Unable to remove Deposits

[LGLDSR]

Greetings,

I recently purchased a Ruger SP101 and shortly thereafter put 45 rounds or so through it, perhaps thirty-five .38SP and the rest .357. For the life of me I cannot get rid of the deposits on the Cylinder as shown in the photograph. Any idea what the heck is going on?

Many thanks.

[madmo44mag]

Picture????

[FlyFish]

Your photo didn't come through, but it sounds like you're talking about the black rings that surround each chamber on the front of the cylinder? If so, everyone has the same issue and many of us choose not to bother removing them. If you really want to, supposedly (as I've never actually tried it) a "Lead-Away" cloth will clean things up in short order - just keep it away from your blued guns because it will remove bluing just as quickly.

[James K]

That deposit is very thin and does no harm; just leave it. If it really bothers you, a soft stainless steel brush will remove it without damage to the finish (yes, even on blued guns).

Jim

[DPris]

If you're talking about those front-end burn rings, for the life of me I can't understand why people obsess over them.

Clean what you can, forget what stays, it'll ALL come back next time you shoot, why bother?
Denis

[bipe215]

+1 on the Lead Away cloths.

[Snydcat]

A little mothers mag polish will get that off no problem.

[Nick_C_S]

If you're talking about those front-end burn rings, for the life of me I can't understand why people obsess over them.

. . . ^^ That used to be me. ^^

I'm over it now.

[MrBorland]

If you cleaned the chambers and are talking about the visible rings on the inside of the chambers, near the far end of the cylinder, those are likely the throats. Leave 'em be.

[Homerboy]

I don't obsess over them but when I clean a gun I want the whole thing to look clean. 30 seconds with a lead away cloth and they're gone. I once used a lead away cloth on my old off duty revolver. 10 years and at least 1000 rounds. Came off like magic. Those lead away cloths are magic. And I don't believe I am rubbing away enough metal to cause cylinder gaps either. I've been using those cloths at every cleaning for 10 years and never had a problem

[LGLDSR]

>you're talking about the black rings that surround each chamber on the front of the cylinder?

That is exactly what I am talking about. Many thanks to everyone, greatly appreciated.

I'll let them be....

[DPris]

All of my stainless revolvers have 'em.
The blued ones, I'm sure, do too, just less visible.

Could not care less.
I don't clean my guns to make or keep them pretty, just to keep them functional & from corroding.

I get what comes off those rings during normal cleaning & leave what doesn't come off during normal cleaning.

They don't cause any damage whatever, longterm or short, and my eyes are not offended by them in the slightest.

They simply mean the gun is being used, don't indicate it's being abused, and that's not the end of the gun I look at when I either carry or shoot it, anyway.

A fairly regular subject on gun forums, always generates "Polish, baby, polish!" on one hand, and "Who cares?" on the other.

If a pretty gun means it's worth the extra effort to you, by all means go for it.
If you're just looking to maintain the gun, no need to bother.
Denis

[Real Gun]

Otis Carbon Remover and a nylon bristle gun brush or stiff toothbrush will clean the worst of the deposits very quickly.

[.45C-SWC]

I recently purchased a S&W M66. It had those circles so I used some J-B Bore Cleaner with a wooden coffee stirrer since it fit the space better than my finger. With a little rubbing, the circles came right off. I enjoy cleaning and handling my revolvers so the extra effort is worth it to me.

[Paul105]

As mentioned above, the black carbon ring on the face of the cyl won't hurt anything. Power/lead buidlup can be removod easily with any cleaner and a bronze brush -- the black rings that remain harm nothing and can be ignored.

Lead away and JB Bore cleaner are abrasives -- just for info, everyone can and will do what they want, in the end it's your gun.

I bought a Freedom Arms M97 used and had to send it to the factory for some adjustments. I talked with the gunsmith and he asked me if I had used a lead away on the cylinder face. I asked "why?". He said it looked like the charge holes on the cylinder face were "dished out" from the use of the lead away. It looks like you can actually do some damage trying to get those pesky rings to disappear.

Like I said above -- for information purposes only.

FWIW,

Paul

[bamaranger]

Used to have a supv. who maintained that if you kept those rings off, kept the cylinder face clean, you could prove that you did not shoot in a "one shoot, all shoot" incident. The premise being that you would catch your brass, reload "Barney Bullet(s), and simply claim you did not shoot the suspect in a "bad" shoot.

Real trust issue there.

Pretty much stopped fooling with it on my personal guns.....unless I'm hunting something extra to do.

[skizzums]

I clean mine occasionally when they get really ugly, but I understand getting a new gun and wanting it perfect, if its blues, I just gently use super fine steel wool. If it's stainless I would use those lead away cloths

[Auto5]

I had good results with a scotch-brite pad soaked in solvent, until I decided it wasn't worth the effort anymore

[Real Gun]

Is it lead, or is it carbon?

[7Cedars]

I don't think its lead, most likely residue from the burning powder. I agree it does not harm, I have the exact same gun with the exact same discoloration. Just shows you actually shoot and that the gun has a thoughtful owner who rewards its good looks and functionality by sending lead down range.

[PzGren]

I shoot a lot of .38 Specials in my .357 Magnum revolvers and I consider the ring merely cosmetic.

For the obsessed, there are several ways to clean them:

- go to a qualified gunsmith with a match chamber reamer ( I have those myself)
- find someone that will dunk your cylinder into an ultrasonic tank

- find a reloader who will bell a .357 Mag case for you and use that to push it into the chamber to clean it. This is the easiest and mildest way that can lead to no wear, nor harm.

- or waste your time with little brushes, good gun oils with detergents and elbow grease

[Real Gun]

We're chasing a ghost here with no picture. I inferred that it was the blackening around the end of the throats, i.e., on the face of the cylinder toward the forcing cone. That as opposed to inside the chambers. One could be lead while the other more likely carbon, considering its reaction to liquid carbon remover (Otis).

[FlyFish]

The OP made it clear in post #11 that he's talking about the blackening on the face of the cylinder, not the ring that builds up inside the chambers from shooting .38s in a .357.

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

It is a combination of lead and carbon. The exact same stuff that builds up at the mouth of a 38 Special case when fired in a 357 Mag chamber. The same stuff builds up at the chamber throat of any case that extends the full length of the chamber, you just don't notice it there as much as with a short case in a long chamber.

When a cartridge fires, as the bullet first leaves the case, the hot, high pressure gasses vaporize a small amount of lead at the rear of the bullet. The high pressure escaping through the narrow gap between the bullet and the case just as it leaves the case blasts carbon and vaporized lead onto the cylinder wall. That is what causes the rings down inside a 357 Mag chamber that has been fired with 38 special rounds.

The same thing happens as the bullet crosses the barrel/cylinder gap. The high pressure gasses that escape the gap directly behind the bullet are blasted through the narrow opening at very high velocity because of the narrow gap. The constriction between the rear most face of the barrel and the front face of the cylinder causes deposits of vaporized lead and carbon to be blasted onto the cylinder face. If you look carefully, you will see the rings on the face of the cylinder have the same shape and diameter as the rear of the barrel.

I decided long ago that it was not worth the bother of trying to remove the rings from the front face of the cylinder. They don't hurt anything, and they will simply reappear the next time the gun is fired. Once you have enough revolvers you will come to the same conclusion.

[Dave Chuppa]

I have used Flitz Metal Polish with a tooth brush on several Stainless guns for years. Works fast and easy.