Brass vs. Nylon Cylinder Face Cleaning Question - I Should Know This But I Don't . .

dwever · Oct 11, 2015

After one range trip plus a short tactical class totaling ca. 350 rounds of American Eagle .38, plus about five moon clips of +P, things are dirty. So dirty that I buy a commonly available brass brush. Resultantly, I am just stunned how quickly my cylinder face comes clean compared to my former nylon ways.

1. The brass brush was so much faster that now I'm on this forum asking if a brass brush is actually too abrasive for stainless steel at the cylinder face, or at the carbon smears that build on the outside of each charge hole, or anywhere else?

2. Same question for my 586 L-Comp which already has trace silver metal visible on the cylinder face as well as from the rotation against the cylinder lock?

I'm thinking if this is good to go, I just knocked a slew of time off my revolver cleaning, and how did I not know this all these years? THANKS!!

k22fan · Oct 11, 2015

Brass brushes are fine on bare stainless. However I prefer fine bronze wool for most surfaces including the cylinder face. Letting M-Pro 7 or your favorite solvent soak into the fouling first makes cleaning even easier. Ace Hardware has bronze wool in their warehouse system so if your local Ace doesn't have it in the painting department they can order a bag for about $7.50. Brownell's carries bronze wool as do better yachting supply stores.

Some people prefer solid copper dish scrubbers like Chore Boy brand. Be careful selecting them so as to avoid copper covered steel pads. If there is any doubt check with a magnet before buying them.

All of those cleaning methods will thin then eventually remove the bluing from your 586! That is the biggest advantage stainless revolvers have over blued ones. Stainless is easier to clean.

PatriotX · Oct 11, 2015

I use brass brushes on stainless guns, nylon on blued - probably an overabundance of caution.

Recently, I've started using RenWax on my blued revolvers, and the cleanup seems to require less time and effort.

S&W Rover · Oct 11, 2015

I use the brass brush sold by Home Depot Lincoln Electric Wooden-Handled Brass Wire Brush-KH582 - The Home Depot made to clean soft metal contacts for soldering. Cost is $1.97. They work great for the front of the cylinder of the stainless guns, after the build up is soaked a bit in CLP. Used cross-wise, they do a good job of cleaning up the area around the forcing cone and where the yolk connects up with the frame.

I have watched closely to make sure there is no damage or erosion to the metal, and there is none. (I do not clean the cylinder to the nth degree, removing the ring entirely; I just clean it to about the 90% level. That last bit would take a lot of elbow grease and could eventually damage the stainless).

I think the brass brushes I use are a little softer than the bristles on bore cleaning brushes. I use the bore brushes to work on the powder inside the cylinders, in front of the cases. To answer the OPs question -- brass brushes work great on the front of the cylinders and appear to do no damage.

regalsc · Oct 12, 2015

For stainless the lead away cloth cleans the cylinder face & after cleaning it looks like the gun has never been fired.

jack the toad · Oct 12, 2015

I'm not anal about cleaning to the point unless storing or selling, etc. Typically a wipe from a solvent soaked rag will get my gun to the next shooting session. I think a copper or brass brush does better for stubborn stains which may over time and use, show on the finish as wear.
A down side to copper/brass brushes is if the solvent contains ammonia (as for copper bore fouling), it can be detrimental.

bigfatty · Oct 12, 2015

regalsc said:
For stainless the lead away cloth cleans the cylinder face & after cleaning it looks like the gun has never been fired.

This. No more ghost rings, either.

dwever · Oct 12, 2015

Thanks guys! Very helpful.

I made peace with light ghost rings a long time ago, they're a nice testament

.

k22fan · Oct 12, 2015

You're calling my doughnuts ghost rings! I'd be insulted if Halloween wasn't coming up.

There is no reason to remove powder burn doughnut stains but they come off easily with bronze wool, solvent and a little elbow grease. The bronze wool does not give the stainless steel a shine which at least in theory lead away cloth eventually will because lead away cloth contains a mild abrasive. It's just a matter of whether you prefer factory surface appearance for collector value or shinny.

BTW, when I'm shopping for used S&W stainless revolvers I prefer to buy them with their powder stain doughnuts intact. If they are not there I look critically for loss of factory surface on other areas.

savit260 · Oct 12, 2015

I just wipe with my Ballistol, wait a few, and then wipe with a dry cloth patch. Once in a blue moon I'll take an old tooth brush and give it a quick scrub. I don't see the point in buffing off the carbon rings on a revolver that gets shot and used.

6ForSure · Oct 12, 2015

k22fan said:
BTW, when I'm shopping for used S&W stainless revolvers I prefer to buy them with their powder stain doughnuts intact. If they are not there I look critically for loss of factory surface on other areas.

Agreed 100%, I personally won't buy a used Smith with a clean face since I don't know how its been handled before. I use Birchwood Casey polishing cloths on my factory stainless cylinders. I've had to remove SS cylinders and let them soak in Hoppes for a few days before when they were really caked on.

bigfatty · Oct 12, 2015

k22fan said:
You're calling my doughnuts ghost rings! I'd be insulted if Halloween wasn't coming up.

There is no reason to remove powder burn doughnut stains but they come off easily with bronze wool, solvent and a little elbow grease. The bronze wool does not give the stainless steel a shine which at least in theory lead away cloth eventually will because lead away cloth contains a mild abrasive. It's just a matter of whether you prefer factory surface appearance for collector value or shinny.

BTW, when I'm shopping for used S&W stainless revolvers I prefer to buy them with their powder stain doughnuts intact. If they are not there I look critically for loss of factory surface on other areas.

I bought a "new" 586 Classic from Bud's about 2 months ago. Among all the other problems, the entire front cylinder face had been cleaned so hard that there was more steel showing than blued surface. I refused delivery of that one.

ErnieDeBord · Oct 12, 2015

I am about as "anal" as one could be with the Cleaning/Handling& shooting ALL of my firearms, and always have been. A fairly cheep way to clean the cyl face is a old toothbrush with mothers mag polish. I get a can at wally world and it goes a long way. If I keep "on top" of things,dont take to much effort on the cyl face,dont see how it could ever hurt stainless, regards Ernie

6ForSure · Oct 12, 2015

I agree with using Mothers to clean a SS cylinder, but only on certain factory SS finishes. I don't want anybody to be confused by the power of Mothers Mag polish. If using Mothers alone to clean the cylinder face I'd recommend Mothers Billet, its a much finer compound that is far less abrasive. It's actually far less abrasive than the Birchwood Casey polishing cloth. Downside is its about $18, but very little goes a long, long way when properly used. ALSO, to use Mothers correctly to clean a cylinder face the cylinder must be removed and disassembled.

Brass vs. Nylon Cylinder Face Cleaning Question - I Should Know This But I Don't . .

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