Hoppe's - How long?

[~Emily~]

I talked my father into letting me clean his WWII Ithica Gun Co. 1911 because it hasn't been cleaned in probably 25 or 30 years. I have broken it down and have plenty of Hoppe's. Everything is pretty gunked up and nasty so I feel I should let the parts soak for a while. My question is how long should they soak?

[leroy]

Emily:____________

I would let it soak until all the buildup is soft and can be wiped or swabbed away easily. The Hoppes will not hurt anything like the blueing or parkerizing.

Hope this helps.

Kind regrds,

Leroy

[Mike.357]

if it is bad let it so as long as you can within reason. Several hours anyway.

If I soak gun parts I do it in a mix of diesel fuel and oil. works great

[DaveTN]

Overnight, submerged.

[~Emily~]

Thanks everyone! I appreciate the tips.

[Guest AlzRuger]

I've used Hoppes for years. I can understand diesel fuel, but why mix with oil, what kind of oil, and what mixture. Love the things I learn on this site.

[frankmako]

i have used diesel and motor oil mix to soak gun parts. works well. hoppies will also work.

[enfield]

Ed's Red is also highly recommended by some, but I haven't tried it. Hoppe's should do nicely.

[Guest archerdr1]

I have used Coleman Cooking Fuel (White Gas) for years. It is cheaper to buy than Hoppes, you get a Gallon of it for about 6 dollars and it will last you for a good long while. Works well too.

[Mike.357]

I've used Hoppes for years. I can understand diesel fuel, but why mix with oil, what kind of oil, and what mixture. Love the things I learn on this site.

I just use a small jelly jar. Mostly filled with diesel then I squirt some CLP into to just darken it some until it looks right. Maybe I am wrong but it seems to work better with the CLP in there. I think the CLP helps the mix cling to the part better. Seems to work good.

[I_Like_Pie]

Straight kerosene works well too. Can use it after soaking to use in heaters...won't harm a thing.

[DaveTN]

I have used Coleman Cooking Fuel (White Gas) for years. It is cheaper to buy than Hoppes, you get a Gallon of it for about 6 dollars and it will last you for a good long while. Works well too.

Unless you get a spark. That stuff goes off like a bomb.

[Mike.357]

I have used Coleman Cooking Fuel (White Gas) for years. It is cheaper to buy than Hoppes, you get a Gallon of it for about 6 dollars and it will last you for a good long while. Works well too.

Coleman cooking fuel is nothing other than unleaded gasoline. You can get it for under 3 bucks a gallon at the pump.

[kb4ns]

I've used Hoppes for years. I can understand iesel fuel, but why mix with oil, what kind of oil, and what mixture.

10W30 1:1

[Oh Shoot]

Coleman cooking fuel is nothing other than unleaded gasoline. You can get it for under 3 bucks a gallon at the pump.

Quite a different makeup for combustion purposes, though.

I'm sure no diff as far as using as a solvent.

- OS

[Mike.357]

Quite a different makeup for combustion purposes, though.

I'm sure no diff as far as using as a solvent.

- OS

I meant in reference to using in a Coleman stove.

[kb4ns]

I meant in reference to using in a Coleman stove.

So I can clean my guns in a Coleman stove?

[Oh Shoot]

I meant in reference to using in a Coleman stove.

Well, depends on the stove vintage.

Many of the ones now allow either.

Those designed only for Coleman fuel/"white gas" will trash the generator, eat the pump and tank, etc.

I'm sure Mark@Sea can probably fill in the finer points.

- OS

[Guest HvyMtl]

Hoppe's 9 has been around since 1903. It was created to handle corrosive ammunition cleaning.

http://7.62x54r.net/MosinID/MosinCleaning.htm under "solvents"...

[Mike.357]

Well, depends on the stove vintage.

Many of the ones now allow either.

Those designed only for Coleman fuel/"white gas" will trash the generator, eat the pump and tank, etc.

I'm sure Mark@Sea can probably fill in the finer points.

- OS

coleman fuel=white gas=equals unleaded gasoline.

Unless I recall incorrectly you can substitute unleaded gasoline for coleman fuel in the appliances that call for coleman fluid.

Mark may find this and offer expertise.

[Oh Shoot]

coleman fuel=white gas=equals unleaded gasoline.

Unless I recall incorrectly you can substitute unleaded gasoline for coleman fuel in the appliances that call for coleman fluid.

Mark may find this and offer expertise.

Mike that's just not right.

white gas = Coleman fuel is truer statement. But "white gas" is not at all the same as unleaded gasoline.

