How would you polish the barrel of a PCP, knowing that you have a transfer port somewhere near the breech?
How To Polish a PCP Barrel
- Thread starter dark1961
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What I do us take the barrel out of the gun, put it in a padded vise and lap it with JB bore Lap. I run the bore mop back and forth 25 to 35 times then clean the bore with a good bore cleaner. What this does is it helps to keep your barrel from fowling and make cleaning easier. Blow out your port with high pressure air after your done. I'm sure there's a dozen ways to Polish your barrel.
Zonk
Zonk
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Turn the gun upside down so TP is up. Slip in cotton quick clean pellets to cover TP. Clean with solvent and bore mop. Then add JB to the mop and stroke the bore 100 times. Clean bore with solvent with patch's removed. Dry fire several times in the upside down position to clear TP if and thing got in.
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FrankinFairfield, I think you have responded to my inquiries sarcastically before, is it because my airgun nation name is dark1961? Emphasis on dark!
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I believe that JB recommends a cleaning patch rapped around a brass brush. A bore mop might be ok but I think you want to get something pretty tight in the bore so that you are applying considerable pressure so that you don’t have to do 100 passes. I use nylon brushes for most all my cleaning and if you use a cleaning patch impregnated with bore paste you can get it pretty tight with a little experimentation . Remember you are polishing metal and using very mild abrasives so to have any affect and to get into the grooves you need tight heavy contact.
Having said that it depends on the condition of the barrel which is best determined with a bore scope
Having said that it depends on the condition of the barrel which is best determined with a bore scope
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G
Guest
Guest
sarcastically?
I do not know WTH you are talking about.
Just shoot your rifle and the rough spots in the barrel will be polished away.
I do not know WTH you are talking about.
Just shoot your rifle and the rough spots in the barrel will be polished away.
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Lead is vastly softer than steel...simply shooting pellets will not polish the barrel. Lead will strip off and fill or cover the surface roughness, and to some extent that will serve to lubricate the bore. However it is not the same as polishing, a key difference being the buildup of lead is diminished and the barrel can maintain accuracy for longer between cleanings.
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G
Guest
Guest
I guess you are right.
That is why the mountain men who used pure lead had to freshen (bore to a larger caliber) their barrels ever so often.
Example:
The Hawken Brothers only made .50 caliber Hawkens because that was the only tools they had but we still find genuine Hawkens today bored to 54, 56 caliber because they were freshened out as the bore was worn away.
True, poor maintenance had something to do with the barrel wear but, nonetheless.
If the OP wants to polish his barrel that is up to him but, I personally would remove the barrel from the action, altogether, remove the TP as well and put the barrel in a vise so that it is properly held before starting the process. Too, he will want insure all traces of the bore paste is removed before firing the rifle/pistol again. I might even try out my polishing technique on another, lesser quality barrel as a learning process.
That is my .02
That is why the mountain men who used pure lead had to freshen (bore to a larger caliber) their barrels ever so often.
Example:
The Hawken Brothers only made .50 caliber Hawkens because that was the only tools they had but we still find genuine Hawkens today bored to 54, 56 caliber because they were freshened out as the bore was worn away.
True, poor maintenance had something to do with the barrel wear but, nonetheless.
If the OP wants to polish his barrel that is up to him but, I personally would remove the barrel from the action, altogether, remove the TP as well and put the barrel in a vise so that it is properly held before starting the process. Too, he will want insure all traces of the bore paste is removed before firing the rifle/pistol again. I might even try out my polishing technique on another, lesser quality barrel as a learning process.
That is my .02
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Totally different things. A 19th century black powder rifle and a 20th-21st century air rifle.
The former is subjected to very different stresses. Not just vastly higher pressure and temperature but also black powder combustion byproducts that are corrosive. And what about the metallurgy and barrel fabrication technology from >100 years ago compared to today? Perhaps those are additional contributing factors to how the bore wears over time.
Granted there are also plenty of examples of modern-day powderburners that get “shot out” (worn out) but where are the examples of air rifle barrels that suffered the same fate? They don’t exist. Even the relatively soft brass barrels of early Sheridan rifles that have seen tens of thousands of pellets through them are still in good shape today.
The former is subjected to very different stresses. Not just vastly higher pressure and temperature but also black powder combustion byproducts that are corrosive. And what about the metallurgy and barrel fabrication technology from >100 years ago compared to today? Perhaps those are additional contributing factors to how the bore wears over time.
