[Now called MOLY-FUSION.]

Some riflemen have concluded that bullets tediously coated with molybdenum disulfide ("moly") and carnauba wax solve all kinds of barrel problems and improve a load's performance. Other shooters (I'm one) won't be convinced until we see more positive evidence and solid proof that dispels our suspicion that unexpected negative effects will show up sooner or later.

Now a new moly treatment for gun barrels promises to make moly-coating bullets archaic. I have a sample that I'll test vigorously and thoroughly before I'll apply it to my best barrels or recommend it to you. But all that testing is going to take a lot of time, and my one brain is several brains short of the number that ought to be checking this stuff out with as many tests as we can think of. If this stuff really does plate the bore surface, not simply coat them — if the plating really penetrates the steel deep enough to be a permanent new surface [It is NOT permanent, It is NOT a paint, but it CREATES a new surface that WEARS better than original, and imparts (new) properties] ... and if no unexpected bad effect shows up, it may be the answer to a number of problems and dreams.

We can’t know for sure until we've tested it thoroughly. So I'm passing along the first word and a few comments in the hope that several gunsmiths and experimenters will figure out ways to put this stuff through the hoops, then let the rest of us know what they find out.

[MolyFusion] is a suspension of molybdenum and phosphorous, which its makers claim will plate to gun barrel steel on contact (so called electroless plating), to "share an electron with the bare metal." The distributor says that tests at Cleveland State University's advanced manufacturing program showed that [MolyFusion] reduces the plated steel coefficient of friction to 0.07, down by 857 percent from the friction of steel on steel. [MolyFusion] is supposed to reduce corrosion, carbon build up, and fouling. It’s a tight little concentrate, so enough of it to treat fifty or a hundred or more gunbarrels costs fifty bucks and comes in a compact ¾ - ounce bottle.

Several other applications also suggest themselves -- sizing dies, handgun mechanisms, bolt raceways, triggers, anything that works better with good lubrication. The cost of this treatment and the necessity for careful preparation of the steel surface to be plated, both suggest a special new service that gunsmiths can offer the shooter — "I'll plate the bore of your rifle with a permanent moly plating for x dollars." Few of us have fifty or a hundred gunbarrels of our own to plate, so one tiny bottle of the [MolyFusion] concentrate smacks of overkill for the individual shooter ...

On the other hand, ..., fifty bucks isn't too much to make a good barrel a great barrel. The first obvious caution is to be sure to keep the stuff off the chamber walls, to keep the case from becoming a high efficiency piston and increasing its rearward force on the breech. Less obvious is the need to clean the barrel as thoroughly as possible before you apply the concentrate. I plan to use the prep chemicals that come in the Oehler kit ... These chemicals clean off everything, down to the raw steel — absolutely necessary for attaching strain gauges and surely the best way to prepare a bore for [MolyFusion].As I said, I’ll be testing [MolyFusion] every way I can dream up and will let you know – ... If you try it, let me know how it works for you.

This article appeared first in the Varmint Hunter, July, 1997.

All copy rights reserved to Ken Howell. "[ ]" copy right ShooterSolutions

 While this is not a 1999 article, Ken saw value in the process, and his work is included for the history behind "Moly-Fusion."   BACK TO MOLYFUSION HOME PAGE

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