Residue on Cylinder Flutes

[SweetMK]

Back in 1982, I bought a High Standard Olympic (22 Short) that had a "ported" barrel,,

Anyways, it had been fired so much, the lead had 90% clogged the port in the barrel.

Lead is so inert, not much reacts with it,, by the time you get a chemical to attack lead,, it is readily going after the bluing and the steel.

Well, I thought about it,, and decided the best approach was a popsicle stick.

The wood stick easily removed the lead,, and did not attack the bluing, or the steel.

So, find some soft wood, and try it,, heck, maybe even balsa wood could remove the lead, and not damage the gun.

 

[JB4570]

+ 1 w/ SweetMK,,,,
I use a 3/8 wooden dowel rod which I have gotten from Home Depot, I cut it about 3" or so and when it gets packed up with debris and crud I trim off a little and keep on going, I bought a 3 foot rod about 15 years ago and still have well over half left, give it a try, with the really tough stuff I use bore cleaner for a lube and cleaner, and just a smidgen of elbow greese and your done.

 

[MajorD]

I am a leave it alone and shoot it guy. It doesn’t impair function, contribute to rust or wear, and once it is spotless by any method next time I shoot it it will looks the same again. I try to get most of it off but for me whatever doe come off with a five minute cleaning job can stay there.

 

[chief38]

I have not seen that much residue on cylinder flutes in ..... well forever! I was almost wondering if that is worn off bluing.......

I would suggest trying Hoppes 9 (the old version if you have it or can find someone who still has some) as it seems to work better than the new version on lead. Use it on a cotton patch and try your thumb nail on top of the patch. Let it soak for a few minutes before trying to remove the stains.

While an abrasive would be better at removing the stains, it could also remove the bluing! If you do resort to Chorboy, a copper penny etc. go gently and use an oil! You could also try using an eraser from a pencil. Yes, they do remove lead - but be careful and go slowly. Check the progress often and make sure you are not overly aggressive - don't go any deeper or aggressive than necessary.

 

[djohns6]

Ultrasonic cleaner ?

 

[loplop]

Wow, amazing response, folks! Thank you.

I tried a few bore cleaners I had sitting around, letting it sit for a few mins and then gently scrubbing with a patch, a chopstick I cut (sounds similar to your dowel, JB4570! best gun cleaning tool I’ve ever had, I need to create a commercial version!), and my fingernail. I then tried a brass brush (gently). I might have gotten a small amount off with the brass brush, but stopped and thought I’d ask here before proceeding

I do have chore boy, I use it wrapped around a brush to clean my cylinder rings or bore leading. I have, in fact, made the mistake of shooting lead thru a ported barrel—a small bb sized ball of chore boy balled up and a split chopstick work well for scrubbing that out…. LOL

I stopped using hoppe’s years ago because my wife hated the smell (how can you hate that smell? I love it!) but I do have an old jar somewhere. Probably not the old formulation, though, it’s likely only 3-5 years old. I also have some Eezox on hand, but that’s a better rust preventative than cleaner, in my experience.

Ed’s red, never heard of that! Off to do some reading…

Sounds like Hoppes #9 applied liberally and left wet for awhile, then a little chore boy, might be my best course of action with what I have on hand. I’ll try that for now, and then decide whether to proceed or just go with Major D’s shoot and forget, which is what I ended up doing after my prior efforts.

I do have an ultrasonic cleaner—that is an option. Some bad memories using that, although it was my mistake—I had been cleaning a few suppressors and forgot I had dumped in CLR instead of my normal simple green… and took the nitriding right off a semi auto barrel if I went this route, would I just use simple green, or something else?

Thanks again, all, really appreciate the ideas and stories.

 

[loplop]

I should have added… bore and cylinders were clean and shiny, so the fella that owned it apparently was of the “if it don’t affect function…” mindset!

There was actually zero crud ring, so I’m guessing he shot only magnums… and of course only lead, as we can see LOL

 

[stang1911]

Bore Tech C4 Carbon Remover

 

[gwpercle]

Ed's Red Bore solvent / Gun Cleaner is a great thing to have around .
About $25 buys the 4 ingredients to make a gallon of solvent / cleaner .
I like it a lot for cleaning anything metal ... reloading press , sizer/lubricator , gun bores and actions ... it's like old school G.I. Bore Cleaner ... but smells better .

In my cleaning kit I keep Popsicle Sticks ... good for cleaning and they can be split easily to form smaller sharper cleaning tools as needed .
We never ate much Chinese Food ...so no chop sticks around ...
but me and the kids ate plenty Popsicle's ... and they are Free !
Gary

 

[oink]

I'm with those that suspect it might be the steel showing through previous over zealous cleanings. The lead cleaning cloths will quickly remove blueing. I know from experience.

