Fire polishing a barrel?

[far_shot]

We used to polish powder burner barrels by firing cast bullets lubed with JB paste. Ten rounds and clean,2X
Wondering if anybody has tried that on PCP's? I would think it would be best to single load and replace the breach 0- ring when done.
Thoughts?

 

[edosan]

that is called fire lapping , I have done it, but did not get the results I get polishing the traditional way. 

I have read good experiences, but that was not my case. (you can find fire lapping kits on ebay)

 

[elh0102]

The bearing surface of a Diablo style pellet is so small, I doubt you would see this as very effective. I've had good luck with JB using a tight fitting patch. Wrapping the patch over a bore brush works well. Any type of polishing is just that, it is not lapping, which is a different process, and an almost sure way for us garage gunsmiths to ruin a barrel. JB Paste is a good product, and will clean the barrel of fouling that withstands normal cleaning, but it will not remove metal. 

 

[Hoople]

I read a couple years back that someone used these with success. https://www.pyramydair.com/s/p/Seneca_22_Cal_28_5_Grains_Domed_125ct/1468

 

[Dairyboy]

Or you can just use slugs for the increased bearing surface...

 

[HeyU]

Felt pellets saturated with a polishing compound came to my mind. I think several felt pellets on a worm patch,weed wacker string, would be more effective and economical. 4 ft of Weed wacker string with a dab of epoxy near the middle,3 or 4 felt pellets and then another dab of epoxy. Now you can pull it back and forth instead of re-threading after every pass thru. Seems like a good idea,idk.

 

[ChuckHunter]

Tight fitting patch or mop like said above is the best process for an airgun barrel....and a non metallic rod so you don't bugger up the crown! I use a fiber glass cleaning rod that pivots in the handle so it rides the lands and grooves freely!

You can polish till your hearts content this way and not hurt a thing....I also sometimes use Flitz metal polish as a finishing process. 

James from Michigan 

 

[Raden1942]

I heard a guy on a sniper Hyde forum claim to break in his powder burner barrels by using a boresnake with turtle wax chrome polishing compound. He said 100 passes through the barrel with the brass brush polished the barrel without removing too much material. Heres my thoughts on that. Honestly I have shot with some of the most bad ass long range shooters ever. They shot at 2000 meters using lapua, 7mm mag, even some 300 win mag with great success every weekend. Both of them never broke in thier barrels at all. Just clean well, don't shoot fast and let barrels cool. I don't believe you need to break in modern powder burners. That being said a Chinese airgun most definitely will be improved by polishing or lapping. In fact even lw barrels improve after some work. Air Arms does extra work on thier lw barrels and they most definitely do increase the already awsome lw barrels. I'm curious which way would work best on a qb chief. I'm sure real lapping is the way to go but I'm curious about how much I could improve it by my own polishing. I'll keep following this thread and see what pops up. 

 

[HeyU]

Ya know,,unless there is a problem I leave it the (*&^ alone.