and then it wont be available any more.

I wonder how long until dihydrogen monoxide will be outlawed as being a known killer if inhaled in high doses?

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SWCA 1646