Gunsmithing First custom barrel - what chemicals to clean it?

[mudholestomper]

I just ordered my first custom barrel for my 308 AR10 (X-Caliber).

I’ve gotten in the habit of using boresnakes and CLP for my (mostly) “guns are just tools” collection.

Well, I really like this rifle and want to use it for long range shooting. Therefore the Faxon Big Gunner is going away and I need advice on barrel cleaning.

I have clp and plain gun oil and that’s about it. I will be using X-Caliber’s advice on break in, which involves a lot of shooting, cleaning, shooting, cleaning.

I have a bore guide and carbon fiber rod. Do I need brushes? What material? Brass? Stainless? Nylon? What chemical do I use for the brushes?

I also need to push patches. After I brush, what chemical am I using on the patch? Hoppes #9?

I searched for an existing discussion and, while I’m certain this topic has been discussed ad nauseum, nothing recent popped up.

Thank you for taking the time to read and comment!

 

[Nik H]

I just ordered my first custom barrel for my 308 AR10 (X-Caliber).

I’ve gotten in the habit of using boresnakes and CLP for my (mostly) “guns are just tools” collection.

Well, I really like this rifle and want to use it for long range shooting. Therefore the Faxon Big Gunner is going away and I need advice on barrel cleaning.

I have clp and plain gun oil and that’s about it. I will be using X-Caliber’s advice on break in, which involves a lot of shooting, cleaning, shooting, cleaning.

I have a bore guide and carbon fiber rod. Do I need brushes? What material? Brass? Stainless? Nylon? What chemical do I use for the brushes?

I also need to push patches. After I brush, what chemical am I using on the patch? Hoppes #9?

I searched for an existing discussion and, while I’m certain this topic has been discussed ad nauseum, nothing recent popped up.

Thank you for taking the time to read and comment!

There is a video from Bryan Litz

Cleaning High-Performance Rifle Barrels

This being said, I don't favor abrasives on my barrels. His technique is interesting, though, and he is a top shooter.

The seminal thread on this topic (use of abrasives) is

For the Love of God

LONG thread but full of good information. Frank Green (Bartlein Barrels) has lots of good advice.

 

[Baron85]

I use botetech eliminator with bronze brushes and jags with patches.

I also use plastic brushes with Iosso paste for barrels that are rougher or foul badly to help speed up the process.

There are so many theory’s, ideas, cult followings, Vudoo etc when it comes to cleaning barrels. From my experience and results. This is the fastest method I have found and haven’t seen negative results in multiple barrels.

I know lots of people are very against abrasive pastes, bronze brushes and other things but in my mind we are cleaning a SS metal that is much harder than bronze and after getting a bore scope and seeing the damage of fire cracking and that the barrels still shot great, I just can’t wrap my head around the idea that a bronze brushes or abrasive compound would do more damage than fire cracking.

 

[hafejd30]

I run

2 wet patches of bore tech eliminator
5-10 strokes with nylon brush in BT eliminator
Let sit 10 minutes
2 wet patches bore tech eliminator
2 dry patches
1 patch butches gun oil
2 dry patches

Think I found this method from GA precision years ago. Worked very well for me and not using harsh chemicals

I also think break in is useless but that’s another hornet nest to kick

 

[mudholestomper]

There is a video from Bryan Litz

Cleaning High-Performance Rifle Barrels

This being said, I don't favor abrasives on my barrels. His technique is interesting, though, and he is a top shooter.

The seminal thread on this topic (use of abrasives) is

For the Love of God

LONG thread but full of good information. Frank Green (Bartlein Barrels) has lots of good advice.

Thank you, @Nik H. I figured there might be some stickies or aggregated threads I was missing.

I haven’t started reading, but yes, the idea of using an abrasive gives me pause. I’ll give it a read and give the idea a fair chance.

 

[mudholestomper]

I use botetech eliminator with bronze brushes and jags with patches.

