cleaning the cylinder

R

roadgrime

Inactive
I recently recieved an SP 101 revolverthat looks like it had a couple hundred rounds fired through it and then was never cleaned. if i look at the cylinder closes to the barrel i see substantial build up just forward of where a 38 sp round would stop trying to fit the 357 round in there results in an obvious tight fit (i havent fired any rounds only inserted a few to test the fit.) anyhow i have tried my brass brushes swabs on a rod. and i cant seem to get it all cleaned out. recomendations? mainly for cleaning i use hopps so if you think something else would work better let me know..

thanks1
 
at your local grocery go to the dish cleaning section, look for the brass or copper pot scrubbers, they look like coarse steel wool, no stainless. cut a little off and wrap it around the brush and start scrubbing.
Randall
 
will a brillo pad work? know the wife has some of those in the freezer

edit never mind. i thought i read to look for a scrubber for cleaning brass/copper pots. but i see your saying to use a scrubber made out of brass or copper. duh brillo is out
 
If you're going to be shooting lots of lead thru you gun, get a Lewis Lead Remover. I always shoot a couple of cylinders of FMJ thru my revolvers when I've been shooting lead, lazy man's way to scrub it out.

Jungle Work
 
I shot revolvers competitively for several years, the loads were swaged lead wadcutters which can be difficult to clean up, I used the Lewis Lead Remover for a long time, it works, then I tried the Copper Chore Boy wrapped around a brass bristle brush, works at least 10 times faster and better than the Lewis, and it's cheaper!

Shooting jacketed bullets forces the lead into the pores of the barrel, it's a very bad idea.
 
Do you reload? If so, you can use an empty 357 case with the mouth belled just slightly - you have to experiment to get the right amount of bell to scrape the cylinder wall yet not too big to go in. Just push it into each hole and the case mouth scrapes out most of the crud. (you can also keep a case handy to do this on the range)

Or they also make a cylinder brush that is slightly oversize, or you can just get a .40 caliber bronze brush for cleaning the cylinder.
 
I have that same problem. Can't shoot 357 if you shoot 38 until after a good cleaning. I soak patches and after I have played with those for a while, you gotta just brush each hole like 50 times. Make sure you always have FRESH brushes on hand! Thats very important as mine seem to loose their effectiveness after about 2-3 cleannings.
 
I've just used Hoppe's Quick Clean Rust & Lead Remover...>

...for the first time, and it worked well. This is an impregnated cloth. I was actually looking for a Kleen-Bore cloth product called 'Lead-Away', but the gubnshop didn't stock it. From the look of things this Hoppe's product is likely very similar.

I'd also experienced problems after shooting .38spl rounds in my stainless .357 Taurus Model 689. The ring of fouling left in the chambers by the shorter .38 rounds caused the .357 cases to stick and be difficult to extract. This could happen after as few as 50 rounds of .38spl. Cleaning with a bronze brush and my normal 3in1 oil/solvent didn't completely remove the fouling.

In using the Hoppe's Quick Clean Rust & Lead Remover cloth I first used a bronze brush to etch into the fouling and break it up a bit. I then cut small sections of cloth and used these as patches. Apart from the chambers I also used the cloth on the forcing cone and on the face of the cylinder, both areas where lead/fouling were building up. It required a bit of scrubbing, but the cloth did remove the fouling very well. The cloth is inexpensive (AUD$10.95, around US$8.00) and should do for at least 20 cleanings.

Please be aware that Hoppe's warn that this cloth may affect blued/painted finishes, (and I've reasd the same about the Kleen-Bore product). I intend to use it only on my stainless revolver.
 
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Did someone say cylinder cleaning? :D

Here's what I do:

Get yourself a bore brush in the appropriate caliber. The regular bronze brush works just fine.

Chuck it into a 3/8 variable speed drill.

Clear your revolver, and remove the cylinder. Drip some Hoppe's onto the brush, and push the brush (mounted to the drill) into the bore.

Now, slowly start the drill until the brush is turning; a slow speed works fine. Pull the brush out while still running the drill at slow speed.

Repeat the process until the whole cylinder is done; now swab it out with some patches.

I've been using this method for years, and it really saves cleaning time--and, it doesn't hurt the revolver.
 
