Cleaning and abrasives and Fire Lapping

Frank Green

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Oct 27, 2006
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www.bartleinbarrels.com
Not sure where to post this so I'm going to post it here in Bolt Action Rifles as well as I'm going to make a post on Accurate Shooter Forum as well.

This will probably start an argument but don't know what else to do other than to spell this out in black and white.

This has been kicked to death I don't know how many times but not just me but by everyone. I've posted pictures of what happens and the damage that can be done to barrels from using abrasives, using abrasives in conjunction with a brush and fire lapping barrels.

Everyone... when it comes to using an abrasive type cleaner you have to be very careful in how you use it. Improper use or over using an abrasive type cleaner either in a paste form or a liquid form it can and will cause problems. When and where and in what time frame we cannot put exact numbers on it. Too much is beyond our control being the barrel maker. We have ZERO control over what and how people clean barrels with.

Same goes with someone using a fire lapping kit, Tubbs Final Finish or someone doing they're own finish lapping to a barrel. Again we have no control over what is being done.
You cannot expect a barrel maker to warranty and replace a barrel at n/c when something is being done to it that is totally beyond our control.

Latest example with pictures attached. Customer has less than 400 rounds on a 6mm barrel. Caliber is 6XC. He used Iosso bore paste along with Tubbs Final Finish to fire lap the barrel. How many times etc... we don't know exactly.

The first approx. 2" of rifling in front of the chamber... the lands are completely gone. Basically polished smooth. From the breech face of the chamber until you get about 6" up from the breech do you start to see lands. At this junction point the bore is about .2385". That's a full .0015" of material that has been taken out of the bore.

Tubbs years ago asked me to endorse his Final Finish kits. I said... only if he was going to cover the warranty on the barrels. The conversation ended right then and there on the phone.

The rest of the bore when you look at the lands there is no crispness to it. The edges are smoothed/rounded over. All points to cleaning damage. Sorry for the grainy pics.

The customer wasn't happy when we said we will not warranty it. He said he's done it to four other barrels with no issues. Again guys... we have no control over how much is done and how often and how aggressive. Cleaning is simply beyond our control in what a person does to the barrel. Maybe the company who makes the cleaner product should cover the warranty to the barrel/customers rifle. I'd like to see that happen?

I tried to come to a happy medium with customer and said that we would help with something but not eating the whole thing. it was a no go.

It's on our website under cleaning etc.... as well.

No fire lapping kits should be used in our barrels. This can damage the barrel and we will not warranty a barrel in any way.
Your barrel should never be lapped by anyone else other than us. Any individual or gunsmith lapping our barrels also voids the warranty.

If you want to play with or use a Fire Lapping kit.... I only say in a factory type barrel with a really rough bore and if your going to use it in ours... use it towards the end of the life of the barrel.
Then I feel you most likely have nothing to lose but there is no reason to use it on our barrel when it's new etc... if you think you have a problem with our barrel.... I'd prefer you call us and ask us for help before something gets done to it that cannot be undone.

First picture is at the case mouth.
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Next pic is 6" from the breech face. So approx. 2" to 3" from the case mouth and you can start to see the land.

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Approx. 8" from the breech end

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Here is several inches in from the muzzle. Looks nice but again the crispness to the lands isn't there.

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After trying like 10 different non abrasive cleaners, I saw with my borescope that Flitz Bore Cleaner stood head and shoulders above the rest. It says non abrasive on the bottle but I’m concerned that’s too good to be true. Anybody know if it’s safe to use as Hoppe’s or where it lands on a safety continuum?
 
Did you get any internal measurements to see how much they increased the size of the bore?

Time and money is better spent developing a good load for any barrel versus dabbling in snake oil.
Again first two inches of rifling in front of the case mouth are gone. Where the lands do start the bore is .2385". Basically at that point a full .0015" was taking out of the bore there.
 
Again first two inches of rifling in front of the case mouth are gone. Where the lands do start the bore is .2385". Basically at that point a full .0015" was taking out of the bore there.
Ok, I should have read more carefully. Well, that's definitely enough for way too much gas to overcome the bullet; if it's sealing at all any point in the barrel. Damn.
 
Liquid or paste guys.... it can and will cause problems. You have to be careful!

Witch's brew is in a liquid form but has an abrasive in it. One guy wrecked 3 barrels in the span of 6 months. His last barrel was a 6.5mm and with only 110 rounds fired thru it... he took a full .001" out of the bore.

