-
Having trouble using the site?
Contact support
Gunsmithing Barrel cleaning
- Thread starter Tikka_taca1
- Start date
You could, both good products. Not sure about the kroil - not exactly a copper solvent, it should work fine for powder fouling.
I use either Montana Xtreme, Butch’s or KG-12 copper solvent. Occasionally KG-2 bore polish also.
I use either Montana Xtreme, Butch’s or KG-12 copper solvent. Occasionally KG-2 bore polish also.
I only go that route when accuracy goes south and standard cleaning doesn’t help. Not that doing it helps all the time but it usually makes the bore look brand new again and eliminates in my mind that there is fouling causing the problem. Typical cleaning I use boretech eliminator. That’s the best I have used for copper/carbon considering it won’t hurt the bore and you can let it soak as long as you want. I had a huge chunk of copper stuck in front of a gas port and pushed a wet patch to it and let it soak for a couple of hours. It melted it off easily. That’s pretty impressive since it won’t hurt the steel at all.
C L R
I am a converted believer. 20 min soak followed by a couple dry patches and a light oil patch and done
I am a converted believer. 20 min soak followed by a couple dry patches and a light oil patch and done
Hit the barrel with bore tech c4 carbon remover. Let it set and work, after that use the bore tech copper remover. Stay on top of your cleaning so it’s maintenance and not work. Get a bore scope and inspect after carbon cleaning and copper cleaning. You’ll be surprised what’s left inside after you think it’s clean. After 500+ rounds you’ll get hard carbon deposits almost no matter what. This is when you want to introduce very lightly and only to the areas with buildup a product like simichrome or bullet centrals thoroclean. JB is a lapping compound and whole it will remove anything, you’re also removing material from your barrel. Simichrome is a bit finer, thorroclean has the same intensions but is a liquid form and designed to be used with a brush and not scrubbing with a patch. Works very well also. Bore guide will be your best tool when cleaning!
Couple of wet patches with #9. Let it soak for a few minutes. Dry patch then foaming bore cleaner. Let that soak for an hour or so. A couple of #9 patches again. Dry patch.
The Evolution of Barrel Cleaning :: Primal Rights, Inc
There are so many different methods, tools, and opinions on rifle barrel cleaning that it would be virtually impossible to even mention them all. Barrel cleaning is quite possibly one of the most argued topics in the precision rifle world. The only thing more impressive than the number of...
www.primalrights.com
I called CLR the lady that I spoke with advised that CLR will remove carbon and can be used on 414SS but may remove bluing.
She advised to not to let it set for more then 3 min on SS that had a protective coating kitchen or bath appliances .
The part I didn't like was "rinse off with cold water" I then ran four patches with CLR then four patches dry and the I used a water based cleaner Slip 2000 and it worked good checked my barrel with a bore scope and I wassurprised how much carbon it removed with just four patches. My first patch down the barrel I didn’t see much carbon but the second patch was foam black. I’m also a big fan of KG1&12 and there bore polish followed with there aerosol spray.
She advised to not to let it set for more then 3 min on SS that had a protective coating kitchen or bath appliances .
The part I didn't like was "rinse off with cold water" I then ran four patches with CLR then four patches dry and the I used a water based cleaner Slip 2000 and it worked good checked my barrel with a bore scope and I wassurprised how much carbon it removed with just four patches. My first patch down the barrel I didn’t see much carbon but the second patch was foam black. I’m also a big fan of KG1&12 and there bore polish followed with there aerosol spray.
KG-12 Copper Remover Test Results
KG-12 Copper Remover Test Results, Police, Marksmanship Products
www.coretacsolutions.com
I think about 10 years ago when you said that I replied...”but you do wipe when you drop a little nugget as well as fill the bowl, right?”
Welcome back. Stick around.
I have a 1” piece of SS new barrel I soaked in CLR for 12 hrs and it had no adverse effect on the steel at all-zero
Kroil is a decent product, but overrated. Here are some non-scientific tests.
Save your money and buy Liquid wrench penetrating oil.
Save your money and buy Liquid wrench penetrating oil.
