Technical Series: Cleaning your barrel (gasp)

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edgerat

New member
Alright, lets hear it gents! I am curious to hear how folks are cleaning these little buggers. Do you brush, do you use solvent? How about dry patches? What do you use to clean your chamber, how many shots does it take for your barrel to come back to hummin' strength?

Discuss.
 
I bet if you check with your gunsmith, he'd suggest PAL oil as a cleaner, and a little Iosso to polish up the bore every now and then.
Just a couple wet patches followed by a couple dry.
And very little, just a small dab, of Iosso when you use it.
 
Marine pal is what I was told to use, I am about an hour from PAL HQ and am planning a trip down to check out all the products.
 
edgerat said:
Marine pal is what I was told to use, I am about an hour from PAL HQ and am planning a trip down to check out all the products.
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That's for after you clean it ......I do what Jeff does after every target and Iosso the whole barrel after every brick or two
 
CF barrels can be too smooth, causing them to copper up some. Can rimfire barrels be too smooth? There is no copper to deal with, so that is not an issue. Does the wax leave enough of a layer to not allow lead to stick to the surface? Does there need to be a small amount of roughness in the bore to hold the wax? I have always been real carefull with abrasives in CF to not make them too smooth. Is there any issues in the RF world that apply?
 
stiller said:
CF barrels can be too smooth, causing them to copper up some. Can rimfire barrels be too smooth? There is no copper to deal with, so that is not an issue. Does the wax leave enough of a layer to not allow lead to stick to the surface? Does there need to be a small amount of roughness in the bore to hold the wax? I have always been real carefull with abrasives in CF to not make them too smooth. Is there any issues in the RF world that apply?
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I would have agreed with this all day, every day but for one interesting fact. It's been a while since the passing of Chester Amick but the guns that he produced amased some impressive results. He lapped all barrels to his specs and the finish lap he used he secured from a private source from NASA and it was 1000 grit which I suspect is on the order of 3 times smoother than anything I ever heard of before or since. Go figure.
 
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tim said:
I would have agreed with this all day, every day but for one interesting fact. It's been a while since the passing of Chester amick but the guns that he produced amased some impressive results. He lapped all barrels to his specs and the finish lap he used he secured from a private source from NASA and it was 1000 grit which I suspect is on the order of 3 times smoother than anything I ever heard of before or since. Go figure.
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Was this for CF or RF?
 
No. Flitz is a metal polish iosso has chemical properties that attack carbon. Be aware iosso has a metal polish, that's not what we are using, its the bore cleaner in the white/red tube.
 
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stiller said:
CF barrels can be too smooth, causing them to copper up some. Can rimfire barrels be too smooth? There is no copper to deal with, so that is not an issue. Does the wax leave enough of a layer to not allow lead to stick to the surface? Does there need to be a small amount of roughness in the bore to hold the wax? I have always been real carefull with abrasives in CF to not make them too smooth. Is there any issues in the RF world that apply?
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I had Joel Kendrick coat a barrel for me a couple of years ago. One thing he stressed was not to shoot it very much in the break in process before I sent it to him. He said that he had had problems with accuracy after his process if the finish from the lapping process had been smoothened out. He wanted them then after a dozen or so bullets had been fired through them. This may have changed, I don't know.
 
There are a few thing some of you that are looking for Pal oil and Marine oil need to know. The gentle man who is in charge of the company has just gotten out of the hospital for heart surgery and is not available to take calls at present. Jeff Miller knew that I had some extra oil that I would sell and has not seen fit to let anyone know I had it .He has let folks know to go direct to get the oil. Thanks Jeff for your help I really appreciate it. garrisone.
 
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I can help you and any one eles looking for the oil. Just let the man get well before you start calling him. garrisone.
 
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