-
Having trouble using the site?
Contact support
Kelblys says no CLR for you........
- Thread starter Im2bent
- Start date
It’s safe to use it on cheap thin chrome-plated faucets and shower heads with plastic parts… I doubt it’s going to pitt-up a solid 416r stainless action or barrel… Just my thoughts.
Straight off their website…
Straight off their website…
Wonder if it's possible there's a galvanic reaction when more than one pedigree of metal is in the tub at the same time.
May be worth some experimentation.
ETA: based on the video below ... nope. Just straight up not good.
May be worth some experimentation.
ETA: based on the video below ... nope. Just straight up not good.
Last edited:
I wonder if CLR is the reason for all the bolt stop failures. Mystery solved
I would not use it with out testing it for your self or on high carbon barrels but it's done zero harm to any of my stainless barrels and it's faster and cheaper than any normal gun cleaner . If I had something better I would try it , but I have seen nothing for the price that can touch it .unless your barrel is made of cream cheese try a little give it 5 min if you like the results use it if you don't don't use it it's simple and painless .
There's a current thread from Frank Green about cleaning barrels and he very explicitly said to not use CLR.
www.snipershide.com
For the Love of God, GI Joe and John Wayne.... cleaning and abrasive cleaners
Guys..... This has been beaten to death but you have to watch how your using abrasive cleaners! Here is a 223 barrel with 800 rounds on it. Cleaned after every 75 rounds fired. I know the pitting is from a chemical reaction but I didn't get the whole story. It was cleaned approximately 10-12...
www.snipershide.com
Simple Green is bio degradable but it will dissolve aluminum and will also eat regular steel. Just because something seems to be safe on the surface doesn't mean it is really safe!
In before Okran or whatever comes in and loses his mind with a 7 hour video on how its safe and he drinks it every night before bed,
Don't shoot your rifle, it will get dirty and wear will occur!!!
If you leave CLR in your barrel, I'd bet it will do some damage. I wouldn't get it on your action at all and I'd clean it up immediately if ya did. It does work pretty well to clean the barrel and I've not had any damage in a few years now but I also don't leave any cleaner in my barrel what so ever for any period if time
Put metal in acid and there is damage over time, WTF.
I know I've left 17-4ph baffles in straight CLR for over and hour, and they came out looking brand damn new. No etching, no discoloration... Shiny as they were brand new, and the carbon wiped right off... I agree though, who the hell would leave that sitting in a barrel for 14 or 24 hours?
I wonder if it did the same for cerakoted metals, or if it only did it for uncoated raw steel.
Also, I'm curious how quickly those microscopic etchings would smooth back out in a bore after being shot with live ammo?
I wonder if it did the same for cerakoted metals, or if it only did it for uncoated raw steel.
Also, I'm curious how quickly those microscopic etchings would smooth back out in a bore after being shot with live ammo?
I mean, I don't use clr every time, I think it is best reserved for serious cleaning needs and to be used carefully. If you can get the bore clean with gun cleaner, then it does seem like a smarter idea to just use that. However, I know what kind of challenge it can be to get a bore clean and clr has helped me with that a few times, But, I'd never leave it in my barrel. Like most powerful things, you have to have some sense to use em..... my Casey foaming bore scrubber with nylon brush has been working best of all so I'm going to keep doing that and of course lots of hoppees9
I am suspicious of this video. Too much opinion in it from the jump. The best way to tell, which he didn’t do would be to get a coupon of the material you barrel is made of, mic it before the test and after the test in the same spot. That will tell you what you need to know. Just because something is discolored means nothing - it could be additive or be precipitate from the clr. Or it could be pulling from the metal. Without real data this video is inadequate. And who doesn’t run some kind of oil through their barrel after cleaning with whatever solvent? I don’t use CLR but this video is lacking any empirical data.
It is shocking that acid etched metal. Next news flash water will cause rust. And it is wet.
CLR has been gaining traction lately, for whatever reason.
I hadn't felt the need to try CLR until earlier this year, and had my own issues (which I won't relitigate). I'm sticking to M-Pro 7 now.
I've seen it posted in multiple places as a miracle cure for carbon build up. Especially in forums where suppressors are popular. The claim is it dissolves carbon ... not too many things on the planet can do that.
Who would have thought it removes the carbon by eroding the steel it's attached to.
It does a hell of a job cleaning things.
But yeah - at what cost?
If people are going to clean with CLR, they need to be very careful. Take the barrel out of the rifle, don't rely on cleaning tools like chamber plugs. Immediately wipe off of any surface that gets exposed to CLR. Don't soak the barrel for too long. Clean out your barrel thoroughly after using CLR to make sure there is no remaining CLR in the barrel.
I've tried it. Got a lot of junk out of the barrel. Also ended up in a nightmare scenario on one of my rifles that had to go back to the gunsmith. Personally I wouldn't use it again.
I’ve used it but I’ll literally hose out the barrel and action cavity with alcohol after just to be sure it’s 100% removed. I only use CLR when I’m feeling extra extra extra lazy.
How many of the guys saying not to use CLR use an ammonia based cleaner?
Butch’s?
Sweet’s 7.62?
How is it any different?
Of course you don’t leave your parts sitting in a bath of either for any extended period of time if you don’t want any reaction between the cleaner and barrel.
Butch’s?
Sweet’s 7.62?
How is it any different?
Of course you don’t leave your parts sitting in a bath of either for any extended period of time if you don’t want any reaction between the cleaner and barrel.
No, but they’re both capable of damaging materials.
Are people actually soaking their barrels in CLR for hours on end? Is that a thing?
Yes, a mod here started a thread about plugging a barrel and filling it with CLR to soak. When I suggested caution should be used he rage quit and deleted the thread. The YT lord and savior F-class daddy espouses soaking with CLR too.
