JB Non-Embedding Bore Cleaning Compound use and substitute?

I am going to give you an answer but you need to understand I am not an expert. As a woodworker I must keep many tools razor sharp and the final step is to use a "polishing compound " to finish. Lots of guy use a soft auto polishing compound, I use a soft tool polishing compound from Grizzly tools to put the razor edge on my lathe tools. It is cheaper then the "gun compound" but probable very close or the same. Just do not get it hot by using a drill motor. smooth easy pressure of a normal cleaning swab. Clean the barrel really good after use. When you work on a knife edge you will see all the little scratches disappear when polished. That is what your going for.

I hope someone with real technical facts chimes in and helps .

I have always used JB by wrapping a patch around a nylon bore brush, load it with paste, and then push/pull maybe 10 times, reload, repeat. If the barrel has been giving problems, I may then clean with a few pull-through patches and repeat the process. If the transfer port is in the barrel, you might give it special attention, looking and feeling for possible burrs. The chamber leade area tends to lead up more than the rest of the bore, and you might want to work on that area with the brush first. I've never found JB to be the miracle cure that some folks report, but it does help clean a dirty barrel. The polishing is extremely superficial, so if you have a machining burr, it's not going to remove it. Those kind of things usually need some machine polishing that actually removes metal, or a lap with compound, used by someone who knows how to do it. 

I prefer to use a cleaning rod with ball bearings in the handle to allow the rod to rotate and follow the rifling, working in a linear fashion to help get into the inside corners of the rifling where lead is more likely to build up. Some folks like to spin it and they get good results too but I’m not a fan of that approach. 

I do it to every new barrel I touch. The idea is to smooth out the microscopic surface fretting left behind from manufacturing that tends to abrade lead. More strokes at the breech end and progressive fewer as you get nearer the muzzle. Something like 100 strokes is a good start…25 strokes to the first quarter of the barrel’s length, 25 more to half of the barrel’s length, 25 more to 3/4 of the barrel’s length, and then wrap up with 25 full length strokes. Do not overshoot and let it exit the muzzle because you don’t want to develop a bell mouth at the crown. Then clean the barrel and reinstall it and test.

In my experience, once you get a bore nice and smooth, you will not have to clean it nearly as often and it will be easier to clean when you do.

Like most folks, I use J-B bore compound and then do a finishing pass with J-B Bore Bright. Other compounds will work fine though, you just don’t want something extremely aggressive.

I cover this topic and a few other DIY accurizing suggestions in this article:

https://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php?topic=130555

I agree with Nervoustrig's suggestions. I put a patch on a tight fitting jag and usually wet the patch with a little oil before loading it with JB. I would stick with the JB products if at all possible just because there is long history of successful use on gun bores. I don't think it hurts to use it on a new bore, but it may not improve it much if it is already nice and smooth and shiny. I only use JB if the bore seems to foul easily and requires frequent cleaning to remain accurate. Usually one application is enough, but if I don't get the improvement I am looking for I may go through the process one or two more times. I don't have any airguns where JB is needed on a routine basis to remove fouling.

New rifles always get 20 trips down the barrel and 20 trips back...on a brass brush. Then Hoppes #9. ..dry mop...then Ballistol on a mop...dry mop again...then dry patches. I learned this from smarter folks than me. Using Hoppes #9 is controversial on the forums but I figger that the Ballistol will take care of any Hoppes that's left behind. Also, I shoot it several times afterwards. 

Never a problem. 

I'll clean a new guns barrel with a bronze brush and tight patches on a jag using bore solvent, then wipe and oil with 50/50 Ballistol/water mix and shoot it to season it (at least 50 shots for pellets and 7 or 8 if slugs) then see what accuracy it has.

Then I take some JB and put it on the pellets or slugs sides and noses and chamber and shoot them. Again, about 40 or 50 pellets and if slugs, about 25. This 'firelaps' the barrel as the bullet moving down the barrel carrying the JB acts like a lap and does a nice polish. I then clean the bore again with solvent and oil with Ballistol and shoot the seasoning shots. Shoot again for accuracy.

I also look at the muzzle as I fire the borelapping shots as the residue left on the muzzle crown sometimes shows a skewed pattern indicating the need for a recrowning. Note: if you are firing through a moderator, the JB will accumulate in it and eventually need cleaning out.

I have bought used airguns that supposedly were not accurate and after firelapping became nicely accurate.... was it just a very dirty bore or did the firelsp help? It sure does not hurt.

I do not do this every cleaning. And guns lapped this way foul less in the future so it IS polishing.

I’d like to present a differing perspective on this subject. I’m not saying that polishing a bore is incorrect. However I don’t polish the bore on my airguns . Why? I shoot lead pellets, and lead is a mild abrasive. In my opinion polishing the bore with compound is accelerating a process that will happen naturally over time if you shoot lead pellets.

Cleaning a new bore? I always clean a new bore with a bronze wire brush. This removes any very small amounts of swarf or residue that has been left behind at the completion of the manufacturing process. I then do a final clean with cloth swabs and Napier oil. There will be microscopic scratches remaining in the bore, and this is where I prefer to shoot the gun and have the barrel improve or “mature “ over time rather than polish it with a polishing compound.