Cleaning shotguns

[TRINITY]

Hi everyone, just looking for some advice. I clean my shotguns after every shooting session and no matter how hard I try I can never get the barrels free of carbon deposit.

Anyone know of any type of solvent that may do the trick.

Edited January 2, 2019 by TRINITY

[biketestace]

Garlands shooting ground sell a heavy duty solvent cleaner, very good stuff

[Westley]

GT85 from stores like Home Bargains at £2.99 works ok for me. Spray both barrels, lay flat and leave for 10 minutes, then push balls of kitchen towel through. Repeat as required. 

[Scully]

If you use plastic wads it may not be carbon.

[gotgcoalman]

As mentioned Gt85 or similar.

Brake cleaner or lighter fluid will also break carbon down.

Good rodding with a wire brush and either pull a bore snake through

or push wadded kitchen roll through to finish off.

[Walker570]

Yep, would suggest it maybe from plastic wads.  I get very little deposit using fibre.

[panoma1]

Eds red?

[GingerCat]

If it's near the breach it's possibly,  as said above, plastic fouling.

Try a chamber brush. They are bigger and thicker than a bore brush and will remove said fouling (especially with a squirt of wd40) effortlessly. 

Normally any half decent gun oil brings the barrell up like mirrors with minimal effort. The whole thing should take under 5 mins. 

 

[strimmer_13]

Get your rod with brush attached and shove it in a cordless drill. Spray wd40 down the barrel and work the rod back and forth a few times in-between a pull through. Spend 5 mins doing that. My gun which I thought had pitting came up like new. 

[Lloyd90]

5 minutes ago, strimmer_13 said:

Get your rod with brush attached and shove it in a cordless drill. Spray wd40 down the barrel and work the rod back and forth a few times in-between a pull through. Spend 5 mins doing that. My gun which I thought had pitting came up like new. 

BOOM!

Exactly what I was going to suggest  

[pjw4233]

I spray with Napier Gun cleaner, leave a couple of minutes then pull through a couple of times with a bore snake. My barrels are gleaning and just like new.

[figgy]

If your gun has chrome lined barrels don't worry about it. Give them a clean out and that'll do.

If they're highly polished metal then leaving a very thin film of oil on the barrel walls with a lightly oiled mop is best.

[bumpy22]

1 hour ago, strimmer_13 said:

Get your rod with brush attached and shove it in a cordless drill. Spray wd40 down the barrel and work the rod back and forth a few times in-between a pull through. Spend 5 mins doing that. My gun which I thought had pitting came up like new. 

sounds good apart from wd40. your bluing will not thank you

[GingerCat]

4 minutes ago, bumpy22 said:

sounds good apart from wd40. your bluing will not thank you

In the barrell?

[Scully]

17 minutes ago, GingerCat said:

In the barrell?

Thats what I was thinking...no bluing in the barrels. But......is it definitive that WD40 does take off the bluing ( outside the barrels of course ) as I know a gentleman who always gives his entire gun a dusting with the stuff when it gets wet. It doesn't seem to have done any harm, or does it take time? 

[strimmer_13]

25 minutes ago, bumpy22 said:

sounds good apart from wd40. your bluing will not thank you

Never knew that 

Always used WD on my airguns and shotguns for years 

[DUNKS]

3 minutes ago, strimmer_13 said:

Never knew that 

Always used WD on my airguns and shotguns for years 

So have I. No problems. I think perhaps the myth comes from barrels which have been cold blued. WD just loves that.

[oldypigeonpopper]

hello, have always used youngs 303 until i tried  napier bore solvent, i would never use WD40 on any of my shooting rifle/guns, try spraying a piece of sheet metal and leave out side, i made the mistake of spraying on a wood lathe that was in a shed wrapped up,  

Edited January 2, 2019 by oldypigeonpopper

[GingerCat]

Never taken the blueing off any of mine in the last 20 odd years of airguns and shotguns. 

Edited January 2, 2019 by GingerCat

[ClemFandango]

9 hours ago, GingerCat said:

Never taken the blueing off any of mine in the last 20 odd years of airguns and shotguns. 

This. 

