Love the gun and have put 100's of dirty 38's through it. I can't find a product that will remove the black, carbon(?) on the front outside edge of the cylinder.

Anyone have any suggestions for keeping this matte finish clean ?

Never had a problem getting it off my 686.

Thanks,
Skip

I just shot my 627 Pro for the first time last weekend and it got pretty dirty. I don't want to sound like a commercial for the stuff but I treated the gun with Frog Lube prior to ever shooting it and all the powder marks came off just by wiping with a microfiber rag. A couple spots were more stubborn than others but they all came off. The only part of the revolver than I couldn't get clean with a simple wipe was the face of the cylinder. I haven't tackled that part yet so not sure what its going to take to clean that off.

Good question.
I am having the same experience with my new 627 Pro. I cleaned it with Kroil with good success except for some black carbon stains in the following places. There is a small spot at the tip of each raised part of the outside of the cylinder, the top part of the ring in front of the cylinder, and the part of the frame right below the forcing cone. I let the Kroil soak these parts for a couple hours but couldn't get the last of these stains off. Then I tried some S&W brand bore and action cleaner with no results. Finally I rubbed the areas with Rem Oil and found some black on the patches but it would not get the last stains off the spots I mentioned.

I probably wouldn't have been so compulsive about those spots but I have only shot it once (50 rounds 38 special and 50 rounds 357 mag) and I want to keep it pretty. At 25 yards resting on the bench it was in the black. Standing 2 hand grip I need more practice but on the target. Going to try to get some other grips because I didn't feel the Hogue Monogrips it came with were that good taming the recoil of the 357 mags. Thinking of ordering some Pachmayr Presentation grips. Any other suggestions?

No promises but I'll see if I can post up some pics later.

I keep hearing good things about Frog Lube. I'm going to have to try that in hopes of making future cleanings easier. Still hope I can find a way to get the black carbon off of the outside of the cylinder.

I never worry about it. I use standard Hoppes No 9, a shop rag and a toothbrush (not the same one I use on my teeth) for the exterior. Most comes off and that is good enough. Life is just too short.

This has been an issue with my 627 as well. Never ever had stubborn carbon 'spots' on my cylinder till this gun. Haven't found the best, simple solution yet, but I have been successful with using a Q-tip and using some Hoppe's, Carbon Remover, Ballistol, and Kroil (all the above). Slow and patient, dab with the Q-Tip...go do some reloading, come back, gently fingernail area...dab again (one solution at a time), and eventually they dissolve. Do not rub with any sort of instrument or abrasive or you'll polish the area...remove the matte. Not good. Got to be a better way. I also have tried to 'treat' the area prior to shooting to prevent buildup, but nothing has worked. I think this is an issue with all the matte finished guns. I'm guessing that if you remove the cylinder from the yoke and submerged/soaked in a carbon cleaner that would be the easiest. I just don't take the cylinder off all that often. Hope we all find a fix for this issue!

OK I'll put the belt sander away and try a little dab will do ya......thanks

I've found that Frog Lube does, indeed, make cleaning easier. The cleaning regimen was the only reason I tried it. I'm not dissatisfied at all.

Frankly, I just don't worry about it on my 627 Pro...

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Proud anachronism

I have found two solutions, either of which works. Firstly, a "Lead-Away" cloth, available at ranges and gunstores, will always get that black pastelike powder residue off of the front of the cylinder. It does no harm at all to a stainless steel gun, but for the love of God do not use it on a blued gun.

If you do not have or do not want to use a "Lead Away" cloth, if you use a copper brush with lots of Hoppes #9 you will be able to brush away the crud on the front of the cylinder. It works although it may take a bit of time, typically around 5 minutes or so.

This works on my 627PC, S&W 625, and Ruger GP100, all stainless.

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Army veteran, NRA Life Member

Does a polished finish clean up easier? I may just take some Flitz to the face if it makes subsequent cleanings easier.

Flitz works Great and you can find it at Ace Hardware.Go easy on it and do a small area at a time.Q tips are a great assist

Took my 627pc to the range last weekend and experienced the same problem. After scrubbing with "BreakFree CLP" with no results, I tried some Ultimate-Lube II Bore Polish from Wilson Combat. Carbon deposits wiped away with ease.