Another concern of mind when someone uses an abrasive type cleaner is.... did you get it all out completely. If you do a half ass job of getting it out.... you might as well have gravel in the bore when you fire the first round thru it.
 
So confusing. They basically said it’s not possible to hurt the barrel with it.

They’re probably getting away with saying that by using some obscure definition or parameter for “abrasives” used in commercial circles [speculation].

Apples to oranges, I know - but…

IMG_0036.png


…look! I successfully sharpened my kitchen knife…

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…without resorting to the use of an abrasive!

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EDIT: Found the above post elsewhere.
 
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Not wanting to derail the thread, but thought I’d throw this in here too…

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Remember the adverts for all these “Ammonia - Free” bore cleaners flaunted by our fellow red - blooded, freedom - loving, patriotic, God - fearing 2nd Amendment - supporting companies?

Well, guess how this active group behaves in aqueous solution.

Marketing!
 
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@Frank Green - yeah...the perennial argument....how to clean a rifle barrel bore. Right up there with "7 1/2 or 8's" in Trap shooting! lol

I use your cleaning method with abrasives:

1. I use it pretty infrequently and more toward the end of life of the barrel. e.g. - I have one 6.5 CM barrel currently with 3,200 rounds on it (still shooting but I don't compete so no long strings of fire...that helps). I used JB (blue label) at about 2,300 rounds and then again recently at 3,000. Another barrel (yours in 400MODBB) in 6.5 CM I used the paste at 800 rounds and haven't since. I'm at 1,800 rounds and may consider an abrasive cleaning but tbh its shooting fine and looks ok from visual exam. I now clean pretty much after ever range trip.....which seems to have kept the carbon build up under control hence not a lot of need to abrasives.

2. I have adopted your method of using a Parker-Hale style jag with paste embedded in a wrapped patch. Not at all aggressive per my observation of resistance in the bore and bore scope examination.

3. Yeah, its a PIA to get it all out. LOTS of patches followed by some solvent (I use BT Eliminator). Then LOTS of patches followed by Gun Scrubber or ISO patch, and keep dry patching until I get no more grey (that's the JB) or black carbon. I've never understood the "I push 3 dry patches thru the bore and I'm done". To me, it ain't out until its totally out as indicated on the white patch.

Seems to have worked so far.

Thanks as always for your input.
 
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View attachment 8787684

Not wanting to derail the thread, but thought I’d throw this in here too…

View attachment 8787696

Remember the adverts for all these “Ammonia - Free” bore cleaners flaunted by our fellow red - blooded, freedom - loving, patriotic, God - fearing 2nd Amendment - supporting companies?

Well, guess how this active group behaves in aqueous solution.

Marketing!
Do you have anything other than a screenshot to back up your claim?

Ethanolamine aka monoethanolamine or 2-aminoethanol (that's in Bore Tech Eliminator, etc.) in an aqueous solution, does not directly convert to ammonia through a simple chemical reaction, but ammonia can be formed as a byproduct during MEA's degradation. The degradation process is primarily driven by factors like high temperatures and the presence of oxygen or other chemicals.

Monoethanolamine (HO-CH2-CH2-NH2) is a stable organic compound in water under normal conditions (solvents like bore tech eliminator are mainly water with some monoethanolamine and proplyene glycol).

I would much rather use monoethanolamine to chelate/remove copper than ammonia b/c it's less toxic and less corrosive

1760548689422.png
 
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Do you have anything other than a screenshot to back up your claim?

Ethanolamine aka monoethanolamine or 2-aminoethanol (that's in Bore Tech Eliminator, etc.) in an aqueous solution, does not directly convert to ammonia through a simple chemical reaction, but ammonia can be formed as a byproduct during MEA's degradation. The degradation process is primarily driven by factors like high temperatures and the presence of oxygen or other chemicals.

Monoethanolamine (HO-CH2-CH2-NH2) is a stable organic compound in water under normal conditions (solvents like bore tech eliminator are mainly water with some monoethanolamine and proplyene glycol).

View attachment 8787708

Beyond a screenshot? Sorry, no. Just what I remember from High School Chemistry. I don’t even have a single one of my own, or even my kids’ textbooks to reference - but that would be kind of like asking for documentation behind πr^2.

Not saying it forms Ammonia, but functionally - it still is.

The easiest and cheapest way of liberating Copper with a liquid cleaner is through the use of an Amine group, in one form or another.

Basically, “weaker” Ammonia.

That’s why our “Ammonia - Free” cleaners still have this Ammonia smell.

So while “Ammonia - Free” may be technically correct, it is still to a large degree disingenuous - it's really still Ammonia - and almost reeks of lawyerese.
 
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"The first approx. 2" of rifling in front of the chamber... the lands are completely gone"

Nooooooo... that's free bore. It keeps the pressures down and keeps the Sniper's Hide approved baby proof loads safe. 🧑‍🔬
Your killing me! I could beat you with a stick right now! :LOL:

The scary part is... someone somewhere will look at it that way.
 
In my years of shooting I have never found the need to use anything except Hoppes 9 and gun oil on high quality barrels. I shudder at thought of putting abrasive cleaner in my Bartlein barrels

Now with factory moon crater barrels I have used. JB bore compound in first couple of cleanings to try and smooth out a bit of the Maching marks
 
"The first approx. 2" of rifling in front of the chamber... the lands are completely gone"

Nooooooo... that's free bore. It keeps the pressures down and keeps the Sniper's Hide approved baby proof loads safe. 🧑‍🔬
Not only that but it creates a much less abrupt transition for the bullet to engage the lands and therefore more easily center in the bore, eliminating yaw. This is how you optimize the bullets path for more consistency. Come on guys this is internal ballistics 101…
 
Maybe if folks would clean their barrels more frequently rather than waiting 200-300 rounds of carbon accumulation they wouldn’t have to resort to abrasives or could reduce their use drastically?
This is my approach with both gas guns and bolt action. I clean after every use just so stuff doesn't build up too much. I don't go down to bare metal during each clean or anything it's just to prevent the need for abrasives etc. if I did want to fully remove everything.
 
Maybe if folks would clean their barrels more frequently rather than waiting 200-300 rounds of carbon accumulation they wouldn’t have to resort to abrasives or could reduce their use drastically?
Unfortunately when you shoot big matches like FTR you will probably go 400-450 rds between cleanings

In this case. I run .264 brush wrapped in hoppes soaked path from chamber to muzzle. Remove brush. Put clean soaked patch on and repeat five or six times. Then a couple of dry patches and everything is gone. No abrasives. Barrels last a very long time.

I do similar method on sll
My calibers. Go down a size or two in brush size wrap in patch and go

Only run into problem with .224. Have to be careful or will break the .17 cal brush

I have been cleaning this way for years. No more abrasives. No more waiting for solvents to work
 
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I don't go down to bare metal
Me either. First, carbon near the chamber gets into the fire cracking and I can’t see getting it out without getting seriously aggressive with the metal which is no bueno in my book.

And I don’t worry about a tint of blue in the grooves further down as it seems to be just a bit of copper infused solvent wash in the pores and doesn't effect anything that I can see.
 
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Unfortunately when you shoot big matches like FTR you will probably go 400-450 rds between cleanings
Why wait 400-450 rounds in between cleanings? Not poking at ya just asking. Yes a 308win or 223 gun for bore size vs case capacity they are easy on barrels but shoot a magnum round or a 6.5x284 or 6CM etc... your asking for problems.

Keep in mind as the barrel wears and the bore is getting rougher... it's going to change over time. When that barrel is new... sure I can see it going for say 200-300 rounds on a 308win... but when that barrel has a couple of thousand rounds on it... it might not hold accuracy for that long of a round count. Food for thought.

If I'm shooting F class Nationals or even a two day weekend match... I clean the gun that night so it's ready to go the next day.
 
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Unfortunately when you shoot big matches like FTR you will probably go 400-450 rds between cleanings

In this case. I run .264 brush wrapped in hoppes soaked path from chamber to muzzle. Remove brush. Put clean soaked patch on and repeat five or six times. Then a couple of dry patches and everything is gone. No abrasives. Barrels last a very long time.

I do similar method on sll
My calibers. Go down a size or two in brush size wrap in patch and go

Only run into problem with .224. Have to be careful or will break the .17 cal brush

I have been cleaning this way for years. No more abrasives. No more waiting for solvents to work
That’s true about competitive shooting. My remarks were coming from the perspective of a recreational, non- competitive shooter so were perhaps somewhat shortsighted. My apologies if anyone was offended. Certainly was not my intention.
 
Why wait 400-450 rounds in between cleanings? Not poking at ya just asking. Yes a 308win or 223 gun for bore size vs case capacity they are easy on barrels but shoot a magnum round or a 6.5x284 or 6CM etc... your asking for problems.

Keep in mind as the barrel wears and the bore is getting rougher... it's going to change over time. When that barrel is new... sure I can see it going for say 200-300 rounds on a 308win... but when that barrel has a couple of thousand rounds on it... it might not hold accuracy for that long of a round count. Food for thought.

If I'm shooting F class Nationals or even a two day weekend match... I clean the gun that night so it's ready to go the next day.
I found your barrels in 308 shoot that long between cleanings before accuracy starts to suffer. The cleaning regiment depends on rds to be shot the next day plus when shooting team sometimes we would double up on the “hot rifle “ if another rifle failed or quit shooting well. Heck TSA broke more than one of our team rifles over the years

Now when we were shooting Savage barrels I found I needed twenty rds to settle in if completely clean. Can’t always shoot twenty rds before going for record

I prefer to go 100-150 between cleanings but sometimes just get stuck going longer. They are always cleaned and oiled before stored

Hope that explains it
 
That’s true about competitive shooting. My remarks were coming from the perspective of a recreational, non- competitive shooter so were perhaps somewhat shortsighted. My apologies if anyone was offended. Certainly was not my intention.
Brother I clean my weapons every time I am done shooting. I never store dirty so I agree

I never saw a weapon store scared for clean and oiled get ruined but sure have seen a bunch ruined from leaving dirty and dry
 
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Beyond a screenshot? Sorry, no. Just what I remember from High School Chemistry. I don’t even have a single one of my own, or even my kids’ textbooks to reference - but that would be kind of like asking for documentation behind πr^2.

Not saying it forms Ammonia, but functionally - it still is.

The easiest and cheapest way of liberating Copper with a liquid cleaner is through the use of an Amine group, in one form or another.

Basically, “weaker” Ammonia.

That’s why our “Ammonia - Free” cleaners still have this Ammonia smell.

So while “Ammonia - Free” may be technically correct, it is still to a large degree disingenuous - it's really still Ammonia - and almost reeks of lawyerese.
From my years-later (almost 40 yrs now) college inorganic and organic, and also p-chem and biochem -- both of you guys are correct, just talking about things from different angles. In reactivity, in organic lab especially, you follow families of chemicals and their reactive behavior. On that point you're saying same as what I learned in college.

[B]WeR0206[/B] made points about reactivity, including in the presence of oxygen. On that point my memory is that oxygen is reactive in its generic state as free-roaming 01 and not just as atmospherically present in 02. So where you have water, for example, you have oxygen as a chemical component waiting to react with anything feasible.​


I would also say I don't worry much about ammonia-family reactivity in practice, and tend to follow WeR0206's path on which chemicals to use.

(sorry about that bold up there, I can't remove it in formatting)
 
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I didn't know there was a warranty on a barrel blank, after it is installed on a rifle.

I thought...Only an inspected barrel blank with a borescope and when finding something drastically wrong can a new barrel blank be returned.
I've done that and the company almost ran out the 30 day return policy on a new barrel blank, before someone who cared about customer service, allowed its replacement to be sent. Good thing I still do business with them.

I inspect and taper lapp all my barrels before installing, even Bartleins which are sometimes not up to my expectations on lapping as of late. Proof also does a pretty good job of lapping...but I touch em up anyway.
I do not do barrel break in these days, quit that many years ago, and get excellent results, inspection and then lapping and inspection, on all new barrels.

Warranty? I never expected a warranty, I've never used a warranty on any firearm, and never sent one back to the factory for repair or recall. I fix or repair it myself.

I expect Bartlein, Proof, or any top brands at SPR to sell me a good blank, as they are supposed to have quality control from "everyone" who works these barrel makers. In theory at least, it's the old American way..and thank those who still have work ethics.

If it's bad. "How did this piece of crap ever get out of the plant", and they do not replace it...
Or "everything is in spec" statement when it's clearly not...I never buy their products again. Especially if ya have to buy a finish chamber reamer to correct a new rifle chamber, that was chambered with a wore out reamer.

