Removing powder stain rings from cylinder face

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wellthought

Bearcat
Joined
Sep 8, 2007
Messages
52
Location
Alabama
I have finally found a VERY simple way to remove those stubborn powder burn rings from a revolver's cylinder face. Hoppe's and a scotchbright pad. Takes only about 1 minute to completely remove all of them! Just thought I'd share...
 

6gun

Hunter
Joined
Oct 10, 2012
Messages
2,580
No thanks, bad Idea scotch bright a abrasive, abrasives remove metal, use a lead cloth works just as fast and is not a abrasive.
 

wellthought

Bearcat
Joined
Sep 8, 2007
Messages
52
Location
Alabama
I don't use muscle to power the rings off. Just gentle scotchbright rubbing. Anyhow, can you post a link to a lead cloth?
 

k22fan

Blackhawk
Joined
Apr 22, 2010
Messages
713
Scotch Brite pads are for refinishing similar to sand paper.

If, and only if your revolver is stainless you can rub it with bronze wool till the cows come home without altering its factory finish. Bronze is softer than steel so bronze wool doesn't mark stainless but more than sparing light use will remove bluing. Lead away cloths also are a little abrasive and will eventually remove bluing. When I bother to remove the powder burn doughnuts off stainless I wet the cylinder front with solvent, let it stand for awhile then use bronze wool. That takes no more elbow grease than Scotch Brite.

If a stainless gun has collector value, and they eventually all do, any visible polishing reduces value. A shinny stainless gun the owner thought he was taking care of with Mother's Mag is only a shooter. Like always, you alter original guns at the expense of present or future collector value.

Edit to add that this really is the best advise: "just ignore them ;-)". However I do sometimes clean the doughnuts off mine as part of admiring the gun or before putting one away for long term storage.
 

G2

Hunter
Joined
May 8, 2006
Messages
2,491
Location
UT/AZ
Just ignore them x5

I also look at them like my Dutch Ovens, Well Seasoned. :roll: nice patina.
 

pisgah

Buckeye
Joined
Apr 17, 2006
Messages
1,633
Location
Upstate SC
6gun said:
No thanks, bad Idea scotch bright a abrasive, abrasives remove metal, use a lead cloth works just as fast and is not a abrasive.


Lead cloth is definitely abrasive. Very, very fine abrasive, true, but a abrasive all the same. But your arm will fall off before you remove enough metal with lead cloth or Scotchbrite to hurt anything.
 

6gun

Hunter
Joined
Oct 10, 2012
Messages
2,580
pisgah said:
6gun said:
No thanks, bad Idea scotch bright a abrasive, abrasives remove metal, use a lead cloth works just as fast and is not a abrasive.


Lead cloth is definitely abrasive. Very, very fine abrasive, true, but a abrasive all the same. But your arm will fall off before you remove enough metal with lead cloth or Scotchbrite to hurt anything.


Scotchbrite is more of an abrasive than you may think basically it's a synthetic sand paper sandpaper in different coarseness's depending on color and it is slowly removing metal, even the finest will scuff up a mirror finish on stainless steel, lead cloth is more like a polishing cloth it's coarseness is more like your tooth paste.
 

cityslicker

Bearcat
Joined
Mar 14, 2010
Messages
97
Location
southwest Virginia
How about Nevr-dull? I learned of it on gunblast. Jeff Quinn used it in a ruger single seven. I tried it on my stainless Vaquero and he was right works great! Easy too.
 

wideglide

Bearcat
Joined
Nov 13, 2012
Messages
78
Location
isle of palms, sc
Maas polish and a little elbow grease works well. All mine are stainless and I can't stand putting them up without the faces being clean. I can't imagine the small amount of abrasiveness will erode the fine stainless of any Ruger. Blued guns? May be a different thing but I don't think I could wear down my stainless with a plastic scotch brite in a hundred years.
 

Pal Val

Buckeye
Joined
May 30, 2006
Messages
1,553
Location
S.E. PA, USA
Age makes a man ponder the effort/reward ratio before taking on a task. This said, I wet a rag in Hoppe's, rub the rings well for a minute, then let it be. No logic to spend an hour getting rid of something that will be back in minutes.

Use abrasives? No. Even drops of water will wear down a rock, if you let them drip long enough.
 

CraigC

Hawkeye
Joined
May 27, 2002
Messages
5,197
Location
West Tennessee
Ignore them x1000. If you're that worried about them, you need to be doing more shooting. If it doesn't come off with a CLP-damp rag, I leave it alone. I have way too many guns and do way too much shooting to worry about such nonsense.

Scotchbrite is a terrible idea. It is absolutely an abrasive and will remove metal. Leadaway cloths are also abrasive, although much finer and less aggressive (reportedly diatomaceous earth).
 

dakota1911

Buckeye
Joined
Mar 26, 2009
Messages
1,021
I know this is off thread, but if you ever own a revolver with a Titanium cylinder then never use anything abrasive on the front of it to make it pretty again. One example is a S&W 325PD. Thought I would mention that as Ruger has the technology to do Titanium if they want to.

 
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