Some guys chuck up a nylon brush to a drill and spin the inside of the chambers to get them clean. I tried that, and it was better, but I could still see buildup. I tried a bronze chamber brush with Hoppes for like 5 seconds, and it is spotless. Can the bronze brush hurt the cylinder holes? I know not to do it in the barrel.

No, the bronze brush will not hurt the cylinder chamber. Bronze is a lot softer than gun steel, and will not scratch it unless you use something like an abrasive powder, which is not recommended, of course.

A stainless steel brush is not recommended, as it's hardness comes close to that of gun steel. A few dozen passes of stainless bore brush in the softer stell of an antique rifle barrel is enough to ruin it. Ask me how I know...

Been doing that with a bronze for thirty years. Cylinder clean, no damage. As cautioned DO NOT USE A STAINLESS BRUSH!

What are stainless steel brushes for? Just wondering. I use bronze ones in my stainless guns, but by hand. Don't even own a power tool.

For my cylinders, I use a 40 caliber brush. I wanna say it's copper, brass, or bronze certainly not stainless...

And I do, at times, turn it with a drill, when build up is bad...

I have no clue what a stainless brush, shaped like a bore brush, would be for...

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NRA Life Member

Nothing wrong with a bronze brush, but beware using the ones with a steel core. Here's how I do it:

Get yourself some 1/4" brass tubing from your local hardware store. Using a hacksaw or a Dremel cut-off wheel, cut a slot in one end. Jam an appropriate sized wad of bronze wool in the notch........chuck it up in your hand-drill and commence to getting your chambers spotless. With the right length of tubing, this regimen can also be used to target a lead/carbon fouled part of a pistol barrel(forcing cones come to mind) as well. If you cannot find bronze wool at your local hardware store, try a marine supply store. This is much cheaper than going through a bunch of bronze brushes.................your welcome!

Attached Images

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Extra heavy duty cleaning. I use them for brushing out the lead rings inside the chambers. Just use common sense when using stainless brushes.

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Stainless brushes are for use in a gun so badly neglected that you literally have nothing to loose. That's why they're often sold with the caution, "For gunsmith use only".

I use bronze brushes every time I clean. I've never attached one to a drill although it sounds like a time-saver. I do throw them away and replace them after every 4th or 5th cleaning because the soft bronze wears away remarkably quickly when rubbed against steel.

I have used stainless chamber brushes on my guns for 20 years. About 6 passes will get all the lead out of your chamber. I have never damaged a gun in any way using them.

What about spinning a bronze brush in the TI cylinder like on the 340PD? Something about a special coating in these cylinders. I suspect you could spin a nylon brush in these and be ok, but would a bronze brush be too aggressive?

How about spinning a clean patch with some polish in the cylinders and polishing them up real good? Get em realy shiney and polished and it should be easier to clean future gunk off.

The coating is on the outside. (It's like a clear coat paint on your car)

The bronze brushes won't hurt a ti cylinder. Don't rub the bronze on the frame, you will scratch the aluminum.

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NRA Benefactor Member

It is. I can clean all six charge holes in 30 seconds or so.

There's a lot of use for stainless steel brushes in industrial applications. When I was a youngster working at a dairy while going to school they used a ton of stainless steel brushes cleaning the stainless steel equipment on milk carton and bottle filling machines, milk separators, and stainless steel pipe fittings and flanges, etc.

Smitty

That photo looks like part of an old scrub pad my mother had for the kitchen sink, but finer. I'm not sure I've ever seen real bronze wool for sale at the store, but I'm going to look. This was a good tip. Thanks, B