• This Forum is for adults 18 years of age or over. By continuing to use this Forum you are confirming that you are 18 or older. No content shall be viewed by any person under 18 in California.

Another Carbon Cleaning Experience

CharlieNC

Gold $$ Contributor
In the past I occasionally had issues cleaning carbon from the grooves after a 2-day F class match. After trying most of the options that are frequently suggested (including Iosso bore paste) the best solution was spray carb cleaner plus the bronze brush; it removed what all others had not after many strokes.

This time was different. After two matches with significant wind and heavy mirage, the clouds rolled in and the wind stopped. So I ran the 223 as rapidly as I could to take advantage of the conditions; I had never run the barrel that hard before. Following the carb cleaner + brush, I soaked overnight using Wipe Out because I noticed a bit of copper using the endoscope. Next morning to my surprise I observed carbon tracks on top of the lands; appearing as railroad ties built up on all the lands in one location. But this time numerous brushings, including another attempt with Isso did not seem to begin to touch them. Becoming a bit worried I decided to try the "best" penetrating solution; 50:50 synthetic automatic trans fluid : acetone (there have been a couple of comprehensive studies demonstrating superiority vs Kroil and many other commercial products). To my surprise after a couple of hours soaking and a few strokes the carbon mounds were nearly totally removed. Following an overnight soak and 50 strokes of the brush the bore is now completely clean of the carbon mounds.

While only a first observation using ATF:acetone for carbon, the rapid improvement was dramatic so I will be trying this more in the future as a general cleaning solution. And maybe I won't run the barrel that hard again; well maybe I will because I have a new one being built!
 
Charlie, I am concerned that perhaps you maybe trying to extend the life of a brush beyond it's usefulness. Measure a new brush with a caliper, and the brush you are using. Best brushes are usually good for around 100 strokes. The best plastic brushes I have found are ISSO and Montana Extreme, and in tough carbon deposits, they just do not cut the mustard like a new bronze bristle brush.

I hope you will report your findings on the ATF.

I feel that this product is far superior to any penetrating oil on the market. You find out what really penetrates when you are dealing with old rusty bolts on front ends of cars/trucks:

IMGP0085_1.jpg
[/URL]
 
Seems I'm still a bit of a rookie on cleaning s/s barrels. I don't have a bore scope. 10 stokes with a bronze brush and I get black. Patch it out and repeat and black again. Seems to be endless. I think I could put hundreds of stokes and still get black. I believe it's clean and i am just wearing metal. Thoughts
 
I tried CLR (the bathroom stuff) on the suggestion of the guys at Sniperforums. No idea what it does to barrels (aside from their guarantee that it's safe); but it does a number on carbon. Doesn't seem to affect the steel.

First attempt was on the carbon caked and baked on the muzzle crown. Boretech bore cleaner did nothing. Kroil didn't do much. CLR took 2 or 3 wipes on a patch and the muzzle was bright and shiny.

Second attempt was my factory R700 barrel. Cleaned using Boretech Bore Cleaner and their Copper Remover until it wasn't pulling anything else out (took a while.) A couple of patches of CLR pulled a lot more carbon out. I hadn't looked with the borescope to see what had been left, so I can't say where it came from. On that go round, I ran out of time to run CLR patches until they came out clean. Might have to try that again.

Anyway, I was impressed; I don't use it regularly, but I certainly will if I run into stubborn carbon.
 
I've found that when a brush is capable of being pulled back before reaching end of barrel it's now a .22 brush. Good for a patch strip with jb to scrub 4" of bore.
I go through a brush every match it seems.
 
This was a new brush, which is why I became concerned after it did nothing following a couple hundred strokes. I have also read that CLR is very effective but am hesitant to use it until the guienea pigs report more results. If you don't have a scope consider getting a $20 endoscope from amazon, and as warned don't go overboard based on what you see. After using it several times between shooting sessions you will begin to get a feel for what looks normal, correlating to losses in accuracy, etc. Even this low cost scope showed the carbon boulders on the lands, which I had never observed up to this point.
 
mike a said:
Seems I'm still a bit of a rookie on cleaning s/s barrels. I don't have a bore scope. 10 stokes with a bronze brush and I get black. Patch it out and repeat and black again. Seems to be endless. I think I could put hundreds of stokes and still get black. I believe it's clean and i am just wearing metal. Thoughts
Click to expand...
Whatever cleaner you're using may be reacting with the bronze and turning black, just as most copper solvent will turn it blue.
 
Go by an engine rebuilder and get an old piston. Try all your carbon cleaning tricks out on the tops until you find one you like. Get a bronze and nylon toothbrush from a gun cleaning kit at walmart to simulate your bore brushes. Dont forget to try sea foam with your experiments.
 
Dusty Stevens said:
Go by an engine rebuilder and get an old piston. Try all your carbon cleaning tricks out on the tops until you find one you like. Get a bronze and nylon toothbrush from a gun cleaning kit at walmart to simulate your bore brushes. Dont forget to try sea foam with your experiments.
Click to expand...

Dusty I use Seafoam extensively, and spray carb cleaner but they were ineffective this time. Following these failing I was amazed at how quickly the atf:acetone worked. I have the Eds Red receipe somewhere and may mix a batch while I'm at it, must be a good reason its been around so long.
 
Yup! Me too. I shot some "too long" strings of fire out of my 6.5-47 and .223 Brux barrels. Cleaned them with everything I had. Wipe out with accelerator, Kroil, Seafoam, carb cleaner, Butch's bore shine, Hoppes....I still have Carbon and copper caked on the first 4-5 inches of my bores. I patched them with Butches at the range. Let them soak overnight. Scrubbed. Patched them with Wipe Out for another overnight. Scrubbed. Tried Seafoam for another overnight soak. Still caked, but minor improvement. I finally put them away. I hate to use the JB bore paste, but I see no other solution.:mad::mad::mad:
 
Last edited:
CharlieNC said:
Dusty I use Seafoam extensively, and spray carb cleaner but they were ineffective this time. Following these failing I was amazed at how quickly the atf:acetone worked. I have the Eds Red receipe somewhere and may mix a batch while I'm at it, must be a good reason its been around so long.
Click to expand...

If you find it, would you mind posting it?
Thanks
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Upgrades & Donations

This Forum's expenses are primarily paid by member contributions. You can upgrade your Forum membership in seconds. Gold and Silver members get unlimited FREE classifieds for one year. Gold members can upload custom avatars.


Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.

You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.


To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.

Classified Ads

Forum statistics

Threads
164,688
Messages
2,182,792
Members
78,476
Latest member
375hhfan

Share This Page

Back
Top