Thread: Barrels ruined by cleaning

Has anyone here actually seen this ?

What did you see through the borescope ?

it was common in day when pull throughs were the norm and folks would drag it out on angle..apparently.
Ive always been cautious so dont know anymore than that.

Load of rubbish people claim a brass brush will damage a steel barrel. Yeah right. Use a bore guide to protect chamber from the rod. People claim drawing the brush back down the bore on the back stroke will damage the crown another old wife tale. I've looked down my so called over cleaned barrel with a borescope no damage. If you don't want to wear your barrel out cleaning it fine corrosion will do the job for you. And yes stainless barrels do corrode.

Have you ever tried to push a projectile (that is the correct size) down a barrel? And then follow it with a bit of carbon etc. Good luck. Every shot fired through a barrel does a lot more damage than any amount of cleaning ever will...in my opinion anyway

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I’m sure it’s possible with poor quality cleaning rods, aggressive solvents and poor processes, but I also think too many shooters baby their barrels. A brass or synthetic brush is much softer than barrel steel and only likely to cause damage in the hands of someone with no understanding. Personally I use bore guides and remove my brush if it passes the crown. Other than that I clean regularly and leave a light coating of CRC Long Life in the bore.

It probably more the case that insufficient cleaning causes more problems. There are often threads on here regarding carbon rings and barrels suddenly coming good after a real rod out to get carbon out of the grooves and copper off the lands.

I’m also a believer in a light polish of the throat with Autosol every couple of hundred rounds.

This is an emotive subject, and, like religion or1080, not worth arguing about. Find what works for your needs in your rifles and get out to shoot.

Over cleaning or wrong cleaning technique has led to the early demise of many barrel. Cleaning from the muzzle with aluminium or plastic coated rods can cause muzzle wear due to fine abrasive dust trapped on the surface of the rod. Bronze brushes should always be pushed completely through the bore before pulling them back, on the few occasions that you need them. The correct cleaning technique is to push a wool mop that has a liberal amount of good quality bore solvent on it, right through the barrel from the breech end. Blued rifles need to have the surplus solvent wiped off the outside of the firearm with a dry cloth, then leave the gun for about 30 minutes or so before wiping out with a dry patch, followed by a lightly oiled patch. Job done! Push a dry patch through the bore before firing.

Originally Posted by gundoc

Over cleaning or wrong cleaning technique has led to the early demise of many barrel. Cleaning from the muzzle with aluminium or plastic coated rods can cause muzzle wear due to fine abrasive dust trapped on the surface of the rod. Bronze brushes should always be pushed completely through the bore before pulling them back, on the few occasions that you need them. The correct cleaning technique is to push a wool mop that has a liberal amount of good quality bore solvent on it, right through the barrel from the breech end. Blued rifles need to have the surplus solvent wiped off the outside of the firearm with a dry cloth, then leave the gun for about 30 minutes or so before wiping out with a dry patch, followed by a lightly oiled patch. Job done! Push a dry patch through the bore before firing.

@gundoc are there any particular solvents for cleaning carbon and/or copper that you've found to be better than others?

Originally Posted by Seventenths

@gundoc are there any particular solvents for cleaning carbon and/or copper that you've found to be better than others?

I have always been a fan of Hoppes #9 (especially the original formulation), but Sweets is OK, and there will be others that are suitable. It is important to use a product that contains a metal fouling solvent (eg; ammonia or similar).

Old School cleaning solution.

Mix equal Parts
Heavy mineral oil
Distilled turpentine (vegetable turpentine)
Acetone

Keep mixture sealed so acetone does not evaporate

Originally Posted by gundoc

I have always been a fan of Hoppes #9 (especially the original formulation), but Sweets is OK, and there will be others that are suitable. It is important to use a product that contains a metal fouling solvent (eg; ammonia or similar).

You've got to be careful with Sweets as it contains a lot of ammonia. Some years back I saw a fairly new stainless Shilen select match barrel that was completely rooted because the owner left Sweet's in it and forgot about it until the next day. It was darkish grey to look at and even after extensive cleaning and using JB paste it wasn't able to be saved. Expensive mistake.

CLR will remove Carbon extremely effectively, for copper I just use Boretech or whatever it's called

A good mate of mine who is a qualified chemical engineer looked at me sideways and suggested it's not the most brilliant thing to do as it reacts with steel.
When I read about it I was keen as to try it.
I will stick to the best cleaner I have ever used which is wipe out combined with accelerator.
Unbeleivable!

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=andyanimal31 hey mate I saw on a previous post that you had purchased a TRG22 and was wondering if you where looking to sell it.
thanks Arran

Originally Posted by 7mmwsm

I heard the other day Acetone makes you go deaf if it gets in your system.

That applies to most organic solvents, including white spirits.

I don't think acetone is high on any list for causing toxicity to your ears or balance, but in industry it's often mentioned because it gets used alongside nastry stuff like xylene and styrene and so gets a co-mention. Acetone does seem nasty. It will burn, get it on your hands it truly dries the skin more than alcohol will (a very useful and potent degreaser!), it dissolves plastics and polystyrene and some varnishes so you really have to be sure before you use it. But Acetone is actually a very safe solvent to inhale and get on your skin except for getting dermatitis because protective oils get stripped. Safer than alcohol which IS a carcinogen and which we drink. Wearing rubber gloves is a great idea no matter what solvent you use.

If you go past your mealtime you actually have natural acetone in your blood stream as it's one of the chemicals we refer to as "ketone bodies" and which come from fat breakdown and our body uses them for energy. But again, in very high amounts bets are off.

Result after a gentle Hoppes #9.
Havnt cleaned the 308 T3X for a few months and had a few rounds thru it.Theres a bit of hunting to do in the next 6 months.Went to the range,group was a bit spread like 1.5 inchs.So went home and gave the bore 2 patchs of Hoppes,then 4 dry till clean patched.Gave the bolt face a clean and chamber.Crown a gental wipe.Went to the range next morning,no wind.Took my time and fired one shot.That will do me.
The clean cold bore kill shot I hope.