Liquid Mercury lead removal

[somebizarredude]

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

 

[john traveler]

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.

 

[somebizarredude]

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.

 

[Pisgah]

>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...

 

[somebizarredude]

>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...

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.

 

[Falguy]

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

 

[Alk8944]

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

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.

 

[chief38]

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

 

[Smithhound]

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/2003/nov/22/20031122-112956-3514r/

 

[Culina]

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

 

[somebizarredude]

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.

 

[rburg]

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.

 

[Smithhound]

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

 

[somebizarredude]

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

 

[CALREB]

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.

 

[PeeShooter]

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.

 

[Muss Muggins]

Mercury vapor is a significant inhalation hazard . . .

 

[16thVACav]

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

 

[PeeShooter]

..... 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

 

[arjay]

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