I do, but only on barrels I shoot RL 16 or H4895 in, those powders seem to build hard carbon in the first few inches of the barrel and create pinch points.
CLR dissolves carbon really well, and I have sonic cleaned whole revolvers with it. But I would have a hard time running a water based product down a premium barrel I expect a good degree of accuracy from. Especially if firecracking was present in the barrel.
Why do folks worry so much over cleaning? I used to be the same way until I started thinking about it critically. Is there any hard data out there that shows a benefit to the longevity or overall performance of a barrel cleaned so obsessively? What does my cleaning regimen add to the intrinsic accuracy of the rifle? How many rounds are these effects good for before fouling changes or erases them? What effect do the chemicals in these home brews have on the steel of a barrel? What changes does scratching around with a nylon brush and swabbing with some cotton have to the steady state or a bore relative to running a projectile through it at 45-55k psi? I argue that most ardent terminal cleaners have no idea of the answers to these questions, yet it goes on.
I build my own rifles. I don’t do a break in regimen. They settle in at about 80-120 rounds with no hep from me. I clean with about three strokes of a bore snake and M-pro7 after a day at the range or match day. That’s it. I have bore scoped my rifles and they are free of carbon with a stable amount of copper from session to session after cleaning. I notice no major cold bore shift on any of my stuff. They all easily shoot sub half moa or better with boxed ammo, sometimes significantly better.
My .02 is to spend less time obsessing over cleaning and more time shooting.
I build my own rifles. I don’t do a break in regimen. They settle in at about 80-120 rounds with no hep from me. I clean with about three strokes of a bore snake and M-pro7 after a day at the range or match day. That’s it. I have bore scoped my rifles and they are free of carbon with a stable amount of copper from session to session after cleaning. I notice no major cold bore shift on any of my stuff. They all easily shoot sub half moa or better with boxed ammo, sometimes significantly better.
My .02 is to spend less time obsessing over cleaning and more time shooting.
Wow, so you more or less clean after each session to a degree, then come on here and spew this bullshit?
If everyone cleaned soft carbon from a barrel after shooting, we would not b having this discussion, thing is, most don't and never will.
Why attack? I’m just asking an earnest question and stating my own experience. Groups don’t lie. For the record I wouldn’t clean the carbon if it wasn’t a source of corrosion.
What’s your expertise? Why do you think what you think? Do you have any answers to the questions I posed? If you do then share your data/sources/experience and educate me. Why so sensitive?
That wasn't an attack, just pointed out the contradiction in your statement. You more or less said, why fuss? Then say you clean each time, who is fussing here?
I bet most of us try get 250-400rds between cleanings. Always let the rifle tell you when it needs cleaning, that wasn't intent of the post.
No one who utilizes a bore snake in their regular cleaning regimen is in any way qualified to give cleaning advice
Says who? Again I’m all about learning so if you’ve got some hard data I’m all ears. Oh I’ve got Dewey rods and Lucas bore guides and Parker Hale jags and half a dozen solvents and probably a few flying lures stashed away somewhere. I’ve just outgrown the notion that any of them make a material difference in the well being of my bores. Most importantly they can cause harm.
I like a pull through cleaner over a rod because if you brush with a rod and solvent, you create an abrasive slurry that you are lapping the lands with anywhere the rod makes contact, especially at the crown. I don’t personally think that a jag and patch is apt to harm the throat but I think the crown is very susceptible to damage on withdrawal of the rod. Even though it's brass vs stainless, it’s a knife edge you’re trying to maintain at the crown and any brass hammer can ruin any steel knife.
Also, in a shoot, clean, shoot scenario, brushes/jags/patches are more likely to leave solvent in the bore which can absolutely ruin a barrel with the pressures encountered during firing. A regular old bore snake is very absorbent and less likely to lead to that. If I’m doing something that doesn’t stand to reason, somebody tell me how so I can do better.
It’s not like I haven’t scrubbed my rifles like a barbecue grill before. I'm just not convinced it’s what’s best. Nothing more.
Last edited:
If you think a brush laps the barrel...think about running a 30” piece of sandpaper over your crown!
