What is the best way to clean th AR10 Bolt carrier

problemchild

problemchild

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Jun 11, 2009
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#1
Man alive my LMT BC gets dirty inside. If you look straight down to where the bolt rests at the end there is a lot of diamond hard build up that refuses to come off. I see many different types of tools and I own one but it is not a perfect fit and does a poor job of cleaning the carbon off.

Suggestions?
 
#3
Re: What is the best way to clean th AR10 Bolt carrier

Bore Tech cleaner removes the toughest carbon buildup. I used it on a friends piston that never received any maintenance. It stopped functioning so he gave it to me to see what I could do with it. The carbon buildup was unbelievable. Alot of the gun wouldnt come apart. I placed the pieces in a shallow pan of Bore Tech. I planned on dropping it into my industrial grade heated ultrasonic tank later. The pieces fell apart on their own in the pan. UNREAL!
 
#4
Re: What is the best way to clean th AR10 Bolt carrier

Try to not rush it and use Kroil. It has super penetrating abilities. Then scrape it off carefully with a dental pick or old firing pin or blade screw driver. You could rig up and reamer type thingy using something like a .5" drill bit with 400grit sandpaper just so you don't change the deminsions of the part.
 
#5
Re: What is the best way to clean th AR10 Bolt carrier

what functional purpose does it serve to actually get it off?
Unless you're bagging it to store for 50 years or found some ancient corrosive primers you decided to reload with I'm missing the issue.
Power tools, picks, harsh solvents etc are all way more detrimental to the life cycle of that BC than the carbon down there staying in place.
 
#6
Re: What is the best way to clean th AR10 Bolt carrier

Huh?

It messes up the tolerances of the b/bc closing and also hinders the b from moving in the bc. Not to mention its just a giant mess of carbon foul inside. Why run a gun dirty you are asking for a jam up?


<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: dzhitshard</div><div class="ubbcode-body">what functional purpose does it serve to actually get it off?
Unless you're bagging it to store for 50 years or found some ancient corrosive primers you decided to reload with I'm missing the issue.
Power tools, picks, harsh solvents etc are all way more detrimental to the life cycle of that BC than the carbon down there staying in place. </div></div>
 
#9
Re: What is the best way to clean th AR10 Bolt carrier

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Badshot308</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The Stoner DI design can function with a lot more carbon than you realize http://www.bravocompanymfg.com/v/vspfiles/assets/images/filthy14_oct10.pdf That said, I just use Hoppes and one of those 1/8" wide pocket sized bladed screwdrivers when I want to scrape the carbon out of my BC.</div></div> The "Filthy 14" is a 5.56 which shoots a lot cleaner than a DI .308 rifle. The buildup can get pretty bad within 1000rds.

Me personally I use a flat head screwdriver to break through the carbon first, then a dental scaler to flake the rest off, similar to the way I clean the piston and gas regulators on machine guns but without the specialty made scraper tools.
 
#10
Re: What is the best way to clean th AR10 Bolt carrier

"It messes up the tolerances of the b/bc closing and also hinders the b from moving in the bc."
You may want to try sobriety for a while
wink.gif


That is the goofiest thing I've read in a while & I've read a bunch here lately.
Clean, brush, boil, chip, & pick away to you're hearts desire on your personally owned weapons. A man should be able to do with his property as he likes but I will bust Joe's knuckles if I see him running a screw driver down the BCG or a dental pick in the chamber of an issue weapon.
The days of destroying weapons from ignorant "maintenance" practices are on the way out.
 
#11
Re: What is the best way to clean th AR10 Bolt carrier

So none of the "other" tools have a good enough fit to scrape the stuff out? The tool I have is a field tool to keep it running but does not do a complete cleaning.
 
#12
Re: What is the best way to clean th AR10 Bolt carrier

It isn't necessary to remove every bit of carbon fron inside the BC. The inside of the BC is chromed and if you use the wrong tool, especially something abrasive like sandpaper on a rod or drill bit like was suggested earlier, you stand a good chance of damaging it. The chrome is very hard but not indestructable. I don't think the WTO's at work have ever cleaned the carbon out of the BC's, yet the rifles keep working year after year. What's more important is to keep it lubricated. AR-10 type rifles seem to work best wet. An unlubed AR can be a problem. Use dry lube if conditions dictate. The BC won't fill up solid with carbon. I'm not an armorer, but that part of the gas system along with the gas tube seems to be self cleaning to an extent by the gas pressure and velocity. Carbon will build up but then stops at a certain point.
 
#13
Re: What is the best way to clean th AR10 Bolt carrier

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: problemchild</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Man alive my LMT BC gets dirty inside. If you look straight down to where the bolt rests at the end there is a lot of diamond hard build up that refuses to come off. I see many different types of tools and I own one but it is not a perfect fit and does a poor job of cleaning the carbon off.

Suggestions? </div></div>

Um, what part of the BC are you talking about? Do you mean inside the assembly where the firing pin/bolt are or ?

Maybe post a pic because I can't recall ever finding any diamond hard carbon on my bolt only gunk that I wipe off with a scot towel.
 
#17
Re: What is the best way to clean th AR10 Bolt carrier

I disassemble the Bolt Carrier Group and put the whole thing into an ultrasonic cleaner. I run the cleaner for several hours, remove the parts and wipe them dry. Very rarely do I have to do any scraping to bust off carbon that the cleaner didn't break up.
 
#18
Re: What is the best way to clean th AR10 Bolt carrier

All the above cleaning methods have worked well for me. I also seem to have good luck with hard chroming both the bolt and carrier. Still get carbon build up but it cleans easier with the hard, slick surface of the plating.
 
#23
Re: What is the best way to clean th AR10 Bolt carrier

As far as cleaning goes- the M110 is issued, direct from KAC with a cleaning kit containing a chamber rod and various sized brushes. These are used for the barrel, chamber....AND...... BCG. One specifically sized for each different hole. That's just one example of how ONE manufacture says you should clean it. Feel free to check what others say. One thing I will promise is that they will never advise you leave it uncleaned and allow the carbon to build up unchecked.


But hey, if you think cleaning the BCG is a bad idea and reduces accuracy... Then by all means have at it. You MUST be smarter than the guys who build em!
 
#24
Re: What is the best way to clean th AR10 Bolt carrier

FYI, brownell's also carries a really nice scraper designed for that job without the risk of what dental pick's might do. It's like a screwdriver handle (black) with a machined scraper you insert where the bolt sits. Works well for heavy build-up. The well sized bronze bore brush however does the trick just fine for light to medium build up. Hoppes+brush=GTG
 
#25
Re: What is the best way to clean th AR10 Bolt carrier

I used to hose my carrier and bolt with brake cleaner which works, but it's really bad for you. I now use MPRO 7 which is no where near as hazardous as brake cleaner and sure enough does just as good a job if not better than brake cleaner. www.mpro7.com
 
#27
Re: What is the best way to clean th AR10 Bolt carrier

Some good info. Thanks for sharing. Have not shot mine enough yet but I hope to have to clean it shortly.

One good brake cleaner that we use at the shop here is made by Gunk and is non chlorinated. Works just as good and not as hard on the operator.
 
#28
Re: What is the best way to clean th AR10 Bolt carrier

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ckirkc</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I used to hose my carrier and bolt with brake cleaner which works, but it's really bad for you. I now use MPRO 7 which is no where near as hazardous as brake cleaner and sure enough does just as good a job if not better than brake cleaner. www.mpro7.com </div></div>
yep, MPro7 works very well in my ultrasonic cleaner.
 
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