Muzzle break cleaning

[frostop]

Wasn't sure where to put this?

Those of you that have muzzle breaks.
I am new to muzzle breaks and have been breaking in a new barrel with a break. In doing so I noticed that I think the barrel gets clean but the break does not!

My questing is this, do you take the break off every time you clean and clean it? If so how do "you" clean your break?

 

[Recon$$]

Just get in there with a brush or whatever works. Don't take the brake off, completely unnecessary. A Little carbon is no problem.

 

[Shane Lindsey]

Just make sure you clean the bore hole and dry out any area that may collect solvent so it doesn't let it run back down the bore when you store it.

 

[Slim13]

I completely remove the brake (advantage of having a self timing brake), get a tub with simple green and a bronze brush. Hit it with carb cleaner when done - a little anti seizing lube on the brake threads and back on she goes! Easy peasy

 

[johnnyk]

I've cleaned mine both ways; off and on. "On" is faster, thus, easier to me but I have the larger oblong type vents on all mine. No "radial" types with smaller holes.
I usually start with my barrel and use the "Bore Blaster" stuff that creates foam in your barrel. I only squirt it to the barrel/brake junction so the foam doesn't shoot out the vents and go everywhere! I then go at it from the brake end and push the tube in to the barrel and depress the spray can's trigger enough to get it started and then "walk" the tube out to the end to fully saturate the brake.
This usually gets a large portion of the carbon and if I feel it necessary to clean further I use a pistol cleaning rod (8-9" long and flexible). I've used nylon brushes that were .35 caliber on down, scrubbing it violently and using more carbon cleaning agents. Then I use a small rag to clean all the way through (side to side) by pushing the rag through with the pistol cleaning rod. I go through the muzzle end with a dry patch or two to clean everything up good.
Clean till you add 2lbs of pressure to the trigger again!

 

[Lrreloader]

Soak In vinegar

 

[jrock]

I tend not to clean mine too often. Every 200 rounds or before storage. Mine is a slabbed brake and I use the foam cleaner to get it started. I wrap a layer of packing tape around the brake and then squirt the foam in until it fills up all the ports. Let it soak and then hit it with Qtips. Takes almost all of it off without too much work. A little Hoppe's takes the last bit off.

 

[86alaskan]

Every now and then, when it get's pretty crusty, I'll pull it and soak both parts of the self timing brake in a dish full of CLR cleaner. let it sit for 2-3 days, and the carbon washes right off, perfectly clean.

 

[Greyfox]

It depends on the design of the brake. On most of my barrels the brake is simple to remove/replace without accuracy effects and I just as soon prefer to clean it and the crown with some BoreTech. For heavy deposits of carbon and copper I'll soak the brake in a small container of BoreTech Carbon Solvent. For the more difficult to remove/index style brakes, I'll leave them on and use a tooth brush and QTips to clean the brake and crown.

 

[Mach 1]

Soak In vinegar

Mix hydrogen peroxide and white vinegar 50/50. That's how I clean my suppressor

 

[ntsqd]

Note that if the brake is made from carbon steel that a long duration soak in vinegar will be bad for it. Couple days is likely no big deal. Forget about it for a month and the brake that you put in won't be the brake that you pull out. Was not a brake, but BT, DT. A high carbon SST brake would probably behave the same way, only take a little longer.

One of the old fashioned soaking cans of carburetor cleaner should be just about perfect for the job of cleaning brakes & silencers.

 

[4SFED]

I'll pull it and soak both parts of the self timing brake in a dish full of CLR cleaner. let it sit for 2-3 days, and the carbon washes right off, perfectly clean.

This

 

[vancewalker007]

I usually clean my Brakes in my Ultra Sonic cleaner around once a year.

 

[ramrod79]

CLR works great if you remove break.