Who likes and uses "Ed's Red"?

[bullshark]

C.E. , "Ed" Harris recipe for bore cleaner:

Equal parts:

• Dexron II ATF (or IIe or III)
• K1 kerosene (for space heaters)
• Aliphatic (odorless)mineral spirits or Stoddards solvent or Varsol
• Acetone

Supposedly, the acetone can be left out, if your not cleaning shotguns or other weapons that have plastic residues, but the cleaner won't be as fast acting.
Supposedly the Dexron + kerosene mix (50/50) is highly effective "gun oil"
Supposedly one of the most effective penetrating oils available (beat all the commercial preparations)

Who has experience with this and how well does it work? Hoppes No. 9 doesn't smell as good as it used to....

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Bark'n]

Sorry, I use Gunzilla!

No harmful toxic products, plus I don't have to buy a bunch of stuff and mix it up.

[RevolvingMag]

I'll have to stick with my Hoppe's 9, even if it smells different. --Almost anything smells better than transmission fluid. Except gear oil- that's just as bad.

[thephanatik]

My uncle makes gallons of it at a time for his local VFW and American Legion post. He's given me some, it works good and I haven't noticed anything bad from using it on any of my guns. I personally just buy Hoppes 9, since I don't need to buy a bunch of stuff to mix up and storing that much bore cleaner would be a hassle for me right now.

[QKShooter]

I use WeaponShield as my do everything firearm cleaner AKA CLP. The nice thing about it is that the more you clean your barrel with it the easier the barrel becomes to clean.

[Dragonheart]

You left out the Lanolin in the Ed's Red formula. It's the lanolin that give the long lasting protection. I have used Ed's in my sonic cleaner for years. I threw away my Hoppe's 9 after using Ed's Red for general cleaning. If you want the best penetrating oil, get a can of Kroil Oil by Kano Labs it's far better for that purpose than Ed's Red. As far as cleaning a bore, just plug the chamber with a rubber plug and fill the barrel with Kroil oil and let sit for several hours or better overnight. Pour the oil out of the barrel and save for later use, then brush the barrel clean. The Kroil Oil gets behind the fowling and will also remove any rust in an old barrel. Kroil is the best barrel cleaner I have found.

[mlr1m]

I use a modified version of Ed's red. I use pure gum turpentine as it was originally made instead of the solvent. Also use Kroil in place of the kerosene. I believe this works better for me but I mainly shoot lead.

Michael

[HotGuns]

I've been using it for years. For the occasional shooter that shoots maybe a thousand or two rounds a year, anything else is OK. If you shoot as much as I do, and use volumes of cleaner, Ed's Red is about the cheapest stuff you can get. You can mix up a gallon of it for around 12 bucks.
Try that with anything else.

[QKShooter]

I've seen more than a few variations of that formula on other forums.


Folks should be made aware of the fact that the Acetone in that formula can dull, and damage polyurethane and varnished wood stocks. So...be mindful of it around your fine wood.

[cphilip]

Its all I use now a days. I don't do the Lanolin because I don't have anything in long term storage. I clean them all every 6 months or so even when not in use. That seems to be well enough. But nothing I have ever used cleans carbon off as good. I make up a gallon and share some of it with friends and family. The main lubricant left behind is the ATF.

[Philly Boy]

GUNZILLA for me. I Figure if it's good enough for our troops in desert areas, it's way good enough for me!

[Geobob]

Ed's Red got very high ratings in an online comparison test that I read, and I thought I'd mix up a batch to try since I already had half the ingredients here....but then got concerned about the polymer frames. Anyone know if this homebrew cleaner will damage the new polymer frames, such as on many newer model semi-auto pistols? Since it contains acetone, it's obviously not good for wood stocks/grips. Thanks in advance for any info.

[HotGuns]

It wont. I've been cleaning Glocks with it for years. Wipe it on and wipe it off and you'll be fine.

[mlr1m]

It wont. I've been cleaning Glocks with it for years. Wipe it on and wipe it off and you'll be fine.

Do you mix yours with the Acetone? Personally I leave that out of mine but I'm still curious.

Michael

[FTG-05]

My version of Ed's Red is 50/50 mix of Amsoil Synthetic ATF and Kroil. Made a batch years ago (+15 years) and I still have some left. I use it mainly for cleaning but ATF is a good lubricant itself.