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Carbon Solvent question

For carbon, there is no reason to overthink it. Good old Hoppes 9 Walmart special. They make a neat little field kit as well.

Hoppe's 9 - The Gun Care People

Other than that, CLP (I keep a can, comes in handy for stuck door locks on the jeep as well :)

To get hardcore, Butches. That is some wicked nasty stuff.
 
I've had good success with Isso and also M-Pro 7 for carbon removal. Both are pretty benign to metals. Also, neither have a foul odor so good for indoor use.
 
Use Isso sparingly to go after carbon ring every few hundred rounds or so. I had picked up some Boretech and Slip carbon cleaners but haven'e used either yet, so eager to hear other's input. With trying to shoot more, clean less, curious if others are also just going after carbon and leaving the copper be till accuracy falls off, what folks are using for dedicated carbon clean up.
 
Use Isso sparingly to go after carbon ring every few hundred rounds or so. I had picked up some Boretech and Slip carbon cleaners but haven'e used either yet, so eager to hear other's input. With trying to shoot more, clean less, curious if others are also just going after carbon and leaving the copper be till accuracy falls off, what folks are using for dedicated carbon clean up.

I'm with you in going after the carbon and not worrying about the copper as much. I have been hearing good stuff about m pro7. I try to stay away from the harsh stuff like sweets. I've used kroil and TM in the past and it has done fine
 
RP,
I have found Bore Tech C4 the be the most effective. I have been using it for a few years now. I've tried some others (some good, some not) but keep coming back to Bore Tech products.

C
 
RP,
I have found Bore Tech C4 the be the most effective. I have been using it for a few years now. I've tried some others (some good, some not) but keep coming back to Bore Tech products.

C

The Bore Tech C4 is good stuff.


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Carbon Solvent question

Has any of the above listed been confirmed to work by a borescope?

The C4 is designed specifically to remove carbon build-up. I found it to work well for getting rid of carbon on the gas piston on an AR I had. It worked better than anything else I tried. They make other products for the bore. I have used their copper remover product with good results too, but I don't have a bore scope...


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Transmission fluid mixed with mineral spirits for full chamber and bore clean up, then I hit it with seafoam, they make one that is a spray can that advertizes for gun cleaning, carbon particularly.
 
You can "feel" the hard carbon deposits in front of the chamber by running a nylon brush 3/4 the way up the barrel and reversing it. When you pull it past carbon deposits you will feel it. Use cleaner until the bore feels smooth from front to back. FYI, the only thing I've found to remove these deposits to where I couldn't feel it was JB.... just sayin'
 
Slip 2000 carbon cutter. Soak time is long but it flat out works.
 
Carb-Out made by the folks that make Wipe-Out works very well. It has a semi strong odor to it and is rough on wooden stock finihes, but it does work well.
 
Every once in awhile I plug my barrel and fill it with Kroil, and let it sit overnight with a ear plug in the muzzle resting vertically, the next day I pour out the Kroil and give it a couple brush strokes and patch it clean, the downside to this method is it takes more rounds to foul the barrel than normal cleaning.
 
I think that by the time fouling reaches the point where it affects accuracy noticeably, it pays to go after both copper and carbon. The best/easiest product I've seen (and use myself) is Outer's Gunslick Bore Cleaning Foam. Use according to directions.

Greg
 
Is the op asking for anything that is good on carbon, or something that is ONLY good on carbon that will not touch copper fouling? Many of the products named will dissolve copper as well.
 
Is the op asking for anything that is good on carbon, or something that is ONLY good on carbon that will not touch copper fouling? Many of the products named will dissolve copper as well.

I concur. The OP just wants to remove the carbon.

I use M-Pro7 Carbon Cleaner. If I need to remove copper, then I use their Copper Remover. Here is a helpful link: MPro7 - M-Pro7 Home Page

It is pretty much available anywhere. It does not smell up the entire garage and washes off hands very easily. Many of the cleaners described above stain your hands and get pretty messy.

Just my $.02.
 
FIRE CLEAN.... Will take out carbon that even bore tech can't get. And if its really NASTY.. Witch's Brew Witch's brew is the damnedest thing I've ever seen. I watched my boss clean out my 6.5 creedmor with Boretech until the patches were completely white. He then put alcohol down the tube to clean out all the solvent and said " watch this". He put in the Witch's brew and SOLID BLACK. The first 5 patches were black and then clean as a whistle. You can get it on midway. Just a heads up, it does have a mild abrasive so it's not for ordinary cleaning. But it's BADASS
 
I use Ed's Red bore cleaner, the modified version. Equal parts Dexron tranny fluid, xylene and MEK. Be careful to keep if off your stock, remove stock or put gun inverted, muzzle angling down, into your favorite holder and wear gloves and safety glasses. Seems to work well for dissolving carbon but don't expect it to do anything about copper. I'm fine with that, if I think I have too much copper in the bore, I use one of those Hoppe's electrolysis goobers which lifts the copper without the bad effects of ammonia on steel and brass. I almost never remove copper because after I do, it takes a while for groups to settle in again.
 
I think that by the time fouling reaches the point where it affects accuracy noticeably, it pays to go after both copper and carbon. The best/easiest product I've seen (and use myself) is Outer's Gunslick Bore Cleaning Foam. Use according to directions.

Greg

ive used the same thing for years. Every 500-1000 rounds I spray the barrel and let it do its magic. Run a few patches and some oil and keep on rocking.
 
I've been pretty vigilant about keeping carbon buildup down. I once saw a guys rifle ( 30-378) which fired the bullet and case neck down the barrel. My theory on what happened was that there was sufficient carbon buildup in the chamber neck area to prevent expansion of the case neck upon firing. The neck had sheared at the shoulder, much of the rear of the case flowed back into the barrel lugs. Not a good thing for rifles..., ever since seeing that, I pay close attention to carbon buildup.
 
With permission from the op, can we sift the list?

Which of these previously mentioned carbon cleaners will NOT DISSOLVE COPPER?

Hoppes 9
CLP
Butches
KG Carbon Remover
Isso
M-Pro 7
Kroil
Bore Tech C4
Slip 2000 carbon cutter
Carb-Out
Fire Clean
Witch's Brew
Froglube
 
Over the years I have tried it all but the guys at Accurate Ordinance gave me the KG1 secret a few months back. Now I don't use anything else. KG1 on a Pierce style jag will knock out carbon in little more than a couple of passes.
 
I would not use a brown colored product like "Carb Out"...know what I mean?

I'm trying out KG right now and it seems OK.
 
CarbonGM.jpg

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Over the weekend I made a batch of modified "Eds Red" bore cleaner & so far am pretty impressed with how well it cleaned out my .22 supressor. You can google it for the exact recipe, but this is what I used:
1 quart Jet A (kerosene)
1 quart Dextron ATF
1 quart Odorless mineral spirits
2-3 ounces Kroil
 
GM top engine cleaner is great. Also Kroil and JB will take care of any carbon problems you may have. I however have never been a fan of completely stripping all the carbon from a barrel and I will not own a barrel very long that coppers up bad (except for a few select calibers and then some is normal).
 
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