ok guys i have always used plain old break cleaner when cleaning action parts of my firearms. had a customer service guy at ATI tell me that i shouldn't do that because break cleaner can pull carbon out of the metal. i have never heard of this. old wives tail (or a new wives tail) or any merit to his beliefs?

He's full of it

It will take the finish off a lot of gun stocks, but it won't hurt the metal.

Parts will begin to rust almost immediately after using brake cleaner, a light coating of oil after cleaning is a must....

Think about it. If it "pulled carbon out of the metal" it would be hazardous to use on "breaks" (brakes).

his eyes must be brown .

Brake Cleaner

Well I pretty much am of the same opinion of all of you but since he was so adament I thought maybe there was something going on that I had not heard about yet.

you can burn it out with too high of heat (like hotter than red hot)
but not not with an aerosol can of something.
that's the problem in America these days. too many many
that hold jobs they know nothing about. in every field imaginable.

I use non chlorinated without having any problems. I used chlorinated once and it messed up the blueing. It made smoky spots.
Keep it away from a wood stock.

I use Master Clean carb.spray.

After cleaning i do apply some barricade,then wipe it down.

You defiantly should be able to use break cleaner on a muzzle break...

i have been using brakleen non chlorinated - for years.
I buy it from NAPA by the cases when it is on sale.
I notice that it does dry out assemblies, after spraying with braklethe the dirt forms a scumm and thats why i don't use it to just clean out the crap on a trigger assembly - i take the trigger apart as far as practical and then lightly lube it with LSA, also I use WD40 on an oiling brush(shaving brush) on the OUTSIDE ONLY-SPARINGLY. Brakekleen is not good for plastic parts amd melts them. Read the cautions and don't get stoned on Brakleen! Have fun,Mel

I use the cheapest carb cleaner I can find at Wallyworld to clean stuff.

Use nothing but lighter fluid on triggers. Nothing else.

And with Pride!

No spray product is going to pull carbon out of steel.

Brake cleaner doesn't even do much for carbon fouling. It works great on wet grease but dried up Rem oil and other oils are not affected by it very well. In gunsmith school we were taught to use Simple Green. Nothing works as well on all sorts of gun firing residue and long term build up like in Remington semi auto and pump rifles. Rinse with hot water, blow dry and then rinse with WD40. Then blow off the excess WD to get rid of the water and leave a slight rust preventative. Then grease and oil up the lubrication points with your favorite lubes. I'm a big fan of Tri-Flow and red Mobil-1 grease. Guns cleaned in this manor will pass a white glove test.

I think the only thing you can do to pull carbon out of steel is to throw it back into the smelter.

I use brake cleaner on things all the time. Like others have said, it doesn't damage steel or you couldn't use it on bare rotors and drums without damaging them.
A plastic toothbrush or Scotch Brite type pad wetted with it helps if you don't want to soak dried, varnishy stuff in something that doesn't flash off.

Don't clean parts with it in your wife's kitchen sink!!
Don't ask me how I know. :>(

Maybe he didn't mean carbon atoms and instead carbon deposits.