I'm new here and to the AR platform and am planning on picking up a M&P Sport this week but I do have a question about cleaning. It says it has a melonite coated barrel, however the melonite I've seen on the M&P pistol slides looks like it would scratch easy with a metal brush.

So when cleaning a Sport barrel should I NOT use a brass or metal brush? I had planned on getting a bore-snake but those have metal brushes as well.

Thanks for any suggestions or comments you might have.

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This might help and my read tells me that the melonite treatment is probably harder than your brushses are. I'd clean as usual with a chromed bbl.

Firearms History, Technology & Development: Metal Treatments: Ferritic Nitrocarburizing/Melonite/Tenifer

I clean mine with an Otis kit using a brass brush. The Melonite is hard enough to withstand copper jacketed ammo it should be hard enough to withstand a brass brush.

I don't have a chromed lined barrel AR to compare it to, but I do have a chrome-moly barreled AR. I will say that that fouling is easier to remove on the Melonite treated barrel than a non-treated barrel.

It takes less patches pulled through the Melonite treated barrel than it does on the chrome moly barrel to get a clean patch out.

First thing you need to know is that melonite is not a coating. It is a treatment. I believe it makes the barrel harder than untreated steel. I don't think S&W recommends any special cleaning treatment than what you would do with a normal barrel.

ahhh, ok well that makes much more sense then! Thanks so much, I'm a big fan of bore-snakes and am glad I can use it with the AR.

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If anyone has not read this they are truly missing out. I am glad that I read it so that I understand more about the gun I am getting ready to have in my hands, plus it lets me know that I am not missing much by not having as many parts chromed. Thanks

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