Barrel cleaning

[savageshooter86]

One step cleaners or remove carbon and copper separately?

 

[RetiredArmy]

My vote, remove separately. I use Bore Tech carbon remover and Bore Tech copper remover. Both used with bronze brush. Works for me. Others may disagree.

 

[Bill K]

Normally I clean the bore, after each session out shooting. Then about every fourth time, I soak it for a few hours or overnight with the Wipe out foam, then clean as directed afterwards, seems to keep carbon, copper wash and all out very well. I use a nylon brush very little, this way.

 

[mac86951]

One step cleaners or remove carbon and copper separately?

Great question, I'm tagged for other responses.

I find that sweets is mediocre at powder residue and shines (blue) when residue is removed and copper is present. I would think then that for ammonia based copper removers, access to the copper would require removing the powder residues first. (Mechanically or chemically).

I would also guess that if you use a different chemical for removing residue; a few dry patches to reduce cross contamination would be a good idea.

My finding; butch's bore shine does well at both. Let's see what else is recommended.

-Mac

 

[rsmithsr50]

well I have been testing wipeout for about a year with no complaints.

I normally do carbon first with a tec and then go after copper.
(tec top engine cleaner)

 

[eric n]

I started with Butches and bronze brushes years ago, didn’t have a bore scope or know what I was doing(probably still don’t).
Since then I’ve used-
Sweets.
Wipeout foam and liquid with accelerator.
Carb out.
Sea foam.
Quickleen.
Gm.
All the boretech products.
Clr.
Kg products.
Mpro.
Montana extreme.
Shooters choice.
And I’m sure there are a few others tucked away in the back of the cabinet I’m forgetting. I haven’t tried Ed’s red, or witches brew.
Since getting a borescope a few years ago, I’ve come full circle back to Butches, brushes, and iosso when needed.
Life is so much easier when I can actually see what works.

 

[mac86951]

I've always heard, if it shoots well; does it really need to be cleaned?

Rust aside, food for thought
-Mac

 

[savageshooter86]

I've always heard, if it shoots well; does it really need to be cleaned?

Rust aside, food for thought
-Mac

At some point a barrel has to be cleaned

 

[ShootDots]

If you are a plinker or shooting maybe 20 rounds at a time and cleaning, you will have a good while before you need a really good scrubbing. However, if you are in some form or fashion, involved in competition, real good cleaning becomes mandatory to maintain a high degree of accuracy. I use Bore-Tech Eliminator (cleans both carbon as well as copper) for most of my cleaning. When the barrel is new (under 1000 rounds) I use JB bore cleaner about every 300-400 rounds. Once firecracking really sets in, I begin to use JB after every competition. However, I get all the "loose" carbon out and much of the copper with Eliminator. But you WILL NEED JB or Iosso paste to get the hard carbon and trapped carbon / copper out once some real firecracking sets in..

 

[Ned Ludd]

One thing to consider is that the most of the copper is generally going to be underneath layers of carbon fouling. In other words, the copper removing agent can't always get to where it needs to be in order to work, until the carbon fouling has been removed. In my mind, that is a pretty good argument for using successive carbon remover and copper remover steps. However, if you choose a "double-duty" carbon/copper remover, at a minimum you want to give the copper remover sufficient time to do its thing after the carbon fouling is largely gone so it can have full access to the copper fouling.

 

[Capt. Oblivious]

Hit the carbon first then the copper.

I flush out most of the lose stuff with soaked C4 patches and then I go to CLR on VFG pellets, for copper Ill grab wipe out or sweets.
Sweets from what I have seen does nothing to carbon where whipe out will still attack carbon that you might have left behind.

If the barrel gets stubborn or "rough" after a bit of use the Iosso on a VFG pellet wont be to far

 

[johara1]

I never had copper except in breaking in, I don't shoot over copper..... one shot and clean till it it quits making it. then it never comes back in as high as 3000 rounds. This is over 40 -50 barrels, the only exception were ones that never quit and most had tool marks or other flaws.
Carbon if cleaned properly is not an issue either, and fire cracking is minimal if kept cleaning carbon free..... jim

 

[Longtrain]

Not to be flippant, search for barrel cleaning on the forum. There is so much information that you will spend hours reading it all and it’s conflicting information and recommendations.

