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70% Isopropyl Alcohol, Viable for Inner Barrel Cleaning?

263 Views 16 Replies 7 Participants Last post by  Dark Wolf
I just got a AR 15 style rifle, and I wanted to know if 70% isopropyl alcohol will be viable for inner barrel maintanence once or twice a month?
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Yes.
I also wanted to know, how often do you clean out your inner barrel?
Depends on your environment and how clean your gun and ammo stays. If you play in a dusty salty dirty or sandy area, should clean the barrel somewhat frequently - after every game day, or every few depending on your specific conditions. If you play indoor and keep your ammo clean, don't over grease the cylinder, etc - can easily go months before needing to touch it.
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Thanks, I live in NOVA, so its mostly humid year round. I usually clean after every 2 games, so about twice a month :)
Thanks for your input as always :)
My rule of thumb...clean it when it gets dirty...just that simple...
How can I check if the barrel is dirty? Flashlight?
I just pull the inner assembly and hold it up to a light...
Can also try pointing a flashlight into the magwell and peeping down the barrel (clear the gun, unplug the battery). Modern guns using LiPos etc usually have enough overspin that the nozzle doesn't block the light and you can pretty easily see if there's anything in there that needs to get cleaned. Otherwise yeah, have to pull the barrel assembly.

One note, I set my hop to near zero when cleaning - you want to clean the mound, but you don't want it hanging so low you ram the cleaning rod into it. Another note, make sure the cloth you use as a swab/patch doesn't leave lint behind. I like using those individually packed glasses cleaning wipes as the cheap ones are mostly IPA and you can tuck a few into your range bag without fear if spilling anything. Also useful for cleaning your goggles!
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This is what I do to get a perfect shine...

I take a cleaning rod, either one from a real gun or one that comes with stock guns, and thread a piece of paper towel through the eye on the end. Then I put some silver polish on the paper towel scrap and jam it into the barrel, you want it to be pretty tight. Then put the other end of the cleaning rod into the chuck of an electric drill, and pull the trigger. Forty-five seconds of the drill on high speed should yield a perfectly shiny result.

Then all you have to do is force a clean paper towel scrap down the barrel till the paper towel comes out without any black residue.

I wouldn't look to see how shiny it is, you might hurt your eyes.

MAKE SURE TO REMOVE THE INNER BARREL FROM THE HOP-UP UNIT AND TAKE OFF THE BUCKING OR YOU WILL GET POLISH ON YOUR BUCKING, WHICH IS NO BUENO.

Cleaning the barrel with alcohol is fine to do without taking the barrel assembly apart, because rubbing alcohol won't hurt the bucking.
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This is what I do to get a perfect shine...

I take a cleaning rod, either one from a real gun or one that comes with stock guns, and thread a piece of paper towel through the eye on the end. Then I put some silver polish on the paper towel scrap and jam it into the barrel, you want it to be pretty tight. Then put the other end of the cleaning rod into the chuck of an electric drill, and pull the trigger. Forty-five seconds of the drill on high speed should yield a perfectly shiny result.
^That is barrel polishing...and if the barrel is brass...it works better with brass polish.

Stainless...use Stainless cleaner/polish...
Stainless...use Stainless cleaner/polish...
Just marketing... It's virtually the same...
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But it will make inner barrel diameter " expand", right?
I don't believe so, maybe with some extremely low of the low quality barrels. But with a steel or aluminum barrel of good quality it should be fine
Polish will not make a metal barrel expand.
But it will make inner barrel diameter " expand", right?
Yes, but you are removing such a miniscule amount it won't be measurable with basic tools.

DW
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