Cleaning Titanium cylinder thoats

T

totaldla

New member
I recently started shooting Blue Bullets 240gr .430" 44mag. These are put-put loads running 850fps.
I've noticed some buildup of coating in the cylinder throats (SW329pd), and I've not had much success cleaning it out. I tried acetone. I think their coating is some sort of epoxy.
Any ideas?⁶
 
I would ask Blue Bullets what to use on a Titanium cylinder.

I use normal #9 for my cast bullets, in a 337PD. Even tho its not recomended.

#9 Benchrest solvent will remove plastic.
 
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Acetone will loosen plastic wad fouling and it will clean steel case lacquer chamber goo. But it doesn't do much to this Blue bullet coating.

As you know, abrasives are a no-no.

I used to have some TCE and Toluene.

I'll ping the Blue bullet folks. I know this issue probably comes up with compensators.
 
Could it be Teflon? You are screwed if it is. I doubt it is.

You have tried acetone. Did you put everything in sealed container to keep acetone from quickly evaporated?

-TL

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tangolima said:
Could it be Teflon? You are screwed if it is. I doubt it is.

You have tried acetone. Did you put everything in sealed container to keep acetone from quickly evaporated?

-TL

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No, I just used the acetone on a patch that I put on a plastic bore brush. I've read warnings not to use abrasives as they will remove some coating that S&W applies.

Acetone is the nastiest cleaner I have available. I thought about picking up some toluene as it dissolves some plastics pretty fast.
 
totaldla said:
No, I just used the acetone on a patch that I put on a plastic bore brush. I've read warnings not to use abrasives as they will remove some coating that S&W applies.

Acetone is the nastiest cleaner I have available. I thought about picking up some toluene as it dissolves some plastics pretty fast.
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Acetone is the best bet. But you need to give it enough time to do its nasty work. I would suggest a container that you can seal / cover its opening. A soup can, mason jar or what not. Put parts and acetone in there to let it soak.

-TL


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Might try this

Soak some patches in Acetone and put them in the bore up against the stubborn deposits. Then put the cylinder in a small airtight container to prevent evaporation and allow to "soak" for a few hours.
 
A polmer may be removed using citrus & Hot water? Google info.

Before i buy any Blue Bullets, i want to know what removes it from the barrel.
 
243winxb said:
A polmer may be removed using citrus & Hot water? Google info.

Before i buy any Blue Bullets, i want to know what removes it from the barrel.
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I've run Blue Bullets .400 165gr 40sw at 1100fps from an M&P40c 2.0, 4", absolutely clean. Ditto with the barrel on my S&W329pd using 240gr .430" lswc at 850fps. The only buildup I've seen is in the throats of the revolver cylinder.
I
 
How do you compare the blue coating with the conventional hi-tek coating? The blue bullets are more expensive than hitec coated bullets.

-TL

Correction. Blue bullets are actually slightly cheaper. I'm tempted.

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totaldla said:
I've run Blue Bullets .400 165gr 40sw at 1100fps from an M&P40c 2.0, 4", absolutely clean. Ditto with the barrel on my S&W329pd using 240gr .430" lswc at 850fps. The only buildup I've seen is in the throats of the revolver cylinder.
I
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Your throats may be undersized. It should have diameter same as the bullet, or it will swage down the bullet.

-TL

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tangolima said:
How do you compare the blue coating with the conventional hi-tek coating? The blue bullets are more expensive than hitec coated bullets.

-TL

Correction. Blue bullets are actually slightly cheaper. I'm tempted.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
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When I shoot hitek coated bullets out my M&P, there is leading the last 1/2" of rifling. Seems like the coating wears out before the ride is over. I don't see that with Blue Bullets. I've even tumble lubed Hitek coated 40sw bullets to prove thee muzzle leading was due to Hitek not cutting it.
 
I would contact S&W about what attacks their coating before proceeding. Try the Slip2000 Carbon Killer if you have some. Otherwise, as long as that S&W coating isn't a plastic, I would probably use one thing that dissolves even epoxies, and that is methylene chloride if you can still find any. Since the ban is from the end of April, you may still find it in NOS liquid paint stripper, which is a useable source. Heed the cautions, though, and strictly use it outdoors and downwind of you.
 
The coating is from the blue bullet from thebluebullets.com, not s&w. The blue coating material is proprietary.

I checked out their website. Their bullets look interesting and the price is reasonable. But they don't give much information in the descriptions, such as bullet diameter, length, and hardness. Have sent them email.

Want to try their 220gr .300 blackout. Have tried the MBC hi-tek coated 234gr, which is a bore rider. Accuracy is only so so.

-TL

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Blue Bullets

I ask Blue Bullets about a solvent. Their reply.

There is no special cleaning agent used for our coated bullets.  The firearm should be cleaned just like with any other bullets.

 
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243winxb said:
I ask Blue Bullets about a solvent. Their reply.
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I just received the same reply, probably from the same person, today.

Since I'm a geezer with time on my hands, I dug around and found that the Blue Bullet coating has gunked up compensators and hardened into something impervious to standard cleaning methods. Guys talk about chiseling it out.

I'm thinking that toluene, methyl chloride, or Trichloroethylene are likely to dissolve the Blue Bullet coating. However, I'm pretty sure that any chemical coating S&W applied would be affected.

Reality is that the buildup I'm experiencing is nothing more than a cosmetic irritant - so I'm going to chill :)

I don't shoot more than 250rnds of 44mag a year anymore. I'll report back after I burn through another 250 rounds.
 
Hmmm... I'm ordering some .300 blackout and .44 magnum bullets to try. There have been no blue residue in the bore, right? Deposit in muzzle device is not ideal, but it is easier to deal with.

BTW, firing line forum members receive 5% discount. Email them before ordering.

.44 magnum bullet is for loading .41 swiss.

-TL

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