Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles "Foaming Bore Cleaner" vs. "Wipe-Out"

Has anyone used the cheaper "Foaming Bore Cleaner" that they sell at Wal-Mart? Does it work as well as "Wipe-Out?" It is less than 1/2 the price if it does the same job.

haven't used the cheep stuff, but just bought a can of wipe out yesterday. How powerful is this stuff, can it get on my blueing w/o harming it?

ben

My understanding is that all the "other" foaming cleaners are the "Forrest bore foam", made in Finland, that has been available for years. It is said to be not quite as good as Wipe-out.

As far as powerful, I've never had any damage on finishes, but that's not a license to let it soak through. Plug the chamber, squirt down the bore, and TRY not to let it go all over everything.... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> I've found that disposable earplugs (especially the ones with the flare on the bottom) work very well to keep the stuff in the barrel, where it belongs. HTH, Dutch.

I have tried both and found that the " Wipe Out " was far better at said job of cleaning the barrel. Also I have been told the other stuff has a better chance of ruining the finish on your stock and being harder on you barrel if left in there past reccomended time. Just the fact that the Wipe Out works better was enough to keep me from buying the other stuff again.

Dutch - I've been very happy with the way that Wipe-Out cleans, but have had a dickens of a time keeping it in the barrel where it belongs. When I tried poking my pinkie in the chamber to try and tell when the foam had reached that point (as well as keeping it from going past that point) I felt that by plugging that end, I was trapping air and making it back up even worse at the muzzle. Have you experienced that with the ear plugs? They sound like a good idea, but I wondered about that part of it. Also, have you found a way to keep it from backing out as you squirt it into the barrel? Thanks.

5sdad, I think you are going about this way more "scientifically" than necessary! First off, the foam will go every where, whether there is air, or not. A little experience will show you how long to hold the button down for.

I just plug the chamber and squirt into the muzzle "about that long", and put my finger over the muzzle. When I hear the foam coming around the plug in the chamber, I let go of my finger, and the excess dumps out of the muzzle (hopefully onto the rag I put there for the purpose).

Sometimes, depending on the design of the gun, a little foam will come out of the gas vent ports, which I try to wipe down as I catch them. Then the rifle goes flat on my work bench for 12 hrs, with a rag under it's nose to catch the drip.

The next morning, I'll patch out the Wipe-out, and run either a brush and/or a couple of patches with Butch's through it to get the soften carbon out of the throat. Patch with Tetra, and I am done. HTH, Dutch.

Dutch - thanks for the reply. I've been putting about 3" of cut-off soda straw onto the nozzle to start things off a bit farther down the barrel. Like you say, it still manages to go everywhere. Just wondered if there was something that I was missing to prevent that. I have the rifle propped up on an Outer's Varmint Rest (level) with the muzzle hanging out over my trash can with a paper bag and paper towels in it to catch any muzzle drip. I have been following up with some #9, a couple of dry patches, and a patch with some Rusty Duck sprayed on it.

Guys, guys:

Spray it into the bore guide and hold the nozzle tight against it. Most all of it will come out the muzzle. I have the Stoney Point, and I have to unscrew the plastic tip with the solvent port, but otherwise it's a breeze, no muss, no fuss.

Rick

I've had mixed results with both, in that the "one application" process is BS, at least in my rifles. For example, after four (4) overnight applications on my 300, I took it back to the range and fired a total of 9 rounds. After two 24-hour applications with Wipeout, the stuff was still coming out blue/black. So after about 15 minutes with Sweets, the barrel was free of copper. I tried it on about four other rifles and it's about the same. It takes about 3-4 applications overnight to get the barrels clean. Not cost effective in my book. jorge

Rick - sounds like something I should try. Do you worry about completely cleaning it out of the bore guide when done?

5s:

Well, the next step (the next morning) is to run a dry patch or two through there to see what's what. I usually come back with Shooter's Choice after that (to neutralize and "wet out" anything that needs it to get pushed out) and then check with Copper Remover. If I get blue, I run another shooter's choice or two to get out the copper remover, and re-Wipe-Out for another night (but I rarely need to do that ... keep in mind I have mostly custom barrels, and I keep 'em clean after every range session).

It works out that the bore guide is just an extension of the barrel, and when I'm done with the barrel and remove the bore guide, it's in the same condition as the barrel.

The short answer is no, I don't worry about it.

I like Wipe-Out. As has been stated, it isn't a panacea, but it definitely lets me get the rifles a-cleaning and go about my business without having to spend hours timing the copper remover and stressing I'm leaving it in too long, etc. I spray it in, leave the rifles sittin' and check back in the morning. Most times, I'm ready to finish up when I come back the next day.

Wipe-Out works for me.

Rick

Good-Bye Wipe-Out! (well, maybe)

MtnHtr

I've tried both and I think the Wipe-out works a lot better at getting copper out.
Rick Bin has got the right idea about how to use it. I use sinclair or other bore guides without the solvent port and just squirt it from behind while holding the guide firmly against the rear of the chamber. I use one of the patch catcher boxes on the end of the muzzle to keep from being messy.
Jorge is right that it's probably not cost effective, but I love it because I can be doing something else while it's cleaning my barrel and don't have to spend near as much "rod" time pushing patches through. For me the extra cost is worth the time saved and convenience................DJ

Rick - thanks for taking the time. I like Wipe-Out too, just always trying to find if someone has some ideas to keep me from making my usual mess when cleaning. I have found that an over-nighter does the best job also. By then, the foam has turned to liquid. This has made me wonder if I should be rotating the barrel somewhere along the line. I've often wondered when using paste cleaners like Iosso if I'm not leaving an awfully large portion of it in the bore guide before it ever reaches the barrel. Do you have any thoughts on that? Again, thanks for taking the time. John

Yep - bore guides are the way to go with the foam cleaners.

Im with Mountain Hunter, Boretech eliminator has replaced every bore/copper solvent I had on my bench (still have some coppermelt left but at $50 a bottle I use it only when I have to). The minimal odor was what attracted me to it but after using it I came to the conclusion it is much faster than any of the traditional copper removers. A quick visual test to compare copper cleaners is to rub a bullet with a solvent soaked q-tip. Sweets and shooters choice will turn the q-tip blue after a few minutes, Eliminator turned the q-tip blue before I finished wiping it on the bullet. Not real scientific but pretty impressive to me. Even a M240 (belt fed 7.62 nato) with about 1600 rounds put through the barrel cleaned up in less than 30 minutes (Several 3-5 minute soakings). I gave away my last can of wipeout and havn't looked back.

On another note my buddy hates wipeout with a passion. He had a custom rifle soaking over night in his garage when it was broken into. The custom was the only rifle lost since everything else was locked up. Almost a year later it was recovered but it was never the same.