I also use plastic brushes with Iosso paste for barrels that are rougher or foul badly to help speed up the process.

There are so many theory’s, ideas, cult followings, Vudoo etc when it comes to cleaning barrels. From my experience and results. This is the fastest method I have found and haven’t seen negative results in multiple barrels.

I know lots of people are very against abrasive pastes, bronze brushes and other things but in my mind we are cleaning a SS metal that is much harder than bronze and after getting a bore scope and seeing the damage of fire cracking and that the barrels still shot great, I just can’t wrap my head around the idea that a bronze brushes or abrasive compound would do more damage than fire cracking.

Thank you, @Baron85. I’ll check it out. Midway has it on clearance and it’s highly rated.

After you apply the Eliminator to the bore and brush it (no concerns about brushing with bronze), do you remove it with dry patches? Patches with oil or clp? Or some other way?

 

[mudholestomper]

I run

2 wet patches of bore tech eliminator
5-10 strokes with nylon brush in BT eliminator
Let sit 10 minutes
2 wet patches bore tech eliminator
2 dry patches
1 patch butches gun oil
2 dry patches

Think I found this method from GA precision years ago. Worked very well for me and not using harsh chemicals

I also think break in is useless but that’s another hornet nest to kick

Thank you for sharing, @hafejd30. I normally don’t do any break in other than not running too many rounds through a new barrel in the first trip out (~30) and trying not to heat it up too much.

Yes, completely unscientific. Lots of strong opinions, but I will be following the manufacturer’s instructions because I don’t want any unknowns if it doesn’t shoot like I expect.

 

[Edsel]

 

[Edsel]

 

[Edsel]

 

[Edsel]

Probably more of an “if so desired” recommendation.

 

[mudholestomper]

Probably more of an “if so desired” recommendation.

Thank you, @Edsel. Very helpful and thorough. What barrel manufacturer are these instructions from?

 

[Edsel]

Thank you, @Edsel. Very helpful and thorough. What barrel manufacturer are these instructions from?

It’s from the Accuracy International AT manual.

I vaguely recall that they specifically recommended KG-1 and KG-12 for their rifles.

 

[carbonbased]

I just ordered my first custom barrel for my 308 AR10 (X-Caliber).

I’ve gotten in the habit of using boresnakes and CLP for my (mostly) “guns are just tools” collection.

Well, I really like this rifle and want to use it for long range shooting. Therefore the Faxon Big Gunner is going away and I need advice on barrel cleaning.

I have clp and plain gun oil and that’s about it. I will be using X-Caliber’s advice on break in, which involves a lot of shooting, cleaning, shooting, cleaning.

I have a bore guide and carbon fiber rod. Do I need brushes? What material? Brass? Stainless? Nylon? What chemical do I use for the brushes?

I also need to push patches. After I brush, what chemical am I using on the patch? Hoppes #9?

I searched for an existing discussion and, while I’m certain this topic has been discussed ad nauseum, nothing recent popped up.

Thank you for taking the time to read and comment!

There appears to be many paths to the same spot.

I finally gave up thinking about bore cleaning claims and counter-claims and just follow @Frank Green ‘s advice. He is an owner of Bartlein Barrels, which is one of the best barrel makers out there.

His condensed advice:

Carbon ring removal

Youre not going to get a real answer to that question as there isnt really one because who really knows. Its just going to be a yes all of the above answer. Bore snakes dont do anything. Clean the carbon out and the copper if need be. Just clean it every few hundred instead of every many...

www.snipershide.com

The long version with my commentary and Frank’s cleaning pdf attached:

Cleaning rod

Hey guys I need input. I'm old school and have always used brass cleaning rod but now I hear that's bad so what do you suggest. Tipton, Dewey, or bore tech/ stainless, carbon fiber, nylon coated. Also what is a good bore guide? Thanks in advance

www.snipershide.com

 

[BurtG]

Wipe out.

