meths for barrel cleaning

SikaJames

Well-Known Member
over the last couple of years, I've been using meths soaked patches as a significant part of my barrel cleaning. It's BRILLIANT at removing the carbon.

I then follow-up with butch's bore shine or similar to attack any copper fouling.

My borescope tells me that there's rarely need to use a bronze brush, but I occasionally use JB Paste.

Watch-out: meths removes oil, so I wipe inside & out with an oiled patch, before storing the rifle in the safe
 
Always run a patch through mine during the winter etc, as you can get condensation when rifle brought back into a warm house. My cabinet is fitted to a wall adjacent to an outside wall and is always cold in there, so all my rifles and guns are lightly cleaned to remove moisture, then lightly oiled, prior to taking them out I run a meths patch through and zero has always been spot on. learnt this the hard way years ago on a Manlicher I had. deerwarden
 
It's also an old trick when shooting 303 Lee designs for cleaning the chamber as it helps keep the first few shots in the same place as the subsequent ones, apparently.
I found it better to get a proper Mauser design instead.
 
I use surgical spirit as it may be a little more pure. If you go the same route get the SS from an agricultural supplier. The stuff from chemists has other additives to make it less harsh on skin.
 
I also use meths to remove lose fowling then any traces of whatever solvent has been soaking (currently wipeout) and any muck it unearths. I repeat the soak and clean process again and again until no muck emerges. However thinking about it there are probably lots of alcohol based solvents that would work. Recently unfortunately I have only fired about 20 rounds a year, so clean very rarely.
 
Need to be a bit careful as meths is getter weaker and wetter all the time. Used to use it to "dry" petrol in soggy motorbike tanks, doesn't work anymore due to the high water content. Some seem to be 60%.
 
i use brake cleaner by worth, same as the kg but £5 cheaper it removes any oil dry's and cleans out the crud being a carbon cleaner
 
Different solvents dissolve different substances and many have been used
including diesil,parafin, turps,acetone, and alcohol. There are favourite mixtures
like Eds Red.brake cleaners they are cheap in bulk,....compared with a bottle from the gun shop.

main thing is to avoid leaving water inside barrel when storing
 
Bronze brushes are not good for the bore (metal rubbing on metal!), use nylon. Copper creates a great bearing surface for the bullet and aids precision, remove it and watch the groups open up. Carbon pits the bore and should be removed soon after cleaning, i have 430 rounds on my AI and haven't removed any copper ever, when copper starts showing at the crown i will remove it but not until then. Every one has their own way in the end.

Regards

Carl.
 
Surgical spirit contains castor oil, not sure whether this is a bad thing for your barrel or not but it certainly isn't a pure spirit. If you wanted something more pure then methanol would probably be ok. Are there any chemists out there??
 
Bronze brushes are not good for the bore (metal rubbing on metal!), use nylon. Copper creates a great bearing surface for the bullet and aids precision, remove it and watch the groups open up. Carbon pits the bore and should be removed soon after cleaning, i have 430 rounds on my AI and haven't removed any copper ever, when copper starts showing at the crown i will remove it but not until then. Every one has their own way in the end.

Regards

Carl.

I would love to get to the bottom of these myths one day! The opposite position to your statement being bronze brushes are a soft metal and do far less harm than the abrasive effect of nylon. Copper......
well I won't go there.
 
interesting, i have never used meths to actually clean but i do use it to remove residue before going out and it means 1st shot from cold clean bore it rarely more than 1/4 inch away from the rest. before, even with dry patching it has taken 3-4 shots to settle but with the meths its been spot on!
 
Bronze brushes are not good for the bore (metal rubbing on metal!), use nylon. Copper creates a great bearing surface for the bullet and aids precision, remove it and watch the groups open up. Carbon pits the bore and should be removed soon after cleaning, i have 430 rounds on my AI and haven't removed any copper ever, when copper starts showing at the crown i will remove it but not until then. Every one has their own way in the end.

Regards

Carl.

Bronze brushes( metal rubbing metal). Good job bullets arn't made of metal then. You could not make up rubbish like this:rolleyes:. I remove copper and my groups don't open up. I won't be cleaning my rifle till before moose hunting in October. I will patch out with red spirit before shooting a clean gun though.
 
Bronze brushes are not good for the bore (metal rubbing on metal!), use nylon. Copper creates a great bearing surface for the bullet and aids precision, remove it and watch the groups open up. Carbon pits the bore and should be removed soon after cleaning, i have 430 rounds on my AI and haven't removed any copper ever, when copper starts showing at the crown i will remove it but not until then. Every one has their own way in the end.

Regards

Carl.

Leave the copper build up in a steel barrel !!!!!!!!!! and remember science at school anode and cathode reaction = NEW BARREL

Jimbo
 
Back
Top