S&W Titanium Cylinder damage..***

[Carbon_15]

I was cleaning my Smith 520 today and noticed somehting funky going on on the cylinder face. Every so often I go over the front of the cylinder with a lead-away cloth to remove the built up lead and carbon. I noticed what looked like alot of buildup, but under better light noticed it was missing material.
***??
What causes this? Do I need to send my gun back to S&W...will they waranty this? I had a 360pd for years and never noticed anything like this...this gun has about 200 rounds through it!

Edit- I'm fairly sure it wasnt there after my last range trip. The only thing I shot today was 10 rounds of cast lead 125gr HP /w gas checks over 9.5 gr of Power Pistol. I noticed there was alot of flash, but this is a flashy powder. Should I discontinue this load period, or should it be OK in steel cylinders?

 

[devildog66]

Check out some info on the Smith and Wesson forum. I believe that it is flame cutting and most likely due to shooting rounds that are too short, i.e., 110gr loads. Too much gap in the cylinder before the forcing cone with the lighter rounds.

 

[Joe Demko]

I've heard that the titanium cylinders have a protective coating on them. Check your manual, S&W warns against cleaning the cylinder with abrasives. The lead removing cloth you used might have damaged the coating.

 

[Nicodemus38]

i believe in your handguns manual it will tell you toavoid the 110 grain loads in any titanium cylinder. In the care and cleaning section i believe that the company warns people to avoid the use of crocus cloth and "lead away cloths' on all airweights and titanium guns. As that causes premature erosion of the protective finish.
And that is what you have now. The finish only lasts x number of shots before it wears through. And when it wears through it needs to be refinish at the company because when the finish is killed, the cylinder will start eroding fast. That would require a new cylinder.

 

[AgentAdam]

Manual states against using abrasive cleaners on Titanium as it will wear away the protective finish and lead to rapid erosion or what not. I thought lead away cloth was chemically powered but if it is an abrasive that is a no-no.

 

[smee781]

I just got a Smith 296 with a ti cylinder and have not cleaned it yet. Is it safe to clean a Ti cylinder with a brass brush and hopps 9 or clp cleaner?

 

[Oro]

Is it safe to clean a Ti cylinder with a brass brush and hopps 9 or clp cleaner?

Check your manual, definitely, before you do that. I have seen some nasty looking results from certain chemicals used on the anodizing on alloy S&W cylinders. I do not own one, but check your manual for certain, or download one from S&W if you don't have yours any more. It might be OK, but check first.

 

[jfh]

I checked with S&W about cleaning products about two years ago--and, at that time, they recommended the Hoppe's "Elite" Product line, period. I'm not sure you'll find the exact information you need about the TI cylinders, even in the manual--mine for the M&P340 (steel cylinder) does not, IIRC.

added on edit: They were also happy with Break-Free CLP.

Others have had this trouble, from what I've seen on the Internet. S&W will replace the cylinder--but they seem to have a "variable" policy on cost, and may charge you since you were using reloads. If it happens a second time, they will probably recommend / want to install the steel cylinder.

Jim H.