Clean the burn rings on a SS cylinder

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gonoles_1980

gonoles_1980

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I currently use Hoppes #9 and a choreboy copper scouring pad. It pretty much cleans the rings, but there is still a partial thin ring left. I have been watching a number of youtube video's. Several have recommended Mothers Mag and Aluminum polish. The pretty much disappear rubbing for a few minutes with a cloth.

Has anyone else tried this? What are your opinions?
 
I use a toothbrush and any of those polishes on the face of the cylinder, Flitz, Mothers Mag works fast. Some say why even do it while others like me like a revolver looking like new. Make sure to clean up revolver afterwards. DO NOT USE ON BLUED GUNS! Takes the blue off some revolvers in a hurry.
As far a lead rings inside, I just keep up with regular cleaning rod brushes and whatever solvents I have on hand. I would bet some polish would work well on a cleaning rod brush. I don't know how much polishing would eventually cause metal loss?
 
Try a Kleanbore "Lead Away" cloth. I tell you, those are magic things. A tiny bit of rubbing and it's gone.... on stainless. Be careful on blue, as it can remove bluing.

I keep one of these cloths in a baggie and simply trim a little piece off that's about the size of a patch. That will clean a revolver cylinder nicely. If you keep the cloth in a bag, it lasts for years!
 
For stainless steel and nickel plate guns a Lead Away cloth works best. All it takes is some rubbing. It is non-abrasive but work remove the bluing on carbon steel steel guns.

Having answered your question I have to ask why are you going through all of this trouble to remove the stains? It doesn't hurt the gun and will keep reappearing everytime you shoot the gun (assuming this gun is a shooter, not a collectable).
 
Why am I going to that much trouble to clean the gun. Probably ADD, or something like that. It is my most used gun, I share it with my wife, she shoots soft lead 44spl out of it, I shoot both lead and copper plated 44mag out of it. It's usually pretty filthy at the end of 80 rounds. The collectable I shoot is the one in my avatar. I only shoot copper plated out of it, the burn rings are almost no existent. Though I only shoot 30 rounds each time at the range.
 
There are now much better solvents available than Hoppe's No. 9. Using any sort of "polish" (which IS an abrasive) is going to remove metal from the cyl. face over time. I just stopped worrying about the rings. I just get it as clean as I can and don't worry about the appearance. If you only get rings when shooting lead loads then I think what you are actually seeing are rings of lead. A single edge razor blade will slice them right off.
 
gonoles_1980 said:
Why am I going to that much trouble to clean the gun. Probably ADD, or something like that. It is my most used gun, I share it with my wife, she shoots soft lead 44spl out of it, I shoot both lead and copper plated 44mag out of it. It's usually pretty filthy at the end of 80 rounds. The collectable I shoot is the one in my avatar. I only shoot copper plated out of it, the burn rings are almost no existent. Though I only shoot 30 rounds each time at the range.
Click to expand...
80 rounds? Really? I typically shoot 500 or so before I even notice (negatively) the dark rings around the front of the cylinders of my Ruger DA's. Then, I just calm down and ignore them, since they don't have any effect on cylinder rotation, etc. I suppose my heirs might want to clean them up when I do the dear-departed if they don't want to keep them. Until then, function rules over and above anything else.
 
gonoles_1980 said:
I currently use Hoppes #9 and a choreboy copper scouring pad. It pretty much cleans the rings, but there is still a partial thin ring left. I have been watching a number of youtube video's. Several have recommended Mothers Mag and Aluminum polish. The pretty much disappear rubbing for a few minutes with a cloth.

Has anyone else tried this? What are your opinions?
Click to expand...

I use Softscrub and an old toothbrush. Does a good job of removing or at least diminishing the ring though it takes removing the cylinder from the revolver and washing it in the sink. I blow dry the thing afterward.

I don't know if the rings are bad or not, and I consider this obsessive compulsive behavior.
 
Time for a revolver reality check. Fire and hot gasses exit the barrel/cylinder gap and drive firing residue into the top strap and front face of the cylinder. Some of the residue will come off with a cloth and some Hoppes. The rest is actually down inside the metal pores and cannot be removed without removing metal from the cylinder face. The only way to prevent the marks is to never shoot the revolver. The worst part is that scrubbing metal on the cylinder face opens up the barrel to cylinder gap...causing even more gas and residue to escape. All for what purpose exactly? Get a grip.

WM
 
Breakfree makes a Bore Cleaner that does a pretty good job of removing the burn rings if you warm the metal and let it set for a few minutes.. Whatever is left is inconsequential. I would avoid using ANYTHING abrasive to try to remove burn rings.
 
Another vote for lead removal cloth. Midway sells a rebranded one for cheap, and it's pretty good stuff. You can also cut it into squares to use as a bore cleaner.
 
wireman said:
he rest is actually down inside the metal pores and cannot be removed without removing metal from the cylinder face. The only way to prevent the marks is to never shoot the revolver. The worst part is that scrubbing metal on the cylinder face opens up the barrel to cylinder gap
Click to expand...

The important question to ask here is "Just how much metal is removed?".

I have a 629-1 (made in the early 1980's) that I bought in the early 1990's. It had a cylinder gap of .004" when I bought it. It gets the cylinder face cleaned with a Lead-Away cloth about once a month. 25 years later, thousands of rounds (mostly 44 Special level) and several hundred cylinder face cleanings later, it still has a gap of .004".

Since several hundred cleanings have resulted in less than .001" of wear (a piece of paper is about .003"), that means that each cleaning is removing less than .000005" of metal. At which decimal place is it worth worrying about metal removal? If I remove .000000000002" or so of metal each time, who cares? When I die and my kids or wife sell the gun, it will STILL have a gap of .004". At that point, the future owner can worry about it!
 
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JB bore compound does great job removing the carbon ring from the cylinders, front of the forcing cone and the top strap. I have used it for about the last 10 years on blue, nickel and stainless, with no wear or staining.
 
Mother's Mag Polish will do it. Too much effort will shine it up like it's chrome plated, so don't go wild. I don't try to make mine look new (686 no dash), just clean it well. After I croak, someone else can obsess over it (a little OC is a good thing - I want my surgeon and doctors to be OC; too much becomes OCD).
 
RainDodger said:
Try a Kleanbore "Lead Away" cloth. I tell you, those are magic things. A tiny bit of rubbing and it's gone.... on stainless. Be careful on blue, as it can remove bluing.

I keep one of these cloths in a baggie and simply trim a little piece off that's about the size of a patch. That will clean a revolver cylinder nicely. If you keep the cloth in a bag, it lasts for years!
Click to expand...
Lead away really does work great for this.
 
Yup and as far as I can tell it works by chemical action and is NOT abrasive.
 
Another vote for lead away though I am sure that others have presented workable ideas as well. Mostly, I don't worry about it.
 
The gun cleaning mania shows an underlying disconnect with, and fear of, the elements of fire and brimstone that are the physical and spiritual basis of the non-socially subjugated animus of the firearm.
 
Another endorsement for Lead Away cloth. In the days before that product, I used a stainless steel wire bristle brush on the stainless cylinder face. Mind you, it wasn't for a highly polished stainless Colt Python but a Ruger SS.
 
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