Carbon Remover

[J.d. Popkes]

Tell me more about witches brew. My curiosity has peaked.

Oh, I wanna say it’s Kroil and some sorta alumina oxide. Holland’s. I just get tired of all the messy foam, wait, rinse/repeat, watching patches, is it my jag/brush causing the blue. I have a bore scope now. I don’t get excited about cleaning. I have other things to do. Witches brew on a bronze brush, a dozen passes, rinse, with brake clean, a patch of Kroil. This is what I end up doing anyway once I get frustrated with the other 50 bottles of crap I have sitting there. It’s clean, as in from the end of the neck, through the lead, all the way to the crown. Even that little corner where land meets groove. With a real rank factory barrel, wrap a patch around the brush.

if ya can’t fix it with a hammer, ya gotta electrical problem

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Any mainstream bore cleaner with a bronze brush will keep it at bay. Butchs and a bronze brush keeps everything from a 17hm2 to a bmg carbon free for me

 

[quest450]

I use Bore Tech C4 and KG12 after every session than I get my barrel super squeaky clean using Witches Brew every 300 rounds or so

 

[Kracken McGraw]

I use to use C4 untill I tried Sharp Shooters carb out, its amazing.

Do you use it in a rotation of some sort with accelerator and wipe-out patch out?

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

I use 2 saturated patches with accelerator, and then a wet patch of Carb out. Then wet patch with Kroil after waiting about 5 minutes. Pretty easy.

 

[wkdickinson]

Boretech Eliminator and JB when needed.

 

[Old Navy]

Two or three weeks ago I posted a pick of a Savage barrel that everyone here agreed it was filthy and needed a good cleaning. All I had on my shelf was shooters choice and it wasn't doing anything. My small town does not have a gun store but several others that sell CLR. I was skeptical but I wanted to get after that barrel. The stuff worked for me. It completely removed the carbon with some effort. I went back with my shooters and removed quite a bit of copper. Must have been hiding under all the carbon. $6 for 28 ozs.

 

[whatsupdoc]

Nothing I have used works better than CLR excluding abrasives.

 

[Rustytigwire]

Good thread everyone!

 

[JMayo]

I use #9

 

[mousegunner]

Nothing I have used works better than CLR excluding abrasives.

I'm gonna try CLR myself but don't have a bore scope. Can you see the results on the patch?

 

[TheOtherZilla]

Bore Tech C4

+1

 

[Evan]

Heard this was a very good option...but was told it took lots of brush strokes to get the job done. Does that seem to be the case for you?

I spray Wipe out down the barrel at the range. Take it home, patch it dry. Spray the carb cleaner down the bore and spray some on my bronze brush, run maybe 5 strokes or so, spray down the bore and spray off the brush off again so it's clean and has fresh solvent, run another 5 strokes or so. I then patch it dry. Repeat the carb cleaner routine until patches are clean. Never needed more than 3 rounds to get patches coming out clean. I then grab boretech Cu+ and follow the directions on the bottle to get the remaining copper. It's about the easiest, thorough way I've found to clean a barrel. Not counting soak times on wipe out or the Boretech, I spend maybe 20 minutes of time actually cleaning.

I actually like bronze brushing; it's relaxing for me. I have two cleaning rods - one with the bronze brush and one with the jag so that I don't have to fiddle with threading and unthreading the heads. I also have a pile of patches cut to the just right size for each caliber I shoot so that I never have to struggle with that - just grab a patch from the pile and go. By far the worst part of the whole experience is the stinky Xylene in the carb cleaner. If you're sensitive to that, or cleaning in an enclosed space, then this is not the cleaning product for you. I use a fan in an open window behind me to keep fresh air constantly pushing the fumes away from me.

 

[rardoin]

I'm gonna try CLR myself but don't have a bore scope. Can you see the results on the patch?

Yes. I’ve always used C4 and a bronze brush; it works great. However after a discussion in the pits at the last Berger SWN’s with a consistently high placing shooter I gave CLR a try. My cleaning time has been cut nearly in half...including copper cleanout. Yes, I do have a Hawkeye scope.

 

[L.Sherm]

Do you use it in a rotation of some sort with accelerator and wipe-out patch out?

I dont, I run a well soaked patch through the bore and another one in the carbon ring area and let both sit for about 15 minutes then scrub with a brush.

 

[Martin52]

.....What’s you guys opinion on carbon removers? Best, quickest, and easiest remover you can find over the counter.

If you're using a reputable brand of solvent I think the timing of the cleaning has more influence. Butches, Boretech, KG all do a pretty good job.

By 'timing' I mean cleaning whilst the barrel is still warm after the shoot rather than leaving it to the next day, or later, when the carbon really sets in and is very hard to remove whichever solvent is used.

 

[Rope2horns]

@Tod Hendricks.....On Tod's recommendation I have been using CLR.....works great!

 

[rardoin]

^^^Yup...it was Tod that was telling us how well CLR worked. I can't explain with certainty why my copper fouling is easier to remove after CLR treatment but I speculate that CLR must penetrate through the 'layering effect' better and a bit of the copper releases with the underlying carbon. One or two patches with Cu2++, letting them soak for 10 minutes, is all the barrels need to clean out the copper fouling when CLR is employed. It seems like there is always some cleaner that is touted as magical and I scoff at such claims. I'm not scoffing at CLR anymore.

 

[HTSmith]

Nothing I have used works better than CLR excluding abrasives.

What is the process with CLR--brush, patch, let it soak? How do you use it? thanks

 

[J F Johannes]

What is the process with CLR--brush, patch, let it soak? How do you use it? thanks

Read Tod's post here: http://forum.accurateshooter.com/threads/barrel-cleaning.3998942/#post-37711003