ATTN: CLR users...

[Joe Maisto]

What about a 50/50 solution of vinegar and water basically the same thing some people use to clean brass or brakes in an ultrasonic cleaner as soon as you drop brass or a brake in the carbon starts coming off

That may well be. However... I am married to a woman for 63 years that keeps going back to the "olden" days when people thought that was the worlds best window cleaner. That is total bull sh--. Why ? Because they have never used DAWN and warm water !

 

[Joe Maisto]

And the Gun shops will soon have Dawn on there shelves.

AMEN BROTHER !!

 

[Dusty Stevens]

It is good to have you back. When do you sleep?

See what i mean?

 

[joshb]

See what i mean?

Are you awake now?

 

[HTSmith]

See what i mean?

Dang man

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Are you awake now?

Yes

 

[joshb]

Yes

Too late! I had something really, really important to talk to you about........but now I forget what it was.
Merry Christmas!

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Too late! I had something really, really important to talk to you about........but now I forget what it was.
Merry Christmas!

You too my man.

 

[CT10ring]

Im glad you were able to get more out of it. Thats why we’re here. No sir its not necessary to clean barrels as clean as we do. Its best to see where your accuracy falls off and keep it in the acceptable range. Sometimes ill clean a barrel for a week- run a patch thru one nite, another the next nite maybe some brushing, maybe try a new product and patch it out the next day to see how it did, etc. Of course i think you need a bit of everything because you never know whats going to work with the particular fouling you have at the time. At a minimum i recommend a bottle of butch’s bore shine, some montana extreme 50bmg (for emergency use only- its rough), some real good bronze brushes (i like to make sure they are brass core and are looped on the end not cut), a damn good bore guide (not a universal one you need one for your action AND cartridge- not just caliber, and with o-ring seal), good cotton flannel patches- i use pro shot. I use 1.75”sq and a 22 pierce type jag for a 6mm. You can adjust accordingly. I use a 2” round and a 30cal jag for 30cal. After that id get a toothpaste tube of flitz polish, one of iosso, and a jar of JB non embedding bore cleaner with the blue label and a jar of the red label. I use a 45cal bore mop to dry the chamber after cleaning and be sure the bore is pointed slightly down while cleaning. I use custom ivy cleaning rods for my BR rifles but use the montana extremes or dewey for everything else. Stay away from the cheap rods without actual bearings and the carbon fiber ones. Always run a dry patch thru if you swap chemicals and i run a patch of carb cleaner thru after cleaning before shooting. Youll see shortly after this post how wrong i am and how theres a better way im sure but this is just my experience actually shooting matches and having to clean between relays, plus a ton of experimenting between matches and on customer barrels getting replaced. Im a firm believer in keeping them spotless. They seem to last longer. The only thing harder than carbon is a diamond so i dont like having it around. Oh, on the abrasives i short stroke them all the way down the barrel. When you have a perfect patch and jag you can feel the carbon so concentrate on those areas and ask a ton of questions. One more thing, neutralize your brushes in a bottle of water after cleaning. The bore cleaner eats them up and use aluminum dewey jags to not get a false copper reading on the patches.

Great info!

 

[DGP4]

A couple years ago when a similar thread regarding CLR came up, I bought and tried some with little success on a SS barrel.

But I also had a gallon of ZEP Wood Deck and Fence Pressure Wash that contained Oxalic Acid that was meant to be reduced with water for use in pressuring washing wood. I had a shot out Savage SS barrel with the original fluted and bead blasted finish so I immersed it in the full strength acid. Lot's of fizzing and after awhile it started to turn a darker color so I removed it and washed it thoroughly.

I don't recommend it for barrel cleaning, at least not on an installed barrel, but it did a really good job of thoroughly cleaning out any carbon and copper. I cut the barrel into several sections and inspected it carefully. I could see no significan etching of the lands and grooves, and other than the darker color, it was about as clean as possible with absolutely no fouling or residue of any kind. A quick dip in a SS brightener would probably have restored its original brilliance.

I did not repeat the test with a diluted batch, as I didn't have another "tomato stake" barrel to use. From previous work experience I know that a mixture of Hydrochloric and Hydrofluoric acids is the standard for cleaning Stainless steel. Though definitely NOT something you'd want around a wooden stock, or 4130 steel and is flat out dangerous to work with, particularly the Hydrofluoric acid component which can be deadly.

For copper cleaning I now use a foaming bore cleaner. Getting the foam in the bore without also getting it everywhere else has been a problem, but I solved it by taking a cartridge brass from the gun being cleaned and drilling out the flash hole to tightly fit the vinyl tube on the can of cleaner. I fit the brass onto the tube, slide it in the chamber and give it a shot of foam. Works perfectly, especially with the gun oriented muzzle down, and I rinse the brass after use to prevent etching.
View attachment 1211960

Fantastic stuff! Best copper remover I ever used. Unfortunately, it has been discontinued

 

[joshb]

I have an old 30-06 that I got from Ggmac. I scoped the old gun after cleaning it with Hoppes #9. Not a speck of copper!!!



......because they only shot lead bullets in it.

I didn’t buy into the CLR “method”. Seemed crazy to me.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

I have an old 30-06 that I got from Ggmac. I scoped the old gun after cleaning it with Hoppes #9. Not a speck of copper!!!



......because they only shot lead bullets in it.

I didn’t buy into the CLR “method”. Seemed crazy to me.

Ive seen a barrel stub soaked in it. Cant believe this is even still discussed

 

[Texas10]

Fantastic stuff! Best copper remover I ever used. Unfortunately, it has been discontinued

Not discontinued, just rebranded. Now it's Hoppes foaming bore cleaner. https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1240562400

 

[DGP4]

Not discontinued, just rebranded. Now it's Hoppes foaming bore cleaner. https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1240562400

Have you tried it? Can you confirm it is the same formulation as the gunslick foam?

 

[Texas10]

Have you tried it? Can you confirm it is the same formulation as the gunslick foam?

Haven't run out of the original yet, so no, I've not tried it. I use my Teslong borescope camera everytime I clean. When one product doesn't quite cut it, I switch to another that targets the particular fouling I'm going after, and change cleaning tools too. Jags, brushes, mops, abrasive pellets, whatever it takes. Lately I find a bronze brush wrapped with a cotton patch soaked with a cleaner does a very good job.

I can't emphasise enough to those who strive for ultimate accuracy that having and using a borescope or borescope camera is an essential tool. Of course a hand lapped custom barrel is not going to foul like a factory barrel, but in my experience there is a noticable difference between clean and sort of clean. The holes in the target are the final judge when it comes to how well the barrel was cleaned.

Some factory barrels prefer some copper fouling to shoot their best, and a borescope will allow you to visually confirm that the barrel is at its optimal stage of clean.