So, the results are in on my RC carbon removal experiments. Let's do a little recap of the various methods I tried and what they achieved:

* At 5026rnds I hit a max weight of 19.64oz or 557 grams, and was gaining an average of 1 gram per 100 rounds fired. Which, of course, is what kicked off the "clean the RC" mission.

Cleaning:
* My first attempt at cleaning was about 6-8 hours in an ultrasonic using pure vinegar, which resulted in a 7 gram reduction to 550g.
* The next shooting trip brought it back up to 552g, which is where it stood when I started getting serious.
* First I did a 48 hour "partial" soak in CLR. I say "partial" because I later realized I had some air still trapped. Note: Always fill about 3/4 full and then tip as far over as you can, then fill again. It takes more than you'd think to fill it completely.
* I followed the 48-hour soak with 13 hours of ultrasonic in vinegar, blew it out with compressed air and then another 3 hours muzzle down. After drying in the oven I was down to 545g. A measly 7 grams wasn't terribly impressive given all the ultrasonic time.
* Next, I did a 24-hour soak with Lucasoil bore solvent and rigged up an attachment for my air compressor blow gun that would allow me to blow air at a 90-degree angle using 1/4" drip line hose and a T fitting ground down to the same diameter as the drip line.
* The solvent soak and blowing it out again brought the weight down to 539g. So, another small 6 gram gain.
* This was followed by another 48-hour soak in CLR (no trapped air this time), and another 5 hours in the ultrasonic leading up to going shooting. I finished by blowing it out again with the 90-degree attachment yesterday morning just to get any extra liquid out.

Then came the shooting :D.

First round:


4 prong after the first shot:


There was wet carbon sludge all over the 4P, a thick layer on the blast baffle and some even blew back into my barrel - I had to use a boresnake after the first and second round.

2nd round:


3rd round:


This continued for at least 30 rounds, with the gas/smoke/carbon cloud slowly dissipating with each shot. Even 30ish rounds later I was still blowing a visible cloud of grayish-white gas/smoke.

End result? At least 1.26oz removed if you count starting at 552g. In total, 1.446oz removed from the max weight of 19.64oz. Final weight when I got back from shooting was 18.2oz or 516g.

Had I weighed immediately after it stopped expelling giant clouds of carbon, I'd imagine it would've been a bit lower (I'm sure the 350rds I put through it added some weight back). I'm relatively certain I could get a bit more out with another soak n' shoot, but I'll likely just leave it be until I hit 10k and it starts bulking up again.

My starting goal was to remove at least 50% of the accumulated weight and I accomplished that, so overall I'm pretty happy with the results.

Lol good to see some results.
Definitely noted when it comes to clean my can.

I bet you had to shower after that shoot out

Eta: Those carbon clouds are nuts man lol

whats the total weight of the RC with no rounds through it as a control?

And the most important question of them all - would you do it all again for the same or similar results?

thanks for these posts, very informative.

Great info, thanks for sharing!

Is a KAC FFSGB clone correct for a Mk18 FSP build? Asking for a friend.....  

I chose a Warcomp (3 prong)

Rollin' coal, CQBR style.

Rollin' coal, CQBR style.

Unfortunately, I don't recall weighing mine when it was brand new. I might have, but if so I don't know the exact number.

Surefire lists the weight at 17oz; however, I believe @ECPrevatte weighed a new one and it was like 18oz. If that's the case, I was a lot more successful than I thought and I've actually gotten it within .1oz of factory new weight. That would be fantastic.

Yeah, I'd definitely do it again. Even if I only succeeded in getting a little over half of it out, it was still well worth it. At the rate I was going, things didn't look too good for the longevity of the can. Even if performance weren't a concern, eventually having to carry an extra 3-4oz or more on the end of your gun would be enough reason, lol. I'm also no longer worried about shooting WPA knowing I can remove a significant amount of the build up.

ETA: Here it is. According to his scale, it was 18.1oz 17.4oz.

Lol... turbo diesel CQBR.

awesome. i have two surefire SB's inbound, about 6 months out, so i'm wondering on cleaning frequency. i guess i will have to pick up an ultrasonic cleaner, was reading that makes quick work of bcgs/bolts too.

lol ok what the F
sell me that rail

Damn Kricket!  That 4 prong picture almost looks like something out of a porn flick.

Fuck, for some reason I'd remembered 18oz and didn't even really look at the photo before I posted it. Scratch that, it's 17.4oz.

Just be aware ultrasonic is pretty brutal on Cerakote. I'd trying plugging the bore with a rubber plug from Ace and soaking with CLR or bore solvent, flush it with water then shake it out really well or blow it out with air, then shoot. I'd only move to ultrasonic if the soak n' shoot doesn't work well enough.

Lol... 4 prong carbon bukake.

Introducing the 5.56 carbon shotgun... the ultimate in home defense technology :D.

Tell you friend the rail is garbage and send it my way for proper disposal.

