severely fouled cylinder

Gentlemen,

The chambers in my 45LC Blackhawk S/S cylinder have some tremendous fouling at the mouths. I absolutely can not get it out! I have soaked the cylinder overnight for 2 nights in Hoppes #9, I have used oversized brass brushes, I have even tried steel wool on a brush. It's still there! The Hoppes removed maybe half, but what is left won't budge.

Can someone recommend a chemical or method to get it out? I'm at a loss. The barrel is clean as the day it was made, but this cylinder is bugging me. It's not effecting chembering or extraction, but I want it clean!

SSB

Try "JB Bore Cleaning Compound." Its a paste that can work wonders.

Rugerfan,

Just put it on a tight patch?? Or a mop maybe??

SSB

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Originally Posted by singleshotbuff

Rugerfan,

Just put it on a tight patch?? Or a mop maybe??

SSB

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Put JB on a patch that will go over a brush. The fit should be snug, but not overly tight. You will be amazed at how much more gunk this will get out.

try the lewis lead remover. It is a bronze weave patch that fits over an adjustable rubber jag. Brownells sells them.

For SS, not for blued, I've used a small patch of Scotchbrite(c). It's plastic, it does have some fine abrasive embedded in the plastic. It has worked for me, polishes nice and doesn't scratch. But I wouldn't try it on blued metal............Lee ;-)

I like to use more than one brand/ type of solvent when I clean my guns. When I swith to another solvent it starts to pull fouling out that the other did'nt. I would try seveal different solvents and maybe even straight acetone and switch back and forth as you clean.
Just my 2 cents.

Singleshotbuff,
One thing I forgot to mention. If you try the JB paste, do 10-20 strokes per patch (back and forth being one stroke). This does a nice job polishing a bore too.

Another thing that will work is the metal turnings sold to the gun trade as Big .45 and to the kitchen trade as Chore Girl. Wrap some of it around a mop or brush and make a few passes. It'll take it right out.

singleshotbuff
Are you trying to clean the face of the cylinder or the throats. If you are trying to get the black off the front of the cylinder, pick up a (lead-away) cloth a gun shop and use it to remove the carbon. I have a 44 Ruger silhouette model the has a bunch of rounds through it and it looks like new.

Be carefull Dye

If all else fails, and it might. Brownells sells a reamer to cure this problem. It does demand very carefull use.

Gentlemen,

Thanks for all the replies. THe fouling is inside the chambers at the mouths. I will try some of your suggestions.

SSB

I have a 681 that got terrible powder fouling in the chambers. Stuff was hard as rocks to get out. I was using 95-125 gr boolits and Bullseye at the time. Can't say that the powder switch to Clays was the cure or not. Because when I did get it clean I used a polishing bob on a dremel to polish that area of the chambers.
I now have an outers foul out and would use that to clean it. If not I would use a 40 cal Hoppes Tornado brush on a short rod powered by a drill. (This is a stainless gun right?) For the 45 Colt, perhaps a new Hoppes Tornado 45cal rifle brush or a shotgun brush that matches the chamber.

Once it's clean, consider polishing the chambers to keep the fouling down.

What powder was it?

That stuff is an amalgam of powder fouling and lube and can be the dickens to remove. . I have found that a stainless steel brush will take it out. I would not use such a brush in the bore, but it won't harm the cylinder if used in moderation.

Then the trick is not to let it accumulate again. Remove it after every shooting session and it is not much problem.

Charger, those circular stainless steel wire wound brushes are no problem when new. After they wear down (they are a soft formulation anyway) they will get a sharp edge on the circles. That is when you need to chunk them. ... felix

Felix..Thanks for the info..but I was talking about one of those bristle SS brushes. They will clean a cylinder lickety-split..but i am hinky about using them in a barrel.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by fourarmed

Another thing that will work is the metal turnings sold to the gun trade as Big .45 and to the kitchen trade as Chore Girl. Wrap some of it around a mop or brush and make a few passes. It'll take it right out.

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I use this, Chore Girl, to clean my barrels and cylinders. It's available at Walmart in copper and stainless steel. I use stainless and both are inexpensive.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by fourarmed

Another thing that will work is the metal turnings sold to the gun trade as Big .45 and to the kitchen trade as Chore Girl.

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By golly, I learn something new every day. It's like I told a gal at the bar last night--I can hardly wait 'til tomorrow. In her case, it was because she gets better lookin' every day. . . .

