Muzzle brake cleaning

[BravoEight]

I have the Tikka muzzle brake on my T3x CTR and noticed carb buildup. It has a blued finish. What is the correct way to clean it? I Googled a bit and found conflict information, especially about citric acid vs blued finish. Some also claimed lemi-shrine and boretech are will void the warranty. Also, some claimed CLR is too aggressive.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Sniffer]

Whatever you clean the gun with will inevitably end up on / in the brake. Time is a factor too - even cleaners that are aggressive enough to cause an issue need to be left on long enough to do so.

I use an array of products but mainly Bore Tech (which I feel is effective without being aggressive) and have noticed the bluing you describe inside my brake, when I next cleaned I used the same product (Bore Tech Eliminator from memory) to clean off the bluing / carbon and then I dried the entire area and sprayed with G96 CLP.

Looks good as new.

 

[RifleDude]

I've found that WD40 removes carbon really well. Use an old tooth brush to get into the nooks and crannies.

 

[BravoEight]

Thanks guys, I'll go order some boretech then

 

[Dmay]

A good source of advice regarding muzzle brakes are 50 BMG shooters. Brakes are a very integral part of all their rifles, in fact they wear them out.

Carb cleaner seems to work well for flushing brakes, as does citric cleaner, especially on the big clam-shells where you can get a little brush in and scrub.

One hack being used is to spray the brake with PAM cooking spray, helps to keep powder residue from adhering.

 

[I Dont Care About You]

As long as buildup is not obstructing the bore, who cares? Any high pressure / flow areas will be self cleaning.

 

[thump_rrr]

I use Wipeout foaming bore cleaner and leave it in there for a few hours.
It softens it up and can be removed with small brushes and plastic pics.

 

[Peecos]

Ultrasonic cleaner, same one I use to clean small caliber brass. Squeaky clean

 

[Rookie{OMC}]

Ultrasonic cleaner, same one I use to clean small caliber brass. Squeaky clean

Peecos


Can you mention what solution you use when you clean. I've tried hot water with lemi-shine and a tea spoon of Dawn. Seems to work, but I still have
to chip out the thicker deposits. I find if I let it build up for too long, tuner/brake tends to go out of tune and open the groups a bit.

 

[Peecos]

Just using hot water and a good splash of Simple Green. I do them on a fairly regular basis. The brakes I have are ported with directional holes the full circumference so easy to turn on and off without worrying about timing.