Easy...if the barrel makers do not ship a barrel with obviously bad machining in rifling and bores, I do not return for very slight imperfections... cause its how it shoots after its lapped, chambered, and installed that counts.
The extra lapping, chambering, threading, the blank is on me, I own it, it's noone else's problem now.
I expect them to shoot really good and they almost always do. Warranty?
 
I found your barrels in 308 shoot that long between cleanings before accuracy starts to suffer. The cleaning regiment depends on rds to be shot the next day plus when shooting team sometimes we would double up on the “hot rifle “ if another rifle failed or quit shooting well. Heck TSA broke more than one of our team rifles over the years

Now when we were shooting Savage barrels I found I needed twenty rds to settle in if completely clean. Can’t always shoot twenty rds before going for record

I prefer to go 100-150 between cleanings but sometimes just get stuck going longer. They are always cleaned and oiled before stored

Hope that explains it
I'm with ya bud and understand!

Yes I've been at matches and loaned my rifle when a guy had issues with his. Mechanical issues or scope going sour etc...
 
Here is another good one for ya....

Back when we did a ton of R&D barrels for Remington for the MSR rifles I get a phone call out of the blue from one of the engineers. They were down in TX doing testing. Also had military guys there from what I remember. Caliber was 338 Lapua if I remember correctly. Might have been 300wm. Anyways both guns are just being hammers with box ammo. Then he tells me... the next day one of the guns just quite shooting. I forget the distance but it was at long range. He said the day before the gun was shooting .7moa or better with box ammo and the next day rounds wouldn't even hit paper. Wild shots going every where! Low round count on the barrel as well. I said, The gun just doesn't quit shooting like that. Some body did something somewhere. I asked the normal questions... same lot of ammo, scope issues, was it cleaned and what and how etc... he said the gun wasn't in they're control/possession the whole time. I said... better start asking questions and digging into it. The other rifle was still pounding nice small groups.

Turned out someone ended up fire lapping the barrel on that one gun! Here's your sign!
 
Here is another good one for ya....

Back when we did a ton of R&D barrels for Remington for the MSR rifles I get a phone call out of the blue from one of the engineers. They were down in TX doing testing. Also had military guys there from what I remember. Caliber was 338 Lapua if I remember correctly. Might have been 300wm. Anyways both guns are just being hammers with box ammo. Then he tells me... the next day one of the guns just quite shooting. I forget the distance but it was at long range. He said the day before the gun was shooting .7moa or better with box ammo and the next day rounds wouldn't even hit paper. Wild shots going every where! Low round count on the barrel as well. I said, The gun just doesn't quit shooting like that. Some body did something somewhere. I asked the normal questions... same lot of ammo, scope issues, was it cleaned and what and how etc... he said the gun wasn't in they're control/possession the whole time. I said... better start asking questions and digging into it. The other rifle was still pounding nice small groups.

Turned out someone ended up fire lapping the barrel on that one gun! Here's your sign!
Dang that fired a couple of brain cells in my head

I was once teaching a class of 20 police snipers all with the same 26” REM 700 PSS’s. I took one case of Fed 175’s in 308 and did ten rds in each on chronograph. The average velocity ranged from 2450 to 2650. Guess which guns were slower? The couple DIY fire lapping Not a big sample and was told they shot better after fire lapping but the fire lapping bullets I had bought to try have not been used in twenty years because of it

I understand a true smith doing a touch up on lapping to get final machine marks out because he knows what he is doing but I put DIY lapping barrels with DIY crowning. Don’t do it yourself. Leave to professionals
 
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Sorry for the 2nd post, but, honestly, i can't imagine the personal hell of being in a position of busting your ass to make great products, really trying to give a shit, and then having people send you junk thats messed up.... often by themselves or some idiots they paid to assemble the stuff.... and you can -tell- its messed up, and tell HOW its messed up..... and yet trying not to lose your mind when they ask for a refund / warranty claim.

That would get real old on my nerves, real quick. Like, if i fuck up, let me know i'll fix it, i'm a big boy, i'll beg forgiveness and work real hard to not do it again..... but if i didn't fuck up and someone is saying i did, and the only fuckup is THEIR actions and behavior.... oh man, i'm glad i dont have to deal with that shit. (I remember you telling a story about how you got in multiple barrels from a shop / customer, and then determining..... they weren't even your barrels, because you didn't sell that combination of rifling grooves / bore size)

Spent years as a garbageman. We like to joke, "we'll haul 10 tons of manure..... before we take an ounce of shit"