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Do I need a Brass Brush For Cleanung?
This is got me wondering, I just read a forum where Cayugad and Sabotloader were talking about cleaning ML's. I think they mentioned that they dont use a Brass Brush for cleaning their ML's unless they shot conicals, then the brush would be used to remove the lead. I have alway's used a brass brush at first to remove the most of the fowling from the barrel, then followed up with No13 Bore Cleaner, then oiled. Am I wrong to use the brass brush if I done shoot conicals and just use sabots? Will just patches remove the plastic left in the bore from the sabots? Will the brass brush harm the barrel? say wear it out? I did'nt think so as I thought brass was softer than the barrel and would'nt hurt it. Who's right and who's wrong? or does'nt it matter? Ron
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RE: Do I need a Brass Brush For Cleanung?
Sorry guy's I can spell CLEANING, my computer has a mind of it's own sometimes!
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RE: Do I need a Brass Brush For Cleanung?
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RE: Do I need a Brass Brush For Cleanung?
many recommend a brass brush to remove such things as lead, copper, and plastic fouling. Also I am finding that it seems to really work up carbon or fouling or what ever it is, when I use the Montana Cowboy Solvent. I use a brass brush when I think there might be something in there that is sticking to the bore.
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RE: Do I need a Brass Brush For Cleanung?
Brass is a softer metal i don't see no way it could hurt the barell. The brush will wear out thats why they are
made from brass |
RE: Do I need a Brass Brush For Cleanung?
Thank's Dave, I too just thought it was good for the fowling and has always cleaned the bore spotless. I just assumed there was plastic fowling there also as I could'nt see it as the barrel was fowled. I answered Mikes reply to me in the other forum, I asked if the brass brush caused and premature wear to the bore or damaged it in any way, but I did'nt think it would as brass was softer then steel. Any thought's on this? From now on I'll just try the solvents or (Windex Patches) and oils and see If I can get it as clean as befor. Ron
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RE: Do I need a Brass Brush For Cleanung?
Brass brushes are fine to use in the bore. The military has been using them to clean their weapons forever. If you're still kind of squemish about it, use a nylon one.
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RE: Do I need a Brass Brush For Cleanung?
I usually go one size up on the brass brush and I've never seen any damage to the barrel. A good gun oil will protect the bore.I usually use hot water in the bore and wipe it down while still hot and apply the gun oil while hot as when it cools it draws it into the pores of the gun.
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RE: Do I need a Brass Brush For Cleanung?
I always use a brass brush at the start of the cleaning same as you - to remove the heavier fouling. Also, i feel the bristles get into the corners of the lands and gooves better. However, if using a copper solvent you have to remember that brass and bronze brushes contain a high amount of copper. So this solvent will attack the brush. My recommendation if using such a solvent is to either use a nylon brush or when you are done, to give your brass or bronze brush a quick wash with soapy water and hot water rinse.
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RE: Do I need a Brass Brush For Cleanung?
i always run a brass brush in my .50 cal bore ifi shot a lot, like 20 shots at range with MAXIBALL or a powerbelt.
if only couple of shots, like 5 or so, i just use cleaning patch etc. using roundball,i dont think i would use a brush to often. l |
RE: Do I need a Brass Brush For Cleanung?
I used a brush every cleaning with the inline I had, shooting sabots & conicals. Rarely do I use one with my sidelocks shooting prb... no lead or plastic touching the bore, and the lube keeps the fouling soft & easy to remove.
In any case, you're certainly not doing any damage to the barrel by using one. |
RE: Do I need a Brass Brush For Cleanung?
ORIGINAL: bronko22000 My recommendation if using such a solvent is to either use a nylon brush or when you are done, to give your brass or bronze brush a quick wash with soapy water and hot water rinse. Here is my take on using brushes. My Pro Hunter and now my Accura have only seen BH209 powder since new. I was just patching the barrels with either Butche's Bore Shine or Hoppes (I think Hoppes works a bit better). But after reading Cayugad's experience with Montana X I put a brush to both of my "clean" inlines yesterday. I brushed-patched, brushed-patched until my arms almost fell off and could still get stuff out of those barrels. I am going to try the Montana X bore conditioner but I will always brush my bores from now on! I always used a brush on my sidelock with a soap/water bath. I recently went to solvents on that gun also but continue to use brushes. I don't think it matters whether you use nylon or brass. Do you guys actually get your bores clean without using brushes? I mean really clean? Just wondering! |
RE: Do I need a Brass Brush For Cleanung?
Old/New
YES! remember a lot of what you are seeing after using a brass bore brush is a reaction of the the brass with the metals of the bore. Evening using JB's will turn your bore black as it reacts with the bore... |
RE: Do I need a Brass Brush For Cleanung?
