cleaning question

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cleaning question

Post by tofu » 30 Dec 2018, 10:25 am

this is regarding my .223 remington 700 stainless. this rifle has now had approximately 700 to 800 rounds through it.

After every shoot, the cleaning process i use is:
1. dry patches until its clean/relatively clean
2. foaming bore scrub. birchwood casey or hoppes no.9
3. let sit for about 30 mins to 45 mins
4. dry patches until its clean/relatively clean
5. brass brush. 10 passes.
5a. clean brush with shellite
6. wet patches with G96
7. finish with a spray of G96, let sit for 1 min and then 1 dry patch

my issue is no matter how many times i repeat steps 5, 5a, 6...the wet patches always come out black and takes about 2 to 3 wet patches before it is not black anymore. i have done these 3 steps up to 10 times and the wet patches are still black on first and second.

what am i doing wrong?
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Re: cleaning question

Post by SCJ429 » 30 Dec 2018, 12:38 pm

It looks like you are only cleaning for carbon, you need to use a copper solvent. Try sticking your foaming cleaner up the barrel. Wet patch until the patches come out relatively clean. Pop your brush through the wet bore a few times, then patch out the carbon that came loose. Carbon is now out, move on to copper. Wet patch using Bore Tec Cu and leave for five minutes, repeat until no blue colour is present on the next patch. Then clean out the bore with Ballistol or similar. Use a bore guide and a quality rod.
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Re: cleaning question

Post by tofu » 30 Dec 2018, 1:00 pm

I dont have issues with copper. I use sweets 7.62 which is bloody brilliant i might add. The steps i mentioned above never come out with blue/green patches. Always pitch black on first then goes clean by third.

Also, i am doing what you have suggested for carbon but what i find is after i scrub then wet patch it is black, then by the third patch its clean. However, if i scrub again it goes black again
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Re: cleaning question

Post by TassieTiger » 30 Dec 2018, 1:43 pm

Sounds like your brass brush might be contaminated - despite cleaning mine well, when the brass is under tension, crap seems to come from nowhere.
I’d swap steps 4 and 5 and see if that helps.
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Re: cleaning question

Post by tofu » 30 Dec 2018, 2:12 pm

Yeah, i thought it may be the brush too so i have tried a brand new brass brush but same results. Interestingly when i use a nylon brush the second time, the patches are still clean. Not sure if its because the nylon isnt hard enough

Ill try swapping 4 and 5
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Re: cleaning question

Post by TassieTiger » 30 Dec 2018, 2:26 pm

tofu wrote:Yeah, i thought it may be the brush too so i have tried a brand new brass brush but same results. Interestingly when i use a nylon brush the second time, the patches are still clean. Not sure if its because the nylon isnt hard enough

Ill try swapping 4 and 5


One of my brass brushes has been eaten away by corrosive cleaner (several strands are 1/2 inch shorter and what is left oozes crap into the barrel when ever wet...
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Re: cleaning question

Post by Gaznazdiak » 30 Dec 2018, 2:30 pm

TassieTiger wrote:
tofu wrote:Yeah, i thought it may be the brush too so i have tried a brand new brass brush but same results. Interestingly when i use a nylon brush the second time, the patches are still clean. Not sure if its because the nylon isnt hard enough

Ill try swapping 4 and 5


One of my brass brushes has been eaten away by corrosive cleaner (several strands are 1/2 inch shorter and what is left oozes crap into the barrel when ever wet...


I usually just give my bronze brush a good rinse after use with a couple of litres of boiling water.
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Re: cleaning question

Post by Oldbloke » 30 Dec 2018, 7:09 pm

Just sound like it’s very dirty to me. Have you tried sweets. It’s not just good at removing copper. Does a great job on carbon too. Don’t use a bronze brush with sweets, it dissolves the copper in the bronze and you think there is still copper in the barrel when it’s clean.

