Molly - The Firearms Forum

the morning light · 12-21-2009, 05:21 PM

Are there any products specifically for removing molly from barrels?

Gearheadpyro · 12-22-2009, 10:04 PM

The best stuff I've heard of is the Boretech eliminator, but even that will take some serious elbow grease. On copper and carbon it works like magic though.

the morning light · 12-23-2009, 12:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gearheadpyro

The best stuff I've heard of is the Boretech eliminator, but even that will take some serious elbow grease. On copper and carbon it works like magic though.

Thanks for the tip, I'll check it out! Ultra Coating Inc. has a bore coating I was thinking of trying but you have to have a clean bore. I haven't shot molly coated bullets for a while but I still get some molly on the patch every time I clean it.

Bindernut · 12-23-2009, 05:14 PM

You will be scrubbing that moly out of your bore for a long time even with any special cleaners. A simple liquid/gel dishwasher detergent works just about as good as any of the magic cleaners that the gun shops sell. And...LOTS of elbow grease with a bronze brush!
BUT...once you've fired a few rounds, the heat will turn some of that moly deposit into Moly Trisulfide which bonds itself to the steel in your barrel and there isn't any really good way to get that out of your barrel except an abrasive (like JBs Bore Paste or valve lapping compound)...this is hard on the barrel though. You might wind up ruining a perfectly good barrel trying to get the coating out of it.

Much like copper fouling fills in larger voids in a barrel, moly disulfide will build up in your barrel too...but since the particles are so much smaller, they'll get impacted into even tinier voids in the barrel steel making it that much harder to remove later on.
The biggest problem with moly coatings are the sulfur and sulfur oxides that they contain...they'll mix with any moisture in the air to make sulfuric acid. This is what will cause corrosion.

A good link I've had bookmarked for a while on how/what/why moly does what it does:
http://www.sprinco.com/articles.html
Yeah, that company is pedlding a moly lube to use instead of moly coated bullets...but that whitepaper still does a good job of explaining the action/reaction that any moly does when used in a rifle barrel.

the morning light · 12-24-2009, 06:38 AM

Thanks for the tips Bindernut, I appreciate your help and I'll check Sprinco site out.

Bindernut · 12-24-2009, 09:09 AM

I had picked up a .243 a few years back that the previous owner had done a lot of shooting with moly coated bullets.
I didn't know it when I bought it...and even if I would have, I wouldn't have known that that's why I fought with constant corrosion problems in that barrel.

I could leave the rifle sit for a week after shooting it and it would start to get a rusty haze in the barrel. So, I'd clean it, oil the bore, & put it away. As soon as the oil evaporated out a bit or I took it out and fired it a few times that rust would start all over again.
The throat was pretty well eroded when I bought it (I had plans on rebarreling it when I first picked it up but that never happened) so it eventually got traded for another prairie dog rifle. The guy I sold it too asked me a couple months later if I had ever shot moly in it because the bore would start rusting so quickly. That's how I first found out about the sulfuric acid corrosion problem. He wound up rebarreling the rifle, so I never did find out how much scrubbing it would actually take to get all that moly out.

the morning light · 12-25-2009, 06:14 PM

I experimented with molly but am through with it now and I am going to clean my rifles up. I read the sprinco site. It was interesting and I learned somethings about molly that I didn't know. Thanks again Bindernut.

12-21-2009, 05:21 PM	#1
the morning light V.I.P. Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 288	Molly Are there any products specifically for removing molly from barrels? -->

12-22-2009, 10:04 PM	#2
Gearheadpyro V.I.P. Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Charleston, SC Posts: 110	Re: Molly The best stuff I've heard of is the Boretech eliminator, but even that will take some serious elbow grease. On copper and carbon it works like magic though. __________________ www.southernmarksman.com Owner of & Chief Instructor for The Southern Marksman, LLC NRA Life Member, NRA CRSO, Multi-Discipline NRA Certified Instructor

12-23-2009, 05:14 PM	#4
Bindernut Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: ND, USA Posts: 2,433	Re: Molly You will be scrubbing that moly out of your bore for a long time even with any special cleaners. A simple liquid/gel dishwasher detergent works just about as good as any of the magic cleaners that the gun shops sell. And...LOTS of elbow grease with a bronze brush! BUT...once you've fired a few rounds, the heat will turn some of that moly deposit into Moly Trisulfide which bonds itself to the steel in your barrel and there isn't any really good way to get that out of your barrel except an abrasive (like JBs Bore Paste or valve lapping compound)...this is hard on the barrel though. You might wind up ruining a perfectly good barrel trying to get the coating out of it. Much like copper fouling fills in larger voids in a barrel, moly disulfide will build up in your barrel too...but since the particles are so much smaller, they'll get impacted into even tinier voids in the barrel steel making it that much harder to remove later on. The biggest problem with moly coatings are the sulfur and sulfur oxides that they contain...they'll mix with any moisture in the air to make sulfuric acid. This is what will cause corrosion. A good link I've had bookmarked for a while on how/what/why moly does what it does: http://www.sprinco.com/articles.html Yeah, that company is pedlding a moly lube to use instead of moly coated bullets...but that whitepaper still does a good job of explaining the action/reaction that any moly does when used in a rifle barrel. Last edited by Bindernut; 12-23-2009 at 05:16 PM..

12-24-2009, 06:38 AM	#5
the morning light V.I.P. Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 288	Re: Molly Thanks for the tips Bindernut, I appreciate your help and I'll check Sprinco site out.

12-24-2009, 09:09 AM	#6
Bindernut Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: ND, USA Posts: 2,433	Re: Molly I had picked up a .243 a few years back that the previous owner had done a lot of shooting with moly coated bullets. I didn't know it when I bought it...and even if I would have, I wouldn't have known that that's why I fought with constant corrosion problems in that barrel. I could leave the rifle sit for a week after shooting it and it would start to get a rusty haze in the barrel. So, I'd clean it, oil the bore, & put it away. As soon as the oil evaporated out a bit or I took it out and fired it a few times that rust would start all over again. The throat was pretty well eroded when I bought it (I had plans on rebarreling it when I first picked it up but that never happened) so it eventually got traded for another prairie dog rifle. The guy I sold it too asked me a couple months later if I had ever shot moly in it because the bore would start rusting so quickly. That's how I first found out about the sulfuric acid corrosion problem. He wound up rebarreling the rifle, so I never did find out how much scrubbing it would actually take to get all that moly out. Last edited by Bindernut; 12-24-2009 at 09:10 AM..

12-25-2009, 06:14 PM	#7
the morning light V.I.P. Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 288	Re: Molly I experimented with molly but am through with it now and I am going to clean my rifles up. I read the sprinco site. It was interesting and I learned somethings about molly that I didn't know. Thanks again Bindernut.