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Old December 7, 2016, 11:45 PM   #1
bspillman
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Black marks on cylinder

I bought a used Taurus stainless m85. It's dirty to say the least. How can I get the burnt powder residue off the barrel side of the cylinder? What can anyone recommend?
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Old December 7, 2016, 11:52 PM   #2
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Lead Away cloth will remove the Black Carbon rings.
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Old December 8, 2016, 04:12 PM   #3
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I scrub mine with Flitz Metale Polish. Tooth Brush or cloth bits in a Dremil you can get them cleaner than new.
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Old December 8, 2016, 05:08 PM   #4
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Just as a thought- there's no reason to remove those entirely, except for cosmetics.
You can clean as normal, get what comes off, off, and go on with life.
They will immediately come back next time you shoot the gun.
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Old December 8, 2016, 05:22 PM   #5
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My approach has always been the same DPris. It is just cosmetic, and a detailed cleaning is only good until the next trip to the range. Maybe worth the time if selling or trading is the goal, otherwise not so much.
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Old December 8, 2016, 05:23 PM   #6
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Semi-Chrome Polish. At Motorcycle shops. it will make it shiny if satin finish. Not a big deal to not clean it.
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Old December 8, 2016, 05:26 PM   #7
CajunBass
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Yea...I used to worry about it, but gave it up as a lost cause.

Wipe it off best you can, and forget it.
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Old December 8, 2016, 08:25 PM   #8
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Try a Hoppes brass bristle toothbrush style brush with a little clp it will take most of it off without abrading the cylinder.
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Old December 8, 2016, 09:57 PM   #9
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Quote:
You can clean as normal, get what comes off, off, and go on with life.
Yep. What doesn't come off with a patch and Hoppes #9 . Stays. Life goes on .
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Old December 9, 2016, 12:27 AM   #10
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Howdy

I will give you the standard answer I always give to this question.

Once you have enough revolvers you will stop worrying about the carbon rings on the face of the cylinder.
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Old December 10, 2016, 07:51 PM   #11
Dave Chuppa
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My wife says I'm OCD because my guns have to be immaculate. My cars too. I drive her nuts.
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Old December 10, 2016, 08:32 PM   #12
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That reminds me of the old saying that temperance, like chastity, is its own punishment.

So is OCD.
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Old December 11, 2016, 02:06 AM   #13
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I used to be almost fanatical about cleaning my guns, but I finally decided it was too much work and a waste of time to be worrying about getting them spotless only to get dirty again as soon as I fired a shot. When I had my S&W 66, the front of the cylinder was pretty rough, and a magnet for carbon, so I polished it with some kind of polish I had sitting in my garage and a dremel with a cloth bonnet on it and after that, it was easy to basically wipe off. Eventually, because I carried it for work, it had shiny spots all over it from holstering, so I polished the whole thing. I sold it at a nice profit after a couple of years. The shiny look mesmerized the guy who bought it.
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Old December 11, 2016, 07:44 AM   #14
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Start with a good general cleaning, followed up by a wipe down with a lead-away cloth. Finish with a thin coat of wax, this will make cleanup easier the next time.
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Old December 11, 2016, 01:38 PM   #15
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Lead Away Cloth. I've been using it on my stainless Super Redhawk for years. A few wipes and you're done. No scrubbing, etc.





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Old December 11, 2016, 02:19 PM   #16
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Having used Lead Away to clean carbon stains on s/s guns for years, I certainly agree with Steve in Pa, dahermit and old bear. Just be sure you don't use the stuff on blued firearms.
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Old December 11, 2016, 02:27 PM   #17
Bill DeShivs
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Be aware that Lead Away, Simichrome, Flitz, Mother's, etc. are ALL abrasive.
Each time you use them, you are actually removing a minute amount of metal from the front of your cylinder.
How much you remove depends on the abrasive, pressure, and frequency of use.
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Old December 11, 2016, 03:25 PM   #18
Steve in PA
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That may be true, but in 20+ years of using the Lead Away Cloth I have never had any steel removed. On the cylinder, there is a little mark near on the front near the opening. In the cleaned cylinder, you can make out the mark across the chamber opening from where my index finger is. It's between the chamber and the center hole.

That mark has been there since I bought the gun. Who knows how many times I've cleaned the front of that cylinder in 20+ years of using the cloth. The mark is still there.
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Old December 11, 2016, 04:27 PM   #19
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I have three old shotguns from the 40s and one from 1950 that had long been neglected by whoever had them before I acquired them. I went to my garage to get my Simichrome I use on motorcycles but could not find it. I found a chrome cleaner and rust removed made by Turtle Wax that I got 15 or 20 years ago but had forgotten about. It worked very nicely to clean the stains on both the metal and wood on the old shotguns without leaving any marks or removing the patina. The old guns look much better now without obvious signs that they have ever been dirty. It might have been fortunate that I couldn's find m Simichrome.

I cleaned them up trying to decide whether or not to buy a new one. They look pretty good but I went out and bought me a new one anyway. My justification that even though I've had shotguns since I was a teenager, I wanted one new one before I turn 70 next year.
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Old December 16, 2016, 12:23 AM   #20
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The gun cleaning mania shows an underlying disconnect with, and fear of, the elements of fire and brimstone that are the physical and spiritual basis of the non-socially subjugated animus of the firearm.
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Old December 16, 2016, 12:32 AM   #21
Bill DeShivs
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Steve- the mark may still be there, but look at the rounded edges on all the holes!

People don't understand the mechanics of polishing. The flat surface of the cylinder will not get nearly the wear that sharp edges do.

You can not polish metal without abrasion. Abrasion in critical areas is not good.
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Old December 17, 2016, 11:39 AM   #22
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Personally I like the used look, since I do use them a lot. Just general cleaning for normal function and I'm good to go.
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Old December 17, 2016, 11:59 AM   #23
jackmoser65
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I honestly don't know why people worry over this. Probably need to be doing more shooting and less obsessing over something so silly.


Quote:
Steve- the mark may still be there, but look at the rounded edges on all the holes!

People don't understand the mechanics of polishing. The flat surface of the cylinder will not get nearly the wear that sharp edges do.

You can not polish metal without abrasion. Abrasion in critical areas is not good.
People have a hard time entertaining the notion that something they've been doing for years could ever be wrong.
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Old December 17, 2016, 12:23 PM   #24
dgludwig
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QUOTE: "...I honestly don't know why people worry over this. Probably need to be doing more shooting and less obsessing over something so silly."

No need to worry about people worrying. Just because a person is fine with having their guns covered with carbon stains gives them no cause to call other people silly and obsessive who might do a lot of shooting but still like to have their firearms looking nice.
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Old December 18, 2016, 12:20 AM   #25
Steve in PA
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My great, great grandkids who will have my guns passed down to them will be dead and buried before there is any noticeable wear from from cleaning them with a Lead Away Cloth.
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