DEXRON-II / Ed's Red??

[RnR]

I've had a quart of some old Mobil ATF/DEXRON-II around for a good long while and as I didn't just want to toss it, have been wondering what to do with it.

I seem to recall that there's a cleaner of sorts called Ed's Red (which uses ATF), and wonder to what degree it actually works, or is useful for firearms maintenance. Is my DEX-II stuff adequate for this formula - and might you know how effective it may be?

Thanks for any insights!

 

[mark pruett]

Here's the formula:

1 part ATF (probably doesn't matter type at all)
1 part Kerosene
1 part Mineral Spirits
1 part Acetone

The original formula was from the 1930s and used "Sperm oil" which was a sort of whale lubricating oil. The latter-day compounder reckoned that since whale oil was a major component of early ATF, that modern-day ATF would be a good substitute. This was in the late 1990s, so Dexron II is probably what it was formulated with.

I've used it for a while on my guns; it's terrific (better than Hoppe's #9 or CLP for powder and plastic fouling, but doesn't do anything to copper or lead, which isn't unique to Ed's Red.

If you shoot a lot or otherwise use a lot of solvent, Ed's Red may be great. If you're an infrequent shooter, it's probably only worth making if you already have 3 of the 4 components on hand, because a quart of each runs roughly $4-6 dollars, which is about what a 6 oz bottle of commercial bore solvent costs as well.

On a whim, I made a batch substituting turpentine for the mineral spirits and jojoba oil for the ATF to try and duplicate the original formula as close as possible. (jojoba oil is chemically almost identical to whale oil).

It worked great- at least as well as the ATF/Mineral spirits version, and probably better. Looks a lot like a mason jar of whiz though, with the bright yellow color.

 

[RnR]

Good point regarding costs... although I do have some fairly ripe turpentine that could be used in your variation, acetone and the kerosene would likely have to be acquired. But there may be some other surprises in store once I have a look-see and determine what other old chemistries may be lurking on the shelves.

Thanks for the input!

 

[mark pruett]

If you're married or living with a woman, you may want to check and see if she's got acetone around as nail polish remover. Just make sure it's straight acetone- some nail polish removers have other stuff in there.

That's how I got mine... swiped about 3-4 oz out of a 1 qt bottle she has for removing nail polish. She has no idea!

 

[HyperJinx]

You might want to consider how dex is going to react with typical gun lubes.

 

[GMBoy]

No thanks. I have a lot of money invested in my gun collection - I'll use GUN specific and safe lubes from the store.

 

[Robenstein]

Well if I recall the Eds Red was actually formulated to duplicate some military issue cleaning chemical from the period.

And GMBoy.....Brownells used to and may still sell Eds Red, so it is available or atleast was from a store.

 

[Robenstein]

And here it is. I think the people at Brownells know a thing or two about what works for guns.

http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=19936/Product/_ED_S_RED__BORE_CLEANER

 

[GMBoy]

Originally Posted By: Robenstein
And here it is. I think the people at Brownells know a thing or two about what works for guns.

http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=19936/Product/_ED_S_RED__BORE_CLEANER



Thank You. I'm always up to learning new things. BUt, I'll still stick to somne of the more "modern" lubes and cleaners.

 

[mark pruett]

Ed's Red is probably less harsh than many "modern" cleaners- it doesn't have any copper solvents or ammonia compounds in it like many popular cleaners (Hoppe's!), and nothing in it is going to hurt a metal surface either.

If you look, ATF is considered a high quality gun oil- it's a good viscosity, has antiwear agents, doesn't evaporate, is inexpensive, and resists heat well (high VI). Certainly better stuff than plain mineral oils like Hoppe's oil or 3-in-1 oil or something even thinner like Rem-Oil.

 

[Robenstein]

If it worked for the military, which beat its guns to death in trenches back then and sometimes didnt clean them for a week after using corrosive ammo....it can not be that bad of stuff.