Hoppes Number Nine-Curse or Salvation

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By most accounts using Hoppes No. 9 on a scandium/aluminum S&W revolver will erode the factory finish. But are there
drawbacks other than that? Looks are the last thing I am interested in maintaining as long as a gun's functionality is not affected. Thanks in advance for replies.
 
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Curse. For cleaning scandium or titanium alloys I would choose a cleaner without ammonia, like Hoppe's Elite, Iosso, Bore Tech, Break Free CLP, etc. There are many safe, non-toxic cleaners available that are safe both for you and your firearms.

S&W advises to avoid harsh chemicals when choosing gun cleaners. I would certainly consider ammonia a harsh chemical.
 
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The O.P., message board expert, did not ask about titanium. He only asked about aluminum alloys. Traditionally S&W anodized aluminum. Their anodizing was not degraded even by the 1960s/1970s version of Hoppe's #9 that contained benzene. The ammonia in gun solvents certainly does not harm it.

However, from the 1990s S&W applied a clear coat on some aluminum alloy frames. God knows what it is. I'd take S&W's advise on what will not damage it. If you do remove the finish the concern would be corroding to aluminum oxide, aluminum's version of rust, which can leave pitting. A local gun store has a S&W with a pitted aluminum/scandium frame. It's ugly.
 
Ammoniated solvents can cause issues with the finish on newer S&Ws, and some nickel finishes (i.e., older guns with the finish applied to a copper base...not sure if that method is still in use). However, I believe the current Hoppes 9 no longer contains ammonia. If you use it, I wouldn't let a gun soak in it. Only use enough to clean what you need to clean, then wipe off any excess. I'd also suggest wearing gloves and eye protection.

With that said, I have gone non-toxic, using MPro-7 cleaner and Lubriplate oil with good results.
 
There are plenty of gun cleaning products that will work. Why not follow the manufacturers recommendation?

Is there some benefit to Hoppes #9 over other products? I mean aside from that awesome smell ...
 
Hoppes #9 stays wet while you work it whereas Hoppes Elite wants to dry too fast. I'll have to check around on some other cleaning fluids next week.
 
ContinentalOp said:
Ammoniated solvents can cause issues with the finish on newer S&Ws, and some nickel finishes (i.e., older guns with the finish applied to a copper base...not sure if that method is still in use). However, I believe the current Hoppes 9 no longer contains ammonia. [...]

With that said, I have gone non-toxic, using MPro-7 cleaner and Lubriplate oil with good results.
Click to expand...

S&W has not used a copper under plate on their nickeled revolvers since at least 1910. I do not think they ever did. The warning to not use cleaning solvents that contain ammonia on nickeled guns only applies to other brands. Sometime after 2000 S&W quit doing real bluing. Their substitute for real bluing is gradually wiped off with a soft rag wet with any solvent that contains ammonia. However, nickel plating is still done with real nickel.

Many moons ago a hunting partner ran an add for a new honey in the Little Nickle Want Ads. The first woman he invited to meet turned out to be a skinny blonde. She showed up with two previously unmentioned very nervous little girls in the back seat and a Hoppe's #9 air freshener hanging from her rear view mirror. One whiff and he was sold. They're still together. My guess is he'll use Hoppe's #9 forever no matter what's in it. Unlike him I do not miss the odor of Hoppe's #9. Like you M-Pro 7 is the solvent I use most often.

Not too long ago the labels on Hoppe's #9 still wrote it contained ammonium hydroxide. That's ammonia diluted with water. Can someone with a freshly purchased bottle take a look and tell me if ammonium hydroxide is still on the list of contents?
 
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k22fan said:
...a Hoppe's #9 air freshener hanging from her rear view mirror. One whiff and he was sold. They're still together.
Click to expand...

I had a firearms instructor back in the 90s. He was a Korean War vet, USMC, and was a police rangemaster/armorer at the time. He was instructing us on cleaning, using Hoppes #9. He then put some on his fingertip and dabbed it on the sides of his neck, saying it could be used as cologne. :eek: I wouldn't recommend that.
 