Gang,

Chuck it into a 3/8 variable speed drill.
Click to expand...

Some of the Dremel-type mototools will allow you to do the same thing if the arbor is large enough on yours. Mine has the flex shaft attachment which is *very* handy for this too.

What I've found is that if you're going to shoot .38's in a .357 (or any shorter "special" in a magnum cylinder) the first thing to do is start with a clean gun. Starting with a clean gun, before shooting, liberally swab the cylinders with Tetra Gun Lubricant*. Use 1 dry patch for each pair of chambers to remove excess. Repeat with 2 more dry patches (total) to remove surface residue. Wipe down any excess elsewhere with your wiping cloth. Now when you fire at the range, the fluropolymer lubricant film reduces the tendency for lead to stick to the chamber. A few drops run through the chambers every 100 rounds or so and swabbed clean helps prevent build up. When cleaning, a bristle brush should remove most of the leading fairly easily.

* I've only tried this with Tetra brand. Other brands may work as well. YMMV.
 
Try this ONLY on stainless steel firearms....go to an Autozone store and buy a can of "Aircraft Cleaner". Remove the grips from the firearm. Get a nylon brush, dip the bristles into the Aircraft Cleaner and scrub away on the gun frame. Dip a few patches into the Aircraft cleaner and run them through the bore and cylinders. Then use a liquid spray degreaser to spray-rinse away the Aircraft Cleaner. Then do your usual gun-oil job on the firearm.

The Aircraft Cleaner will remove ANY and ALL residue and the gun will look like brand new. Again only use this cleaner on stainless steel....do NOT use it on blued finishes.
 
Or, you could use some bore-foam and then run a patch and not have to risk scraping up your gun, not to mention its much easier. The stuff that gets in my cylinders is mostly powder residue, not leading. The bore-foam dissolves it away and a patch or bore-snake will get all the deposit off. Works for me and doesn't harm the gun, plus it takes no time or effort.
 
Powderman

I tried your suggestion of using a brass brush in a drill to clean the cylinders of my 357 686. I was getting some ungawdly buildup that just would not come out form shooting 38spls. I'm not sure if it was copper or lead residue. All the 38s I shoot are full copper coated. Anyhoo, it works great. I use a 375 rifle brass brush(say that 3 times real fast, lol). The longer brush makes it so there is no chance of hitting the cylinder with the wire part. I use Remington Bore cleaner(this stuff is the best stuff I have ever used). My cylinder are shiny new. I have tried EVERYTHING. Nothing worked 100% like your method. No scratches or anything.

Thanks
 
Works great for me but for one wheel gun. :D My S&W model 360 airlight. The company mantra is that you are not to use a bore brush in the cylinders as the light weight metal will scratch.:eek:
Sugestions?
 
Perhaps a nylon brush will do for the drill treatment.

Also, try an undersized brush with some old slightly used Scotchbrite pad (green pad). Drip some Hoppe's on it first.
 
The best option I've found is to use a Lewis Lead Remover Kit. It's a safer option than the drill method.

Here's what I do that seems to work extremely well. :)

1. Run a few cloth patches, soaked with your favorite cleaner, through each chamber of the cylinder.
2. Follow up with a dry patch through each.
3. Run the Lewis Lead Remover tool through each chamber, turning about 6 times with light pressure. You'll be able to feel the screen scraping the crud right off. Use a brush to clean off the crud from the screen when you're done.
4. Run a few more cloth patches, soaked with your favorite cleaner, through each chamber of the cylinder.
5. Follow up with a dry patch through each.
6. Lightly oil the chambers.

The trick to making the screens last, is:
1. Don't tighten the adjustment nut too tight on the rubber tip.
2. Don't tighten the tips onto the rod too tightly, so the holes in the screens don't tear out.

They'll look almost as good as new. Once you do it a few times, it should only take you about 10 minutes to complete the whole process.

You can find it at http://www.brownells.com.
Here's the item number/info:

516-100-038
Lead Remover Kit, 9mm/.38

While you're ordering, get extra brass patches for the future. Each screen will last about 5-6 cleaning sessions, but you might as well get an extra pack while you can. Here's the patch info:

516-200-038
Brass Patches, 9mm/.38


Dean
 
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