Cleaning Carbon Rings with Dremel/Flitz

[NeverAgain26]

For years I have been wanting to get my cylinder face free of Carbon Rings. I tried a lot of solutions (even Flitz) with a lot of elbow grease and never came close to ridding the face of the rings.

Tonight I rubbed Flitz on them, chucked a felt polishing wheel on the Dremel, let the Flitz soak in for a few minutes and went at it. The rings came off as if they were never there.

I am extremely hesitant about taking a Dremel to any gun, but I thought that a felt polishing wheel and Flitz would not harm the gun any. Is there anyone who would counsel against this or who can tell me to beware of this practice? I might do it 2-3 times a year when I do a more lengthy cleaning.

I wondered also if anyone has a practical idea for getting the Carbon Build Up I get from shooting .38 Specials out of a .357 cylinder. I tried soaking the cylinder overnight in Ed's Red, Hoppe's etc.

Can I take Flitz and a Dremel and get in the cylinder chambers? I can't find the right size felt polishing wheel to fit in the cylinder chambers so I would probably swab some Flitz on a patch, coat the Carbon Build Up, let it soak in and then wrap a patch around a bronze bore brush, chuck it into the Dremel and then go at it lightly. Good idea? Bad idea? Any other ideas?

Thanks.

Saul Levy

 

[Route 66]

I have used a .357 chamber brush that gets rid of the buildup pronto. A chamber brush is a little larger than a bore brush and has worked great for me with good ol' Hoppe's.

 

[xring44]

This may not be the best way,,but I soak the chambers in hoppes, wet a .41 caliber brush, insert it in a cordless drill, varible speed, run it as a slow rpm and presto,,no more build up...have been doing this for some years will no problems.....others may disagree......

 

[Standing Wolf]

There's no reason not to add some horsepower to the cylinder cleaning task—but better too little than too much.

I looked at an otherwise perfectly acceptable Python in the used gun section of a gun shop about a year and a half ago, but left it there because some self-inflicted genius had worn away much of the bluing from the front face of the cylinder. It looked as though he'd used an abrasive Dremel attachment. The price was right, and in all other respects, the rest of the gun was in fine shape, but the cylinder was a mess.

 

[HSMITH]

X-ring, I do the same thing only with a 40 brush. If I have been really bad about it and have several thousand rounds of 38's I'll break out a new brush that is tight and stiff.

One thing that made life really easy was to take a 40 brush, wrap it with a patch, coat the patch with JB Bore Paste, chuck it in a drill and polish the cylinder chambers. Cleaning them is a ton easier. It also helps with extraction, cases just rocket out.

 

[onecruiser]

Try this: With the pistol dry, get your wife's plastic pan scrubbers ( the colored plastic 3"squares). Just open the cyclinder and rub with the dry pad on the dry pistol. It should all come clean very fast.

When all of the carbon is gone clean the rest as you normally would.

If it is stainless and you want an extra fine clean and polish, get out the toothpaste and with your fingers only wipe toothpaste all over and into the cracks, etc. Rub for 5 to 10 minutes then rinse with hot water and dry immediately.

 

[Seven High]

I use a typewriter eraser. It is the one that is round with a brush attached. It is abrasive enough to remove the build up but apparently does not damage the cylinder.

 

[xring44]

X-ring, I do the same thing only with a 40 brush. If I have been really bad about it and have several thousand rounds of 38's I'll break out a new brush that is tight and stiff.

One thing that made life really easy was to take a 40 brush, wrap it with a patch, coat the patch with JB Bore Paste, chuck it in a drill and polish the cylinder chambers. Cleaning them is a ton easier. It also helps with extraction, cases just rocket out.

If you run out of JB Bore paste, Mothers mag wheel polish works great also!
I save my worn out .41 brushes for this kind of job!

 

[Lone_Gunman]

Why worry about the carbon rings?

I have never seen anything bad happen from letting the carbon rings just be there.