Both "white gas" and Coleman fuel are basically naphtha, have octane of about 50, none of the additives in unleaded gas, which are many, even the increasingly rare type supplied without ethanol. Much lighter than gasoline, produces much more heat per volume of combustion, etc.

Yep, I'll leave the rest to Mark, he seems to be pretty much the Coleman Dude.

edit: meant to add, that when unleaded gas first started appearing (early 70's?), it was common to call it "white gas", and that inaccurate terminology has continued to some extent. But it's not at all the same. Matter of fact, when I was a kid, we'd get true white gas for stoves and lanterns from a store near the lake where I grew up. It was in a separate pump off to one side, next to the kerosene one, that you hand pumped into your container. Although we mainly used Coleman kerosene pressure lanterns for our night fishing, as they put out more light. You'd use wood alcohol, if you had it, though, to prime the generator. Lighter fluid would work, just not as well.

- OS

Edited April 26, 2010 by OhShoot

[Guest archerdr1]

All I know is that it works really well and you could easily use enough to soak those gun parts in. I have also used carb cleaner to get tough areas clean. Just don't get it on the plastic frame of the gun, will discolor it.

[Mark@Sea]

I'm not a chemist... that being said, there is little practical difference between coleman fuel and unleaded, other than the additives (some of which are pretty nasty) used in unleaded.

Unleaded will clog generators slightly faster (even so, we are talking about several hundred hours of operation here), but I wouldn't hesitate to use unleaded in a stove or lantern. Generators cost an average of 6 bucks: I would expect a useful life of 20+ gallons of fuel through it at a minimum. Given the $5-$7 gallon difference between coleman and unleaded...

As far as cleaning firearms, kerosene good, Coleman fuel okay but potentially very exciting (say hello to Wiley Coyote on your way up), unleaded bad. It's the additives - I wouldn't want to have that much skin contact. They are really nasty stuff.

Too painful to get into the history of Coleman on a cellphone keyboard, but white gas was what was used in colemans and cars for years before Coleman started selling fuel and cars started needing higher compression (and thus a lead additive to seal valve seats).

If your lantern or stove generator is clogged and you can't find a replacement, shoot me a pm...

Disclaimer: Don't get me started on ethanol. As far as I can tell it's only benefit is to allow ADM and Conagra to sell more corn. I'd love to meet the bahstud that mandated its' use in motor fuels.

Edited April 27, 2010 by Mark@Sea

[Oh Shoot]

...but white gas was what was used in colemans and cars for years before Coleman started selling fuel and cars started needing higher compression (and thus a lead additive to seal valve seats).

....

Thanks Mark.

Yep, and as I mentioned, up until at least the late 60's, could still get white gas. I never saw a can of Coleman fuel whole time I was in Boy Scouts. One of my points is simply that "white gas" was not same as "unleaded gasoline".

Here's an interesting thing I found on Coleman site: note the special warning on Canadian unleaded:

-----------

Unleaded gas should only be used in Coleman® appliances marked as “Dual Fuel™†or Unleaded Fuel†and only the lowest octane unleaded gas available should be used. Unleaded gas contains additives that are more difficult to vaporize than the gas itself and the higher the octane rating of the fuel, the more additives mixed with the gas. Unleaded gas from Canada should never be used in any Coleman® appliance, even the “Dual Fuel™†and “Unleadedâ€, as there is an additive in the fuel which will damage the tank, valve, generator and burner assembly.

Coleman® “Dual Fuel™†and Unleaded†appliances have been designed to handle the additives in unleaded gas. The use of unleaded gas in any Coleman® appliance designed for use only with Coleman® Fuel can result in a rapid build-up of carbon in the generator and damage to the rust-resistant coating inside the fuel tank. The cost savings in using unleaded fuel in a Coleman® Fuel appliance would be rapidly offset by the cost of replacing the generator and eventually the fuel tank or entire appliance.

------------

- OS

[Mark@Sea]

OS, I must confess that one aspect didn't occur to me... my lanterns, stoves, etc. are almost all 40-90 years old. Instead of coated steel, my fuel tanks are painted or nickel plated brass. And rather than the plastic valves and fuel/air pickup tubes used in current models, mine are honest machined brass and bronze.

There is a bit of a quality difference.

Coleman doesn't have all the answers, either. They will steadfastly deny ever having made one, but I have several lanterns designed to use both gas and kerosene - this is stamped into the collar of the lantern. Those are what I consider to be 'dual fuel'.