How to polish my chamber?

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - How to polish my chamber?

Posted: 2/13/2007 4:48:56 AM EDT

My chamber looks a bit discolored, I don't think it is rust but I would like to give it a qick polish. I was thinking about using #0000 steel wool wrapped around a chamber brush and using a drill with slow speed. is this the best way to do this?

Posted: 2/13/2007 5:04:39 AM EDT

[#1]

Posted: 2/13/2007 5:15:50 AM EDT

[#2]

Thanks. So can I still use some steel wool or is a chamber brush by itself enough to take off surface rust if any

Posted: 2/13/2007 5:36:30 AM EDT

[#3]

I personally would just stick to the chamber brush alone. Try some CLP at first, if that doesn’t clean things up then move up to Hoppes #9 or maybe some penetrating oil like Kroil. Do you regularly clean your chamber or are you having extraction problems?

Mind you, these are just my personal opinions and how I maintain my weapons. When I ran into that cartoon above I knew it would come in handy here on the boards. Pretty soon here someone will come along contradicting what I have just told you, so basically the choice as to how you deal with this will ultimately be up to you. Let common sense dictate how you address the situation and the methods you use.

Posted: 2/13/2007 6:14:34 AM EDT

[#4]

I haven't oiled the gun in about ten months and yesterday was the first time I looked at it in that long. Prior to that it had only been shot twice. I noticed that the chamber has a discoloration and don't know what it is.

Posted: 2/13/2007 11:22:50 AM EDT

[#5]

It may just be the lube you used in the past has discolored. A little solvent and a chamber brush should clean the gunk up.

Posted: 2/17/2007 1:05:42 PM EDT

[#6]

Clean it thoroughly, use a good solvent and a chamber brush. If it still looks like rust you could try soaking with some penetrating oil overnight then brushing again. If that still doesn't work, you could try the rust remover from Birtchwood Casey. It's a weaker form of naval jelly from the smell. I'd stay away from steel wool, and definately power tools. Especially if your chamber is chromed.

I suppose that if you just used a swab and a large patch with some low or non abrasive polishing compound, you could use a drill at a low speed and be ok. But never use a drill with a brush.

Posted: 2/24/2007 4:33:17 PM EDT

[#7]

Overcleaning your bore will cause more wear than anything else, even shooting a ton of ammo. So ive heard. I used to clean my AR religously just like all my other guns, I got into the habit because of a shotgun bore that pitted after I didnt clean it for a while, but the AR is chrome lined, so it doesnt need to be cleaned as much as stainless.

Posted: 2/27/2007 8:14:49 AM EDT

[#8]

Stick with me here, I'm a new guy. When you use a chamber brush, do you use an in/out motion or do you twist it. Seems to me like the steel part that cleans the star area needs to be twisted. On the other hand, I'm concerned that twisting the brass brush in the chamber could score it or do other damage. I'd appreciate the benefit of your experience.

Thanks,

Mike

Posted: 2/27/2007 8:18:26 AM EDT

[#9]

You will not harm your chamber by twisting the chamber brush. Squirt some CLP into the chamber, insert the chamber brush, give it a couple twists. Follow up with a patch draped over a bore mop to clean up the CLP and check for results.

Posted: 2/27/2007 8:23:08 AM EDT

[#10]

Thanks, QUIB, exactly what I needed to know.

Mike

Posted: 2/27/2007 8:31:06 AM EDT

[#11]

No problem!

Posted: 2/27/2007 11:06:03 AM EDT

[#12]

Quoted:
Stick with me here, I'm a new guy. When you use a chamber brush, do you use an in/out motion or do you twist it.

Both, you push/pull it in/out several times; then once it is in good, you turn it 90 degrees or so and pull it back out. Repeat several times, the wait for the solvent to do its thing, and (say 1 hour later) finish with a patch wrapped around the chamber brush (or an old one).

You can also get a 223 chamber brush (like for bolt actions) that does not have the steel bristles for the locking lugs. {Brownells}

I have a 6.5mm brush for getting the crud out at the end of the throat (used about every 500 rounds or so).

Seems to me like the steel part that cleans the star area needs to be twisted. On the other hand, I'm concerned that twisting the brass brush in the chamber could score it or do other damage. I'd appreciate the benefit of your experience.

You are going to find it mightly hard to scratch the chrome lined chamber with a puny bronze brush.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - How to polish my chamber?

AR-15 » Maintenance & Cleaning

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