How to clean a blued cylinder with burnt powder residue and lead fowling
- Thread starter gnmontey
- Start date
Humm, I should give 'em a wipe right after shooting next time and see. Nice thing about black/blued cylinders, the carbon doesn't really show up as easily as they do on stainless.
Right after shooting and while the gun is still warm, wipe it with hand paper towel you find in the washroom (you need to relief yourself after a long shoot anyways). It is coarse enough to get rid of a lot of the burnt powder and residue.
A lot of coarser paper products are mildly abrasive. You won't see an issue at first but over time don't be surprised if the paper hand towels start to wear away at the bluing on the edges.
Far better to just wait until you get home and wipe it down using a good solvent. Hoppes is fine. And for all but the worst I've been finding that the easy and cheap to make at home Ed's Red recipe works well. Old toothbrushes work well for getting into the nooks and corners.
You will find that the front face of the cylinder retains a slight staining. You CAN clean it off but it's a hellish amount of work and just comes back the next time out within a few shots anyway. I gave up and just clean it enough that it's smooth and live with a stain on the front face. The rest cleans away just fine.
Far better to just wait until you get home and wipe it down using a good solvent. Hoppes is fine. And for all but the worst I've been finding that the easy and cheap to make at home Ed's Red recipe works well. Old toothbrushes work well for getting into the nooks and corners.
You will find that the front face of the cylinder retains a slight staining. You CAN clean it off but it's a hellish amount of work and just comes back the next time out within a few shots anyway. I gave up and just clean it enough that it's smooth and live with a stain on the front face. The rest cleans away just fine.
- Location
- West Quebec
Birchwood Casey lead cloths may do the job, they work well on stainless, but try a small area first
Never use Birchwood Casey lead cloths on blued guns as they will remove blueing on the front face of the cylinder.
I had issues where the residue built up inside the cylinders, and nothing was touching it- not Hoppes, not a Lewis Lead Remover.
In the end, the only thing that worked was slow, careful work with a dental pick. And it seems to have left no scratches or marks.
In the end, the only thing that worked was slow, careful work with a dental pick. And it seems to have left no scratches or marks.
- Location
- West Quebec
Good to know never tried it myself thanks
That's why I like my SS guns - they show you where they are dirty! I use lead-away cloth occasionally in my .357s after shooting a lot of .38 Spl. ammo.
A trick I learned from shooting BP in CAS is to wipe my guns down with "Wet Ones". Cleans your hands as ell.
I don't have a bbl or cylinder leading issue per say. My Lewis Lead Remover keeps that at bay.
It's the powder(?) residue that builds on front portion of the cylinder into the flues etc. that is a devil to remove.
So far I have been using #9, a soft cloth, and lots of elbow grease.
Just wondering if there is an easier solution.
Thanks,
M
It's the powder(?) residue that builds on front portion of the cylinder into the flues etc. that is a devil to remove.
So far I have been using #9, a soft cloth, and lots of elbow grease.
Just wondering if there is an easier solution.
Thanks,
M
The crud ring left due to the pressure can really be tough to remove. In my case I rely on .40Cal pistol bore brushes for cleaning out my .357and .38 chambers. I run it wet with solvent using a hand drill and a short cleaning rod extension.
And another option I've read about but not yet tried is if you load your own ammo to flare a few .357Mag cases and sharpen the outer edge by using a countersink bit or a knife to shape the lip so it scrapes away the hard fouling deposits in the chambers. And for those that don't reload the proper size tapered pin punch or even a ball bearing of the right size could be used to flair out the mouth and then sharpen the edge.
