The blanks have the Barnaul kinda logo at the 12 oclock position and "7.62x39mm" at the 6 oclock position. The primer is goldish or brassy in color. The case is laquer, the blanks are star crimped.

The reason I ask is that the powder smelled different and there was some residue in the barrel after firing. Are these corrosive, or black powder, or just regular blanks and I am just paranoid? I do not want to ruin my hard to find exensive as heck Polytech.

Where'd you get that ammo?  What was the packaging like?  Is there sealant in the star crimp?

Reason I ask is most surplus blanks are corrosive.  Sounds like the headstamps on my Barnaul FMJ though, so who knows.. Some nut may have pulled the bullets and filled it up with lord knows what, then star-crimped it.  

Blanks are filthy wherever they're from.  I'd treat them as corrosive, and give everything a good cleaning, maybe with a second round in a day or two.  They really gunk the hell out of a rifle.

It is a professional star crimp with sealant, and I got it in a huge box with all kinds of random ammo mixed in. It looks like Barnaul recent production blanks, are those corrosive?

And how do you clean an AK for corrosive? I field stripped it, sprayed Outers foaming bore cleaner in the bore, cleaned it, then ran Hoppes lubricating oil through it a few times. For the gas tube I used "Shooters Choice" solvent that removes plastic, copper fouling, etc. on thick patches on a .50 cal bore brush. For the gas piston I cleaned it with M.A.A.S. polish and then oiled it with Hoppes lubricating oil. For the gas block or whatever I put a thinner patch on the .50 cal bore brush and spun it around in there, and the Outers foaming stuff got up in there too, which I cleaned out.

I use corrosive all the time in my Mosin Nagants, but have a HUGE fear of using it in semi-autos because I fear I will miss a spot. How did I do?

Ok, the trick to corrosive residue is water.. Hot water, water in windex, whatever.  Water will dissolve the salts that make the steel rust.

I'd hose off the gas system and barrel with windex, then clean from scratch again with whatever oil.    The barrel is chrome lined though, so my real priority would be the gas system.  I'm unfamiliar with the MAAS polish and have never used the Outers foam, so no idea if they're doing the job, but better safe than sorry.

Nooo... I know WHAT to clean it with, as I said, I have 4 MNs and use corrosive in them all the time. What I mean is, WHAT do I clean on the gun? If you shoot it and then rub your finger around, carbon fouling is EVERYWHERE. Bolt carrier, inside the reciever, in the rear sight block... does all of that need to be cleaned off?

I got a lucky break here though. One, I didnt have a BFA, so the bolt didnt unlock, so none of the fouling got into the gas tube or on the sides of the gas piston. Two, the blanks are apparently NC. But I still would like to know what else to clean besides the barrel, gas tube, piston, and the gas block. And, on the gas block, how do you clean that tiny hole? Just spray windex and hope that gets it?

Doesn't that risk rust in small places? And doesn't all the heat and water risk warping or cracing the stock?

Go to Wal-mart and get from these depts.

Sporting goods dept.
A pump spray bottle of Break-Free CLP www.break-free.com/
A 30cal and a 20 gauge bore brushes

Automotive dept.
A can of brake parts cleaner
A set of brushes or brush with brass or steel brissles. like this
www.woodcarvingstore.com/RotaryToolAccessories/CleaningBrushes.asp

Housewares dept.
roll of paper towels

Drug dept.
A new tooth brush.

When you get home swap out your new tooth brush for your old one.Spray down all the parts of your rifle with CLP and let it sit for 15 minuites. Use your old tooth brush to scrub the inside of the receiver and parts. Use the brass/steel brush on the gas piston. It will take several applications of CLP and scrubbing to get heavy amounts of carbon off the gas piston. A wire wheel in a electric drill can be used to cut down on the amount of scrubbing needed. Use the 30cal brush on the bore and the 20 gauge brush on the gas tube/gas block. Once clean put 4 paper towels in the bottom of the bag you brought the stuff home from Wal-mart in. Hold the parts over the bag and use the brake parts cleaner to rinse everything off. Brake parts cleaner removes everything and leaves no residue. Spray a 4"x4" piece of rag and one patch with CLP. Rub the rag on every part inside and out to lube/protect it and run the patch through the bore. Put the rag and patch in a zip lock bag to use the next time you clean your rifle. Make sure to wipe the gas piston and the inside of the gas tube and gas block. The CLP will get into the pores of the metal and not let the carbon stick tight. So the next time you clean your rifle the brass/steel brissle brush will not be needed only the tooth brush. Take the bag with the paper towels which have absorbed all the brake parts cleaner and dirt outside or in the garage to let the bpc evaporate then throw it away.

Woah... I am not new to shooting, been a shooter for almost 8 years, I have the brushes and solvents I need (I use Hoppes #9 Lubricant though). Also, if you have a hard time getting the carbon off of the gas piston, use Shooters Choice solvent. It gets rid of everything but metal. Then make the piston easier to clean by using M.A.A.S.- a heavy industrial grade polish. I use Brillo pads to scrub, steel is harsher and can leave scratch marks, as well as taking blueing off of blued parts.

My thing is, I have never EVER shot corrosive in a semi auto. Bolt actions are so easy to clean, lubricating oil on a patch on a bore brush and it only takes 10 or so patches to remove the salts (you dont need to dissolve something if you will remove it anyway). Brake cleaner is a new idea, if it really does the job and goes away with no residue it may be a good investment. I was, however, worried with how to clean the gas hole and the reciever. Toothbrush sounds easiest, I have 2 military "toothbrushes" I can use as well. Does ALL of the inside of the reciever need to be cleaned? It will be a PITA if there are salts left on the trigger group and hammer. Right now I am tempted to just go with the hot water method...


Another thing- does the inside of an SKS reciever need to be cleaned totally too, as well as the magazine? I might use corrosive in my SKS carbine too if I choose to use it.

Due to the design of the AK's gas system quite a bit of gas blows past the gas piston onto the bolt carrier. Some does get into the receiver but not all that much makes it way to the rear of the receiver where the fire control parts are. The SKS's gas system design allows even less gas to get into the receiver than a AK. Spraying the inside of the receiver and fire control parts with CLP then a once over with a tooth brush will allow the CLP to take the corrosive residue into solution. This allows the brake parts cleaner to rinse all the corrosive residue out. A tooth brush will clean the inside of the gas block except for the hole in the gas block into the barrel which giving it a extra squirt of CLP will take care of it. You could use a pipe cleaner if you are really worried about it.

So the brake cleaner drips off and leaves NO residue?

What is the BEST rust prevention oil out there?

Brake parts cleaner comes in a spray can. It rinses everything out,evaportes really fast,and leaves no residue. You spray the gun part with brake parts cleaner till the liquid that runs off the part is clear then you know it is totally clean. The first can will only clean about 2 rifles as you will spary the parts way more than needed. But after the first can you will use less per rifle when rinsing parts off so a can will last for cleaning 4-5 rifles. Sounds exspencive but a can of brake parts cleaner is less than $2. Wal-mart and the big chain auto parts stores run it on sale for 99 cents a can all the time. So when they do stock up on it.
For rust protection CLP is the best I have found. Been using it since I bought 4-1gallon jugs of US military surplus CLP in the late 1980's. CLP has been US military issue for cleaning,lubricating,preserving all small arms,tanks,and howitzers since 1979.

www.thegunzone.com/rust.html

www.madogre.com/Interviews/breakfree.htm

www.break-free.com/

Will the brake cleaner get rid of corrosive residue?

Never tried it to see if it will remove corrosive residue without the CLP.