Stubborn patch of barrel won't clean.

[stretch257]

I have a rifle barrel that has a patch about 2 inches long that won't clean. I have used shooters choice, Hoppes copper out, Hoppes bore gel and the Kroil solvent mix. Letting them sit for 20 - 30 minutes. It looks like carbon with copper glitter. Any ideas on something to try?

 

[jcvibby]

Sounds like the barrel is clean, your probably taking layers of metal off the inside of your barrel.

Get out and shoot

 

[Savage99]

How well does the rifle shoot after being cleaned as you describe it?

I don't use bore 'solvents' any longer. I wipe the bore out with a patch that has some oil on it.

Then I use a bore brush.

Then I polish the fouling out with a bore paste on a patch that's on a brush.

Last I wipe it out with a clean patch.

 

[stretch257]

It shoots great clean or dirty. The barrel has less than 500 rounds down it. My bore scope tells me it's still dirty and my dry patches still come out with some black on them so I'm sure that it's not a metal layer. I don't see how a brush and patch can remove metal?

 

[Syncrowave]

If you absolutely have to clean it to the borescope's satisfaction, have you tried Sweet's 7.62 and/or JB?

On the other hand, if it shoots great as-is, why does the borescope get to dictate?

If it ain't fixed, don't break it...

 

[Forum Boss]

You wrote: "It shoots great clean or dirty."

Then, truly, stop fretting about it. Really.

I had a friend with a 30BR barrel that actually had a section of the rifling missing, and rust spots INSIDE the barrel.

That barrel now holds our club 100-yard score record, beating a record that stood for 14 years.

 

[stretch257]

Why would you leave a job unfinished. The abrasion of the fouling will produce heat and ware from friction. Why shouldn't the borescope dictate clean. By your thought process why ever clean a barrel or look at it until you notice it doesn't shoot. I will try JB or 7.62 I guess that's reason for a road trip to Brownells for both.

 

[Syncrowave]

Why would you leave a job unfinished. The abrasion of the fouling will produce heat and ware from friction. Why shouldn't the borescope dictate clean. By your thought process why ever clean a barrel or look at it until you notice it doesn't shoot. I will try JB or 7.62 I guess that's reason for a road trip to Brownells for both.

Is the purpose of cleaning to waste 2 hours with no improvement (and possible degradation) of the gun's performance (and lifespan)?

Or is the purpose to make sure the gun shoots well? And if the gun shoots well after only 6 hours of cleaning, why expend another 6 hours on it?

Just askin. Because I'm sure that if you clean it long enough, you'll get its performance to go downhill. Have at it! Bust out the lapping compound!

 

[people]

If it shoots good dirty why spend any time cleaning besides the bolt and chamber? that time can be spent loading ammo or with family.

 

[Alex Wheeler]

Use an undersized iosso brush with a patch wrapped around it, smear some iosso paste on the patch and short stroke that section of bore. You need to use some sort of abrasive cleaner

 

[Eddie Harren]

Well Stretch, I hope that cleared that up for ya!

 

[JRS]

By all means, use an abrasive, destroy the hand lapped finish the barrel maker worked so hard to achieve. Then check your bore size again, and witness the rounded edges on the grooves that were once nice and sharp :

 

[artbosco]

I have a rifle barrel that has a patch about 2 inches long that won't clean. I have used shooters choice, Hoppes copper out, Hoppes bore gel and the Kroil solvent mix. Letting them sit for 20 - 30 minutes. It looks like carbon with copper glitter. Any ideas on something to try?

For Stubborn Carbon, Three to five tight fitting patches of J-B Non-embedding Bore Cleaning Compound worked back and forth real well in the tough areas and less so in the rest of the barrel: http://www.brownells.com/gun-cleaning-chemicals/solvents-degreasers/bore-cleaning-paste/j-b-non-embedding-bore-cleaning-compound-prod1160.aspx Clean well before and after its use.

 

[Lapua40X]

I don't see how a brush and patch can remove metal?

They don't.

You wrote: "It shoots great clean or dirty."
Then, truly, stop fretting about it. Really.

 

[Changeling]

I have never seen JB ruin or even hurt a barrel in any way and I use some fast calibers like the 220 swift and 6mmAI !

As for the chemicals, I use Shooters Choice and have let it sit wet in barrels overnight hundreds of times. Have NEVER seen it round the edges of rifling or do any damage whatsoever.

 

[stretch257]

You would think leaving and abrasive like the carbon build up in the barrel would cause a lot more damage over time than removing it now. The extreme heat and pressure of firing would do more damage than i can with a patch and brush.

 

[Alex Wheeler]

By all means, use an abrasive, destroy the hand lapped finish the barrel maker worked so hard to achieve. Then check your bore size again, and witness the rounded edges on the grooves that were once nice and sharp :

Hahahah! Good one! : Polish the outside of your barrel for an hour with jb or iosso, you wont be able mic the difference.

Seriously, anyone who has worked with their hands knows how hard it is to polish off a measurable amount of steel with a polishing compound. Brushes wont get out hard carbon. At the last match there was a guy shooting a 6x47 that had this mentality. He was having pressure issues. After finally convincing him to use some Iosso his throat moved out .050". He had a major carbon build up issue and his normal routine of solvent and brushes was not enough.

 

[JRS]

By all means, use an abrasive, destroy the hand lapped finish the barrel maker worked so hard to achieve. Then check your bore size again, and witness the rounded edges on the grooves that were once nice and sharp :

Hahahah! Good one! : Polish the outside of your barrel for an hour with jb or iosso, you wont be able mic the difference.

Seriously, anyone who has worked with their hands knows how hard it is to polish off a measurable amount of steel with a polishing compound. Brushes wont get out hard carbon. At the last match there was a guy shooting a 6x47 that had this mentality. He was having pressure issues. After finally convincing him to use some Iosso his throat moved out .050". He had a major carbon build up issue and his normal routine of solvent and brushes was not enough.

Please quote ONE barrel maker who advocates the use of an abrasive compound in their barrels. It's quite obvious, you have never tried polishing the outside of a barrel with an abrasive. ANY time you use an abrasive, you remove material, PERIOD. Simply using a buffing wheel removes material. Experience is your friend. Embrace it

 

[Alex Wheeler]

By all means, use an abrasive, destroy the hand lapped finish the barrel maker worked so hard to achieve. Then check your bore size again, and witness the rounded edges on the grooves that were once nice and sharp :

Hahahah! Good one! : Polish the outside of your barrel for an hour with jb or iosso, you wont be able mic the difference.

Seriously, anyone who has worked with their hands knows how hard it is to polish off a measurable amount of steel with a polishing compound. Brushes wont get out hard carbon. At the last match there was a guy shooting a 6x47 that had this mentality. He was having pressure issues. After finally convincing him to use some Iosso his throat moved out .050". He had a major carbon build up issue and his normal routine of solvent and brushes was not enough.

Please quote ONE barrel maker who advocates the use of an abrasive compound in their barrels. It's quite obvious, you have never tried polishing the outside of a barrel with an abrasive. ANY time you use an abrasive, you remove material, PERIOD. Simply using a buffing wheel removes material. Experience is your friend. Embrace it

When I want advice on how to make a barrel I'll ask a barrel maker. When I want advice on maintaining accuracy and winning matches, i'll ask match winners. You should start doing the same.

 

[JRS]

Alex:

Abrasives remove material. It's what they do. It's what they are designed to do. Mic the OD of a new barrel, polish it to a nice slick finish, then mic it again. Not quite the same OD ??? Shocked ???