Rings Around My Chamber

[tws3b2]

Ever heard of rings around your collar? Well I have rings around my chambers. Stainless steel Cylinder chambers of my S&W 642. Nothing seems to touch it, not even a good scrubbing with a brass brush. Each time I clean it , it just aggravates the crap out of me cause it won't come off. Seems the only thing that could touch it would be a grinder. No, I'm not going to.

 

[Tommygunn]

A couple of my revolvers have that, one came that way, presumably from test firing at the factory.

 

[.38 Special]

Lead removing cloth does the trick with mild effort. You will have to do it after every range session. I suspect the great majority of revolver men gave up on it almost immediately.

 

[skeeterfogger]

I've spun steel wool in them with good luck.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

A white ink eraser will take those rings right off....No need to clean them off, though

 

[9mmepiphany]

I've had that on every revolver I've ever owned...it is a bit harder to see on blued revolvers.

I cleaned it off once and never again because it was right back the next time I shot the pistol...granted I used to clean my pistols more often also. The rings don't hurt anything and if you let it go it darkens the whole face of the cylinder to a nice contrasting surface

 

[bdickens]

Overcleaning possibly ruins more guns than anything else.

 

[Pat Riot]

Every few months I remove my cylinders and soak them for a day in Break Free CLP. Those rings come right off with a stiff nylon bristle brush. They come right back again after firing. At that point I make sure they don’t build up by giving them a regular cleaning. They really are not that big of a deal.

 

[JohnKSa]

Brush the front of the cylinder with solvent and a stiff nylon brush. If your gun is stainless, you can use a bronze/brass bristle brush, if you want. I'm not talking about scrubbing for minutes, it only takes a little bit of brushing to clean off anything that matters. This will take off any actual fouling (buildup), but will leave the carbon scoring/burn/stain marks. Then don't worry about it unless you're taking "beauty pictures" or getting the gun spiffed up to sell.

If you really have to take off the marks (I realize that they really bother some people a lot-which is too bad because they don't hurt anything) a lead-away cloth,or some other similarly mild abrasive polishing solution will remove them.

 

[fxvr5]

Lead-away cloth works.

Soaking overnight in Bore tech C4 carbon remover works, and appears to be safe for stainless guns.

To keep the gun much cleaner in the first place, use lead-free primers. Most of that black crap is from using standard primers.

 

[Ohen Cepel]

For me, its just part of owning a revolver. I haven't tried to clean them off in decades, knock the major stuff off after shooting a lot but nothing more.

 

[Bennj]

I use a Birchwood Casey lead removal cloth and a little elbow grease on the cylinder face and forcing cone with my 642 and GP100. Used to do it after every range trip, now maybe after every fourth or fifth trip because I'm not sure how long it would take for carbon crud to build up enough to affect function (probably never). Might try the ink eraser idea though.

 

[Tallball]

It's not worth worrying about.

 

[nevadabob]

Here's a helpful vid:

 

[Riomouse911]

IF you want to clean it, Flitz, an old sock and about 5 minutes.

It will return with the first shot you fire through each chamber, so I only do this once every second blue moon.

Stay safe.

 

[Homerboy]

Birchwood Casey Lead Removal Cloth. Guys who complain about them just coming back, so will everything else when you fire the gun again. I know they don’t impede function, but neither does carbon and lead on outside of gun. Do you not clean that either?

It’s an extra 90 seconds at the end of my cleaning regimen to remove them with the Birchwood Casey cloth. I do it every time I clean the gun. I take pride in my guns and I like my guns to look good

 

[John Joseph]

Adds character.

 

[CajunBass]

I try to clean that off every February 29th. If I forget, it will wait until the next time.

 

[Tallball]

I clean my handguns after every outing. I'll scrub the front of the cylinder just a little bit every time, so that nothing builds up to impede function. So the rings are visible, which I don't care about, but I don't let them build up like a bundt cake rising.

 

[CraigC]

It's not residue, it's carbon scoring. You can do more harm than good trying to remove them as any product used to do so is abrasive. Yes, even the lead removal cloths. It's an exercise in futility, there are better ways to waste time. Such as watching grass grow, counting cars or picking your nose.

 

[dbluefish]

It's not residue, it's carbon scoring. You can do more harm than good trying to remove them as any product used to do so is abrasive. Yes, even the lead removal cloths. It's an exercise in futility, there are better ways to waste time. Such as watching grass grow, counting cars or picking your nose.

especially picking you nose, lol

 

[Pat Riot]

Reminder: Lead Away Cloths WILL remove bluing.

 

[GunnyUSMC]

Cotton balls. And CLP.
Just put a cotton ball on each chamber, add some CLP And let it sit over night. The rings will cleanup really easy.

 

[WheelGunMan]

I support what the others say...it adds character...it's normal..etc. etc....but, if you really want a quick way to remove them...a little dab of Mother's Metal Polish on the end of a cloth rag will have them out in seconds.

 

[John Joseph]

The rings suggest the subconscious narrative that you shoot your Roscoe often enough to be a crack shot