Would blasting out the chamber, upper receiver insides and bolt group of my AR carbine with brake cleaner and then follow that up with a spritz of Eezox be a good way to clean it up just enough to keep it firing for a few more rounds when I don't have a cleaning vise and associated stuff with me? Thanks...

It would depend on a few things. So there's only one way to find out!

quote:

Originally posted by Mark:
It would depend on a few things. So there's only one way to find out!

I have taken the gun with me to a place where I am guarding for a friend tonight miles of fat copper cable that folks of nefarious character might want to remove from the premises illegally. I sprayed the thing out with brake cleaner, splashed it out with WD-40, disassembled the bolt group and wiped down with gusto and as much finger pressure as I could generate the bolt and its parts, I shot brake cleaner down the bore, WD-4 down the bore, brake cleaner and WD-40 all over the bolt and its parts, a final spraying with brake cleaner, ran my boresnake through the bore a bunch of times, sprayed it all down with Eezox and put it back together. The round snapped and slapped fully into the chamber like I'd spent half an hour at home with it on my Tipton Best Gun Vise and with my Dewey rods. One thing: The brake cleaner (non-chlorinated stuff) seemed to leave a white residue on the mil-spec coating. Not too much-- just visible like a bit of flour got on it. A soft rag with a short spritz of WD, rubbed in good, banished it. So now I'm cocked, locked and ready to rock if any stupid clown gets within ten feet of me. I figger if anyone is ballsy enough to steal copper cable, they don't want any witnesses to the theft. The law is a long way away. I gotta protect myself out here in the dark Nevada night...

How do you figure brake cleaner would work? I wonder if it will have any long term effect on the strength of the metal work? Personally, nothing beats Ballistol and Hoppes 9.

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How do you figure brake cleaner would work?

Because it gets off oil and other types of sticky crud. My quick clean-up worked pretty well, as you can read above. I don't think there's any worries about metal deterioration. The stuff is highly volatile and evaps away very quickly. No live-fire testing tonight. It was a slow night: Didn't have to cap anybody...

I have always used Gumout Carburator cleaner to scrub off the carbon fouling on my 12 gauge auto's magazine tube. It's where the gas piston travels. It works great. I use it on the action and bolt/slide group as well.

What do you think about using that in the barrel of a rifle followed by some bronze brushing to get the carbon out?

Has anyone tested solvents for carbon removal on a surface you can see, such as the magazine tube of an autoloading shotgun, to test effectiveness?

If not, I will and report back.

I sprayed my carbine down today with starting fluid when it choked on too much carbon and other crap. It leaves a "water spot" type of residue on the blackened aluminum parts. I got on it toot sweet with an old cotton sock sprayed with a bit of a longer spritz of WD-40. That gets it off. Seems there's no cheap automotive solvent that blows the crap out and doesn't leave a residue. Damn! I ain't gonna pay $14.99 for a two-once bottle of "gun cleaner." That's just marketing and mark-up. Research continues...

The last 3 years I have been using Strike Hold. Saw it at a gun show and later bought several cases and sent to my buds in Iraq. They loved it as they could clean and coat weapons. It will not attract and hold dirt and sand etc. Sort of repels dirt. Works very well in the rain and snow. Had a Martini that was a real mess... just soaked bore for a week. (May not have been cleaned since the 30's.) I first used break cleaner to cut the heavy grease. Seems like the S-H got under the heavy fouling and crud build up. I tested beforehand to see if it would etch and it did not.
www.strike-hold.com
There are several military testimonials on the product.

I read a few of the comments on youtube about it. Seems people are wary of using it on the plastic parts of guns. I'd also be reluctant to use it on the handguards of my ARs...