I've tried the CLR several times on hard powder build up. Per both Hawkeye and Teslong bore scopes, it's no more or less effective than any other liquid.
I've tried the CLR several times on hard powder build up. Per both Hawkeye and Teslong bore scopes, it's no more or less effective than any other liquid.
Good shootin' -Al
Welllllll, not exactly. You ever clean out a suppressor with "any other liquid?" There's nothing that I've found that will cut the baked on carbon in a suppressor better than CLR. I plug the aperture of the can and fill it up with CLR and the caked on carbon boils out of there like a volcano. It will also remove carbon deposits from the crown of the barrel quite effectively. The best, and least time consuming, way that I've found to remove the carbon ring in the chamber neck is to wet a patch with CLR and push it into the neck area and let it set for 15 minutes. You won't need to try 3 or 4 times with JB or Iosso to get it out. The CLR softens the ring to the point that one application of Iosso and it's gone.
Welllllll, not exactly. You ever clean out a suppressor with "any other liquid?" There's nothing that I've found that will cut the baked on carbon in a suppressor better than CLR. I plug the aperture of the can and fill it up with CLR and the caked on carbon boils out of there like a volcano. It will also remove carbon deposits from the crown of the barrel quite effectively.
The powder build up in a suppressor or on the crown is much different from the flame hardened deposits at the end of the neck area or the proximal portion of the throat. Slip 2000 Carbon Killer or a 4:1 solution of Simple Green Concentrate in an ultra sonic cleaner does a nice job, too. No doubt there are tons of good cleaners for that type of build up.
Originally Posted by BangPop
The best, and least time consuming, way that I've found to remove the carbon ring in the chamber neck is to wet a patch with CLR and push it into the neck area and let it set for 15 minutes. You won't need to try 3 or 4 times with JB or Iosso to get it out. The CLR softens the ring to the point that one application of Iosso and it's gone.
Respectfully, that just hasn't been my experience with it. Also, CLR is an acid very similar to muratic acid (hydrocloric acid)....not something I'm interested in putting into my barrels even in a very controlled situation.
Maybe your carbon is bigger and badder than my carbon. I took the carbon ring out of my .223 AI dog gun last week. It had seen 2000+ rounds in the dog towns so I doubt it gets any more stubborn or hard that that one. One patch of CLR and one patch of Iosso and it was gone. When CLR first came into the scene, I tested it on a polished neck and throat gauge to see if it would etch the steel. I left that piece in there for a week and it didn’t do anything to it at all. I’m certainly not a big fan of the stuff (I don’t use it to clean barrels) but it does work, and work very well, for certain applications.
I made the mistake of soaking a Ruger Stainless Blackhawk cylinder that had a lot of 25 year-old carbon build-up in it in a jar of CLR. It etched the finish of the cylinder pretty badly. I would not put it in a rifle's bore. I had seen a video of a guy using it in the same manner to remove carbon from a stainless muzzle brake and figured it would be good for the cylinder. Wish I hadn't done it.
I've heard some good things about Thorroclean. It's actually the Iosso abrasive suspended in a liquid carrier....not a bad idea. No doubt that when you start from clean, it's easier to keep ahead of it with some of the products out there.
I made the mistake of soaking a Ruger Stainless Blackhawk cylinder that had a lot of 25 year-old carbon build-up in it in a jar of CLR. It etched the finish of the cylinder pretty badly. I would not put it in a rifle's bore. I had seen a video of a guy using it in the same manner to remove carbon from a stainless muzzle brake and figured it would be good for the cylinder. Wish I hadn't done it.
Rex
I don't know how to post pictures on this site but I could show you a stainless muzzle brake / tuner that was severely etched by CLR. That stuff isn't going in any of my barrels
I don't know how to post pictures on this site but I could show you a stainless muzzle brake / tuner that was severely etched by CLR. That stuff isn't going in any of my barrels
The stainless barrel I'm going to try it in is well over the hill for life so it's a good candidate. I'm going to test it on some new barrel muzzle cut offs first. Picked up a fresh jug of it this morning s as not to skew results with the old stuff on my shelf.
Al, I sure do appreciate the excellent information you provide when you post here at the 'fire. You're a good man. Not to mention a South Dakotan, which is an extra notch higher. (I'm now in exile in Iowa, but the deer hunting is pretty good)
Selmer
"Daddy, can you sometime maybe please go shoot a water buffalo so we can have that for supper? Please? And can I come along? Does it taste like deer?" - my 3-year old daughter
CRC GDI intake valve cleaner removes carbon very well. This stuff is sold for removing the carbon that builds up on the intake valves of direct injected engines.
I've tried the CLR several times on hard powder build up. Per both Hawkeye and Teslong bore scopes, it's no more or less effective than any other liquid.
Good shootin' -Al
Welllllll, not exactly. You ever clean out a suppressor with "any other liquid?" There's nothing that I've found that will cut the baked on carbon in a suppressor better than CLR. I plug the aperture of the can and fill it up with CLR and the caked on carbon boils out of there like a volcano. It will also remove carbon deposits from the crown of the barrel quite effectively. The best, and least time consuming, way that I've found to remove the carbon ring in the chamber neck is to wet a patch with CLR and push it into the neck area and let it set for 15 minutes. You won't need to try 3 or 4 times with JB or Iosso to get it out. The CLR softens the ring to the point that one application of Iosso and it's gone.
This guy knows of what he speaks.
CLR is Top Dog when it comes to carbon removal.
Originally Posted by bugs4
Originally Posted by TRexF16
I made the mistake of soaking a Ruger Stainless Blackhawk cylinder that had a lot of 25 year-old carbon build-up in it in a jar of CLR. It etched the finish of the cylinder pretty badly. I would not put it in a rifle's bore. I had seen a video of a guy using it in the same manner to remove carbon from a stainless muzzle brake and figured it would be good for the cylinder. Wish I hadn't done it.
Rex
I don't know how to post pictures on this site but I could show you a stainless muzzle brake / tuner that was severely etched by CLR. That stuff isn't going in any of my barrels
I have soaked 17-4 SS for a week in CLR with no ill effects as have many others.
For barrel cleaning the stuff works so fast on the carbon ring I don't see how it could hurt a bore.
Those in the Know have been using CLR for years.
John Burns
I have all the sources. They can't stop the signal.
-Al
![[Linked Image]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/Logo_Schmidt_%26_Bender.jpg){kind=logo}
Picked up a fresh jug of it this morning s as not to skew results with the old stuff on my shelf. 
