Question for those who don't brush

[kjcpoint]

Frank: They also make a kg2 that is a mild abrasive like jb that works very well. I dont use the kg2 on custom barrels only on factory barrels and the stuff works great.
I push 3-4 patches of kg1 and follow with bronze brush and kg12. And clean with 3 patches of denatured alcohol and patch dry to borescope. I use a lot of denatured alcohol keeping cleaning equipment clean.

 

[whiskey08]

Otter

i use the house brand from Sinclair, they fit very tight in the bore. They do wear down pretty quickly, however i kinda like them better when there broke in

Based on previous 308's, i always felt that they shoot better with a fouled barrel. On one gun in particular would take at least 12 fouling rds then my groups would shrink tremendously. On the gun I have now I dont think that is the case. I think it shoots better with a clean barrel.

All in all Id rather not strip the barrel down to bare metal every time I clean, I think a little fouling adds to a burnished smooth barrel. Your accuracy is the best indicator of how and when to clean, so your right on.

At a certain point I think that you wont be able to get the accuracy back with a regular cleaning. Thats when lots of people advocate a paste such as jb paste and others, to really clean out the accumulated fouling.

 

[SS427]

Frank - I didn't fully explain the comment by my gunsmith about cleaning the brass with a solvent. He didn't know it was once fired brass when he first looked at it. It was just the first thing he asked, and then I told him I had never cleaned it before, as it was new brass. Then he explained why he had asked, and that solvents made the brass brittle which leads to split necks. Again, that is only his opinion and your results have obviously been different.

Whiskey - tight fitting nylon brushes make me nervous. I pull brushes back into the barrel, which I know many people don't do, but I just don't have the time to take it off each pass. Anyway, that tight fit with a new nylon brush makes me more concerned about the crown than anything. To do that with a bronze brush could be too much for me.

Take it down to bare metal and then refoul it? Or leave a little in there and save time on cleaning? That could be another question there will never be a clear answer to.

 

[Tozguy]

Cleaning necks with Brasso, I wet scrub five cases then go back and wipe them off. Leaving Brasso on the brass till it dries will etch the brass...which is something I don't want. Lookin forward to hear Frank on this.

 

[fdshuster]

Tozguy: In fact, just before reading your post, cleaned 40 6BR cases that I fired this morning, using "Wright's Brass Polish". Since "discovering" Wright's, am not using brasso anymore. Lightly polished the necks,only took a few minutes, and as I said, they look like gold. My older Lapua 6ppc brass, that I had been using since 1998, and was polished with brasso, does not have any "etching" on the necks. If I still had the .262" chamber neck I would continue using those cases that have been loaded an average of 28 to 30 times each. As an afterthought, I'll take one of those older cases, put a liberal application of Brasso on the necks, let it sit overnight, wipe it off & check it with magnification tomorrow morning. Course that would be an extreme test since I never let the Brasso remain on the case for more than a few minutes--- just wipe on and wipe off.

 

[fdshuster]

A very heavy coating of Brasso was applied to one (have a total of 140) of the 6ppc Lapua cases, covering the entire case, not just the neck, and left to sit overnight from 10:45pm 'til I wiped it off around 6:00am. Using my "Hawkeye" borescope I see nothing but a very smooth, highly polished surface. Then compared, side-by-side with a new, never fired Lapua 220 Russian case, and except for less shine on the new case, the surfaces look identical. If I still had the .262" neck chamber ( Shilen & Krieger barrels are .272" necks) I would not hesitate to load and fire. I'm located approx. 12 miles South of Pittsburgh Pa. If anyone would like to verify what I'm posting, feel free to contact.

 

[Nodak7mm]

Good topic, hope to see more opinions. I for one have two new barrels I am working with that have yet to see a bronze brush. I am trying the nylon brush route for comparison.

My routine is wet patch till powder fouling is nill, then brush, then patch again till clean. So far so good. However, I did an iosso treatment after 20 rds and got several dark patches (assume its broken down iosso primarily) then clean patches. We'll see what this leads to.

So far I really like the thought of the nylon brush being easier on the crown and the bore. But I dont like the loose fit, feels like a worn out bronze brush not doing much... So I will try jumping up a caliber to see how it feels in the bore.

Nodak

 

[alf]

I guess I'll weigh in on what I do.

First off, I shoot nothing but moly plated bullets in EVERYTHING, since Neco patiented the process way back when.

I can't remember the last time I used a brass brush either. I use all nylon brushes, and since discovering Bore Tech Eliminator, have eliminated all my other solvents.

Whether it's my 1000 yard, VFS, or my Hunter guns, I never clean till I get home, or even the next day.
My procedure is to first push a couple of wet patches through, then brush 10 or 12 times keeping lots of solvent on the brush and never exiting the bore with the brush, patch it out once, then brush again about the same amount, then squirt some more BTE in the solvent port, and raise the front of the vise to just short of level, and leave it till the next day. Elapsed time, a couple of minutes. The next day I'll patch it out dry and then I'll work the throat and the first part of the barrel with JB on a tight fitting patch on a wore out brass brush. A couple drops of Kroil on a patch run through twice, once more with a dry one, clean the chamber and lug recess, and it's done. Maybe another 5 minutes has lapsed. And yes, I've got a borescope. Whether it's a prairie dog barrel that has 300 rounds down the pipe, or a 6.5-284 1K barrel, they all get cleaned the same way.
The biggest mistake I see, besides not keeping the rod straight, is to be too bashfull on the solvent. Not that I'm advocating a full stream running out the bore, but it's the solvent that's doing the work too, not just the brush.

 

[Tozguy]

A very heavy coating of Brasso was applied to one (have a total of 140) of the 6ppc Lapua cases, covering the entire case, not just the neck, and left to sit overnight from 10:45pm 'til I wiped it off around 6:00am. Using my "Hawkeye" borescope I see nothing but a very smooth, highly polished surface. Then compared, side-by-side with a new, never fired Lapua 220 Russian case, and except for less shine on the new case, the surfaces look identical. If I still had the .262" neck chamber ( Shilen & Krieger barrels are .272" necks) I would not hesitate to load and fire. I'm located approx. 12 miles South of Pittsburgh Pa. If anyone would like to verify what I'm posting, feel free to contact.

Frank, I agree that Brasso doesn't etch the brass. The term 'etch' was poorly chosen in my previous post. The black streaks left on the case that were found when cleaning a whole batch of cases at one time may just have been from my letting the pad accumulate too much sludge.

 

[Tozguy]

BTW Part II of bore cleaning is out in May issue of SSUSA

 

[Nomo4me]

Alf how do you pull the plastic bristle back without exiting the bore? Seems like reversing those bristles inside the bore would about require one to pull the brush out of the rod.

 

[alf]

They reverse just fine, nothing like brass brushes.