For cleaning rods. Bore tech is on a whole nother level

 

[Baron85]

Thank you, @Baron85. I’ll check it out. Midway has it on clearance and it’s highly rated.

After you apply the Eliminator to the bore and brush it (no concerns about brushing with bronze), do you remove it with dry patches? Patches with oil or clp? Or some other way?

I run a few wet patches through the bore, then let it soak for 15 minutes to overnight.

Then I soak a bronze brush with eliminator and scrub the crap out of the bore. I know I’m going to get flack here but I scrub back and forth 25+ times and then short stroke back and forth in the first 1/4 roughly of the bore where the bulk of the fouling usually is.

Then I run a dry patch or 2 to remove the loosened fouling.

I then run a bore scope to check the bore. My nicer barrels that I’m not running suppressed are usually clean enough at this point. My cheaper barrels, suppressed barrels, or my varmint barrels that are high volume and suppressed usually require a few more rounds of the above. If the barrel doesn’t come clean with 2 cycles of the above I break out the Iosso bore paste to scrub out the fouling. When using the Iosso you can actually feel the barrel get clean. When you start it feels rough and as you scrub you can feel it smooth out so you know when its clean.

I am also not the person that has to keep the barrel squeaky clean, as soon as you fire the first shot it’s dirty again anyways so my goals are to get rid of the bulk of the fouling to prevent pressure issues.

 

[diggler1833]

Barrel cleaning is fought about more than load development techniques.

I tend to 'wave-top', and just hit key points in my cleaning. As long as I stick with those, then I can 1) get my barrel clean, and 2) do no harm, along with 3) not suffer an accuracy degradation due to buildup.

- I stay away from abrasive compounds.
- I use CLP and a quality bronze brush for hard carbon.
- I use Boretech eliminator and a nylon brush for copper (and it will get some carbon too).

^ Those two chemicals aren't going to damage a thing.

 

[chevy_man]

Thank you for sharing, @hafejd30. I normally don’t do any break in other than not running too many rounds through a new barrel in the first trip out (~30) and trying not to heat it up too much.

Yes, completely unscientific. Lots of strong opinions, but I will be following the manufacturer’s instructions because I don’t want any unknowns if it doesn’t shoot like I expect.

My experience has been that break in procedures are a complete waste of time. Just go shoot it. Most will settle in between 50 and 150 rounds.

I have all the time needed in the shop. So, I use boretech C4, push a few wet patches and let soak for a day or 5. Push a few more wet patches until they come out clean. Then use eliminator, same process.

If you have the time and space to let the chemicals work, it takes very little effort. If you're cleaning at your kitchen table before the wife gets home, get to scrubbing with the brushes.

X-caliber does hand lapped button barrels last I remember. The few I've had cleaned up with almost zero effort. Far cry from a factory barrel.

 

[giumau1]

My regime is this:

1. few patches with boretech eliminator
2. few strokes of a Swab-its bore tip with Thorroflush. Let it sit overnight
3. 20 - 30 strokes of thorroclean over a couple of felt cleaners ( I use abrasives always with a strict "hard-on-soft" approach )
4. If it's not squeaky clean ( and usually is at this point) just another twenty strokes of a soft nylon brush with thorroclean
5. Few patches with thorroflush et voila.


This worked 100% of the times cleaning every 300-350 shots ( a full two days match plus fouling session before the match and a 'post-mortem' final test from the bench or a positional training session after)
The only issue I have is still with chamber neck edge. Sometimes it's not squeaky clean as I would like to see and I still haven't find the right tool for the job. I am trying with slightly oversized VFG super intensives but that shit is still too stubborn for those.
Comments and suggestions always more than welcome.

 

[Lightning8]

I use Boretech Eliminator and follow the suggested procedure on the bottle.

 

[Nik H]

It’s from the Accuracy International AT manual.

I vaguely recall that they specifically recommended KG-1 and KG-12 for their rifles.

They do. I've used KG products since day one of owning an AI. They work well, especially the KG12 for removing copper if you are so inclined.