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Murphy's mix


Stopsign32v

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That's what I did when I used it. I got tired of mixing it up. Now I use Windex with vinegar  to clean and Ballistol for lube during the match. When I get home clean with hot soapy water and dry with an air compressor, then wipe down with Ballistol.

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1 hour ago, Stopsign32v said:

Do you literally let it air dry on your gun or do you wipe it off? Stupid question I know but I read it as "the alcohol evaporates everything except the oil which bonds to the metal"

I do a quick wipe down with a dry cloth after cleaning with Murphy mix. Then a wipe down with Eezox for rust prevention if I’m not shooting them the next day. 

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Back in my BP days I used Murphy's all the time! Never one spot of rust! Good stuff!

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Howdy

 

I'm pretty sure I coined the term Murphy's Mix.

 

The thing about Black Powder fouling is it is extremely dry. Being so dry it will wick moisture (water) out of the air. Black Powder fouling is not as corrosive as many people think, but moist fouling in contact with metal is a pretty good recipe for corrosion.  But if one saturates the fouling with oil, it cannot suck any additional moisture (water) out of the air. Think of a sponge that is already saturated with water. It cannot absorb any more water.

 

So the idea behind Murphy's Mix is once the water in the H2O2 and Alcohol evaporates, all that is left is the oil soap. Being oil, it will saturate any fouling that is left behind and prevent it from absorbing any airborne water. Oil saturated fouling in contact with metal will not cause corrosion. I tested this many years ago. So the beauty of Murphy's Mix is you can just leave it down inside the gun. It is not necessary to disassemble the gun every time you shoot it in order to get the fouling out. The other nice thing is, unlike cleaning with water, you don't have to get the water out again. Just leave the M Mix down inside the gun.

 

Anyway, yes I leave it down inside. If you have the ghost of an old drill sergeant (or your grandfather's ghost) whispering in your ear that it is a sin to put away a gun dirty, I can't help you.

 

I usually take my BP guns completely apart and clean them inside and out about once a year. Sometimes I go a lot more than a year.

 

Here is one of my 2nd Gen Colts, completely disassembled, with lots of black, oily gunk on all the internal surfaces and parts. Probably a couple of years worth of gunk.

 

Dirty%20Colt%20SN%20Altered_zpsiuo05ggq.

 

 

 

 

Here is the same gun with all the parts cleaned up, ready to reassemble. Once I cleaned off all the black, oily gunk, there was no rust anywhere. No, M Mix will not reapply the blue that wore off a long time ago, but it will protect the metal from corroding from Black Powder residue.

 

Second%20Gen%20Disassembled%2001_zpsivpk

 

 

 

 

I have a bunch of guns that are reserved for shooting with Black Powder, never with Smokeless. Before I start shooting Black Powder in any firearm I will take it apart and remove all the 'petroleum based' oils and lubricants. Then I will re-lubricate everything with Ballistol and put the firearm back together again. Unlike most gun oils, where 'a little bit will do you', I slather on the Ballistol.

 

My normal cleaning routine with any of these guns is to clean with M Mix, making sure that some is squirted or q-tipped inside. Then I will soak a patch with Ballistol and run it down the bore and chambers. I follow up with a dry patch to mop up any excess Ballistol, being sure to leave a light coating in the chambers and bore. I also drip a little bit of Ballistol down inside the action, to help the M Mix. This is especially useful with the pitted old bores of antiques. No way I am going to remove every molecule of fouling from all those pits. A light coating of Ballistol will ensure that any tiny bits of BP fouling left in the pits will be soaked with oil and not cause any further corrosion .

 

One other thing. You will read in all the firearms manuals that all oil should be removed from the chamber before firing the gun. I never remove the light coating of Ballistol from the chambers of my BP guns. I just start shooting the first stage with that light coating of Ballistol in there. Been doing it for years.

 

P.S. Tired of mixing it up? Sheesh. I buy the components in the super market about once a year. One quart of each. I pour them into an empty opaque three quart orange juice jug. Takes about ten minutes once a year.

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Driftwood, I always enjoy your words of wisdom. Thank you for all of the time that you take to post your knowledge on the wire. :)

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23 hours ago, Colorado Coffinmaker said:

 

It's also called PAM.  An acronym for the components.