 

[MCgunner]

I got some stuff that is magical. Think I bought it at Walmart It's called Iosso Gun Bright Polish. It's made by Iosso Marine Products. A rag, a dab of this stuff, and a little elbow grease and the powder rings are gone, until after the next range trip anyway.

 

[NeverAgain26]

Thanks for all your replies.

Lone_Gunman: I know nothing is wrong with the rings on the cylinder face function-wise. I just like a gun to look clean after I clean it.

I gather from all I am reading that the Flitz and Dremel felt polishing wheel are nothing to worry about if I am gentle on a stainless gun.

I will try the other solutions on the chambers and will post again if I have any luck.

Saul Levy

 

[Fumbler]

After cleaning and cleaning and shooting and shooting I've finally come to the conclusion that trying to get the carbon rings off is a waste of time.
They just come back after you shoot the gun.
Now I only clean them away if I know I won't be shooting for a long time or if I expect to show the gun to someone.

What I use is a little Remington Bore Cleaner. It's a liquid that's a lot like JB Bore Paste.
I put a little on a patch then just rub the face and it usually comes right off.

 

[JohnKSa]

I've finally come to the conclusion that trying to get the carbon rings off is a waste of time.

I agree 100%. I now consider them to be a badge of honor.

If I'm going to sell a gun I might clean the rings off, but otherwise I just clean off any buildup. The stains are meant to be there.

Personally, I am of the opinion that unless you're a professional gunsmith, when you pick up a gun, you should forget you own a Dremel, and vice versa.

Furthermore, if you feel you need power tools to clean your gun, you are either cleaning wrong, or cleaning excessively. The possible exception is using a drill on low speed to clean out the rings from shooting .38 specials in a .357 cylinder, even then, I have seen a cylinder damaged by that sort of treatment.

 

[HSMITH]

Lone Gunman, most of us are talking about the rings IN the cylinder......

They need to come out.

 

[Majic]

I gather from all I am reading that the Flitz and Dremel felt polishing wheel are nothing to worry about if I am gentle on a stainless gun.

Seeing now that you are working on a stainless steel revolver you can save all that extra effort and just get you some Lead Away cloths. They will wipe the carbon away with very little rubbing. You can also wrap the cloth around a brush and clean the chambers.
Just don't use those cloths on a blued gun as it will eat the bluing off down to the bare metal.

 

[NeverAgain26]

John KSa: I agree Dremels and guns as a combo belong only in the hands of professional gunsmiths. My first question was whether a Felt Polishing wheel and Flitz would harm a Stainless gun. I can't see that it would because Felt on it's own will not abrade Steel. I am pretty sure that Flitz is safe enough to use on glass. I was wondering whether the combination of Flitz and a Dremel Felt Polishing wheel would be able to wear the Steel down any. On the cylinder face, bit of a difference in spec is cosmetic. Inside the chambers, it can be a real problem, leading to unsafe conditions. That's why I asked the question before I did anything in there.

I am not in the habit of using power tools to clean my guns. I am not what one would call an 'excessive cleaner.'

I probably should have asked two separate questions in two separate posts; one about the rings on the face of the cylinder and one about the rings in the cylinder chambers. I know Lone_Gunman was telling me that the Rings on the cylinder face were O.K. and I agree. Some people don't mind having them there and some people do. For the most part, I was more curious to see if I could get them off. I got several new ways to do this out of the answers I received.

As far as the ones in the cylinder chambers, they should be taken care of and cleaned out periodically for safety's sake.

Saul Levy

 

[OBXMIKE]

Majic hit it right on with the lead-away cloths. They will make the inside rings go away as fast as the cylinder face rings. Wrap a piece around a wire brush and swab away. Never seen anything so effective on a stainless gun. Except for the drag line, mine looks like it's never been fired. Get one and try it. They're @ $4 or $5 at sporting goods stores.

Mike