Brass flakes and cleaning

[Whisker]

Good day all,

After my first range trip with my first (owning this time) AR I noticed brass flakings on the bolt face and scattered about the chamber.

I was able to clean the bolt face easy enough, however, the brass flakes in the chamber are proving to be stubborn little buggers! In fact, I postponed a trip to the range today for fear damaging the rifle by leaving these flakes in there.

I did a quick search and learned that these flakes are normal with new rifles?

My question is how potentially damaging are these flakes if left in the chamber? (overpressure? scarring?)


Also, can anyone recommend a top of the line cleaning kit? I'm always hesitant to use the kits with the brush that have metal pole downs the center. Are there any full brass kits that you can recommend?

Thanks again m4 carbine.net!

Adam,

[NongShim]

All you really need to keep your AR running is a Boresnake, an old Tshirt, and some CLP. A tooth brush can help as well, but you won't die without it.

Don't get wrapped around the axle about cleaning it so that it looks new each time. Don't worry about scraping off every speck of carbon. Think about how much pressure and heat is blasting through that operating system. If stuff were in the way, it would move.

As for the flakes of brass? Forget about it. If you want them gone, get some type of pressurized solvent to blast it out. You don't need to spend a ton of cash on the Birchwood Casey stuff or Breakfree brand. The stuff at WalMart that costs less than $2 a can for cleaning carbs and breaks will do fine. The bottom line is this: steel is harder than brass. Brass flakes aren't going to cause "scarring" in your chamber.

Guns are like women. They like to be run wet, and they're more fun when they're a little bit dirty.

Relax and enjoy your AR.

[Whisker]

haha ,

thats awesome

I'll think of your analogy when telling others how to care for their ARs,

[HD670]

All you really need to keep your AR running is a Boresnake, an old Tshirt, and some CLP. A tooth brush can help as well, but you won't die without it.

Don't get wrapped around the axle about cleaning it so that it looks new each time. Don't worry about scraping off every speck of carbon. Think about how much pressure and heat is blasting through that operating system. If stuff were in the way, it would move.

As for the flakes of brass? Forget about it. If you want them gone, get some type of pressurized solvent to blast it out. You don't need to spend a ton of cash on the Birchwood Casey stuff or Breakfree brand. The stuff at WalMart that costs less than $2 a can for cleaning carbs and breaks will do fine. The bottom line is this: steel is harder than brass. Brass flakes aren't going to cause "scarring" in your chamber.

Guns are like women. They like to be run wet, and they're more fun when they're a little bit dirty.

Relax and enjoy your AR.

thats a awesome analogy..

[seabass]

After shooting a few hundred rounds, I like to take apart the bolt ejector and clean it out.

It's like finding gold flakes!:no: