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I have resisted buying SS firearms for all these years because I like blue steel. Now that all the new ones are BLACK instead of BLUE I'm finding SS more attractive and own two. I shoot cast bullets from my revolvers almost exclusively and find that it darkens the SS cylinders, frames, muzzles and it doesn't wipe off with Hoppes#9 on a swab.
What will clean up the SS smoked revolvers?
If nothing else does the job, 0000 steel wool soaked in heavy oil will work very well, but mostly I think that your choice of solvent is the problem. Hoppes is one of the oldest products on the market and the choice of generations of shooters, but the truth is that there are better powder solvents available, not to mention that it is useless for lead or copper fouling. It was developed in the days when "all purpose" was a catchword. Note that solvents these days are getting more specialized. Stains on SS are usually powder stains, and solvents like Outers or Shooters' Choice normally will clean them off easily unless they have been allowed to accumulate and bake on for quite a while. If that is the case, you will have to resort to the very fine steel wool with oil. Depending on the finish, though, you do have to be careful with it as hard scrubbing can change the surface finish. I would never, ever use steel wool on a blued surface except to remove rust when I planned to retouch the bluing after. Bronze wool with oil will work even better (and it's really the only option for blued guns), but the real thing is not all that easy to come by any more, and when you find it, it isn't cheap. Blued revolvers get the same stains, but they are much harder to see on any but high gloss finishes, and very few really bother with the throat end of the cylinder where they're the worst. With the right solvent, though, you'll be surprised how much comes off one you thought was clean.
Any good bore cleaner like Outers, Shooters Choice or Birchwood Casey Bore Scrubber should do the job unless, as versifier stated, you let it bake on. Clean after every shooting session is your best bet. Nothing really different about cleaning stainless as compared to blued. I cringe at the thought of using steel wool on any of my weapons unless I am trying to remove a little rust and/or prepare a worn spot to reblue. Don't even want to use it on stainless.
Contary to some popular belief, stainless will rust over a period of time if not properly cared for. Keep a light coat of oil on the finish as you would with a blued finish, clean after every shooting, and you will have no problems keeping your weapon looking as good as new.
Yes, stainless will rust!!! I spent 20+ years at sea and we had lots of stainless hydraulic tubing on deck winches and connected equipment. I've been told to wipe the cylinder of S/S revolvers with "Flitz". I've seen the stuff but I have no experience. Open to commentary, thanks.
flitz is a polish that used too agressively turns into a lapping compound it can be used to smooth out a rough bbl.
I use one of those bronze tooth brushes to get the discoloring off my cylinder face and top strap. They work great and will not mar the surface. I use mine on a S&W 629 and have for years. I forgot about "LEAD AWAY GUN CLOTH" by Kleen Bore. Kleen Bore makes "KLEEN-BRITE GUN POLISH" also. Both are safe, will not hurt the finnish but will remove lead and the burn rings on your gun. I forgot about these when I first responded, but I was trying to get out some really stubborn lead deposits in my cylinders and found the lead remover cloth and used that to clean up the stubborn spots. Still worked great after being put away for years.Quote:
Originally Posted by Guesser