Quote:

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Originally Posted by georgemu

I use this, Chore Girl, to clean my barrels and cylinders. It's available at Walmart in copper and stainless steel. I use stainless and both are inexpensive.

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George, I will suggest going to the copper, as it is softer, and will make less bore wear.

Copper Chore Boy or Lewis Lead Remover will work without any damage. Finish up with a little polish job using the J-B paste and it'll be good as new.

An oversize bronze bore brush on a variable speed drill and solvent will remove it. If not, put some copper Chore Boy around the brush. I would not use stainless in my gun. The Tornado brush is Ok in the chamber. It sounds like you are using very soft boolits.
You should use a close fitting jag on the ramrod. If you are using a slotted tip, you will never clean anything.

I had the same problem in my model 19. It was so bad that I couldn't chamber a .357. I took a very sharp knife and with the utmost care, scraped it all out. Worked like a charm. If one is careful, it will do no damage. keep a low angle on the blade and work slowly. Once you break through the surfave, Ed's Red will dissolve a lot of it.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=5640


The "heavy dip carb cleaner" in the above link sounds like the ticket. Thread title is "GI bore cleaner"

Yup, I started the thread. I hadn't thought of using "dip it" carb cleaner until it was mentioned there. That stuff really does eat skin and plastic. Burns like hell and stinks to all get out too.

I, too, have suffered with this problem, with a .45 LC / .45 ACP Ruger and - more recently a S&W M25-2.

Mine was caused by some really hard, commercially cast bullets (bevel based, to be exact) with that lousy, hard, waxy lube. The bullets were running a little small and the cylinder throats were a little large - you don't need much of a mismatch, here, if your bullets are real hard cast.

My theory is that the bullets were so hard that they did not obturate, upon firing, and fill up the throats. The expanding powder gases simply rushed by the heel of the bullet and fused (melted) the bullet. That hard lube basically doesn't do anything.

End result - effectively firing dry bullets. Accuracy goes away quickly and the lead is indeed slow to come out. I know it sounds bad, but a few cylinders of moderate pressure jacketed ammo will clean it without event - IF you don't let it build up too much.

As far as the physical act of cleaning it, the Lewis Lead Remover does a good job and really won't hurt anything. It just takes time and a handful of those brass woven patches.

In the long run, try to match your bullets to your cylinder's throat dimension, don't cast your bullets too hard, and use a good lube. Remember, the lube is not just for the bullet it is on - it's for the next one, too!!!

Good luck, carelesslove

Are you sure it's fouling? The cylinder is not bored straight through. There is first a case sized section, and then a bullet sized section and the space between can look like fouling.

Dye mentioned a Lead Away cloth to clean the front of the cylinder, but you can also cut pieces and use them like a cleaning patch to clean the inside...Ray

The first thing that comes to mind is that the throats are undersized causing the leading. Chore boy and a lot of elbow work is called for. Then slug the throats and if too small, get the cylinder reamed.
Then fit a boolit to the throats, make it harder and use a good lube like Felix or Lar's Carnauba Red.

I used to be issued 1,000 rds. every 6 months by the pistol team I shot with, and the down side was it was without doubt the nastiest, dirtiest, lead-platingest crud I've ever shot. Of course, I HAD to shoot it because it was free, even if it wasn't very accurate either. Consequently, I learned by trial and error how to clean it up, and the cylinder was harder to clean than the barrel. It was a S&W M-586, FWIW, and I finally settled on an initial cleaning with the Lewis Lead Remover, screwing the rubber expander as tightly as I could get by with and still get it down the bore and in the cylinders. Then after that, I'd use a Lead Away cloth, which I believe is the same as the "Miracle Cloth?" After that, I'd use a lead cleaning solvent, I think by Shooter's Choice, and then clean it with dry patches, and oil lightly. Worked for me, but it sure put a damper on the joy of getting 1,000 rds. of ammo for "free." The culprit, I think, was very soft lead, poor casting with the bullets, and I think they must've used cowchips for lube. NOT a good combo!

Brownells makes a dip it pistol cylinder cleaner. Pull the cylinder and let is soak overnight. I have heard very good things about it . It comes in a glass wide mouth jar and will seperate if it sits on the shelf very long. Atleast you know it is intended for guns and likely will not do something funky to the finish.

I have had good luck with oven cleaner with stainless guns (will remove blueing) . Let the cyl. stand overnight in the stuff then clean up the gunk. Bernie