Windex is good at removing carbon too.
Try it.
Also some powders are dirtier than others. I only use ar2208. What are others using?
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Re: cleaning question

Post by Gaznazdiak » 30 Dec 2018, 7:14 pm

Yes Oldbloke, Windex :thumbsup:

I put windex first, leave for 10 min, dry patch, Gunslick Ultra-Klenz, leave 10, patch until they come out clean as they went in. :D

I was amazed at how well it attacked old carbon.
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Re: cleaning question

Post by Oldbloke » 30 Dec 2018, 7:28 pm

Gaznazdiak wrote:Yes Oldbloke, Windex :thumbsup:

I put windex first, leave for 10 min, dry patch,

I was amazed at how well it attacked old carbon.


+1
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Re: cleaning question

Post by TassieTiger » 30 Dec 2018, 7:38 pm

When you guys say you leave it in there - how are distributing in the barrel? Are just soaking a pad or brush or ? In the windex and then doing one pass through the barrel to coat everything - or are you blocking Up the end of the barrel and literally soaking the internals in a solution?
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Re: cleaning question

Post by Gaznazdiak » 30 Dec 2018, 8:18 pm

I just put a couple of sopping patches through and leave the last one at the muzzle, with the breech elevated.
Then push it all the way out and as per above.
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Re: cleaning question

Post by marksman » 30 Dec 2018, 8:39 pm

it sounds to me like you have a sara lee effect and have not yet got your bore clean as Oldbloke said
try looking down the muzzle with a low light torch to see if you can see any copper down the bore
you can check by pushing a patch down the bore and seeing if it catches in places like a stop start, the patch should just smoothly push down the bore
you will still have fouling after the patches stop being discoloured, maybe try something more aggressive but leave it sit overnight and brush vigorously
SS barrels are not like CM barrels CM barrels have pores and will still show carbon a week after you clean it, SS should not

also if you do decide to try windex oil your bore after use, I have seen a chamber and bore ruined very quickly by a new guy who used windex and did not oil after
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Re: cleaning question

Post by tofu » 30 Dec 2018, 9:58 pm

Ok so i have done both the swapping of my step 4 and 5 and also tested windex.

Both have the same result. After i put the brush through then follow up with a wet patch, they come out black.

When testing with windex, i sprayed into bore and left for 10 mins then put a dry patch through and it came out clean...just pushed out some windex liquid. I then got another brand new brass brush and did 10 passes and then a wet patch and the patch was black again...
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Re: cleaning question

Post by TassieTiger » 30 Dec 2018, 10:03 pm

Cleaning rod - bent, so it’s touching different areas of barrel?
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Re: cleaning question

Post by tofu » 30 Dec 2018, 10:04 pm

rifle has been oiled up again and stored in safe...will try other suggestions another day.

also, to answer the question about if the patch goes through smoothly. yes, it glides through no issues. does not catch on anything.
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Re: cleaning question

Post by tofu » 30 Dec 2018, 10:05 pm

TassieTiger wrote:Cleaning rod - bent, so it’s touching different areas of barrel?


im using a 1 piece carbon fibre rod. this is also new...i was using an older 1 piece steel rod but didnt feel safe with it so i have had the carbon fibre one for about a week now.
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Re: cleaning question

Post by pomemax » 30 Dec 2018, 10:11 pm

How hard are you scrubbing your bore and how many round do you feed down range before you clean (IM betting about 10-20) I will only scrub out a bore after at least 400 rounds or unless its accuracy goes witch is very rare I use a bore snake ( 1-2 dry passes) after every outing with any fire arm apart from a .22 just wipe the outside of .22s
what ammo are you using in .223 factory /reloads / brands
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Re: cleaning question

Post by Oldbloke » 31 Dec 2018, 7:57 pm

marksman wrote:it sounds to me like you have a sara lee effect and have not yet got your bore clean as Oldbloke said
try looking down the muzzle with a low light torch to see if you can see any copper down the bore
you can check by pushing a patch down the bore and seeing if it catches in places like a stop start, the patch should just smoothly push down the bore
you will still have fouling after the patches stop being discoloured, maybe try something more aggressive but leave it sit overnight and brush vigorously
SS barrels are not like CM barrels CM barrels have pores and will still show carbon a week after you clean it, SS should not

also if you do decide to try windex oil your bore after use, I have seen a chamber and bore ruined very quickly by a new guy who used windex and did not oil after


Agree, agree, agree.
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