I was wondering what the best way to clean the face of a stainless steel cylinder is. I have tried rubbing the face with a cloth soaked in Hoppe's #9 and going over it with a stainless steel bristled brush. This method has gotten rid of much of the residue, but I see so many photos here on the forum where the cylinders are spotless. I hope I am not making too big a deal out of this, but my OCD compels me to ask.

Thanks,
JTA

A pencil eraser will do it wonders....I usually use the white type depending on what is lying around the shop.

You can use Lead Away patches or a pencil eraser. With the eraser you have to be careful to clean all of the “crumbs” out from the extractor rod. I don’t think that the face of the cylinder will ever come 100% “clean.” At some point it is merely a matter of cosmetics. Look at it that you enjoyed shooting the revolver.

Frank

Lead remover cloth will work. So will Mother's mag & aluminum polish.

Most might say it's unnecessary but when I got my new-to-me M66 the buildup was so bad I could actually see layers of the stuff coming off. I really believe there had to be some significant thickness of crud there.

Flitz polish will do the trick. Just use it on a patch or cloth, you don't need anything abrasive.

Flitz or Mothers Mag Polish on a 12 ga. patch wrapped around a tounge depressor or Popsicle stick.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

Lead Away works great.

I use hoppes and a brass bristled brush to scrub the cylinder face. I have also had really good luck with a lead away cloth.

Just to clarify, Flitz, Mothers, etc are all abrasive (that's how they polish). You would have to polish hundreds if not thousands of times to change the b/c gap by any noticeable amount since the cylinder face is hardened stainless steel, but they are abrasive.

After I clean them once it is pretty easy to keep them clean but the first time is always fun

Another vote for the lead away cloth.

Simochrome metal polish available from Browells or any Harley Davidson MC shop. Under $10 a tube and good GP shop polish.

I vote for not worrying about it.

Dennis.

I used to be OCD about it, but now clean it as best I can with hoppes 9 knowing it will get dirty again next range trip. I have used lead away clothes with good success as well.

I use Flitz and the little buffing wheel on my Dremel tool. It won't take long to polish.

Emery cloth for the heavy stuff. Then Mothers polish and some polishing to make it like new..

Not something you "have to do" Something I do because I am a bit anal with my toys LOL or so my wife has informed me...

Lead Away cloth works great. Make sure you do not use it on a blue pistol as it will remove the blueing.

Still another hand up for the lead away cloth. It works for me on all revolvers - stainless, nickel and blued.

However, stince Pineapple just raised a red flag on blued guns I may look into the alternatives. Thanks PA!

My revolvers are both SS I left out not to do what I do on a blued gun. Good point Pineappleshooter.. Just my luck someone would do that to a blued gun and remove all the bluing...

don’t worry too much about having a shiny clean cylinder face. Its not necessary. Just use your favorite cleaner and a nylon brush. There will always be some residue left. Doesn’t effect the function of you revolver.

Leadaway cloth after each range session. It gets easier every time. I too like a ''purty'' gun!!!!!!!!!!!

Another fan of "Lead Away" cloth.

I cut a strip of it and lay it on the edge of a table top. Slide and rotate the face of the cylinder over it.

Quickly looks like new.

I just used some Mothers Mag on the face of my 686 cylinder and it worked great. You should probably run a few clean patches through the chambers too to get the MM out of them.

Another user of the Birchwood Casey lead-fouling remover cloth here.
A small patch cut off the sheet used with a popsickle stick and it's clean in no time.

While I've never used it, I know that the pencil eraser method was taught to the
recruits at the Michigan State Police Academy. At least back in the 1970's it was.
It has to be pretty effective because the old MSP Model 64 I picked up from a retired Trooper
& my neighbor's old Model 67 duty gun, he is also a retired MSP Trooper, were/are clean.

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Ogy

Flitz polish

I too have a touch of O.C.D. when it comes to cleaning my guns. I know it's not absolutely necessary, but I like to keep my weapons looking/functioning like new.

I recently discovered.. or more like fell in love with the Birchwood Casey lead away cloth for stainless revolvers. It now only takes 10 minutes with the cloth and a little Mothers for the finishing touches.. It used to take over half an hour with Hoppes, a scrub brush and then Mothers to finish it before.

The instructions on the Birchwood Casey cloth specifically say NOT to use on blued guns though... Stainless only. Works like a champ!

I've used never dull for years on all my stainless firearms. It's works quick, is easy to use & is cheap. I just pull a wad of it out of the can & clean several firearms with it & throw it away. 1 can will easily clean 100 firearms.

I like the cylinder face to be clean also. I just ran across a quick way to clean it like new. For a long time I have used a paste made from JB bore paste and Kroil to clean the bore and chambers of my 629. Both are available from Brownells. Now I slather it on a nylon brush and scrub the face with it. It cuts through the **** in no time and seems to be very mild. It is still an abrasive and should be treated as such so make sure you clean it up well after you're done.

Mother's but I'm starting to like the just fired look.

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LIVE FROM THE DAWGHOUSE

A strip from a green scrub pad dipped in Hoppe's works

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JR

Use a green Scotch Brite Pad with anything on it and it takes all the discoloration off right away. I have a cylinder blank that was never cut with the hole in the middle to go over the ejector rod that I purchased many years ago for this purpose. I slide it over the ejector rod with a scotch Brite Pad in between and then twist the cylinder blank and it cleans all the residue right off.

I've also used J&B Bore paste. I put a little on a cotton patch and rub the face of the cylinder with it. Then, I brush with a bronze brush. It takes the stains off like magic.

Another technique that works for me is to brush the cylinder face with a dry bronze brush until most of the carbon residue comes off. Then, rub vigorously with a good lead removal cloth.

When you get tired of the fore mentioned methods, get Brasso and a cotton rag and be done in 1 minute. No offense to those others and their methods. I just like getting it done and done good quickly to boot.

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Go big or stay home

Wow, thanks for all the replies. I am also glad to see I not the only one whose OCD makes them worry about cosmetic issues on their guns. Again, all of you have given me such good recommendations.

MPro 7 and a little scrubbing with a bronze brush works wonders.

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Richard Gillespie
FBINA 102

EXACTLY! MPro 7 is awesome stuff, doesn't smell, bio-degradable, and is easy on you guns finish.

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SFC, US Army, Retired