Best way to clean ridge from revolver chambers?

[No Blue]

Go at it with some kind of metal scraper, then chemicals for the residue.

[fgabriel]

I have used an old 357 case flared a little at a time until it barely fits the chambers. The front edge will help get a lot of the crud out. Pretty cheap too. Worth a try

[robg]

Used the bore thingy from a lewis lead remover and lots of 009 .never let it build up again after that!

[Plate plinker]

Chore boy copper wrapped around a cleaning brush. works wonders

[lightload]

Lewis lead remover works for this task as does the above steel wool on a bore brush turned in a drill. J&B bore compound on the wool/brush combo helps. Cleaning after shooting is the best remedy.

[ShooterAZ]

I have a S&W 686 357 that has seen a steady diet of 38 Special wadcutters for years and years. No problems with build up here either. I clean after shooting and use a 40 or 45 Cal brass brush and Hoppes #9 to clean the cylinder. I don't allow it to happen.

[shoot-n-lead]

I just don't know why people insist on shooting special brass in magnum revolvers...I see no reason to do it.

[jeepguy242]

Use a stronger cleaner than hoppes

[Geezer in NH]

Mercury ( Out board boat motors) had a spray cleaner desighned to dissolve the carbon and burnt on oils greases in small motors that worked real .

Best solvent for bench rest shooting EVER. Used it for years in guns capable to see the difference by using it. For sporters nope would never see a difference sorry.

[curator]

The .38 special ring is easily removed from a .357 magnum chamber with a fired .357 mag brass case. First, soak the chambers with a good nitro solvent. Then, expand the case mouth of your .357 mag fired case with a pair of needle-nose pliers that will bell the case mouth. Insert the belled case and tap it home with plastic or rubber mallet. The belled case mouth will scrape the carbon ring right out of the chamber. Use a wooden dowel to tap the belled case out of that chamber and repeat for all five or six chambers. Simple, works every time. Follow up with bronze wool on a bore bruc=sh and your are good to go,

[Tokarev]

Remove cylinder, soak in:

If not nickel plated - 70% acetone and 30% janitor grade ammonia.
If nickel plated - acetone. Nickel plating would dissolve in ammonia.

If you have MEK, mix with acetone up to 50%.
As ammonia contains 77% water, do not let the cylinder rust, submerge completely.

[Shiloh]

Ed's Red is under rated.
This stuff will eventually creep under cylinder residue as well as lead splash on the strap by the front of the cylinder.
Found out about Ed's Red a few years before joining the board. Knew I made the right choice after reading about it on the forum.
I have a small bottle with some Kroil in it as well.

Shiloh

[Nueces]

After making my first batch of Ed's Red, I cleaned some revolvers that had been leaded up for 30 years or so. I say that ER gets under lead and old gunk right darn now, but have not claimed it before without being able to offer proof. The old guns cleaned up as new.

I make it without the acetone and with a somewhat reduced lanolin fraction, yet it works better than any commercial solvent I have used and the lanolin content makes it a fine rustproof wipe for the bluing.

I'm a big fan.

[jetinteriorguy]

I too use a slightly flared empty case, but I use a nickel case because it's tougher than brass, and I also use my reamer to bevel the edge and make it sharper so it scrapes better. Soaking it first with some cleaner also helps, I've used Balistol but it takes a while, but it sounds like I finally need to break down and make some Eds Red.

[Blackhawk Convertable]

Another vote for a belled and chamfered .357 case. Just place case into chamber and tap home with a hammer. Takes no time and does no damage to the cylinder. I shoot Cowboy Action and will clean up my cylinders after shooting 1000 rounds or so. Comes out to once or twice a year...

[rockshooter]

M-14 chamber brush works well, the one with the little ratchet on it. Its really stiff and cuts the crud well.
Loren

[azrednek]

Ive had some success using an overnight soaking with PB Blaster. Seems to melt away about 90+% followed by a good ol'fashion scrubbing to get the rest. The soaking alone will allow 357 to slide in like brand new with no felt resistance. Chances are though if you can still see it, it's going to bug you so either live with it or start scrubbing.

[firebyprolong]

I just keep a half pint mason jar full of ed's on the bench. Cylinder goes in overnight and gets a 40cal bore brush in a yankee screwdriver the next day. Just sit it face down in the padded vice and give each one a few strokes and it's gone. No batteries, no noise, no fuss really. I had a brass d reamer made up for a while and it worked great but it disappeared at some point.

[RSOJim]

Big 45 frontier metal cleaner will clean the rings out in about 30 seconds. Here is how I do it. Take a piece of cleaning rod about 6 or 8 inches long, screw right size cleaning brush into the end, then wrap a few strands of big 45 frontier metal cleaner around the brush tightly, it doesn't take much. Place other end of cleaning rod into drill press or cordless drill. I use a drill press. Remove cylinder from gun. Start drill press or drill. I hold the cylinder in my left hand chamber end up. Insert brush in each chamber for a few seconds. Let the drill do its magic. The cylinder does not have to be removed for this type cleaning. I do it to facilitate cleaning of the rest of the revolver. Hope this helps. It has worked for me for years.

[Speedo66]

I find the best way to avoid .38 rings is to avoid .38's. I load .357 cases to .38 specs, problem solved.