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Way to limit carbon build up at gas rings on ar?...

PlinkIt

GunNut ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Full Member
Minuteman
Mar 30, 2014
1,495
928
Virginia / North Carolina
wondering if there are any tricks to helping limit carbon build up right behind the gas rings on an ar?



I tried to polish the area up till its almost mirror finish and that seems to help some..



But what else can I do? anything? nothing?...
 
Run a piston gun. ;)

Sorry I couldn't help it.

I run a nickel boron coated bolt and it's hard to get anything to stick to it. Can get a full nickel boron coated BCG from these guys at a great price. Tennessee Arms Company (No affiliation at all. I run their bolt in my piston gun and it works great.) Combine that with some Frog Lube and I think you might be pretty happy.
 
I lube it all with Mobil 1 engine oil. The oil is formulated to deal with carbon in an internal combustion engine-which is essentially what you have with an AR. When I clean, I use WD40 for solvent. What doesn't come off with a good wiping I leave.
If you look at a heavily carboned bolt tail you will see where the carrier rides-there is very little carbon where the carrier touches because the carrier keeps it rubbed off WHERE IT MATTERS. The carbon around the skirt leading up to the rings doesn't matter. In my experience it will only build up so much, but I do clean mine after every outing, whether it saw 500 rds or just 50. Again, I clean by spraying with WD40 and wiping away the soot and carbon, then blow off with compressed air. Lube liberally with Mobil 1 and re-assemble.

ETA: I do not remove rings unless there's a problem
 
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Don't worry about it, just clean it when you get to it. It shouldn't cause any problems.

These things tend to get dirty when you shoot them.;)
 
Honestly, if it bothers you that much and you want an easy way to clean it, pick up the CAT M4 tool as it will clean off any of the built up stuff to a serviceable level quickly. I wouldn't worry about it too much.
 
IMHO You are overanalyzing this. As others have already said, a slightly dirty bolt will not have any impact on accuracy or function.
If you just like to see it shine, look into NP3, NiB, or any other neo-Teflon. It will still get dirty but it will be easier to clean.
Fireclean (cleanergun.com) is also supposed to help.
 
#1, cut your fingernails.

#2, this is akin to cleaning the tailpipe on your car.
 
yea guys I understand its not a necessity for it to run.. but just looking into ways to keep the build up from getting a toe hold in the first place figured it might take that much longer for it to build up if I can do little things to cut down on its ability to get started building up

Run a piston gun. ;)

Sorry I couldn't help it...

I don't blame you I expected some punch lines for this one.. just looking for ideas that make keeping it clean easier thanks for the boron coated idea though

I lube it all with Mobil 1 engine oil

that's interesting I might have to try that once and see how that does., thanks

#1, cut your fingernails.

#2, this is akin to cleaning the tailpipe on your car.

LOL I actually did cut them after looking at the pics and I agree its overkill in so many ways but if you can keep it from building up in the first place with little things like the polishing it cant hurt the process at all now can it?.. I also clean my gas ports and tube every so often.. I am very sure that's not on most folks cleaning list.. but wth why not?!
 
You polished off the finish of the part.

One wouldn't buff off the paint and primer on their car to keep it from getting dirty.

If you really want to keep it clean, keep it well oiled and use better ammo.
 
The easiest way.... wait for it............................................................... "Don't shoot it!" C'mon, every one thought it. I'm an expert at this cleaning thing. but I haven't shot mine enough to get any build up. I just buy as many as I can, and put em in my safe, next to alllllllllll that 22 ammo, I'll never shoot. But .....I dropped out of comedy school. Now you know why. seriously, I just scrub off what I can, oil, and done. And don't cut your nails. They're GREAT little scrapers you don't have to pay for.
Oh, well said! Gonna steal that one for my own use.
 
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I've got one of these...

botach_2183_218872087.jpg
 
The only time that ever gets scraped clean is during make work/ weapons maintenance time when the leaders don't want Joe's with time on their hands
 
The only time that ever gets scraped clean is during make work/ weapons maintenance time when the leaders don't want Joe's with time on their hands

Exactly. Piss poor and overcleaning does more damage to weapons than anything else.

Good coating of carbon in the gun along with lube will KEEP your gun running and will be more reliable than bare metal. Once the lube wears down, the carbon will help it stay running.


Want to know when to clean you gun? Once it starts to malfunction. Usualy around the 5K-10K mark depending on gun/ammo/firing schedule. Check out the filthy 14. People drastically underestimate how reliable and robust the DI system is.

It's like a vagina, its self cleaning.

Keep her wet and she will keep you smiling.
 
Oh and tell your girlfriend to cut her fingernails. Looks like something out of a vampire movie.