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Wipe-Out Foam Cleaner
Clean Faster and Easier with Tubing Fitted to your Chamber
by Jason Baney

Wipe-Out, from SharpShoot-R Precision Products, is one of the best bore cleaners and arguably the most simple to use, but some folks have trouble dealing with the expanding foam, and end up getting it in places it doesn't belong (such as on a fine wood stock). I was one of those people back in 2000 when I started using it--I made a mess every time! But with the advice of the SharpShoot-R's owner, I found a perfect way to apply the solvent with NO mess.

I tried several methods to avoid the mess: straws, bore-guides, application from the muzzle and breach ends, blocking the chamber with a patch, etc. But nothing works as well as what I use now. For less than a dollar you can solve the problem of foam overflow. Below I refer to inside tube diameter as "ID" and outside tubing diameter as "OD".

All that is needed is a quick trip to the local hardware store. Venture over to the plastic tubing section and find the vinyl tubing (transparent). Get 1 foot of 3/8" OD with 1/4" ID and one foot of 1/4" OD with 1/8" ID. The larger tube will fit the nozzle perfectly, and the 3/8" end will fit snugly into the chamber’s shoulder area in everything between the 22-250 and 338 Lapua. The smaller 1/4" OD tubing can be nested into the larger 3/8" OD for chambers smaller than the 22-250.


For larger rounds (.375-.408) you need to find some 7/16" OD Polyethelene tubing. It is opaque white with a 1/4" inside diameter. Then, with a little persuasion, you can fit a piece of 3/8" ID vinyl over the end of this, which will seal in the larger chambers. Now you can probably get more creative, and probably find a series of nested tubes to fit everything perfectly, but the above will work for just about every small arms cartridge we use. For a .50, you will need to find one more piece of tubing large enough to seal off the chamber.

When using this setup and applying Wipe-Out from the breech end, make sure you put a 180° bend in the tube while applying it, that way you won't launch chunks of foam straight out of the muzzle. Give the can a half-second shot and wait for the spaghetti to stop flowing from the muzzle. Pull the tube out of the chamber and let Wipe-Out do the work. Also, after application, rinse the tubing out with water, as Wipe-Out will degrade it after a few days.

When using SharpShoot-R's Accelerator to cut the dwell time of Wipe-Out, you only need to run ONE soaked patch thru the bore prior to shooting Wipe-Out. When using Wipe-Out alone (without Accelerator), I'll usually let it soak in the bore overnight, up to 24 hours. I've let it soak 48 hours with no consequences, which is understandable because Wipe-Out has several anti-corrosives in it. If I use the Accelerator, I'll let the bore soak approximately 1-12 hours.

Since Wipe-Out will not harm the bore, it is safe to just patch it out and call it a day, though I usually follow up with a patch or two of Hoppes #9 and a dry patch (mainly because I have done that for several years and it is a hard habit to break).

Recently a shooting bud was doing well at the Virginia 1000-yard State Championship match and hardly had time to clean before shoot-offs because he won most of them. He let Wipe-Out (with Accelerator) sit for about one hour, not realizing the shoot-off was coming up soon. So having no time left, he ran one DRY patch through and proceeded to win the match for score with a 49 out of 50!

So, this has worked for me, and hopefully it will help shorten the learning curve of those of you who just started using it.


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