I'm going to ask a stupid question: I read on the forums somewhere, where a guy basically narrowed down an accuracy problem from maybe shooting a comp in the rain.....water was in the barrel...fired...the bullet went down the barrel and the water (that can't be compressed) didn't have time to evaporate or get out of the way, hydraulically expanded the lands or grooves of his barrel and made his very good accuracy go to meh accuracy.
So...the question is....if you leave liquid cleaner in your barrel....no matter how tiny....could it hydraulically expand a land or groove and cause problems over time?
I personally only clean when my gun tells me it is time....I don't know if this is my laziness or some bias I have for leaving a good shooting gun alone until it shoots poorly.
So...the question is....if you leave liquid cleaner in your barrel....no matter how tiny....could it hydraulically expand a land or groove and cause problems over time?
I personally only clean when my gun tells me it is time....I don't know if this is my laziness or some bias I have for leaving a good shooting gun alone until it shoots poorly.
I think it would be safe to assume liquid in a barrel can't do it any good, adverse affects, I guess I don't care to find out. We've all shot in some rain.
After any cleaning solvents are jagged out, I soak my barrel with Kroil, IMO, or I have been told it will neutralize copper solvents. I jag this out one patch, then tip rifle barrel into a trash can, spray lug abatement area and chamber with gun scrubber or the like that evaporates fast, one more jag patch and done. Clean chamber, final jag down the bore, by my Hawkeye, dry as a bone.
I can't answer your question with authority, but why chance it?
You better get it all out or you will have a mess. There was a really good thread on this posted by @orkan from Primal Rights a while ago. It looked like it worked super well but it required a thorough flush with 100% isopropyl alcohol or it would eat your barrel. I can’t remember the details. Not sure the thread is still available on SH but it is available on the Primal Rights website.
Lol my Koolaid tastes better than your Koolaid. Not that I think I’d change your mind, but it might get somebody to consider a few things. Having a cleaning system that is fiber based vs rigid is a specific reason I switched over. Same reason I wash my truck with a microfiber wash mitt instead of a silicone oven mitt. The grit is there. Best to hide it away if you can.
I do occasionally, Gunslick brand, I think it is safe to leave in a barrel for extended times, but I am usually in a hurry and it works great if you use a brush. IMO, if you are cleaning for a happy medium, stuff is good, borescoping after, nice balance in the barrel, if that makes sense, not dirty, not spotless.
It seems to leave a sticky film though, so condition the bore with an oil of some kind before jagging clean.
If you are that concerned about your crown, I'd quit sending bullets down the barrel. You say you build your own guns, re-crown the fucking thing after so many rds and cleanings, you have the shit to do it.
So you think a bore foam followed up with a bore solvent could work? I thought about using a foam, then finishing it off with a copper solvent and bore solvent. Just to be thorough
Well, the foam a dual purpose cleaner, carbon and copper. If you want to remove both efficiently, why not go carbon dissolver, then copper solvent. I'm not saying your train of thought is wrong, just makes little sense to me. Either way, you are double cleaning so to speak.
Holy shitballs, people are using CLR to clean barrels?
It has long been said that more barrels are destroyed by cleaning than by shooting.
I really don't care whose anecdotes are offered, I am not putting CLR or a pumice-like compound down my barrel, unless the thing is shot out completely and I don't care if bad gets worse - but will be pleasantly surprised if bad gets better.
It has long been said that more barrels are destroyed by cleaning than by shooting.
I really don't care whose anecdotes are offered, I am not putting CLR or a pumice-like compound down my barrel, unless the thing is shot out completely and I don't care if bad gets worse - but will be pleasantly surprised if bad gets better.
Yeah that was my thought, double clean to be thorough. Chances are the foam wouldn’t get 100% out but it’ll cut down on the amount I would need. Thats what I was thinking at least
Jb bore paste basically a polish..ive try blue and the red.red is more aggressive polishing inside barrel will change bore size..i wouldnt use it for rifle.i lve used in my comp pistol barrel though
Id rather use EVEN bronze brush and hopes9
Before using paste
Similar threads
