Is the copper out?

[OpFlash]

I'm cleaning a bolt action .308 rifle, and after some initial brushing with solvent and then a couple of treatments with Outer's foaming bore cleaner I'm now getting clean patches, but when I follow up with a clean new (bronze?) brush and copper solvent I get blue patches again. Is the blue coming from the brush or the bore?

 

[Dr. Dickie]

Don't use a bronze brush, get some nylon ones.
Brownells sells them by the bag, cheap.
Course,:banghead: they wind the nylon around a brass wire.
For a bronze brush they use steel wire.
It's like the folks that make this stuff, never use it.

 

[don]

Copper out test

The way I determine whether or not my barrel has copper in it is to use Brasso on a wad of cotton instead of a cleaning patch on my rod. Make sure the fit is tight and scrub the dickens out of the barrel. If the barrel has copper in it, the cotton will be black.The fun begins when you try to get the brasso out. Many patches will be required and no, it will not harm your barrel. It will not remove the copper but If you run enough cotton through the barrel until it comes clean,I guarentee you will have a shiny bore. Follow up with oil.

 

[vesmcd]

OP, the blue is coming from the bronze brush. Use the brush to knock the big crud loose, then the Outer's and follow up with patches on a proper sized patch jag or bore snake.

 

[dfaugh]

OP, the blue is coming from the bronze brush.

Yup. the copper solvents will eat a bronze brush. If you use the foaming bore cleaner, STOP once the patches start coming out clean.