 

[mod29]

If that's just lead and powder residue, a cleaning solvent like Hoppes #9 should remove it.

 

[A10]

Not much to add to these great ideas here. If you are using chopsticks, be aware that many are made of bamboo, which really is just a tall type of grass. Bamboo can entrain minerals which can be abrasive. Not saying don't use it, just be aware....

I've learned this with cutting boards and some respected and professional advice. My experience has been bamboo cutting boards seem to dull knives..even worse than some of the poly ones! Hardwoods are good to go though....

 

[SGT ROCK 11B]

I picked up a nice 28-2 Highway Patrolman (~1966) and other than a few very, very small areas of rust to address, it is in sweet condition save seemingly impermeable residue on the cylinder flutes.

The residue on the flutes is hard and impenetrable.

The previous owner never cleaned the cylinder. A lot of used revolvers appeared the while the bore/barrel was cleaned. The cylinder was overlooked especially on Magnum revolvers.

 

[oneeyedpete]

Bore Tech C4 Carbon Remover

I'll second that! Works very well and completely safe on blued steel. Wipe it on and let it soak. Rub off with a microfiber cloth. Repeat till it is all gone. If very stubborn residue, the only scrubber I know to be safe on blued steel is Frontier Big 45 Pads available direct from the maker.

 

[Taj]

If---IF it has the so-called "Satin Blue" finish, the funky finish used starting in the immediate post war years, the Renaissance Wax folks have a surface cleaner called Pre-Lim which removes rust, rust you can't even see until it shows up on your rag.

I don't know the truth of this, but I'm told this invisible rust is invisible (before it gets going good) because of the surface prep prior to bluing---media blasting which leaves an irregular surface----little bitty hills and valleys---and you can't see this incipient rust in the valleys. All I know for a fact is there were rust stains on the rag that weren't there at the outset.

Ralph Tremaine

What many folks don't realize is that good old black oxide bluing, like most forms of bluing, is a rusting process. Anything abrasive that is used on a blued gun is going to reduce that oxidation layer. In fact, when I use abrasive paper to remove old bluing, the paper always comes up rust red in color. I've blued thousands of guns in my career and gun bluing and it's outcome is greatly influenced by the prep taken. Sort of like painting a car. The final polish will greatly affect the color and longevity of the final finish. Highly polished guns may look nice but the finish will not hold up as well as a proper paper and oil finish. The actual bluing process is a thorough cleaning and tossed in a tank of rolling bluing salts for 20 or minutes.

 

[javbike]

I never use lead away on a blue gun

 

[RMFnLA]

If it were me, I'd take the cylinder off the revolver and let it soak for a day or two in a gun solvent and/ or penetrating oil, like Kroil. Eventually it the solvent or Kroil will penetrate between the grime and the metal. Avoid using a Leadaway cloth on a blued gun.

This.

No Leadaway, no abrasives.

Patience, Grasshopper.

As for that front sight, Tester’s has all sorts of great luminescent paints for an effective low-cost fix.

 

[kshock]

I’ve used SimiChrome chrome polish for that, but rub gently as it is slightly abrasive

 

[Biggen]

Ed's Red

ED'S RED BORE CLEANER

1 part Dexron II, IIe or III ATF, GM Spec. D-20265 or later.

1 part Kerosene - deodorized, K1

1 part Aliphatic Mineral Spirits, Fed. Spec. TT-T-2981F, CAS #64741-49-9, or substitute "Stoddard Solvent", CAS #8052-41-3, or equivalent, (aka "Varsol")

1 part Acetone, CAS #67-64-1.

(Optional up to 1 lb. of Lanolin, Anhydrous, USP per gallon, OK to substitute Lanolin, Modified, Topical Lubricant, from the drug store)

MIXING INSTRUCTIONS:

Mix outdoors, in good ventilation. Use a clean 1 gallon metal, chemical-resistant, heavy gage PET or PVC plastic container. NFPA approved plastic gasoline storage containers are also OK. Do NOT use HDPE, which is breathable because the acetone will evaporate. The acetone in ER will attack HDPE in about 6 months, making a heck of a mess!

Add the ATF first. Use the empty container to measure the other components, so that it is thoroughly rinsed.

If you incorporate the lanolin into the mixture, melt this carefully in a double boiler, taking precautions against fire. Pour the melted lanolin it into a larger container, rinsing the lanolin container with the bore cleaner mix, and stirring until it is all dissolved.

I recommend diverting a small quantity, up to 4 ozs. per quart of the 50-50 ATF/kerosene mix for use as an "ER-compatible" gun oil. This can be done without impairing the effectiveness of the mix.

 

[Shags120]

A few replies mentioned using a solvent and a toothbrush,, instead of a toothbrush I would recommend a detail brush,available where auto body supplies can be found,stiff enough to remove residue but won’t hurt fresh paint or in this case a firearm