cleaning an old dirty bore

[stockerphil]

Thanks to you all. The lands are visible - it is the grooves that still are foul. I will try the soap and water that Calif-steve suggests, while looking up the electrolytic cleaning, thank you Patrick. Johnny Peppers, did you ever use stainless steel 'Buds' instead of the steel wool? I've used them on rust removal and they seem to cut off the rust with less blue removal than 1/0 steel wool. Also have you tried 3M pads instead of steel wool?

This week I'm going to try and check headspace, if thats OK I might try firing a round through - make sure it fires OK. Any problem you guys see with firing a round before getting the barrel all clean?

P

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[Johnny Peppers]

Johnny Peppers, did you ever use stainless steel 'Buds' instead of the steel wool? I've used them on rust removal and they seem to cut off the rust with less blue removal than 1/0 steel wool. Also have you tried 3M pads instead of steel wool?

P

Don't ever use 1/0 steel wool for removing rust from blue. The 1/0 grade is too aggressive for that and will scratch the blue. Use 4/0 for removing rust from blue. The 4/0 is for polishing and does a great job of removing the rust without harming the blue. It is fine enough that you can stretch it over a fingernail to get in the nooks and crannies to clean out dried oil or grease.

I have used the cleaning pads that can be bought at gun shows and they work fine, but I just prefer the 4/0 steel wood.