Cleaning with a bore guide

[danny]

i use dewey coated rods and always thought the coating was softer than the metal in my barrels so that would keep the rod from damaging the bore.

You are 100% correct that the rod coating is softer than the barrel steel. The barrel manufacturers get something that is softer than the barrel steel (lead), charge it with abrasive and move the lead back and forth. Use your soft coated rod, get some dirt on or in the coating, rub it back and forth, and you essentially have a lapping tool.

Danny

 

[JFrank]

After a while the coating started to peel off and stay in the barrel, if not for a bore scope I may not have realized what that was.
Right or wrong I switched to polished stainless rods.

 

[BoydAllen]

You are 100% correct that the rod coating is softer than the barrel steel. The barrel manufacturers get something that is softer than the barrel steel (lead), charge it with abrasive and move the lead back and forth. Use your soft coated rod, get some dirt on or in the coating, rub it back and forth, and you essentially have a lapping tool.

Danny

...if your rod is rubbing your bore. I have been using Dewey rods for about four decades and I have had or had access to a bore scope for a good deal of that time, and I have never seen any indication of cleaning rod related barrel damage, also, I make a practice of wiping off my rods when I take them out of the barrel, and I never lay them on a concrete bench, or any dirty surface.

 

[hoz53]

You are 100% correct that the rod coating is softer than the barrel steel. The barrel manufacturers get something that is softer than the barrel steel (lead), charge it with abrasive and move the lead back and forth. Use your soft coated rod, get some dirt on or in the coating, rub it back and forth, and you essentially have a lapping tool.

Danny

yeah thats why i wipe it off every pass. hopefully i have prevented the rods from doing damage but prob not completey. that coating on my dewey rod sure seems hard and i dont see any gouges in it on a well used rod so im wondering. i dont wanna do the file test on a good rod. i have been using a borescope for a while and now i have one setup at my cleaning area. i havent seen evidence of damage so far.

 

[hoz53]

After a while the coating started to peel off and stay in the barrel, if not for a bore scope I may not have realized what that was.
Right or wrong I switched to polished stainless rods.

thats some good info jim. what did that material seem like it was- kind of plasticy or harder. i really wonder the brand of rod? Ive got one dewey rod that has been amazing. it is still strait and doesnt show any signs of coating degrading after 10 years of alot of use. in the old days i used sectioned stainless rods- thats wat we knew- now i cringe at the thought of putting one of them in any of my bores.

 

[JFrank]

thats some good info jim. what did that material seem like it was- kind of plasticy or harder. i really wonder the brand of rod? Ive got one dewey rod that has been amazing. it is still strait and doesnt show any signs of coating degrading after 10 years of alot of use. in the old days i used sectioned stainless rods- thats wat we knew- now i cringe at the thought of putting one of them in any of my bores.

More so a plastic looking crap, not carbon and not from making internal contact. I didn’t always wipe down the rod so I’m assuming that harsh chemicals got it started but who knows for sure.
It’s reserved for a back up now.

 

[hoz53]

More so a plastic looking crap, not carbon and not from making internal contact. I didn’t always wipe down the rod so I’m assuming that harsh chemicals got it started but who knows for sure.
It’s reserved for a back up now.

ok- ive never had rod coating peel off but i know it happens with all of them. certain guns are notorious for ripping coating off. thanks

 

[Alex Wheeler]

Thank you Alex for the response
One question Would you consider that cleaning method for all calibers?
And do the bronze brush brand makes a difference? Or Amazons is fine?

Yes I do it the same for all cartridges, some just get more brush strokes than others. I buy the dozen packs of brushes from Brownells and replace them often. A fresh brush helps. I clean them with brake clean after each use to keep them from getting eaten up by the solvent.

 

[Turkeytider]

A question just came to mind. Is the term “ abrasives” inclusive of metal and nylon brushes? I get the impression, rightly or wrongly, that it is not and is reserved for things such as Iosso and JB.

 

[Alex Wheeler]

Yes, Im talking abrasive cleaners like, JB, Iosso, Thouroclean, ext.

 

[jelenko]

A question just came to mind. Is the term “ abrasives” inclusive of metal and nylon brushes? I get the impression, rightly or wrongly, that it is not and is reserved for things such as Iosso and JB.

Right. The usual reference to abrasives refers to Iosso/JB, etc.

ETA. Alex beat me to it.

