Cleaning question

[danacobb]

Recently I've been experimenting with different powder / copper solvents trying to get my 270 WSM completely clean. I can never seem to get all the copper out. Today I went and purchased some JB bore paste, and some Butch's Bore Shine. They seem to work very well, and I've removed most of the copper from my factory barrel. After cleaning for hours, if I run a brush through my bore a few times, then clean with solvent again, the patches still come out black. Is this normal? (NOTE: I didn't break the barrel in properly, still in the learning curve at that point) Or is this becuase of improper barrel break in? The tube has about 400 rounds through it, and is cleaned regularly. Do any of you use bore snakes? Any thoughts on them?

Thanks for any feedback.
Cobber

 

[baldeagle713]

IF it's still commin out black , Keep patching untill it comes out clean.
Try "Wipe out"
also There is a new product clalled Eliminator. That is real Good and doesn't smell bad.
Sweets works but has a high amionia content. IF you use Sweets fallow the derections on the bottle carefuly. Also Ya might wanta be OUT SIDE, This stuff has a STRONG oder.
Good luck.

Carful with JB! it's abrasive.

 

[Guest]

If your using JB then your patches are gonna come out dirty if you don't get all the paste out.
On factory barrels that copper foul bad I like to use Sweets , it is super strong on the copper , their are several others out their that are suposed to be as good or better but I bought a gallon of Sweets and I'll be **** if I'm gonna waste it !!

I'm gonna go ahead and put on my flame suit!!

If you barrel is realy rough then you might want to look at "fire lapping" it , yea I know that shooting a bullet that is covered with abraisive sounds like a bad idea but I've done 9 factory tubes and it helped them all.

PS if you think that your still getting copper after cleaning , in most cases you patches will be a blue-greene color as that is what color copper turns when its dissloved

 

[johnny k.]

Cobber,
Probably would have made barrel clean up easier if you'da done the "proper" barrel break-in. But, since you're past that now no need to worry. I italicized proper because there could be another whole post on that subject.
I have noticed that whenever I use a brush on any of my barrels, no matter what stage of clean they're in, the patches always come out black. Just the nature of the beast I guess. I use the brush to start with and jag and patches from there on out.
I use Barnes CR-10 to remove copper and carbon now. It, like some other solvents, has a high ammonia content and the directions on the bottle should be followed to the letter. I use this until patches stop turning blue/green on me then go to Kroil/Marvel Mystery Oil combo, and dry patch out.
Sweets and Montana Extreme are two more "odifirous" (read: ammonia) solvents that work on the copper. Never have used JB bore cleaner or paste, but a gunsmith friend swears by them. Uses them after initial cleaning to smooth barrels out. I'm not sure if the abrasiveness of this is too much for a barrel, it doesn't seem to hurt my buddies barrels. I would think that after 400 rds your barrel would have most of the roughness and tooling marks out. Especially with a hot little number like the .270 WSM. I have been considering that round myself.
As for the Tubbs firelapping kit, I won't say either way. I have no experience with it either. I've never ran across a barrel that was so rough I couldn't get it smooth by other means. It too is probably cause for another post.
I have a Sendero 7mm RM that the first 10-12" of bore is really rough (1500+ rounds!). Instead of continueing to waste 2-3 days to clean I am planning on an aftermarket barrel for it in the near future. Good luck with your barrel and let us know what you do. Johnny K.

 

[Brent]

It'll usually take a few patches with solvent to clean out the JB so they aren't black anymore. Be sure to start with the chamber though and clean the JB out of it first then work forward or when you go back and clean it it will again contaminate the bore. Your rifle will shoot like hell if any of that stuff is left in there after cleaning too, make it squeeky clean. I run a patch of oil down the bore when I'm all done, then a dry patch to remove any excess but leave a coating for the first bullet to run on so initial fouling is minimized.

You could pour a lead lap in the bore and do it up right or use the Tubb lapping bullets if it's what you want.

I pretty much use JB bore paste for my all my cleaning, powder and copper, takes it all out with a couple good coated patches wraped around a Dewey jag. I've used Sweets in combination with JB but don't really find it necessary. 30-70 strokes on each patch of JB does the job no problem, less if I don't shoot 50-100 rounds before cleaning it.

 

[littletoes]

I use Shooters Choice/Kroil mix to get the carbon out, then switch to Sweets to get rid of the copper. After the copper is gone I go through the barrel with the solvent again to get rid of the ammonia that might be left in the bore. My patches come out clean when all done.

 

[danacobb]

Thanks for the responses guys. Once again, great site and tons of information here.

 

[Guest]

You can still break in your barrel. Clean it till there is nothing left in the barrel. (I use sweets and JB) Than do a break in like it was a new barrel. If you do not break in your barrel the the first few rounds fill the rough spots with copper and they never get smooth. I did a break in on a old hand me down 303 brit. with many rounds through the tube. After days of cleaning to the bare metal I did the shoot 1 and clean thing. The gun now cleans 10 times easier and groups about half what it use to.