Also this is nothing new.
Sweet's 7.62 has a warning label on it for the exact same reason since like....forever ago.
Having to tell people to not leave acid on metal is like telling a guy to be sure he doesn't stick his dick in a fan.
Sweet's 7.62 has a warning label on it for the exact same reason since like....forever ago.
Having to tell people to not leave acid on metal is like telling a guy to be sure he doesn't stick his dick in a fan.
There's an Eric Cortina YT vid about soaking his tuners and brakes in it, got more people using it as a carbon cleaner. It'll definitely take bluing right off not sure about DLC or cera.
EC pushes CLR pretty hard.
Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should do something.
People should approach CLR with a lot of caution and understanding of what the risks are. I don't think those that push CLR, like EC, are really explaining the risks of using such a product. Not a lot of "informed consent" happening.
I've used it (diluted 50/50 with water), but only on suppressor baffles and muzzle brakes. It will cut through some serious carbon crud, but if you leave the part in the solution too long, it will discolor it (like an APA brake). But for Ti suppressor baffles? Works like a dream.
I'm not sure where people got the idea to put it down their barrels, but I suppose some do it. I'll use it on a $200 brake (they're a wear item in my book, that doesn't affect accuracy that much), but not on a $900 barrel (while also a wear item, that's a lotta money to be possibly screwing up). Nope.
I'm not sure where people got the idea to put it down their barrels, but I suppose some do it. I'll use it on a $200 brake (they're a wear item in my book, that doesn't affect accuracy that much), but not on a $900 barrel (while also a wear item, that's a lotta money to be possibly screwing up). Nope.
I bet more people use it to clean their barrels than you think. Pretty much any barrel cleaning post here on the 'hide over the past ~2 years or so will have at least one person saying they use CLR to clean their barrel.
My view on CLR...and ammonia based solvents like Sweets also....is informed by the dozens of instances I've seen here where someone posts "After the solvent (and maybe a brush), I push three dry patches thru and call it done...har, har, har"
I dunno WTF kind of patches these people are using but in my experience this will absolutely NOT get all of the solvent out of my barrels. I bet I push a dozen patches through until I get them out with absolutely NO damp spots.
So no...I don't like any sort of solvents that have corrosive potential if any of it is left in there. Just silly me.
Oh, as for Cortina.....how many barrels do you think he goes thru? How many of us are willing to pay for barrels at the rate he goes through them?
I dunno WTF kind of patches these people are using but in my experience this will absolutely NOT get all of the solvent out of my barrels. I bet I push a dozen patches through until I get them out with absolutely NO damp spots.
So no...I don't like any sort of solvents that have corrosive potential if any of it is left in there. Just silly me.
Oh, as for Cortina.....how many barrels do you think he goes thru? How many of us are willing to pay for barrels at the rate he goes through them?
Some of this is perspective / context. Most of the interviews I have seen where folks discuss using CLR, they state they only let it sit for a few min and then flush the barrel before going to other solvents. That is the way I use it when I have stubborn carbon and it has yet to cause any visible damage and guns still shoot. Some folks have discussed (it was mentioned by Frank Green and Cortina) negative results by letting it sit or by not flushing and/or a chemical reaction between CLR and other solvents causing damage. I have soaked brakes in it for about an hour and some do etch and some don't, but I stopped soaking them in CLR and went to a sonic cleaner for them. I do not see anything wrong with using CLR in a barrel, but I do not let it soak and I flush the barrel before proceeding. I do not recall hearing any of the CLR advocates saying they soak - they all said it was used just to get carbon out on the front side of cleaning and then they flush to ensure none is left in barrel.
Quick spray/scrub with carb & choke cleaner, then a trip through the tumbler has worked for me. I'm not too picky though, and we're talking SS and centerfire cans, maybe a few Ti spacers.
Agreed. A few bursts of brake cleaner and a few patches will get rid of any residuals.
Works fine on their nitrided one also. I soak my brakes in it for several hours. No issues yet.
I do dilute with water 50/50
Last edited:
I don't have a dog in the fight...idc what ppl use. But I wonder how many of the folks who saw adverse reaction with CLR also used an ammonia based cleaner? Started with CLR to cut carbon and then moved on to something ammonia based for copper and either didn't patch out between or did a piss poor job? The lactic acid in the CLR would react with the ammonium hydroxide.
I've used Sweets improperly and didn't see negative results. I got CLR on carbon steel and saw immediate negative results. I don't use Sweets much anymore but it isn't acid. CLR is acid, full stop.
F-Class Daddy is a general contractor by trade, I don't think relying on his opinion is the wisest decision. However, if you go over to the reloading section, you can see people hanging on his every word.
Did not read all the post here. Agree with acid eating metal of course.
Life is simple unless you seek complication.
@Frank Green has outlined how to clean a barrel on a thread linked above.
Make life easy. Listen to Frank.
Life is simple unless you seek complication.
@Frank Green has outlined how to clean a barrel on a thread linked above.
Make life easy. Listen to Frank.
I haven’t ever used CLR.
I had a stubborn carbon ring in a 6GT & used this with good success. Why try CLR when there are better options.
I’m surprised there isn’t much mention anywhere for fire arms cleaning.
I had a stubborn carbon ring in a 6GT & used this with good success. Why try CLR when there are better options.
I’m surprised there isn’t much mention anywhere for fire arms cleaning.
I said along time ago as well as I did a test on barrels with CLR here and posted it on the hide and I've told guys not to use it.
We have no control over how one guy does it vs another guy. That is the biggest variable and if you leave it in to long and it etches/pits the bore. Your on your own.