The WD40 thing is a myth. 

I have used it since I started shotgunning. No damage to barrels or blueing. 

It does evaporate though so I don't rely on it to protect metalwork, Youngs 303 is good for that and I use 009 as a solvent. 

WD40 in/on the barrels when I get home, let the gun warm up to avoid condensation. 

push through with kitchen paper then run some 009 through and leave to stand while I clean the foreend, stock etc, working parts if it's my semi. 

Push through a couple of strokes with a PB brush to scrub then run through with kitchen paper again. 

Usually that does it and then I run through and wipe over with 303 to leave a film that protects them from the salt on the marsh. 

Stand barrels down on a clean piece of kitchen paper just in case to avoid any excess running in and gumming up the firing pins etc. 

Edited January 3, 2019 by ClemFandango

[ClemFandango]

9 hours ago, oldypigeonpopper said:

hello, have always used youngs 303 until i tried  napier bore solvent, i would never use WD40 on any of my shooting rifle/guns, try spraying a piece of sheet metal and leave out side, i made the mistake of spraying on a wood lathe that was in a shed wrapped up,  

I use WD40 on the bed of my lathe just to keep it clean, it wouldn't prevent rust long term but if the lathe isn't in use for a day or two it's fine. For long term I use beeswax polish.

[The Burpster]

I’ve always used Shooters choice, first two rounds on phoshur bronze brush, through 6 times then patch until squeaky clean!

light coat of Tetra oil on wool mop to finish. 

[JohnfromUK]

6 hours ago, ClemFandango said:

This. 

The WD40 thing is a myth. 

I have used it since I started shotgunning. No damage to barrels or blueing. 

It does evaporate though so I don't rely on it to protect metalwork, Youngs 303 is good for that and I use 009 as a solvent. 

WD40 in/on the barrels when I get home, let the gun warm up to avoid condensation. 

push through with kitchen paper then run some 009 through and leave to stand while I clean the foreend, stock etc, working parts if it's my semi. 

Push through a couple of strokes with a PB brush to scrub then run through with kitchen paper again. 

Usually that does it and then I run through and wipe over with 303 to leave a film that protects them from the salt on the marsh. 

Stand barrels down on a clean piece of kitchen paper just in case to avoid any excess running in and gumming up the firing pins etc. 

WD 40 won't harm normal blue finish ......... but it was made as a water displacer - which it does OK.  It's not much good at anything else, though the solvent (the part that evaporates) does help remove fouling (its pretty much white spirit - which does the solvent bit just as well cheaper).  WD40 leaves a 'gummy' residue that isn't helpful.  Otherwise  - I also do much the same as above.  Has worked well for over 40 years.

Unfortunately modern '303' isn't nearly as good as the old stuff (which I believe the EU banned as it contains phenol, which is apparently a known carcinogen).

I have heard very good reports of 'Eds Red', though the shelf life with acetone will be limited.  I believe the acetone is included for plastic removal - and since I (virtually) never use plastic wads, I should be OK without it.

[ClemFandango]

36 minutes ago, JohnfromUK said:

WD 40 won't harm normal blue finish ......... but it was made as a water displacer - which it does OK.  It's not much good at anything else, though the solvent (the part that evaporates) does help remove fouling (its pretty much white spirit - which does the solvent bit just as well cheaper).  WD40 leaves a 'gummy' residue that isn't helpful.  Otherwise  - I also do much the same as above.  Has worked well for over 40 years.

Unfortunately modern '303' isn't nearly as good as the old stuff (which I believe the EU banned as it contains phenol, which is apparently a known carcinogen).

I have heard very good reports of 'Eds Red', though the shelf life with acetone will be limited.  I believe the acetone is included for plastic removal - and since I (virtually) never use plastic wads, I should be OK without it.

Thanks. 

Good post.

[TRINITY]

Thanks guys.

Just a couple of points, never use plastic always fibre wads .always hull or eley

Used Napier,sprayed it, left it,scrubbed with bronze and plastic brush. Then cleaned out with jag with strong tissue or paper towell

After going down dozens of times still getting small amounts of carbon residue. 

Have three guns,miroku,browning and beretta all the same.