Question for PBP and others...

[The Meatman]

I've seen numerous threads with pictures of beautiful spotless wheelguns, and I want to know how you get the cylinders clean of all that excess carbon? My .357 is SS, and I can't seem to get it clean (which is why I have owned primarily blued guns!) What's a guy to do? Helpful advice please is greatly appreciated.
~Dave~

 

[Unregistered]

Its easy... never shoot the gun, just take pictures of it and put it back in the safe..

 

[The Meatman]

I own a grand total of ZERO safe queens. Thats just not an option. Thanks for the suggestion though. :barf::barf::barf:

 

[Playboypenguin]

It is easy, you just put the time into cleaning them after you shoot them...and especially before you take pics of them. I clean mine with a soft cloth and a mild solvent or in extreme cases a lead-away cloth. Then give them a little wax and you are done.

Here is a before and after pic of one on my wheel gun cylinders.

BEFORE

AFTER

 

[tplumeri]

Its easy... never shoot the gun, just take pictures of it and put it back in the safe..

LOL.
but for those of us that actually shoot our guns;
I cleam my guns after each use and apply a lite coat of paste wax (floor wax, not car wax) to the stainless.
makes for shiny pics and keeps the gun new looking. and easier to clean.
it works for my stainless vaquero, blackhawk and S&W model 60
tom

 

[nate45]

I believe PBP uses Lead away cloth to get the powder rings off. He may also polish his stainless guns with Mothers Mag polish. I clean the ones off my blued guns with Pre-Lim surface cleaner and wax them with Renaissance wax, that helps prevent them as well.

 

[TampaJim]

I've seen numerous threads with pictures of beautiful spotless wheelguns, and I want to know how you get the cylinders clean of all that excess carbon?

I have used the 'Lead Away' cloth from Kleen Bore. It works great on stainless. Takes the carbon build-up right off your cylinder face with a little elbow grease. DO NOT use on blued finish though. Some folks tell me Flitz works well for stainless also, but I cannot attest to that.

Thanks,
Jim

 

[Casimer]

DO NOT use on blued finish though

+1

A pink pearl eraser will remove carbon from cylinder walls and faces, but it takes some doing. Use the rubbery pink ones, not the gritty white ones.

 

[skeeter1]

Depends, S/S or Blued

For the most part, I don't care much about the black rings around the cylinder chambers. Whatever comes off with Hoppe's #9, fine, and what remains, fine. On the one occasion I was cleaning up a S&W model 66 for sale, I cleaned it with a Dremel tool, felt wheel, and Simichrome polish. I would NEVER use an abrasive cleaner on a blued-steel gun.

As a friend used to like to joke, "I might be stupid, but at least I'm ugly".

 

[cerberus65]

I use Hoppe's Elite and a bronze brush. Takes some work, though.

 

[The Meatman]

Thanks guys. Thats the info I wanted.
~Dave~

 

[CraigC]

I don't bother with the carbon scoring. If a sixgun gets shot, it belongs there. You can do more harm than good trying to get rid of it, not to mention the wasted time and frustration. If you wouldn't do it to a blued gun, you shouldn't do it to a stainless gun.

Even on my high dollar custom guns:

 

[HKFan9]

Clean them after every shooting and don't let stuff build up on it, goes for any gun.

 

[rogertc1]

Iv'e always used Semi-Chrome Polish to bring back and give a high luster to a Stainless gun. (It does have a protective silicone in it too.) Not a good thing on blue guns as it will take off the blue in time. Use very spearingly.

ROG

 

[SAWBONES]

Lots of ways to do this. All involve some elbow grease.

A Pink Pearl or Artgum eraser can help, as can the Simichrome, Mother's and other metal polishes, though many of these have fine grit (particulates) in them, which with use over time will change the cylinder face-forcing cone gap width, albeit minimally.

My own favorite way is to use IOSSO bore cleaner (from Brownells) plus M-Pro-7 liquid on a nylon toothbrush, with lots of scrubbing. Gentle and effective. (If it's really built up, use a bronze brush, but such won't be necessary unless you neglect cleaning your guns.)

IOSSO will also get more fouling out of cylinder holes and bores than you ever knew was there!