al7601 0 Posted December 31, 2016 picked up some 5.45 x 39mm ammo from a buddy, few hundred rounds for free. about half of them have some corrosion on them. seen a youtube video showing someone using vinegar and salt solution to clean them. Any thoughts about this? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Screwball 483 Posted December 31, 2016 Water... that's it. Well, then clean and oil as normal. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GRIZ 3,369 Posted December 31, 2016 Why would anyone use salt to clean corrosive residue? That's like washing your car with mud to get it clean. The guy using vinegar and salt is an idiot. Nothing, I mean nothing, cleans corrosive salts better than...water. This is not just GRIZ's opinion. The US Army Ordnance Board came to this after testing before WW2. Hot water works better as the heat speeds up the dissolving of the corrosive salts. A bit of soap or detergent keeps the salts in suspension. Windex, household ammonia,or any of the other popular myths are no better than water. Hoppes #9 or GI bore cleaner will remove corrosive salts. Once again not as good as water. If I'm doing a complete clean on a semi auto that has fired corrosive ammo I first use hot water. I follow with dousing the parts with WD40. This is what WD40 is for, displacing any water that may be in the nooks and crannies. Follow with a conventional clean using your favorite solvent and lube. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
al7601 0 Posted December 31, 2016 great info and thanks for the feed back. should I be worried about water getting the gun powder wet? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
10X 3,306 Posted December 31, 2016 great info and thanks for the feed back. should I be worried about water getting the gun powder wet? You're supposed to unload it first... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GRIZ 3,369 Posted December 31, 2016 great info and thanks for the feed back. should I be worried about water getting the gun powder wet? You're supposed to unload it first...The water should never be near ammunition or powder. FWIW fixed ammunition, factory or reloads is pretty waterproof as it is. There are countless times I've left dome ammo in my pocket and it went through the wash, rinse, and spin cycles in the wash. Would I load it in a gun for serious social purposes? No, but I would take it to the next practice session and it all would work fine. After using the WD40 as I described above I often use Brake Kleen or Gunscrubber to blast all the WD40 off. If you do so you need to be aware this can damage some plastics. The only plastic I can say won't be damaged is in a Glock. I went to a seminar by Glock and the factory rep recommended Gunscrubber. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
medved11 71 Posted December 31, 2016 Edit: I failed my reading comprehension test. I thought that the OP was talking about cleaning up after using corrosive ammo A mixture of Ballistol and water (1:7) is what a friend uses to clean his combloc rifles after shooting corrosive ammo. He explained to me that the water dissolves the salts and the Ballistol coats/protects the metal until he can dry and properly lubricate everything. Hot water alone does the "real" work and the. Ballistol just gives him a little peace of mind during the cleaning process Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zeke 5,504 Posted December 31, 2016 picked up some 5.45 x 39mm ammo from a buddy, few hundred rounds for free. about half of them have some corrosion on them. seen a youtube video showing someone using vinegar and salt solution to clean them. Any thoughts about this?It would appear your friend figured out a way of disposing unfired ammo..... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
302w 83 Posted January 2, 2017 How badly corroded? I'm assuming steel case Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites