I've got a new Model 27 Classic in Bright Blue finish and the exterior front surface of my cylinder between the flutes has what appears to be stubborn powder residue on it that I can't seem to get rid of. Now I'm wondering if it's the bluing that's being worn away.

If it's just the nature of the beast then so-be-it.
But if I can restore it back to its virgin appearance, then I'm all ears.

Thanks,

I had the same problem on my 586. I thought I would just have to live with it. It's really good at removing the residue on the front of the cylinder and inside the frame. Just great!!!

The ProShot metal care cloth is the one.

Specialty Cloths

Rolf,

This indeed is the nature of the beast; it happens to every revolver every time it's fired, and it is always resistant to removal. MANY revolver owners just brush it with bore solvent to get the worst of it, then leave the rest, unless and until they want to sell the gun. Then they find a way to get it off.

It is not nearly as noticeable on a blued gun like yours as it is on nickel or stainless guns, so that is in your favor.

Regards,
Andy

S&W has replaced the old bluing they used from the later 1800s through the 20th century with a fragile substitute that traditional ammoniated solvents gradually remove. You might have already known this but it is very likely you will get responses from members who are unaware of the change so be warned.

More generally, revolvers normally get powder stains on the front of the cylinder that are too thin to affect function. They didn't show on old bluing but there has been a lot of talk about removing them from stainless cylinders for appearance's sake.

You can't tell us if you have thinned your bluing or actually have significant powder residue. I suspect you are fussing over powder stains that would not have shown up on old bluing. The only suggestion that I can make is do nothing until you are certain of what you have and how to proceed. You'll just get new powder stain doughnuts during your next range outing anyway.

I like what Ballistol does. I haven't used Lead Free (NOT for blued guns) since I started using Ballistol. It seems to dissolve the powder and lead deposits like magic. I've only been using it for a couple of months but it seems to work well. The only thing I don't care for is it is hard to remove all of it even when I wipe the gun down with an old t-shirt. It seems to accumulate in every nook and cranny and appear again when I pull the weapon out at the range.

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Vet, gun owner, liberal

Pro shot lead clean cloth works wonders on stainless, just don't use on blued guns. Good info on the metal care cloth for blued guns.

I love pro shot products, since I've found them I've been dumping the Chinese made Hoppes **** and replacing with Pro Shot.

M Pro 7 gets it off my guns.

On my 629 I use a lead removal cloth. I do not use it on my blued or plated revolvers since the cloth will remove everything but steel. For them just some solvent on a patch. I don't want to ruin the finish, so clean enough is fine. My blued revolvers are all old and they come out fine.

Thank you for the insight on this.
I carry one of those micro-fiber cloths in my back pocket when I'm out at the range and wipe down the cylinder and barrel after every six rounds. You'd think with that kind of obsessive care that I wouldn't be experiencing this. But on the brighter side, the "moons" haven't grown or gotten any worse.

I tried a lot of stuff on my 686 (SS) that didn't touch it, but we had some old Shaklee stuff for cleaning burned crud off of kitchen metals and it did the trick in short order. I don't know how it would be for a blued gun, but it seems to dissolve the crud rapidly so it doesn't take more than a little rubbing and it's gone.
Kitchen metals include copper and stainless steel so it can't be too bad.

__________________
"He was kinda funny lookin'"

I recently used 4-0 steel wool to clean the exterior of a stainless cylinder. Worked great and a careful examination of the cylinder did not reveal and scratches to the metal. However, I wouldn't do this on a blued gun.

When I get stubborn deposits that won't come off I'll drop the parts or whole gun (minus wood) into a pan of ATF. Give it a week and the carbon deposits wipe off. I bought a extremely nasty 15-3 that looked like it had never been cleaned. A week in ATF revealed the bluing wasn't that bad and the bore was nice.

It is part of natural operation. I just wipe with a Hoppe's and let soak while I clean the rest of the gun. Then I wrap a patch around a Popsicle stick (or tongue depressor) with some more Hoppe's and scrub off any residue. This does not remove the burned rings, which are just part of owning a revolver.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

I cringed when I read this. Yes, you can get away with using steel wool lightly and hopefully very seldom. Pawn shops are notorious for cleaning light rust off blued guns with 4 ought steel wool and oil. They are cleaning a gun they don't give a hoot about other than getting it sold. There is no need to use 4 ought steel wool. Steel wool will give a stainless revolver a brighter surface fairly quickly and eventually will enlarge your flash gap. A $7 dollar bag of bronze wool pads from Ace Hardware or Brownell's lasts a very long time. Continuous long term cleaning with bronze wool will never change the surface appearance of stainless revolvers.

Getting back to the original poster's blued gun, all metal wools thin bluing then remove it fairly quickly.

It bears repeating again. Powder burn stain doughnuts on the front of cylinders are normal and reoccur every time the revolver gets a good range work out. There is no reason to get anal about cleaning them off. In my observation revolvers loose more collector value from anal cleaning and polishing than any thing else. Lead build up from less than ideal lead bullet loads is another matter but the lead cleans off relatively easily.

A long time ago, I tried a trick I read in a gun mag... I forget which one. (Am Handgunner, Guns & Ammo? were my favorites) Breakfree CLP was created for guns... I followed the tip in wiping down my chambers, bore & entire exterior of the gun except grips with a patch saturated in BF/CLP. Then a dry patch which only leaves a slight film. Then shoot. Any residue is on top of the film & will almost wipe off with a patch or clean paper towel.
The Dept Armorer saw me do it & tried it himself. At the next qualification, he had a gallon jug of BF/CLP, a pump sprayer, & a roll of paper towels.
The proof was a few guys who came in from patrol to qualify & did not do so... the word came back that they spent many hours cleaning after tour. Remember these were the days of low bid practice ammo with soft swaged lead bullets (not hardcast).

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NRA LIFE
Reserve Officer 9yrs

I use Ballistol and a Scotch-Brite pad. It does not scratch and cleans great.

FrogLube and heat