 

[JFrank]

I got tired of buying brake cleaner and started using a little bit of the wife’s Dawn dish soap in a small Tupperware container of warm water.
Drop all the brushes in, pop the lid on and give it a good shake. Let it sit overnight or longer and shake it a few more times, strain off the black water, rinse and dry on a old towel.
Presto ‘clean brushes.

 

[DShortt]

I got tired of buying brake cleaner and started using a little bit of the wife’s Dawn dish soap in a small Tupperware container of warm water.
Drop all the brushes in, pop the lid on and give it a good shake. Let it sit overnight or longer and shake it a few more times, strain off the black water, rinse and dry on a old towel.
Presto ‘clean brushes.

No nasty solvent containers/rags lying around to cause unexpected problems that way, either. Great idea!

 

[K22]

...if your rod is rubbing your bore. I have been using Dewey rods for about four decades and I have had or had access to a bore scope for a good deal of that time, and I have never seen any indication of cleaning rod related barrel damage, also, I make a practice of wiping off my rods when I take them out of the barrel, and I never lay them on a concrete bench, or any dirty surface.

I have also used Dewey rods for about the same amount of time or a tad longer and never had any problem with wear on the barrel or any abrasion of the coating on the rod.

 

[jelenko]

I have also used Dewey rods for about the same amount of time or a tad longer and never had any problem with wear on the barrel or any abrasion of the coating on the rod.

Same here. My oldest one is from 2007 but it's been through over 2000 cleaning sessions. When clean and dry, the surface now looks gray but completely intact.

 

[Knotwild]

A question for Mr. Wheeler. I am very curious as to how steel type/quality/hardness comes into play concerning wear due to improper rod alignment. And do they use softer steels in rimfire barrels?

I ask this because I bought a Kimber .22 Hornet in the 80's and the barrel severely shot out in a few hundred rounds (not just the throat). I carried it to my gunsmith, he sent it to Kimber, and they re-barreled it. I took that barrel and toasted it in less than 200 rounds. I carried it back to my gunsmith and he sent it off for another warranty re-barrel, but this time he asked them to send the old barrel back. He then took that barrel and had a friend of his who was a metallurgist test the steel. He said it was a steel used in 22 rimfire barrels, therefore the wear. So are rimfire barrels generally equivalent to centerfire barrels in hardness and quality?

 

[PhilC]

Dewey are all I use, have one that's over 30yrs old and like new. Had to replace the handle several years ago as it was from the time when Dewey used the plastic handle as a bearing raceway, but the rod is perfect.

 

[Steve Donlon]

Guys, I have seen this for years. Cleaning rods bent so much you can literally hear them scaping the bore. A bore guide does not make a rod immune from rubbing the bore. They are just plastic and have clearence. You still need to take care to keep the rod straight and in line with the bore. The guide helps but only a little. I hold my off hand on the stock and guide the rod like a pool stick. This is espesially important when using abrasives.

I just want to thank you for making the Delta series bore guides for the AR and 300 BLK. I could not find a suitable guide when I bought a DDM4 Hunter 300 BLK rifle Then I found the one you make and it is so far ahead of anything else offered. Thanks.

 

[ev780]

It is going to be a tough sell to convince me that 100 strokes of my Tipton carbon rod rubbing the barrel has even a miniscule effect on the barrel. Compare that to a single slightly oversize bullet being forced down the tube (see slang thread ) at 50,000 psi, 1000 degrees, in a plasma cloud of carbon, copper, lead, nitro and other products of combustion. I don't believe it for a second! Sure the crown and chamber can be damaged if too ham handed and there is a ridge at the connection points. But the rod rubbing lightly on the barrel? Hogwash!

And before you quote the "Frank barrel damage" thread please get to the bottom of that rabbit hole across multiple forums. There is enough talk of potential power tools and other assorted f***ery to raise serious questions about that damage being from simple cleaning. Even with aggressive use of brushes and abrasives.

That being said I use bore guides regularly. I like the solvent ports and ease of hitting getting the rod started.

Wanna test it? Simple, for those with means. Take a barrel lay a rod in the bottom and hook it to a machine that runs it up and down the barrel. Working hypothesis is that the rod will disintegrate and the barrel will be fine. Maybe not. But I need more evidence before I lose any sleep.

 

[6.5 forever]

...if your rod is rubbing your bore. I have been using Dewey rods for about four decades and I have had or had access to a bore scope for a good deal of that time, and I have never seen any indication of cleaning rod related barrel damage, also, I make a practice of wiping off my rods when I take them out of the barrel, and I never lay them on a concrete bench, or any dirty surface.

Boyd this is my exact experience also.