I use Hoppes #9 on all my guns. It was what came in the first cleaning kit I ever opened. I have a bunch of the non toxic cleaners and they work ok, but guns just don’t feel clean unless I smell Hoppes. Even if I use the MPro 7 I have, I follow up with a patch of Hoppes. I went shooting the other day and cleaned my guns. I was locking the action open and taking a whiff of the newly cleaned gun hours later. I wouldn’t go as far as using it as a cologne but I just associate the smell with clean and maintained firearms.

I did own a 642 once. Clear coat finish peeled. Sent it back in and they refinished it and told me not to clean with anything other then gun oil. I used MPro 7 and even had a separate cleaning kit to prevent any contamination. Coat still peeled, although not as much.
 
I have no problemo with old formula Hoppes #9 , when it contained more aggressive chemicals. Colt did copper plate... 1st coat beneath the Nickel. S&W. had a different process.

Marksman's Choice #7 ....now Shooters Choice #7 is a better solvent for last stop cleaning before dry patch & a good oil.

I mean it was always a better solution to clean guns.
 
I've used Hoppes #9 since the 60's... plated, lightweights, blued, lacquered etc. Never realized that there are/were 'warnings' attached... Good stuff..!!
IMHO of course,
J.
 
I still have a number of bottles of the original Hoppes that have never been opened. The only reason for saving it is I love the smell.
 
Bought a bottle of Hoppe's No.9 last week, ammonium hydroxide is on the label.

Bought at a store that won't carry RemOil, because it "gums up the insides of things".
 
message_board_expert said:
Hoppes #9 stays wet while you work it whereas Hoppes Elite wants to dry too fast. I'll have to check around on some other cleaning fluids next week.
Click to expand...

I remember when Hoppe's Elite first came out they ran ads that showed a dirty stainless revolver cylinder face where on one half they applied Elite. As I recall the claim was that they let it sit on the metal for 5 minutes and then wiped everything off down to the pores of the metal.

First off the Elite would evaporate within five minutes, so I suspected it to be a bogus claim. I kept a patch wet with Elite for 30 minutes on my Model 67 cylinder once, then wiped it off. No more powder residue came off in soaking it for 30 minutes than if I had wet the patch and rubbed it immediately. And no, it didn't clean down to the metal, there was still residue and powder burns on the metal that had to be brushed with a bronze brush followed by a Lead Away cloth to clean "down to the metal." Maybe they only fired six rounds out of their revolver; I fired about 50. The ads disappeared quickly after they came out. I always thought Hoppe's Elite was M-Pro7.

Hoppe's #9 works much more aggressively than Elite or M-Pro7
 
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Pisgah said:
S&W has never used that method of plating.
Click to expand...

Thanks. k22fan corrected me earlier (thanks to you, too). I only mentioned it as I had read that the copper base could be dissolved by Hoppes. And I was speaking in generalities, not S&W specifically, though I could see how my post implied that. Admittedly, my knowledge of nickel-plating is limited as it's not a finish I'm particularly interested in.
 
AlHunt said:
There are plenty of gun cleaning products that will work. Why not follow the manufacturers recommendation?

Is there some benefit to Hoppes #9 over other products? I mean aside from that awesome smell ...
Click to expand...

:D “...that awesome smell.” :D

Yeah, I use CLP on my 340 PD but everything else gets Hoppe’s #9.
 
I think it is important to do one's own research to find out the ingredients and concentrations of before making a decision on whether or not to stop using Hoppe's No. 9. I have been using this product for the last 50 years! I find that the concentration of Ammonium Hydroxide is very low, less than 1% in Hoppes. I also find that scandium/aluminum is can be affected by high concentrations (70%) of NH4OH. Low concentrations are said to take years to affect scandium.

Never had a problem with Hoppes, always did a fine job of cleaning bores, has a very low concentration of NH4OH, smells great. Plus, I do not have any scandium/aluminum S&Ws. Bottom line is I guess I have not changed my mind.

Kerosene (petroleum) 30-60%
Ethanol 10-30%
propan-2-ol 5-10%
Amyl Acetate 1-5%
2-methylbutyl acetat 1-5%
methanol 1-5%
Ammonium Hydroxide (NH4OH) <1%
(R)-p-mentha-1,8-diene <1%
1,8 cineole <1%
4-methylpentan-2-one <1%
geraniol <1%
naphthalene <1%
Nerol <1%
Citronellol <1%
p-Cymene 0.121%
diammonium peroxodisulphate <1%
 
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