Perhaps there is some need of clarification here. I have said that over use of some "abrasive" cleaners can and has caused problems with increased copper fouling. Back in the 90's I was cautioned about this, by someone who does a lot of experimentation, does his own barrel work, shoots competition,and has done experiments that were specific to this area of interest. Being no fool, I took his advice, and have made every effort to only use such cleaners when needed, and only as much as was needed to remove the fouling that a brush and solvent had failed to remove. during much of that time, for most of my shooting, the powder caliber combination that I used almost exclusively did not result in the formation of hard carbon deposits. Butches, patches, and bronze brushes were able to clean my barrels, most effectively. There were times when my varmint rifles required more, usually when a different powder had been tried, and the usual scrubbing did not get the job done. For these occasions, I used IOSSO as I have described, with excellent results, and from that point forward used a different powder, one that did not cause cleaning issues.
The reason that I have urged caution with the use of abrasive cleaners is that I have lots of experience with shooters who are not careful about how they clean, who use bad equipment and technique, and are prone to the if some is good more is better, and too much is just right approach. I have advised caution for the same reason elementary classrooms have scissors with rounded points, not because scissors are unusually dangerous, or that their use should be avoided.
As to the mechanism by which overly smooth barrel surfaces cause jacket fouling, does it really matter? We know that if this is the situation, then that happens, so we avoid it and with that the problem. Most of this type of discussion come down to one fellows imaginings vs. another's...hardly hard science.
