bore brushes: 1 for stainless, and 1 for steel?

[whalerx]

I heard someone say you should keep two separate bore brushes, one for stainless and one for steel. The theory was that steel particles could contaminate the stainless and cause rust if you used the same brush for both bores.

Ruger Mark II pistols in my case.

True? Thanks...

 

[captainkirk]

Welcome to Rugerforum.

Good question, but I doubt there is any truth to the allegations. I don't think bronze brushes are going to remove any steel from the barrel to be transferred to another barrel.

I, personally only use bronze or plastic brushes, though there are some stainless ones out there. I think those are not a good idea.


captainirk

PS you probably don't even need to use brushes (metal) on a 22 anyway, unless you have heavy leading. Just a pull-though patch on some weed-whacker line will usually clean it right up.

 

[Carry_Up]

I heard someone say you should keep two separate bore brushes, one for stainless and one for steel. The theory was that steel particles could contaminate the stainless and cause rust if you used the same brush for both bores.

Negative, whaler. Steel and stainless steel brushes are almost never used for bore cleaning. Nylon and bronze are the 2 materials used for bore brushes. This is really a cleaning question and is up to you.

Besides, all this talk about contamination belongs to the world of welding, not to gun cleaning. It is true that you never use a steel brush on a stainless part if it is to be welded.

 

[RoninPA]

Negative, whaler. Steel and stainless steel brushes are almost never used for bore cleaning.

Whoa, you might want to revise that opinion. If they aren't for use in cleaning bores, why do brush manufacturers make and sell a whole lot of them? You may answer with "they can be used on revolver cylinders" and I will agree with that, However:

When I was shooting competition (PPC), the most used cleaning tool was a brass rod with a stainless steel brush (standard bristles or tornado style) to quickly clean the bore of any powder residue and lead between relays (everyone shot 148 gr LHBWC's and they would lead up the barrel fairly quickly). I never heard of anyone causing any noticeable barrel wear by doing this.

Also, if they are not made for cleaning bores, why do they make them in rifle and pistol calibers and not just in revolver calibers?

 

[Carry_Up]

You bet a stainless brush will clean your bore quickly! It will also scratch it up and decrease accuracy in no time. Of course, manufacturers will make anything that people will buy. Wilson, for example, made a stainless chamber brush for 1911's because he didn't want to waste time cleaning the barrel with a patch.

Using a steel or a stainless brush on your gun is not a good practice, but after all, it is YOUR gun, and it is up to you how you want to clean it.

 

[RoninPA]

You bet a stainless brush will clean your bore quickly! It will also scratch it up and decrease accuracy in no time. Of course, manufacturers will make anything that people will buy. Wilson, for example, made a stainless chamber brush for 1911's because he didn't want to waste time cleaning the barrel with a patch.

Using a steel or a stainless brush on your gun is not a good practice, but after all, it is YOUR gun, and it is up to you how you want to clean it.

I beg to differ, I've used a SS tornado brush on a SS handgun that I shot in completion and in 3 years and more than 16,000 rounds shot through that barrel, and cleaning the barrel with a SS brush every 160 rounds, I saw NO degradation in accuracy and I dare say saw no wear in the bore (at least none that I could see with the naked eye).

If you can SHOW me proof that these brushes wear out a barrel "in no time", then I might change my opinion. I would like to see the before and after photos of the bore and all the data (numbers of rounds fired, number of times cleaned, accuracy when the gun was new versus after a period of time cleaned with a SS brush, etc., etc.).

On your example of Wilson, can you show me a credible citation that would prove that they did what you said?

 

[Wheelgunner]

I don't know about the bore brush example, but I have seen the results of rolling stainless steel sheets in carbon steel rollers. The resulting stainless steel cylinders rusted quickly. They were later finish sanded and looked better, but I don't know if the rust returned. With a bore brush, I would think that the cleaner/lubricant may offer protection against the embedding of particals/rusting.

Wheelgunner

 

[Carry_Up]

In any case if you use a brush of the same hardness as the bore, it amounts to swabbing the bore with sandpaper. Abrasive cleaning pastes work the same way only slower. A polish is just a very fine abrasive. What looks like surface fouling inside the bore is often residue that has been forced into the pores of the metal, which does not affect accuracy.

CU