I recently got a BRN-180s upper. So far I really like it. It shoots soft. The action is very smooth. The upper also shoots great suppressed. I have shot the upper so much now that the piston is very hard to adjust between the suppressed and unsuppressed setting.

My main question is how do you clean the front piston assembly if the handguard won't fit over your muzzle device (I am using a plan A EZ comp)?

If you can't remove the handguard...you kind of can't disassemble the gas piston system as far as I know? I'd just remove the muzzle device and go from there, and maybe look at getting a smaller device that the handguard will fit over, assuming you can find one that'll work for your can...

Edit - or drip on some CLP where the adjustment knob goes into the gas block and see if it can bleed out some carbon as you work it? The downside of that is, if/when you shoot it again the CLP will turn into a paste and get worse...

So what product is recommended for cleaning the piston and rod? Last time I tried Gun Scrubber and CLP. It never really got clean.

Thanks

The HOW part is that you remove your muzzle device. It’s one reason the factory setup used a locking nut

I soak it in Motorcraft carburetor cleaner overnight.
All carbon is dissolved by morning, wipes clean with a rag.
Must use the liquid, the spray doesn’t work.