Outers Foul Out Iii

American Handgunner, Sept, 2000 by Charles E. Petty

The long awaited Outers Foul Out III is finally here. When Outers Laboratories introduced the original Foul Out several years ago it was quite revolutionary. It was-- and is-- a process of reverse electroplating that removes both copper and lead from the bores of firearms.

The original Foul Out was terrific, but it had one drawback-- it was expensive. Enter the Foul Out II, a battery powered version that brought the price down considerably. However, it was slow and used batteries pretty rapidly.

The Foul Out III is an improvement in both convenience and cost. Instead of a bulky controller that had to be positioned on a workbench, the Foul Out III is a tiny unit that perches on the gun barrel. All the units have used a stainless steel rod for an electrode and this one does too, but the rod passes through the controller.

One rod can be used for almost any length barrel. All you have to do is put a couple of insulating O-rings on the rod, attach a ground wire to the barrel, plug the bore and fill it with the appropriate solution, either lead or copper, and plug it in.

The Foul Out can restore a badly fouled bore to usefulness. It is the most effective way I know to remove lead. But it's not something that you can just plug in and walk away from. Whatever you do, read and heed the directions.

When lead is removed, it falls to the bottom and can cause problems unless it's removed occasionally. I use a lead removing tool first to get the gross lead out and then follow with electrochemical cleaning. With the exception of handguns that fire rifle cartridges, copper fouling isn't a big problem for handgunners. Some of the high velocity pistol cartridges can deposit enough jacket fouling to benefit from an occasional cleaning with the Foul Out.