how do you clean off stubborn baked-on carbon?

[PEI ROB]

Well said SandRoad! I have cleaned a whack of very large carboned up items at work and tested more nasty industrial products than a sane person would without hazmat gear. The "equal best" I found besides a toxic acid was the strong spray soap types.

Yes, spray soap. Try it with a tooth brush and compare it to your miracle plastic melting chemical.

 

[Eagleye]

In the automotive industry, we use a heavy duty carbon cleaner concentrate to do an Engine "Moto-Vac" The product is called Carbonex. I have used this in it's concentrated form, and it removes that hard carbon slick as snot. In a few minutes, the carbon wipes right out and leaves the surface clean and shiny. It's pretty potent stuff, so I normally remove my action & barrel from the stock to use it. Regards, Eagleye.

 

[Rod B]

I no longer get caked-on carbon. I use BreakFree CLP where it would normally accumulate. Put it on now, put the gun away for a day, and then just wipe the carbon off. When you shoot, leave the area a little 'wet' with it. Miracle product.

Since I have been shooting my Beretta 391 with it's gas piston & cylinder "wet" with Breakfree CLP, I find that the carbon is very easy to wipe off.

 

[Casper]

I use a rubber pencil eraser to clean my revolver cylinder, works great and no chemicals.

 

[SandRoad]

The "equal best" I found besides a toxic acid was the strong spray soap types.

Yes, spray soap. Try it with a tooth brush and compare it to your miracle plastic melting chemical.

In the automotive industry, we use a heavy duty carbon cleaner concentrate to do an Engine "Moto-Vac" The product is called Carbonex. I have used this in it's concentrated form, and it removes that hard carbon slick as snot. In a few minutes, the carbon wipes right out and leaves the surface clean and shiny. It's pretty potent stuff, so I normally remove my action & barrel from the stock to use it. Regards, Eagleye.

Most of the nasty toxic stuff doesn't do anything to the carbon, it penetrates the carbon and attacks the metal or other surface below the carbon. By attacking the metal under the carbon it "releases" the bond and the carbon comes off. And that is why the surface below is clean and shiny.

 

[wce323078]

I read some where, one of the M1A/M14 how to, sites is if you can remove item from the firearm soak it in 2 stroke motor oil overnight or longer as this oil is formulated to remove carbon from 2cycle engines,as someone who worked a bit on those engines I seem to recall that it does work when all else fails try it