Newby here, so sorry if this topic has been discussed.  I dont see that it has.

Since carbon needs occasional scraping off of the lower part of the bolt, has anyone tried using a cooking spray like PAM onto that area? Spray it and let it dry (5 minutes), then lube the rest of the bolt as usual.  These oils are used to high heat, and if so, would be easy to wipe the carbon off after a day of shooting.  The shit works in a frying pan.  

Understand some folks dont see the need to clean the BCG after each session, and thats fine.   I'm OCD and frugal.  Has anyone tried it?  

Mike

I guess I will have to be the first guinea pig and report back.

The only reason we use vegetable oil as cooking spray is because it's not good to eat petroleum distillates.  

You suggested it.. Post pics

Pam will work great.

I read an old report from I think the '60's that said keeping the tail of the bolt oil free would limit the carbon buildup. Also, the bolt really only needs oiling from the gas rings, forward.

Well my anal-ness scraped the idea.  Not worth the time.  The bolt was easy to wipe clean, but then I only put 200 rounds through it.  Will spend future time learning how to shoot better.  LOL!

PAM will reach smoke point at around 400 degrees

Mobil 1 doesn't reach smoke point until 550+

Yep, but ingesting Mobil 1 is not a wise decision.

IDK about that...but my father served in 'Nam and he told me when CLP was not available they used the military "skeeter repellent" on the M60's and it kept them going!

Scarry......that stuff turns to a low-grade nerve gas when burned.

The carbon is self limiting. Oil seems to attract more carbon.
Soak the bolt in Motorcraft or GM carburetor cleaner overnight, it completely dissolves the carbon.
You can get it at any dealer parts counter, get the liquid, not the aresol. I have used one can for about six years.
Strain through a coffee filer and pour back into the container.

CAT M4 Tool cleans the back of the bolt very well, very easily.

Here's Rainier's video on them, from the youtubes.

My experience with "Pam" and similar products in the kitchen leads me to believe you would be left with a very sticky gummy mess afterwards.

Veggie oils do evaporate some and you'll get the sticker parts left.  Try a squirt or two on some aluminum foil and leave it on a heat-vent or engine compartment where it gets good and warm for several hours.  I bet you won't want what it turns into on the inner workings of your firearm.

And it's completely unnecessary.

In your opinion.


May be best to deduce why OP asked what he did, and then tailor a response accordingly. He doesn't like crap on the back of his bolt. I suggested a very effective removal tool. Whether it's necessary to remove it isn't for you to decide for anyone other than yourself.

I stand by my wording.  Scraping that crap has nothing to do with how the weapon runs.

Where did i say it did?

I am standing by MY wording.  He is wasting his time on something unnecessary.

...you dredged up a thread 9 days old, just to comment that something was unnecessary, when nobody around ever said it was.  keep the trolling to GD with the basement-dwelling neckbeards please.

It is unecessary and I'm happy to discuss why and relate from my own personal experiences on the topic as I used to think scraping the bolt was needed.  Insofar as the insults, perhaps you should knock it off or if you really think there's an issue, report me.

4 posts in and you have yet to elaborate; something tells me you're just crying out for attention at this point.  No insults have been thrown, as this is a tech forum.  You seem to be lost, so again, I'll direct you to GD where your 'information' seems to be more appropriate.  Here's a link in case you got lost.

Despite your own illusions of moderator grandeur, you are not a moderator.  I honestly think you need a reminder.

However, let's try a different tack even though you're not the OP and hopefully our little tiff won't prevent him from learning.

I spent 8 years in the Corps as a grunt and really learned down to a molecular level, the idiocy of scraping metal on M4/M16.  It never helped the weapon's function nor accuracy.  Now that I've been out of the Corps for 11 years, I've had a chance to change the cleaning intervals on my personally owned ARs.  What I've found is that lack of cleaning does not effect accuracy (at least on my carbines until I shoot out a barrel, done it twice) and all you really need to do for cleaning an AR's internals (if you're chasing group sizes you may wish to experiment with say pushing 2-4 patches of carbon solvent, then 2-4 patches of copper solvent every few hundred to 1k or so rounds) is lube heavily and spray out with non chlorinated brake cleaner (do this outdoors!).  Do everything; the lower, the disassembled BCG, muzzle device, barrel, and upper.  Then relube.  I prefer Slip2K EWl currently but Fireclean is good.  

I've followed this routine on one of the worst calibers for an AR and the rifle is fine, it's my 5.45 AR which is currently awaiting its third barrel.  This AR runs like a good Gen 3 Glock 9mm and I have never scraped any carbon off of it.  I've shot the fuck out of it while dirty and it just continued to run and run, shooting quite accurately as well.  I've done the same on my 5.56 ARs as well and I'm a big fan of cheap steel cased ammo

So...OP, shoot more, clean less.  Weapons get dirty.  Trying to keep the bolt tail clean on an AR is an exercise in futility and unnecessarily wasting your time on top of possible exposure to chemicals.