My key advise, buy a borescope, a Lyman is good for the money and will tell you what’s going on in your barrel.
Remove powder first, then copper and finally the nasty carbon fouling. Use good bronze brushes, good solvent and yes you will need JB at some point.

P.S. I scoped an old 223 XTC barrel that I deemed clean years ago w/o a scope, nice white patches. Amazing that a bullet could get though the amount of fouling in that “clean” barrel. JB and lots of elbow grease cleaned it shiny again.

 

[johara1]

I use a bore scope at break in and all the way to the end of it's useful life. ...... jim

 

[Nature Boy]

One thing to consider is that the most of the copper is generally going to be underneath layers of carbon fouling. In other words, the copper removing agent can't always get to where it needs to be in order to work, until the carbon fouling has been removed. In my mind, that is a pretty good argument for using successive carbon remover and copper remover steps. However, if you choose a "double-duty" carbon/copper remover, at a minimum you want to give the copper remover sufficient time to do its thing after the carbon fouling is largely gone so it can have full access to the copper fouling.

I've seen this too Ned. Carbon and copper in what looks like layers. Cleaned my 6BRA this weekend. It wasn't until I had removed the carbon that I saw some copper that was hiding underneath

 

[coldboreshot]

My vote, remove separately. I use Bore Tech carbon remover and Bore Tech copper remover. Both used with bronze brush. Works for me. Others may disagree.

+1 on separately. I use Boretech for carbon and Wipeout accelerator and bore foam for copper. Of course, the C4 is cleaned out before the Wipeout products are applied. I have noticed though that the C4 carbon cleaner does pull slight amounts of copper with the blue indicator on the patch.

 

[Tod Hendricks]

Carbon first, copper 2nd, hard carbon every 300-400 or right before a big match. My method is below, and it’s just that, my method! Everyone has there own, most are just fine, it’s not rocket surgery.

CLR is magical if you use it prior to any other chemical, soak a patch and squirt a little extra in bore guide, push patch very slowly, literally a plug of black carbon an inch long will come out in front of the patch. I run 3 or 4 more saturated patches every minute or so. Patch dry. As a bonus, CLR will remove most of the hard carbon ring in the neck area.

Rubbing alcohol to neutralize

KG-12 is the most aggressive copper remover I’ve found, the lack of color change indication kinda sucks, but it works, use a borescope to confirm or confirm with eliminator or similar.

Rubbing alcohol to neutralize

Iosso paste for hard carbon, smear on a patch, push that patch through two or three times, short stroke if possible and necessary in throat area. Two or three clean patches to remove paste. A couple oily patches to remove any paste residue.

Rubbing alcohol to neutralize

Couple patches saturated with lockeeze, one or two clean patches to to finish.

As a side note, last week at SWN I cleaned my barrel before the midrange match, I did NOT clean all week! Went into Sunday with over 250 rounds dirty! Ended Monday team practice day with 322 rounds dirty and still going strong.

 

[savageshooter86]

Tod thank you for the info. I’d say you may know a thing or two about shooting well(sarcasm). Great shooting at SWN

Andrew

 

[Hoodoo]

I've found Butch's works the best as both a copper and powder fouling remover. Let it soak and scrub it with a bronze brush.

Don't overthink it.

 

[Pawnee Bill]

Not to be flippant, search for barrel cleaning on the forum. There is so much information that you will spend hours reading it all and it’s conflicting information and recommendations.

My key advise, buy a borescope, a Lyman is good for the money and will tell you what’s going on in your barrel.
Remove powder first, then copper and finally the nasty carbon fouling. Use good bronze brushes, good solvent and yes you will need JB at some point.

P.S. I scoped an old 223 XTC barrel that I deemed clean years ago w/o a scope, nice white patches. Amazing that a bullet could get though the amount of fouling in that “clean” barrel. JB and lots of elbow grease cleaned it shiny again.

Exactly!