[308win]

Does anyone have a picture of a leaded barrel? I just cleaned my 1991A1. When I looked down the barrel in good light I could see 'streaks' in the grooves. Is this lead, or galling, or machining marks, or squished aliens?

[qajaq59]

Boy, if anyone says it's Squished Aliens we all in deep doo doo.

Try cleaning it with some Blue Wonder or one of the more aggressive cleaners. If it goes away it likely was lead. Some times lead can be a bear to get out.

[frankt]

If you have been shooting lead bullets than it is probably leading.

Wet it good with some hoppes Elite or other good bore cleaner and let it soak. Go to the grocery store and buy a "Chore Boy Pure copper" scrubbing pad. Take it home and pull off a strand of the copper and wrap it around a new,proper size bronze bore brush and go to scrubbing the bore. It will clean the lead right out.

[308win]

I use Hoppes Semi-Auto solvent which is supposed to remove lead according to the label. I will try some with chore boy and see what the barrel looks like. I have never seen Blue Wonder around here.

[rbernie]

If it's along the edges of the grooves or fills the groove completely, it's likely lead. But if it's just a streak down the center of the groove with no strong attachment to the edges of the groove, it's probably copper fouling.

I vote for copper fouling. :)

[308win]

It looks more like copper but I cleaned with the Hoppes which is supposed to remove copper but it isn't very aggressive. I will try some Butches Bore Shine.

[308win]

I tried Butch's Bore Shine and got absolutely no trace of copper fouling but I did get a little dark stain on the patch I ran thru after letting the solvent set in the bore for about 10 minutes. I have decided that what I am seeing are machine marks.

[mpmarty]

no, you most likely are seeing lead. Get the bronze brush out and make about fifty passes with it completely through the barrel and back to the breech. If you get dark marks on a clean patch you have lead in the barrel and it will only get worse with time. The sooner it comes out the easier it will be to get out. More and more will build up and just make it tougher to clean.

[bob k]

I go a bit further with the chore boys. I use a worn out .38 brush for my .45sand wind a bunch of the chore boy around it for a TIGHT fit and then work that up and down through the bore soaked in ed's red. this will get the lead out of the bore. Next I go after the copper. I can't really say what my preference is for this. I have found that if there is copper fouling in a barrel then it will lead badly, without copper fouling and a good lube, wet patch, drink a cup of coffee, dry patch, wet patch, dry patch, clean barrel.

[Plink]

I've had good luck using Ballistol to remove leading if it's not too heavy. I just brush it a few times with a bronze brush and a lot of Ballistol, run a patch through to get out any loose lead, apply a bit more Ballistol and let it sit and penetrate a while. I repeat the Ballistol, brush and patch routine in an hour or so and most of it comes out. It's actually quite easy if you let the Ballistol sit and penetrate. It's not fast, but it eliminates the elbow grease, specialty removers, and chemicals.

[Matt Dillon]

Have you tried the lead removing cloths? They certainly seem to get the lead out the times I have tried it

[jr81452]

get yourself some j-b bore paste and bore polish. it will solve whatever the problem is. if its lead a treatment of both will get it out, same for copper. if its "machine marks" it will take a few treatments but it will smooth them out. and even if its not machine marks useing this stuff will cut down on fouling in the future.

[Oohrah]

Unless ya want to do a lot of work, get a product what
used to called a Lewis Lead Remover. It comes with an
expanding head that after you screw onto your cleaning
rod. It comes with brass mesh screens to place over the
expanding head. Increase tention to a snug fit push the
bass patch back and forth through the bore. Increase the
tention and repeat. Spent hours with the other mentioned
methods for the same results that a few passes with the
Lewis made in a couple of minutes. I haven't used it, but
Outers has a kit that uses chemicals and electric flow to
remove both jacket material and lead (diff. Chem. for each).:)

[bakert]

I'm not sure what to use for squished aliens but for lead, like bob k, I use the old bore brush with the strands of Chore Boy pad wrapped around it after running a patch with Breakfree through and letting sit for a short period. 6 or 8 passes through the barrel normally is plenty to clean it out.

[Im283]

I have a problem with a lead build up on the revolver frame. The lead is building on the top of the frame above the forcing cone. It is also getting on the edge of the cylinder. And in turn there is large lead build up after shooting regular lead bullets.

Any idea for removal? Will the products you all have mentioned help with this?

I believe the gunk of lead came from firing CCI shotshells. It is a nightmare I have not been able to resolve or dissolve.

I confess I am an idiot for ever using them shotshells.

BTW pistol is a .22 single action.

[4fingermick]

I have used the Lewis Lead Remover with good results. surplusrifle had a good article on making an electronic one reallllll cheap, but I can't find it :(

[kirbythegunsmith]

See what the leading in a revolver barrel forcing cone appears like after the umpteenth round, and what bits come out with just brushing, and then the heavy duty tools (last picture).

The third picture is a view from the muzzle of the barrel.

See my previous posts for insight from a gunsmith.

kirbythegunsmith@hotmail.com