WET bore overnight will bring out stuff you can get rid of.wet soaking patch down bore, let sit overnight.
i do this with HOPPES,yes, stuff does come out you missed before. |
RE: Do I need a Brass Brush For Cleanung?
Im probably gonna keep using one, I first use it to clean the inital fowling, about 10 swipes with the brush, then the solvents and then oil. The barrels always come spotless and shiny with no signs of damage, plus it speeds up the cleaning process. BP
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RE: Do I need a Brass Brush For Cleanung?
i use old worn dish cleaning pad.i cut it into squares.
cayagug put me on to this idea. i dont use bore brush much, those pads get everything real good. |
RE: Do I need a Brass Brush For Cleanung?
I am having fun with my Ruger M77 in 30-06. Not a muzzleloader butmy problem relates tothesubject matter. I bought it in 1984 and fired less than 100 rounds through it since. I had it out the other day and the groups are getting progressivley worse. Upon closer inspection I have a severe copper fouling build up. I have always cleaned my rifles with Hoppes #9 which does not address copper fouling. I picked up some Hoppes Benchrest amd let it sit overnight and cleaned the next morning. I have repeated this process several times and still pulling out CU. I think I am going to get some Sweets or Butches Bore Shine to speed up the process.
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RE: Do I need a Brass Brush For Cleanung?
ORIGINAL: rozman62 I am having fun with my Ruger M77 in 30-06. Not a muzzleloader butmy problem relates tothesubject matter. I bought it in 1984 and fired less than 100 rounds through it since. I had it out the other day and the groups are getting progressivley worse. Upon closer inspection I have a severe copper fouling build up. I have always cleaned my rifles with Hoppes #9 which does not address copper fouling. I picked up some Hoppes Benchrest amd let it sit overnight and cleaned the next morning. I have repeated this process several times and still pulling out CU. I think I am going to get some Sweets or Butches Bore Shine to speed up the process. i do this to everyone of my guns including my muzzleloader. |
RE: Do I need a Brass Brush For Cleanung?
I use (Scotch-Brite) heavy duty dish cleaning pads on my breechplugs to remove fowling, they work great! Im sure they'd work on the inside of the barrel too without harming it. BP
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RE: Do I need a Brass Brush For Cleanung?
ORIGINAL: rozman62 I am having fun with my Ruger M77 in 30-06. Not a muzzleloader butmy problem relates tothesubject matter. I bought it in 1984 and fired less than 100 rounds through it since. I had it out the other day and the groups are getting progressivley worse. Upon closer inspection I have a severe copper fouling build up. I have always cleaned my rifles with Hoppes #9 which does not address copper fouling. I picked up some Hoppes Benchrest amd let it sit overnight and cleaned the next morning. I have repeated this process several times and still pulling out CU. I think I am going to get some Sweets or Butches Bore Shine to speed up the process. |
RE: Do I need a Brass Brush For Cleanung?
ORIGINAL: Breechplug I use (Scotch-Brite) heavy duty dish cleaning pads on my breechplugs to remove fowling, they work great! Im sure they'd work on the inside of the barrel too without harming it. BP i cut mine so they fit tight going in. i use the patch removal worm to hold it. i put j b bore paste on it once in awhile,but mostly just hoppes 9.. I dont use brush much anymore by using the above. i got this idea from CAYUGAD.........;) |
RE: Do I need a Brass Brush For Cleanung?
I dont see how a new scotch-brite pad can be too rough? it is not made of anything that can harm the barrel. Are we talking of the same pads? I get the (green) ones, they are 6"long, 4"wide and 1/4"thick. They look like there made of a (synthetic) material, mabey nylon. BP
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RE: Do I need a Brass Brush For Cleanung?
Why would you guys want to use a Scotch-Brite pad over a bore brush? What is the advantage there?
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RE: Do I need a Brass Brush For Cleanung?
no
RE: Do I need a Brass Brush For Cleanung? |
RE: Do I need a Brass Brush For Cleanung?
ORIGINAL: Breechplug I dont see how a new scotch-brite pad can be too rough? it is not made of anything that can harm the barrel. Are we talking of the same pads? I get the (green) ones, they are 6"long, 4"wide and 1/4"thick. They look like there made of a (synthetic) material, mabey nylon. BP they are real rough when new,i use them after they get soft in sink . |
RE: Do I need a Brass Brush For Cleanung?
