Cleaning brushes??

[M-61]

Is there a particular bronze, brass, phosphorous bronze, or nylon material brush that is appreciably better?
Is there a brand name that is better also? I know some chemicals attack certain materials and sometimes I've noticed that I seem to cleaning the residue from my what my brush left behind.

 

[rvn1968]

Thanks for asking,I can't wait to see the answers. Tom

 

[BoydAllen]

Some copper solvents are so strong that it seems to be best to avoid using them with bronze brushes.

Having said that, it is also true that many are so mild that if the brush is wiped or washed after use, that there seems to be no problem. I have found this to be the case with Butch's Bore Shine. There are others.

As far as residue is concerned, if you look at a used brush, and compare it to a new one, you will see that the bristles have been worn to a more uniform length , and that the brush is slightly smaller in diameter because of this. So, what you have at the end of brushing is little bits of phosphorous bronze in your bore, that can give a misleading impression as to whether your bore is jacket fouled.

The solutions are several. You can avoid using brushes. (not my choice); you can use Nylon brushes (not my choice); or you can run a couple of wet patches down the bore, immediately after brushing, before letting things sit for a few minutes, and checking for color on a wet patch (my choice).

One of the nice things about hobbies is that we have quite a bit of autonomy in how we pursue them. Clean any way that pleases you.

 

[Immike]

To avoid this I only brush with kroil and wipe it out with a dry patch before I use solvents. I will go back and forth until clean but I don't let solvent touch the brush.

 

[K22]

I used Shooter's Choice and both Dewey bronze and nylon brushes in the following manner:

I run two solvent soaked patches down the bore to remove loose power fouling then I run a solvent soaked bronze brush down the bore 6 times, re-soak the brush with more solvent to remove fouling from the brush and run it down 6 more times followed by two solvent soaked patches. Purpose is to remove powder fouling. After using the bronze brush I immediately rinse in 90% denatured alcohol to neutralize the solvent from eroding the brushes.

Next I run a nylon brush (aluminum core) soaked with solvent down the bore 3 time to thoroughly coat the bore with solvent. I let stand for about 15 minutes then follow with passes of clean dry patches. Purpose is to remove the copper. A nylon brush with non brass core helps reduce false positive of cooper.

Finally I run a lightly coated patch of WD-40 down the bore to remove any residual solvent.

This works quite well for me but I'm sure there are other methods just as effective.

 

[Clod-NC]

Hi M61,hi Boyd,hi all
As some of you have noted, it's everybody's choice and recipe,as long as it works...I reckon using turpentine to clean the brushes,copper or nylon,might be a good solution,cheap,smelly too,I like it so I don't mind the odor;it won't corrode brass,not that I'm aware of,it's slightly oily,might just do the trick,worth investigating anyway...After all it's a varnish solvent.Just my 0.02.

 

[big bad bill]

No-odor mineral spirits works well. Roll in a rag or paper towel and let air dry before use.
Bill

 

[LHSmith]

I will only use Dewey or Pro-Shot phosphorus bronze brushes, or those from suppliers like Brunos, RJ Hart & Sons, or Sinclair because of their known quality. You don't want a brush that is not closed-loop in the front, or one that cannot contain it's bristles.....I would not buy them from big box stores or Sportsmans Guide. I don't use nylon in the bore (BTDT ....no cigar), but again you don't want an inferior brand that sheds it's bristles in your bore. I also clean them afterwards with mineral spirits.

 

[Uthink Uknow]

I get my bronze brushes right from Pro-Shot. I am sure of getting them all the same size. I use them exclusively when using the bore solvent. When they start to pass through the bore too easily I chuck them out. I just wipe them off after every use, not every day, but every use. I don't worry myself sick over a brush as long as it does its intended job.

 

[barnesuser28]

I just started using boretech nylon brushes and they are awesome! They are very stiff even in 338 cal and all the bristles are an even length. They are a really tight fit in the bore so really fast stroking is hard but thats why i feel they are so good, they knock the fouling right off. I use boretech eliminator to remove powder and copper fouling and the boretech copper eliminator (dont recall exactly what its called but its the one just for copper) for stubborn copper fouling.

 

[kiwial]

i use KG cleaners which can chew through a brush in no time if not washed out after each use.
been rather disappointed with my last batch of sinclear branded brushes, been having to sweat solder into where the core-base meets to stop them separating when pulling the brush back.