XD Cleaning

[silent knight]

Is there a faster, more efficient way to clean the barrel? The brush provided by SA doesnt do it for me, i can still see some markings inside barrel. Already sprayed it down with breakfree clp, left it for a couple of hrs and still shows some marking. Any reccomendations on a better scrub/brush? When you guys brush the inside, do you push down, or turn (like a screwdriver).. i've been advised to use a patch with the brush but when i did that, the darn brush almost got stuck. Any suggestions?

 

[ZeSpectre]

I spray the barrel down with simple green, let it set a bit and then scrub it out with a bore mop that has more simple green on it. Then it's a rinse in hot water.

Then if I'm seeing copper shining out at me it's some Hoppe's #9 on a bronze brush and a little scrubbing.

One more swipe with the simple green wetted bore mop and another water rinse and it's almost always shiny clean. Dry it off well and then a wipe down with breakfree inside and out.

Wash out the bore mop with water and set it someplace to dry and I'm finished (usually in about 5-10 minutes).

 

[RNB65]

Throw that crummy brush that came with it in the trash. Go to Wal Mart and get a basic handgun cleaning kit that fits your caliber. You need a brass bristle brush for heavy cleanings, a nylon bristle brush for light cleanings, and a slotted tip for pushing patches.

Also, buy lots of cleaning patches. Just remember, patches are a shooter's best friend!

 

[possum]

I recommend a bore snale and shooter's choice for standard range use, and after lead use or crazy amounts of ammo fired, i use a bronze brush that they sell at wal-mart for like $1.50 and they work great. the birchwood casey gun scrubber also has worked good for me especially with lead rds. shooter's choice has a lead solvent and that is a good investment as well.

so in conclusion, for a few hundread rds, a quick but good cleanning with shooter's choice, hoppes #9 or other solvent and a few passes with the bore snake. lots of shotting or shooting lead... shooter's choice lead remover or birchwood casey 2 in1 bore scrubber, with bronze brush, and patch dry, hope that helps!

 

[Plastic Cowboy]

Bore snake works pretty good if your barrel is REALLY dirty. Otherwise buy a yard of white flannel cloth at Walmart and cut it into square patches about 1 inch square. Give the patch a good squirt of Hoppe's #9 and push it through the barrel with the brass jag from a handgun cleaning kit. This whole setup should cost you less than $20 and will get your barrel just like brand new!!!

 

[Zeke Menuar]

I use Wipeout. Let the stuff foam for a while. Run a jag through it. Do it again just for drill. No real elbow grease. I don't go out of my way to get pistol barrels squeaky clean. Rather spend the time shooting.

ZM

 

[psyopspec]

Bore Snake. Shot of your choice of lubricant in the barrel, run the bore snake through twice. Takes 20 seconds, and that's if you're slow.

 

[BrainOnSigs]

Bore Snake. Shot of your choice of lubricant in the barrel, run the bore snake through twice. Takes 20 seconds, and that's if you're slow.

So...when do you actually clean it?

 

[aka108]

Saturate bore with Hoppes No. 9 (been using it for 58 years), let it sit about 24 hrs, bronze brush it, and finish cleaning with a couple of saturated patches and then some dry.

 

[rockstar.esq]

Slotted tips suck, I've entirely switched to jags since they offer a huge degree of contact area to the bore. Additionally I use a rod with a bearing in it which allows the tightly fit jag to follow the rifling and get all the junk out of the grooves. Hoppe's #9 works just as well as Butches bore shine as far as I can tell. If you're shooting any lead solids, I'd recommend lead removal patches which strip that stuff out like nothing I've ever seen before. Oh how I wish there was something like that for copper fouling!

 

[BrainOnSigs]

I make a distinction between rifles and handguns. Almost any good solvent will do a great job on handguns because the main thing we have to remove is powder fouling. I am happy with Shooter's Choice. Butch's Bore Shine or Sweets 7.62 makes easy work of copper fouling. Find a Lewis Lead Remover. In revolvers and autopistols, it is the final word in scraping out all the crud prior to a good working over with your favorite solvent. As alluded to above...the slotted tips are worthless. Buy a tight fitting jag, good bronze phosphor brush, patches galore and a nice cleaning rod and you are set.


Rifles are a very different story. High pressure/high velocity cartridges leave jacket metal behind as they pass through the bore and before long you've got to remove it or accuracy will go to pot. Conventional solvents are unlikely to do this job. For the last few years I've been using a bore scope to monitor the condition of several barrels and judge the effectiveness of various cleaning products and procedures and have developed a two level process using escalating force. At the range I clean the bores of most rifles every 15 to 20 rounds. The solvent changes from time to time, but right now it is Butch's Bore Shine. I've found it to do a good job of removing metal fouling without being so aggressive.

I'm not one who believes that you have to get every microgram of copper out of the barrel and my routine usually does not require further work. But now and then a gun may need more. My next step up is either Shooter's Choice Copper Remover or Outer's Super Solvent. Both of these are pretty stout but if they don't get everything the next step is Sweet's. This stuff is strongly ammoniacal and really needs to be used with care and ventilation. The last step is to use the Outer's Foul Out electrochemical cleaner.

Outers' Foul Out is it when comes to the lazy man's cleaning gear. Plug the bore, dump the solvent in, turn on the power and go have a cold one. The lead or copper is magically transferred to the Foul Out rod.

BTW Silent Knight: My XD45 Tactical's bore is always a bitch to clean compared to my other hanguns. Not sure why.....

 

[Lonestar]

+1 on Hoppes #9 for bore cleaning but keep it away from the polymer.

 

[GungHo]

I use Montana Xtreme on the chamber and bore. Break Free CLP on everything else.

 

[1776er]

Old T-shirts people, old t-shirts. I save worn out and ragged t-shirts for patch material. I haven't purchased patches in years.

Cut to any needed size.

 

[rockstar.esq]

"My XD45 Tactical's bore is always a bitch to clean compared to my other hanguns. Not sure why....."

Could it be that your bore is rough? Perhaps some judicious lapping with non embedding polishing paste would sort that out?

 

[springmom]

Hoppe's #9 on a patch big enough for the bore, pushed through with a jag. Let the stuff sit for a bit, then push a dry patch through, and repeat. I'd stay away from wire brushes, myself; the Hoppe's will get it. (But get that patch pretty wet. You want the Hoppe's really getting into the crud in the barrel).

Then oil on a patch, a dry patch, and you're good.

And you might think about switching ammunition. If it's that bad, maybe it's what you're shooting, not the XD or the cleaning method.

Springmom

 

[battlehatch]

I really can't relate guys, my XD45 is a snap to clean up. I usually put between 200-500 rd. at a time through mine and it's no big deal, I just use lots of patches. I just started using breakfree CLP. I like nitrile solvent as well, followed by Tri Flow lube. I clean mine after every use so I think that also helps to make clean up easy.