Granted there are also plenty of examples of modern-day powderburners that get “shot out” (worn out) but where are the examples of air rifle barrels that suffered the same fate? They don’t exist. Even the relatively soft brass barrels of early Sheridan rifles that have seen tens of thousands of pellets through them are still in good shape today.
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I am not certain about pellets being able to polish barrels or not. What I do know is that steel handels on tools willl get wear down and start to get shiny after many years usage. Tools Are usually held by bare hands, or hands with gloves. If the steering wheel on our car was made og steel, it would probably also be shiny after many years of use.
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You're correct. Hands and gloves pick up dirt and grit, and that is what performs the abrasive action.
It's equivalent to fire lapping...coating pellets with an abrasive compound and shooting them.
Clean pellets however will do nothing to polish a barrel.
It's equivalent to fire lapping...coating pellets with an abrasive compound and shooting them.
Clean pellets however will do nothing to polish a barrel.
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The rifle makers of yore, freshened those barrels because black powder is corrosive and ate the rifling before those pioneers had a chance to clean them properly with hot soapy water
You can polish a steel barrel with lead bullets, but you first need to roll those bullets on a steel plate with grinding compound on them, it is called ”Fire lapping”. Midway sells a kit made by Wheeler to do this.
When you stroke the barrel with abrasive compounds, please use a one piece rod, with a bore guide and a free revolving handle.
Roachcreek
You can polish a steel barrel with lead bullets, but you first need to roll those bullets on a steel plate with grinding compound on them, it is called ”Fire lapping”. Midway sells a kit made by Wheeler to do this.
When you stroke the barrel with abrasive compounds, please use a one piece rod, with a bore guide and a free revolving handle.
Roachcreek
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Third Hand Information Alert (No, I have not experienced this myself, but "I heard tell!"}
Polishing most barrels is just fine, but, if you have a smooth twist type barrel such as the FX or I believe newer Daystate barrels, polishing can actually increase drag instead of reducing it. The smoother bore in these barrels actually increases the drag on the pellets. Go figure. Do be careful.
End of Third Hand Information Alert!
Now, as for pellets polishing the barrel, I have no opinion, but I will say that Mr FX (Fredrick Axelson) did tell me himself (UAG Grand Opening last November) that my brandy spanking new X Barrel would need at least 500 rounds before it was broken in. Mr. Ted Bier told me a few minutes later that he thought his guns were getting broken in at about 10,000 rounds. I haven't shot that many rounds through both of my rifles put together yet.
I assume breaking in, means that the lead polishes the barrel just a tiny bit with each shot. It's more than leading up the barrel, as breaking in must wear the barrel to a certain extent to overcome machining imperfections, though they may be incredibly small imperfections.
Just sayin!
Polishing most barrels is just fine, but, if you have a smooth twist type barrel such as the FX or I believe newer Daystate barrels, polishing can actually increase drag instead of reducing it. The smoother bore in these barrels actually increases the drag on the pellets. Go figure. Do be careful.
End of Third Hand Information Alert!
Now, as for pellets polishing the barrel, I have no opinion, but I will say that Mr FX (Fredrick Axelson) did tell me himself (UAG Grand Opening last November) that my brandy spanking new X Barrel would need at least 500 rounds before it was broken in. Mr. Ted Bier told me a few minutes later that he thought his guns were getting broken in at about 10,000 rounds. I haven't shot that many rounds through both of my rifles put together yet.
I assume breaking in, means that the lead polishes the barrel just a tiny bit with each shot. It's more than leading up the barrel, as breaking in must wear the barrel to a certain extent to overcome machining imperfections, though they may be incredibly small imperfections.
Just sayin!
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Atom I am captivated by that idea. I read the whole thread. I am wondering if it is safe for airguns as well. I was always told to not use brass brushes on airguns to prevent damage. However I am not sure if thats to prevent o ring damage or transfer port damage or if airgun barrels have different kinda of steel. I will do some research on what kind of steel my airforce and Benjamin rifles are. I bet you could put that stuff on pellets and fire them through though. U would probably just need to replace some orings after that.
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I have removed the brush from my bore snakes. Makes for a very fast cleaning without damaging the O-Rings. It all comes down to, how clean do you really need it to shoot accurately?
By the way, if polishing a PCP Barrel, best to remove it from the gun to keep from getting gunk in the transfer port. At least that's my opinion.
By the way, if polishing a PCP Barrel, best to remove it from the gun to keep from getting gunk in the transfer port. At least that's my opinion.
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