Carbon removal

[358WCF]

I'm still puttering around in the basement with boxes of stuff that haven't seen daylight since the mid 90s when I closed the shop. I found a case of Rem-Clean in yellow plastic bottles & a case of Rem-Oil in spray bottles. I had the bore scope out last night & for giggles gave the stuff a try in a factory 35 Whelen barrel. I used a worn 35 cal brush with a patch wrapped around it & soaked with the Rem-Clean. First pass was with a patch only on a jag with light oil followed by 40 strokes with the Rem-Clean replacing the patch every 10 strokes & re-wetting with cleaner every 5. Then 3 wet patches with Shooter's Choice & 2 dry patches. Not bad at all on both carbon & copper. There was still a little copper wash near the muzzle, but the carbon was all gone. The active ingredient is diatomaceous earth. Nothing scientific here, just decent results. Remington appears to have renamed Rem-Clean to 40x Cleaner. I have nothing with a bad carbon ring to try it on, but will keep it in mind in the event that happens again some day.

 

[marchx]

After last F-class match shot in 31 celsius I spotted in borescope very ugly carbon fouling. Forrest Bore cleaning foam+bronze brush was not enough. I bought yesterday Boretech Chameleon gel- I hope it will get the job done.

 

[COLT45SA]

What procedure do you use with the kreen if you wouldn't care to share? I've got a WinMag that I need to clean from a few hundred rounds of just not knowing how to really clean a barrel properly at that time. Thanks!

The procedure varies with the length of time the carbon has been in there. On an old gun that had very poor maintenance I plug the barrel and fill it all the way with Kreen. I set the gun muzzle down and allow the Kreen to work overnight. The next day I scrub with the Tipton pellets and inspect the bore. Bronze wool on a worn out brass brush will get most of the rest of the carbon. If I'm not satisfied and needs another overnight soak, it gets it followed by the bronze wool. Then just use the normal cleaning methods.
If the carbon build is not too terribly significant, Just run a couple of really wet patches through the bore and let it sit for one to two hours or so. Follow with several dry patches then proceed with your routine cleaning methods.

 

[moorepower]

I tried Seafoam, an automotive carb and injector cleaner, and was very impressed.

 

[Kracken McGraw]

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Suave-Essentials-Body-Wash-Ocean-Breeze-28-oz/37011511
Since Dawn was mentioned, I thought I would throw this out if someone was experimenting on a throw away barrel. The guys in a farm shop claim this is cleaning the grease and grime on their hands better than anything else. Probably not for barrels but might be worth a try for the shop sink.

 

[Rodldavis]

Looked up some old threads, but no clear answer was posted as to what works really well that is not abrasive.
I am old school, when I started shooting, all I heard was Hoppie #9, no bronze brushes and clean until patches come out clean. Well, now that I have learned more from this site (and others) I need to rethink my cleaning routine.

Seems like carbon is more important to attack than copper, as copper seems easier to remove.

I have used Carb Out with some good success, but have a safe full of rifles that will need to be cleaned more thoroughly.

One of the threads mentioned Sea Foam to remove the carbon, but no follow up on how or if it worked. I have used Sea Foam in my car and bike, but after some additional research, I found that this works better for injectors/fuel systems -

View attachment 1342054
My question, has anyone tried this or another injector cleaner in their expensive barrel ... and does it work well at getting the carbon out ? This stuff is pretty affordable as well

I would appreciate any insight. Thanks.

GM has a top engine cleaner made for carbon exclusively which is better yet