Internal pitting of shotgun barrels and what to do about it.

[Mack The Knife]

Two friends of mine and I missed seeing this but I am now convinced that the bore of my shotgun, particularly the right bore, has some pitting.

At first I thought it was the residue left behind by Indian cartridges after the patterning test. However, after literally hours of cleaning with petrol, diesel, WD40, Ed's Red, acetone and two types of proprietory bore solvents I am still unable to get a mirror like finish.

When an oiled patch is passed through, it looks almost as good as new but a dry patch reveals an uneven surface within the bore.

Since the 'pitting' (I am still hoping it's something else) isn't too deep, should I just ignore it and keep the bores cleaned and oiled after shooting or is there a remedy to rectify this?

Thanks.

Mack The Knife

[Mark]

The traditional response is that yes, your gun is ruined and dangerous to boot, sell it to me for 100 rupees.

Hopefully Grumpy will provide some better advice, but lacking that some metal polish such as "flitz" or "simichrome" or even some automotive polish put on a shotgun mop and a section of the cleaning rod chucked into an electric drill will help clean things up a bit.

In a pinch, toothpaste also works but is a big PITA to clean out, and you need to use water instead of oil as a lubricant. I am only mentioning it as a last option, IMHO it doesn't give as good a finish.

[Mack The Knife]

and you need to use water instead of oil as a lubricant.

Mark,

Does that mean that I have to use oil if using Flitz, Simichrome or automotive polish?

Is the oil poured in as a continuous stream during the polishing action or only at intervals?

What exactly do you mean by automotive polish? Are you refering to the wax polish used on the exteriors or something like valve ginding paste? My guess is that it is the latter but I'd rather be sure.

By the way, would a phosphor bronze brush covered with 0000 steel wool also do the job?

Many thanks.

Mack The Knife

[badshah0522]

I think Try Steel wool with Wd40.After cleaning it properly, keep the barrels under hot running water tap.Wipe the water off and apply some Gun oil .

and you need to use water instead of oil as a lubricant.

Mark,

Does that mean that I have to use oil if using Flitz, Simichrome or automotive polish?

Is the oil poured in as a continuous stream during the polishing action or only at intervals?

What exactly do you mean by automotive polish? Are you refering to the wax polish used on the exteriors or something like valve ginding paste? My guess is that it is the latter but I'd rather be sure.

By the way, would a phosphor bronze brush covered with 0000 steel wool also do the job?

Many thanks.

Mack The Knife

[eljefe]

Tooth paste is NOT the newer gels but older white paste, forhans etc.Do we see them in the market?

[Risala]

Follow Badshah's approach,but instead of hot water,pass steam for about 20 mins.Do this for a couple of days.
Use to work wonders in the forces.
Sanjay

[eljefe]

Sanjay,
HOw do you get hi pressure steam at home?
Axx

[Risala]

Asif,

At home and even more so if one is living in an apartment it might be painful,but possible.

Basically what we used was a fabricated 10 Ltr drum,with nozzle fitted on the top.
Fill half with water and shut the lid.Keep the water boiling at all times.
Connect a pipe to the nozzle,and once the temp crosses boiling point and there is lot of steam ,let the steam pass through the tubes.But not more that 20 mins.
Do that for 2/3 days and see if there is a diff.

Works well and is a very effective solution, is used even today cause the no of weapons that were required to be cleaned at any one point were quite a lot.
In the forces this was done each time after we had fired on the ranges but only for small arms.

Sanjay

[Mark]

Mack The Knife,

Unfortunately steel wool and bronze do not do the job since they are not any harder than the pits. However, steel wool over a brush with an abrasive would work quite well. The auto polish would just be any of the abrasive car "polishes" as opposed to car "waxes"

Some sort of lubricant is a good idea, but just enough to make a slurry, not enough to be runny.

However, best to wait until Grumpy chimes in, I am sure he'll be full of ideas ....

[Mack The Knife]

I think Try Steel wool with Wd40.

Badshah,

I have already tried this but it hasn't removed the pitting.

Mack The Knife

[Mack The Knife]

Sanjay,

Were the bores allowed to cool then dried and oiled after each steam treatment session? If not, then that method is certain to cause rusting.

In anycase I cannot see how any of this would remove the pitting.

Mack The Knife

[Mack The Knife]

Mark,

What you say makes sense but I am still a bit unsure about the automotive polish bit. However, I'll go look up a shop that stocks such things.

By any chance, would rubbing compound be suitable? I have a mild one as can be seen in the pic.



I have e-mailed Grumpy a link to this thread, so perhaps we will hear from him later in the day.

Thanks.

Mack The Knife

[Risala]

Were the bores allowed to cool then dried and oiled after each steam treatment session?

In anycase I cannot see how any of this would remove the pitting.

Mack The Knife

Yes they were.A
And it wont remove the pitting.

Sanjay

[Grumpy]

Dodger is it just that the bores won`t shine up or can you see actual pits in the bores ? Pit`s look like irregular darker patches and can vary in size enormously, from pin pricks to strawberry size - or larger. To check you need to hold the barrels up to a light source looking through - first from one end and then from the other........a lot easier if you remove the barrels from the gun ( unless you want to do a Vikram which isn`t recommended ! )
A phosphor bronze brush used with plenty of WD40 will abrade away plastic deposits - the brush needs to be a tight fit in the bores though. Old, worn brushes are a waste of space and should be disposed of. A proper barrel solvent will do the job much more quickly and easily.
To polish the bores use a metal cleaner ( like Brasso ) on a snug fitting cloth jag and work the jag upand down the bores, twisting occasionally. As Mark says, as a precursor you can use white toothpaste ( the cheaper the better ) or an automotive cutting compound such as `T-Cut`- the one you show should be fine. If, after polishing out with the cutting compound or toothpaste and finishing wth Brasso the bores still don`t shine then the steel is `open` ...... and needs a hell of a lot of polishing. If the bores are pitted the pits will show up more markedly after polishing because of the increased contrast.
If the bores ARE pitted you have two choices : You can ignore them or have them lapped out. Shallow pitting doesn`t effect the performance of the barrels......nor does deep pitting if it comes to that.

[Vikram]

" (unless you want to do a Vikram which isn`t recommended ! )"

I will let Grumps to explain that.