I've been using Sweet's 7.62 for years and some barrels come clean after just a few patches.

Now before you say "it's clean enough" I have to say that sometimes 100% copper and carbon removal is necessary for me. Sometimes customers want their barrels pulled and sent out for nitriding which requires me to super-clean barrels.

I cleaned an Obermeyer last year that I swear took me two days of cleaning cycles alternating between sweet's and Kroil before I got all the copper out and that was just after 50 rounds.

Other Criterion barrels came clean in just a half hour.

What methods have you used that were just as effective but less labor intensive? I'm open to spray-foam and overnight soaking methods.

I'd like some good user feedback before I put in my next order of supplies.

TIA,

Tony.

I use Sweets as well. For customers requiring total copper removal, I would build an electrolytic system. https://forums.gunboards.com/s...lysis#/topics/610817

Sweets

I would set up an electrolysis tank if I needed to prep for nitride.


I have used sweets. I have used hoppes.

I don't worry so much about copper like I used to.

Sweets works for me. The worst barrel was an old surplus L1A1. Took forever to get the blue out.

https://www.midwayusa.com/prod...bore-cleaning-system

My buddy swears by this system, especially for old milsurp rifles with dark bores.
Discontinued but still out there.

Bruce

I like Wipe-out. Aerosol or liquid. I don't have a borescope but the stuff really seems to turn the patches.

https://www.boretech.com/products/cu2-copper-remover

All you Sweets users it's 2019, it's time to move on

Thanks. Got some bore tech on the way and will look into making a barrel cathode.

Tony.

Sweets or Bore Tech.

Tony,

do you have a borescope?

A few months back went to shooting suppressed only. Did my normal cleaning routine for a braked muzzle. Checked the barrel with a friends borescope, still a fair amount of carbon. Clean patches is not a indicator of a clean barrel. Borescope showed I need to get more aggressive with carbon removal. Boretech's Carbon remover also a excellent product.

Most of my barrels that have copper foul badly tend to happen be towards the end of the barrel life. Severe fire-cracking tearing the jacket....I JB paste the throats of my fast 6MM's every 3-400rds, helps with that. Also I've had certain bullets copper foul much worse then others. That could be a combination of things. A "Fat" bullet in a tighter bore, jacket itself....

Not yet. As a relatively new gunsmith, I'm always spending money on tooling. I started out with just the basics to screw on M14 barrels and cut chambers. I just recently got a mill and a lathe and had to pay the electrician to wire my garage for those machines.

I've been upgrading my hand tools as well to better quality tools as well has having to keep up and buy more chamber reamers for different customer applications. I also recently bought over $1,000 of unused military M14 inspection gauges.

I do plan on getting a borescope but the good one is over $1,000! Its probably my next big purchase after I pay off the credit cards from the latest damage. My nitrider does check the bore before the process but I like to have it done myself before I send it instead of him having to do it.

I have been considering getting one of the new digital mobile types I've been seeing advertised on instagram.

My work and sales volumes are picking up though, so I plan on being caught up this year. The new tooling is helping my turn-around times improve.

Tony.

Montana Extreme is so strong it makes my eyes water and makes me gag when I open the bottle. Way more aggressive than Sweets.

quote:

Originally posted by offgrid:
https://www.boretech.com/products/cu2-copper-remover

All you Sweets users it's 2019, it's time to move on

If it contains no ammonia, I wonder whats used to remove the copper?

quote:

Originally posted by jaybirdaccountant:
If it contains no ammonia, I wonder whats used to remove the copper?

The active chemical appears to be Monoethanolamine. My chemistry is too limited to describe its interaction with copper.

I’ve recently tried this J-B bore cleaning and it works great.

https://www.brownells.com/gun-...mpound-prod1160.aspx

No smell

quote:

Originally posted by 808:
I’ve recently tried this J-B bore cleaning and it works great.

https://www.brownells.com/gun-...mpound-prod1160.aspx

No smell

I have been using this for years on my NRA National Match Service Rifles. Fast, safe, easy, and no stink!


ARman

I seem to remember years back using pure ammonia combined one other chemical to remove copper.

Some [many] think the use of JB Bore Paste is not a good idea. I do believe in JB Bore Paste and use it on my match barrels at 400 round intervals. Without a bore scope, it nearly impossible to know the status of the bore.

Brownells and possibly others sell what is called a VFG pellet. They thread onto an adapter that attaches to your cleaning rod. They are caliber specific and come in plain and intensive textures. After trying the plain texture, I settled on the intensive pellet. It does a better job. I thread two of them on the adapter, wet with Kroil then coat with JB Bore Paste, the non-embedding kind. This is a messy process and I am careful not to make a mess in the bore guide or the chamber. 20-25 laps through the barrel and back usually leave it very clean. If some or many of those 400 rounds were suppressed then additional cleaning is almost always necessary. I do like to run a bore brush wetted with the cleaner of your choice through the barrel several times followed by patches and a bore mop to remove any leftover paste. The chamber and crown almost always need to be cleaned at this point too. If I am not going to shoot that barrel for a while I finish with a patch sprayed with Rem Oil, otherwise it is ready to go.

The subsequent 5-20 shots out of the barrel are a little slower than expected after the cleaning and accuracy may not be quite as good for the first 20 shots but that is not always true. By the 40th round the barrel is reliably back to normal.

Henryrifle

Several years ago I chambered my first 6MM. After 500-600rds hundred rounds it stopped shooting, flyers, velocity spikes, what the heck? A couple fellow shooters suggested to have it bore-scoped. Brought the barrel to the shop of a match director, long time competitive shooter. Before bringing the barrel to him I cleaned it with an ammonia based cleaner following the manufacturers directions. Bore-scope showed a huge carbon ring in front of the throat, copper deposit down the barrel. He handed me a bottle of Boretech Carbon and Copper remover. Cleaned with the Boretech stuff. Brought the barrel back to him, clean as a whistle. Barrel went back to shooting. Been using Boretech since. I've also used Wipe-Out as a second step, bore-scope shows it works great as well. Boretech Rim Fire blend does a great job on the 22LR. If you take your 22LR to Lapau in Arizona to have them lot check ammo for you, they'll use Boretech Rimfire Blend to clean. Ahh, what do they know!?