Thread: cleaning a 22lr my thoughts

Will Hoppes 9 remove carbon rings? I've heard of using brake cleaner. The idea of scrubbing worries me about doing damage.

If things get too dirty I chuck some carbin killer through it. Im a bit of a clean freak when it comes to my riffles so clean everything well after every shoot.

Originally Posted by Rush

Will Hoppes 9 remove carbon rings? I've heard of using brake cleaner. The idea of scrubbing worries me about doing damage.

Just use #9 for what it's good for, a dab on each wrist and maybe behind the ears and sniff away for hours. Whilst I love #9 and flood my rifle bores with it before storing it struggles to remove obstinate leading and carbon rings and Cu in CFs. The point to remember is carbon is insoluable so most of the snake oil claims about disolving carbon are no true.
The only way to remove bad carbon rings is by mechanical methods using a bore paste like Iosso. I only short stroke the chamber and then just enough to remove the carbon. And then stop once the carbon is removed. I check with a bore scope. If you continue scrubbing you will get black forever. This is parent metal, microscopic, but never the less, metal. It is important to not let the carbon ring get to the stage be it CF or RF that you need to wail into it to remove it.

For general cleaning of my RFs I use Boretech Rimfire Blend. It is supposed to remove lead and carbon (there's that claim again). I find it OK.

Most of the black that comes out with whatever cleaning product is loose carbon muck and is not the nasty harder to eliminate ring.

I still like good old Hoppes #9 for storage. There are better products out there for storage though.

I like Brakleen using it mostly in my CFs for flushing between different types of solvents. I buy a carton at a time which lasts me ages, not just for rifle cleaning.

Over the years I have tried all the various carbon "solvents" plus a few other like Mercury Outboard Top Engine cleaner, Subaru Top Engine cleaner. I have yet to try CLR. I am hesitant about putting an acid in my bores.

I did find Slip 1000 quite an effective cleaner.