Carbon and Rust

[Hikinghunter]

Not sure about you guys, but I'm finding that getting 100 percent of the carbon out of my barrels requires extreme measures, so I've lowered my expectations. The bore scope picture below is pretty typical post-cleaning for me. I've used hoppes and a bronze brush followed by patches. I've tried patch-out with nylon brushes, I've done overnight soaks, etc, etc. Seems like getting the barrel totally shiny isnt very feasible with normal cleaning methods, even if you devote a lot of time to it. Also, this small amount of carbon doesn't seem to affect accuracy, so I've started leaving it.

My question is, does leaving a small amount of carbon like this in the barrel promote rust? Does it absorb moisture and cause pitting?

The only way I've found to get a totally shiny barrel is to put iosso paste on a nylon brush and scrub like a crazy person, reversing the brush in tne barrel, etc. I do that every 100-200 rounds, but don't want to do it every time I shoot.

 

[Phil Rizzo]

You'll never have fouling issues getting to bare steel every 200 rounds.l
I've never seen pitting from carbon, myself.
Iosso is my choice also, does a good job in my complete lack of patience.

 

[Rotten]

I think your going to find out that trying to remove all trace of copper and fouling is a fools errand.
I cannot say about rust because I live in the desert with low humidity.
I will say that after the first shot from a clean barrel your impact will shift once you have some fouling in the barrel. I know alot of shooters that don't clean their barrel except with a wet patch and then a dry patch and then a patch with lite oil.

 

[Shane Lindsey]

Does it still shoot? If so, list the borescope in the classifieds

Buddy of mine inherited a rifle that was left in the basement after a flood for a number of years. Borescope said it was prolly toast. Wouldn't shoot better than about 2". Gave him some JB Gray and JB Red. He just sent me pics of two separate charge weight groups that have great potential.

I try to clean to bare steel every 30 rounds or so, do I...dunno, don't have a borescope, but they all shoot until they don't...

 

[MagnumManiac]

I do not leave carbon deposits in my barrels. Period.
Carbon is abrasive, so I use JB Bore Paste after a copper solvent.

This is what my clean barrels look like.

Cheers.

 

[Hugnot]

I use IOSSO bore cleaner on a tight patch, after Hoppe's foam, then scrub (float) out with nylon brush dipped in 5W hi detergent motor oil then finish with Hoppes Black bore cleaner. Carbon is inert and cannot be dissolved with common solvents and strong acids have no effect.

The abrasive in JB is from diatoms, real tiny little unicel sea creatures that have silica bodies. Past use shows JB is more abrasive & effective than ISSO. I don't have a clue what is in ISSO - sort of like tooth paste.

Nice pics ^^

 

[Tiny Tim]

Another fan of JB Bore paste. I have also had good results with "Free All" penetrating oil. It's smelly, but helps get the majority of carbon out without using an abrasive. Something to consider.

Its also beneficial to clean regularly. Also, custom barrels are often much easier to clean than factory. I'm impressed with @MagnumManiac photo of a clean barrel that has tooling marks in it. They are often difficult to remove carbon from.