LOL Perfect

Got one of their 10.3's coming up to me in Canada to finally wrap up my long waited and worked on my Mod 0 build.   Will put up pics and range details etc once I've got it in and shot.  Once that's done, turning attention to doing up a Mod 1.  Might even try to put together a Canadian equivalent build, our C8 IUR CQB.

A lil group CQBR action. You can also see the results of ultrasonic on my Cerakote.



Ultrasonic vs. Cerakote... Cerakote loses.

Wow, those together might make the rarest upper of all time lol.

I know it’s not clone correct and all but I was wondering if anyone has  tried the LMT enhanced BCG in their CQBR? Supposed to help with gas to the face and longer dwell time. Seems interesting but I’ve heard conflicting reports on its usefulness.

Clone correct aside, that's fucking awesome.

Well my Badger Ordinance MK12 gas block showed up today... it only had 1 set screw in the baggie. I’m torn between complaining to the vendor so I can wait another few days for them to maybe mail me another one or just going to Home Depot and buying whatever chinesium brand set screw they sell for $1.07

I could probably get a nice alloy one locally from McMaster or Fastenal, but that would require motivation.

Finished up cleaning the bcg on the mk18, figured a quick pic never hurts.

NICE RAIL.

Nice room/office

Stupid specific question...are you guys using Colt barrel nuts and Delta Ring Assemblies for your Mod 0 builds or just whatever you have laying around?

I run one on mine.
I like it. It noticeably smoothed the gun out and it has been 100% reliable.
I shoot left-handed, so I’m a little more sensitive to gas out the ejection port than most. It definitely helps in that department.
I run the gun with a SureFire 556RC and 5.56 pressure ammo exclusively.

@Conner378

Where can I get the prints like you have hanging on your wall.

@wissota4  Sorry just got back from vacay...  It is a Larue QD mount.  YOu can barely see the peq through the aimpoint if that is what you mean.  I really dont recall if there is another notch forward off hand.  I can look later when I am home.

Very true. We were shooting on friend's family property in Troy MO area and set off 5 lbs of tannerite in an old dishwasher. About 20 min later we see a cruiser with the lights on slowly coming into the field. They stopped about 50 yards away. By that time we set all the guns down and stood in open view and just waved them up.

They apologized for coming on the property and just asked if we set off an explosive. We showed them the dishwasher wreckage and said it was tannerite. They said that everything was cool, they just got a handful of calls from concerned neighbors so they had to respond.

They were super friendly and just asked what all we were shooting. Showed them the layout of ARs and other bullshit shooting steel targets. They thought it was awesome and talked with us for a while. I ended up asking if they had a select fire AR in the cruiser. When they said yeah, I said you should bring it out and light up these targets with it haha. They said they wished they could but that would be bad news with their department.

In the end they just said obviously we can set off whatever we want on our private rural property. However, if we want to do 5+ lbs again to give them a courtesy call so they can respond to phone calls that they are aware and everything is ok without them having to dispatch a cruiser. Good guys, and easy interaction with no one being dicks about anything.

ETA: photo thread. Since this photo I have replaced the micro rear iron with the large knob 300m folder. Will rock irons until i figure our what optic to go with. Also had to replace the 4 prong with a rugged mount. With someone in here buying the last of the Surefire SB off of AU I need to figure out what SF can to go with. Will rock a Surge until that gets figured out.

@JSchell1309  Crazy,
My land is in Hawk Point.  LEO's I was speaking of were Warrenton. I assume you live in the area.

They are sold at projektmonark.com and the photos are taken by ECPrevatte

@Jlgil73

Have family farm land outside of Jeff City and friends with hunting property or friend's family with property in the greater Troy, Moscow Mills, Foley areas.

I'm with you, rural police interaction is generally really easy going. They just want to check everything is ok. They rarely care what you are doing on your private property as long as it isn't illegal or disturbing or harmful to others.

Edit to add: Oh shit, i recognize your IG photos from your account in your sig. I just threw you a follow. May send some DMs on there regarding NODs and optics and MO laws.

What model Insight IR FDE rail mount weapon Light?

You guys got a place to shoot at night? I'm in STL

Lol, I need a MN spot for night shooting soon too. Tough in the summer months.

Thanks for the response. That is what I meant, how much it shows past the red dot tube. Thank you!

I have land.  I havent done much nvgs shooting since Im the only one with nods I know...Would like someone to shoot with though.

Momma always told me not to meet up with people I met on the interwebs.

Maybe we can be cool and shoot at night in 5 years when our Lunchbox Guns are complete

I know you are local as well, do you have nvg?

I sent you an DM on insta from 300_AAC_Blackout_Drunk. I dont have nvgs as I know MO laws with them and hunting are real bullshitty, so I never have given them a serious look. Had some questions for you as a MO nvg user.

Saw that and replied!

Thanks. Bookmarked for when their site gets out of "Under Construction."
Love the professional-grade tech-drawing look done that way; good stuff.