Easy way to clean Cylinder Face !!!

YosemiteSam357

Often things like Brasso, Turtle Wax Chrome Polish, and Noxon contain ammonia and/or more caustic chemicals which actually remove a tiny amount of metal from the surface being "polished",
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Brasso contains Petroleum Distallate & Ammonia.
Now most of use know that Ammonia softens brass, and thats fine by me as I want to remove brass and copper residue from my S.S. pistols and I think thats done by the amont of elbow grease involved, but removing Stainless Steal by just sitting on the metal, I would like some facts so I could better judge what I put on my guns. So if you could point me into that direction that proves it removes SS I would appreciate it.

Update I researched Brasso myself and found that it is a very fine polish and removes a microscopicly thin amount of metal. I can deal with that small of an amount of removal. It looks like it removes less metal then most metal polishes.

Thanks

Tony
 
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Keep in mind that Flitz, Simichrome, or any other polish (including automotive polishing or rubbing compounds) are abrasive in their own right, though somewhat less so than the super-duper chemical metal removing "polishes". They just supply a medium to act as a "scrub brush" at a finer level than your brushes can achieve.

The ideal would be a chemical that would loosen carbon and lead deposits, but not be caustic enough to remove any of the base metal (or bluing). Sort of like the ammonia-based products designed to remove copper fouling.

I wonder if a hydrostatic jewerly cleaner would work?

-- Sam
 
I have seen the "Flitz" brand in motorcycle and car-parts shops. The Murrays Auto parts branch that I visit usually has Flitz on the shelf.
 
I don't know enough about chemistry or metallurgy to tell you if or how the compounds in any of these liquid "polishes" interact with the alloys used in firearms. I was just presenting what I do know of how the polishes work.

In any case, no, I'm not saying you'll desolve your cylinder by soaking it in Brasso overnight. Coke, maybe. :) You're probably actually removing more metal with Flitz that you are with Brasso; still an infintessimal amount, but that's what abrasive polishes do - they abrade (ie, remove) material.

FWIW, I did discover that the above-mentioned Turtle Wax Chrome Polish does a great job removing lead and carbon from stainless.

-- Sam
 
Cleaning the cylinder face

Although mechanically there is no need to clean the carbon from the cylinder face for "us " perfectionists it is important. I have tried all of the remedies. I don't think it makes one bit of difference what one uses for cleaning. I have been using a 1 inch square of "lead away" cloth soaked in Bench Rest or Shooters Choice with a chisel shaped wooden dowel to clean the cylinder face, the breech end of the barrel and the internal surfaces of the frame. The result is a very clean stainless surface but not too shiny. Give it a try, it works like a charm. I've been doing this with my stainless firearms for the past ten years. Do not do this with blued firearms as it will remove the blueing.
Herb
 
I've not tried it, but Remington bore cleaner might work well for cylinder face cleaning. It's designed to remove bore fouling without removing any metal. It uses a silica (very fine ground glass) slurry to "mechanically" remove the fouling buildup. No ammonia or caustic chemicals.
 
If you shoot often.........and clean often.

I wouldn't use ANY abrasive, however mild, on the cylinder face.

Just as we protect the integrity of our barrel crowns.
Just as we are concerned with barrel/cylinder gap.

We should also be concerned with the trueness of the cylinder face in relation to the bore.

All abrasives will remove metal. The removal of the metal by hand will not be true to the bore.

Results of hand polishing, increased gap and uneven cylinder face.

Goes double for stainless, much softer than most blued steels.

Sam.....picky ol fart.
 
I'm with C.R. Sam -- why bother? I clean my cylinder face as clean as the rest of the gun and then STOP. If it got so dirty that it stopped the cylinder from rotating that would be another thing! As it is, I figure it's closing up my barrel/cylinder gap and that is a GOOD THING. Reading threads on this and other sites I conclude that many gun owners are over-cleaning their guns. I'm interested in accuracy and stopping corrosion (and my guns don't rust here in Arizona); after that all that gun scrubbing is purely anal-retentive and obsessive-compulsive behavior.
 
cleaning cylinder face

Rezdog:
And what's wrong with anal-retentive and obsessive-compulsive?
If you are not aware, most of the greatest discoveries in this world were made by anal-retintives and obsessive-compulsive people. Surely the "fly by nights" have never accomplished anything except " taking"
Herb
PS. I am an obsessive-compulsive physician. Ask any of my patients if they like that personality trait?:) :)
 
I have to go with the Doc.
Do you wax you car? Why it dosn't improve the function and performance. Longevity is not hampered.
But the look is greatly affected.
I guess what I am saying is I take pride in my work:D and I want it to show!:)

Tony
 
I just got this tip from the range master at our local range who shoots PPC regularly and is a High Master marksman with a revolver. I tried it, and was amazed at how well it cleaned the cylinder on a model 617 (10 shot) that had over 3000 rounds of dirty .22 lr through it without a cleaning. The result was a cylinder face (in fact, the whole badly fouled and usually hard-to-clean cylinder was clean for that matter) that looked literally BRAND SPANKING NEW, with NO SIGN of carbon ring whatsoever.

Take a small, wide mouthed canning jar ( I used Kerr brand. I think they are about 12 oz. in size) and fill it 3/4 full of your favorite gun solvent. I used Butch's bore shine, but was told that Hoppe's #9 works just as well.

Remove your cylinder from the frame (easy to do) and drop it in the solution. Let it stay there submersed for 3-5 days.

When you remove it, most of the fouling will have fallen right off. With just a light low-effort scrubbing with a bronze brush, the cylinder will look BRAND NEW!

There was no discoloration or undesireable side affects. I sprayed the parts down with some Rig rust protectant and removed the excess with compressed air, wiped clean, and stored it away.

The canning jar will keep the dedicated solvent sealed for future treatments.

This is supposed to work on blued guns just as well, and with no side effects to the blueing or any discoloration.

Try it!
 
a copper pot scrubber cut and wrapped around a nylon brush chucked into a drill with a patch and Hoppes #9 around it does wonders on our cowboy action guns...

(thats cast or lead mind you.)
 
I had almost the same problem for a while. I had a stainless Security Six. I just left Hoppes Benchrest #9 on the cylinder face overnight, and hit it with a bronze brush the next day. It took all the fouling off with relative ease.
 
What about titanium cylinders?

I'm afraid to use anything that is the least bit abrasive on the cylinder face of a titanium cylinder. They have some type of "clear-coat" on the face and in the charging holes and if you use something abrasive, the titanium starts to corrode. I have a Birchwood-Casey lead remover & polishing cloth that works well for everything I've tried it on, however I'm afraid to try even THAT on a titanium cylinder face.
I think I'll send them an e-mail and ask.
Any opinions regarding NOT removing the clear-coat? S&W says any cleaning chemical is OK as long as it is not abrasive.

Thanks,
KR
 
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