ORIGINAL: SWThomas Why would you guys want to use a Scotch-Brite pad over a bore brush? What is the advantage there? not used with bore brush. now, you can take a 45 cal brush and use it in a 50 cal with a patch over brush, i have done that in field and works good to clean. |
RE: Do I need a Brass Brush For Cleanung?
ORIGINAL: sproulman not over bore brush, i use the patch worm,poke it thru in middle,then hoppes 9 or j b bore paste or your soap/water thing. not used with bore brush. now, you can take a 45 cal brush and use it in a 50 cal with a patch over brush, i have done that in field and works good to clean. |
RE: Do I need a Brass Brush For Cleanung?
ORIGINAL: SWThomas ORIGINAL: sproulman not over bore brush, i use the patch worm,poke it thru in middle,then hoppes 9 or j b bore paste or your soap/water thing. not used with bore brush. now, you can take a 45 cal brush and use it in a 50 cal with a patch over brush, i have done that in field and works good to clean. i like idea i can soak pads with bore cleaner or j b bore paste. i also just dont like running a brush down bore 20 times but with a tight green wash pad, it fits better than a cleaning patch and does scrub bore like your dishes. i even use BON-AMI on pad and ran it through the bore,you could use comet too. dont use BAR KEEPERS FRIEND,it has too much acid in it. |
RE: Do I need a Brass Brush For Cleanung?
I have used the scotch brite pad. A little trick is if they are too thick put an undersized jag on the ramrod. For instance ... cleaning a .50 and its too hard to push the scotch brite through, go to a .45 caliber jag. It will help.
I use the pads when I want to scrub a barrel real good. I usually put JB Bore Paste on it and then work the bore over real good with it. That pad will get into places that a brush never will for some reason. What I do is save all the worn out ones from the kitchen. They work perfect for when I want to scrub down a bore. But I do use a bore brush. Normally only when I am sure there is a fouling in the bore that needs to come out or for their annual cleaning. Twice a year I clean a bore with a brush and strong solvent to make sure there is nothing lurking in there. Often times I will just JB Bore Paste and a pad if the patches coming up are that extra dirty black. In fact on that rifle that shocked me... I did pad scrub that. I used some of the cowboy solvent on the pad and scrubbed the devil out of it. I then used some of the solvent on patches. And I am happy to report that I must have cleaned it real well the first time as they came of a "little" gray on the first, ( that could have be a reaction of the solvent to the brass jag ) and nice and clean on the second. When I dry patched it it was fine. I then treated it with Montana X-treme bore conditioner. I want to shoot but it has been raining.. yes raining in February in Wisconsin. So I spent yesterday cleaning the garage roof, and yesterday night getting my hole chewed out for getting on a roof with a bad back. But looking at the snow up there soaking up all that rain got me worried. Backs heal, roofs cave in if they get too heavy. |
RE: Do I need a Brass Brush For Cleanung?
cayugad
But I do use a bore brush. Normally only when I am sure there is a fouling in the bore that needs to come out or for their annual cleaning. Twice a year I clean a bore with a brush and strong solvent to make sure there is nothing lurking in there. Often times I will just JB Bore Paste and a pad if the patches coming up are that extra dirty black. Scotch Bright pads come in different colors to reflect their grit. When I was building and applying a hot lacquer finish to cabinets I pruchased Maroon pads and White pads. The Maroon being more couse than White. I turn all of my breech plugs in a Maroon pad - this pad will remove any burs on the threads plus it will dull the threads to a certain degree. For me this is an important step to using teflon tape effectively. The tape should not be cut by threading. I have used Maroon SB on some really bad barrels to hlep smooth,clean, and polish- but most often when I use a SB pad in the bore I use a White pad - it is less course than the Maroon pad. I do not incurr as much nasty fouling as other as I shoot very lead conicals as compared to someone like Dave. I shoot T7 so powder fouling is really not a problem as regular windex will completely dissolve T7. Plastic fouling is a forgotten problem for me at this time, the new materials and the self lubricating process of the modern sabot have reduced that to a minimum. The hardest material to clean from a bore (for just me) is the material that is heated and pressured into the pores of the bore or caught behind the lands in the grooves. This material can be removed but it does require more patience allowing a bore solvent to work. I continue to use the term 'leaching' (have no idea if that is the correct term) but the solvent must be given time to leach the ugly stuff out of the difficult areas in the bore. Getting 'black' patches from a bore after running a bronze/brass brush is not always an indicator of a dirty barrel. In my experiance more often it is an indication of the cleanliness of the brush. |
RE: Do I need a Brass Brush For Cleanung?
I have 3ea Stainless Steel Disc Elites and I always use a bronze Bore brush for cleaning. Most of the time I just use RemOil as the solvent.