 

Aw Cummon Tyrel,  PAM only takes about 30 seconds to mix for pete's sake.

 

P??????/Alcohol/Murphy's    What's the "P"?

 

About Windex with vinegar.  I used that once to clean the bores of my shotgun.  It did a great job of getting the BP crud out of the barrels, BUT,  I accidentally got a couple drops of it on the outside of the barrels and it took off the blueing where it hit.  I now have two small gray dots on otherwise beautifully blued barrels.  Doesn't anyone else have this problem?  It made me think that Windex with vinegar would be a good way to "antique" a gun.

 

Angus

 

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5 minutes ago, Black Angus McPherson said:

 

P??????/Alcohol/Murphy's    What's the "P"?

 

About Windex with vinegar.  I used that once to clean the bores of my shotgun.  It did a great job of getting the BP crud out of the barrels, BUT,  I accidentally got a couple drops of it on the outside of the barrels and it took off the blueing where it hit.  I now have two small gray dots on otherwise beautifully blued barrels.  Doesn't anyone else have this problem?  It made me think that Windex with vinegar would be a good way to "antique" a gun.

 

Angus

 

Peroxide

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Kerect-a-mundo!!  The Formula, or recipe, for PAM is equal parts Hydrogen Peroxide, Denatured Alcohol and Murphys Oil Soap.  I carry a nice squirt bottle on my kart to keep my Cap Guns Clean, Free Running and Sanitary.  I wrap the squirt bottle in a Cozy to keep sunlight away from the Hydrogen Peroxide.

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15 minutes ago, Colorado Coffinmaker said:

 

 I wrap the squirt bottle in a Cozy to keep sunlight away from the Hydrogen Peroxide.

LOL I use a whiskey/hip flask (I have been sober for over 30 years ) and some of the looks I get when I pull it out of where ever I am keeping it are priceless,

 

because of my job I don"t get to shoot very much, but I do shoot the local annual. Well last year about a month before the annual I bought a house, so went and shoot the annual came home put the guns down started doing some work around the house and had forgotten about them till 2 weeks ago. When I looked at them they were not rusty at all,  just a very little bound up, quick shot of PAM and they spun freely  I did just buy a 20 gallon parts washer from Harbor Freight for cleaning guns because my with said I am NOT CLEANING GUNS IN HER KITCHEN SINK!!!! lol

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Since I shoot mostly APP these days, my favoritest cleaning agent is a spray can of glass cleaner from our local windshield repair place.  Cleans up after APP just lickity split.  Doesn't hurt the blueing.  Don't know where it comes from as the shop has it "branded to them."  However, for match day I still tote my spray bottle of PAM.  Super effective.  A little dab'll do ya.

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Another good use for PAM is to spray a good bit on a rag and wipe your shotgun shells after loading. The A & M evaporate while leaving a slick coat of Murphy's making the shells shuck easier. The shells aren't greasy , just slick.

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11 minutes ago, Palmetto Traveler said:

Another good use for PAM is to spray a good bit on a rag and wipe your shotgun shells after loading. The A & M evaporate while leaving a slick coat of Murphy's making the shells shuck easier. The shells aren't greasy , just slick.

Gamer! :lol:

 

Kajun

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On 7/6/2019 at 11:21 AM, Black Angus McPherson said:

 

P??????/Alcohol/Murphy's    What's the "P"?

 

About Windex with vinegar.  I used that once to clean the bores of my shotgun.  It did a great job of getting the BP crud out of the barrels, BUT,  I accidentally got a couple drops of it on the outside of the barrels and it took off the blueing where it hit.  I now have two small gray dots on otherwise beautifully blued barrels.  Doesn't anyone else have this problem?  It made me think that Windex with vinegar would be a good way to "antique" a gun.

 

Angus

 

I've been using Windex with vinegar for years and have never had any problem with the blueing on my guns. It's pretty much impossible to clean black powder firearms without getting whatever solvent you're using on the blueing. In my experience the vinegar is so diluted that it's not a problem. Maybe someone else will chime in on this.

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I dropped the peroxide from my mix 10+ years ago.  Don't notice any difference.  keep in mind peroxide is 98% water and breaks down fairly quickly once mixed and will just be water in 30 days or less.  So I use 1 part murphy's oil, one part 70% alcohol and one part of hydrogen dioxide. ;)

 

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