Once a year I will use Hoppes with copper solvent. Can't see how it has damaged anything, and my bores are spotless. |
RE: Do I need a Brass Brush For Cleanung?
i did not know they made different color/grades of the SB pads.
i use green ones on dishes and after about 3 weeks, they are ready for my bore.;) |
RE: Do I need a Brass Brush For Cleanung?
ORIGINAL: LaneNebraska I have 3ea Stainless Steel Disc Elites and I always use a bronze Bore brush for cleaning. Most of the time I just use RemOil as the solvent. Once a year I will use Hoppes with copper solvent. Can't see how it has damaged anything, and my bores are spotless. if i use SB pad, i do it about 20/30 times. i really dont use my brushs anymore ,tight fitting SB pad works fine for me |
RE: Do I need a Brass Brush For Cleanung?
yep, thems the one's I use. But I never tried them on the bore, just used em on the breechplugs, the ends where the fowling occures. BP
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RE: Do I need a Brass Brush For Cleanung?
Breechplug
Here is the color break down on industrial Scotch Brite pads.... These are the ones I used in the cabinet business... The household ones are color coded also but I do not know their codes... Scotch Brite Industrial Hand Pads (6" x 9") Scotch-Brite® Heavy Duty Hand Pad— Most durable and aggressive pad for quick stock removal. (Tan color) Scotch Brite Blending Pads - Slightly finer abrasive than the heavy duty pad. Excellent for removing scratches on metal, wood, or synthetic surfaces. (Gray color) Scotch-Brite General Purpose Hand Pad—This is the most popular Scotch Brite abrasive because it is coarse enough for cleaning and finishing but fine enough to produce good surface finishes. (Maroon color) Scotch-Brite® Ultra-Fine Hand Pad— Fine textured for ultra-fine finishing or metal, wood, plastics, and composites. (Light Gray color) Scotch-Brite Light Duty Hand Pad - A very mild abrasive for gentle, yet through cleaning. Commonly used with liquid detergent. (White color  |
RE: Do I need a Brass Brush For Cleanung?
Mike, where do you come up with all this stuff? I thought there was just 1 scotch-brite pad! There ya go, you learn something new everyday! BP
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RE: Do I need a Brass Brush For Cleanung?
ones we get are GREEN and are real rough to start using.
i very seldom use my bore brush anymore ,i useSB pad . like said, if you get a .45 cal jag in .50 cal, you can wrap the USED pad around it. i use my PATCH REMOVER and poke it on it but i think the smaller jag is BETTER way to use it because you can scrub HARDER that way. |
RE: Do I need a Brass Brush For Cleanung?
ORIGINAL: sabotloader cayugad But I do use a bore brush. Normally only when I am sure there is a fouling in the bore that needs to come out or for their annual cleaning. Twice a year I clean a bore with a brush and strong solvent to make sure there is nothing lurking in there. Often times I will just JB Bore Paste and a pad if the patches coming up are that extra dirty black. Scotch Bright pads come in different colors to reflect their grit. When I was building and applying a hot lacquer finish to cabinets I pruchased Maroon pads and White pads. The Maroon being more couse than White. I turn all of my breech plugs in a Maroon pad - this pad will remove any burs on the threads plus it will dull the threads to a certain degree. For me this is an important step to using teflon tape effectively. The tape should not be cut by threading. I have used Maroon SB on some really bad barrels to hlep smooth,clean, and polish- but most often when I use a SB pad in the bore I use a White pad - it is less course than the Maroon pad. I do not incurr as much nasty fouling as other as I shoot very lead conicals as compared to someone like Dave. I shoot T7 so powder fouling is really not a problem as regular windex will completely dissolve T7. Plastic fouling is a forgotten problem for me at this time, the new materials and the self lubricating process of the modern sabot have reduced that to a minimum. The hardest material to clean from a bore (for just me) is the material that is heated and pressured into the pores of the bore or caught behind the lands in the grooves. This material can be removed but it does require more patience allowing a bore solvent to work. I continue to use the term 'leaching' (have no idea if that is the correct term) but the solvent must be given time to leach the ugly stuff out of the difficult areas in the bore. Getting 'black' patches from a bore after running a bronze/brass brush is not always an indicator of a dirty barrel. In my experiance more often it is an indication of the cleanliness of the brush. when i talk its only about DIRTY flintlock using 2f/3f. so,cleaning with brush vrs pad will be different for in-line as you said, they dont get as DIRTY as the GEOX does. i really like daves idea on SB used pads in my bore. but i did not know there was different grades. most likely the WHITE one may be the grade that the GREEN one gets after you use it on dishes. GREEN is too rough, i feel to use new in bore. |
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