Good advice there, Motörhead Scott. Too bad I missed seeing you at the Airgun expo this year.
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Wax and gun bores
- Thread starter EdCaffreyMS
- Start date
Lots of good info in this thread. I assume this advice is for both conventionally rifled barrels and polygonal rifled barrels.
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I too have been using wax for years to protect firearms. Never tried it in the bore though.
Thanks for the heads up on that part!
mike
Thanks for the heads up on that part!
mike
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I started the polishing barrels about 6 months ago and I can say it makes a big difference some more then others depending on wich airgun but all are better as far as shooting I agree with Ed I highly recommend waxing? I wax even the out side of my guns if they have a smooth Surface. Great post Ed.
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Renaissance Wax works for me as well. Lasts along time and repels finger prints. I don't wax the bores of my SPRINGERS. Timmy Mac showed me how to use the dry bicycle chain wax in my PCP bores.
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Okay this is a good example of why I like applying wax. The choked .177 LW barrel on my QB79 HPA scatters pellets for the first 30 shots after a cleaning. The first time I cleaned it and went to zero it, I was getting frustrated because it kept wandering around all over the place.
With a coat of wax, it falls in line with less than 5 pellets:
Yes, it made a sub-MoA group with wadcutters at 30 yards. No, I can't do that every time
It was dead calm today and I was uncommonly locked in.
With a coat of wax, it falls in line with less than 5 pellets:
Yes, it made a sub-MoA group with wadcutters at 30 yards. No, I can't do that every time
It was dead calm today and I was uncommonly locked in. Upvote 0
...and here's how the .22 cal fared:
Without the wax treatment, this barrel only needs 10 or so pellets to settle in but it groups straight away with the wax. If it weren't for that cantankerous little guy to the left, this one would have been right around MoA. No hard feelings though, they're Daisy pellets after all.
Without the wax treatment, this barrel only needs 10 or so pellets to settle in but it groups straight away with the wax. If it weren't for that cantankerous little guy to the left, this one would have been right around MoA. No hard feelings though, they're Daisy pellets after all.
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That is EXACTLY what I experienced the first time I waxed the bore of any air rifle! And that experience is what prompted me to start this thread.
I had returned a Gamo Swarm Whisper for a replacement, and decided to wax the bore of the replacement before shooting it. The prior gun's feed/mag mechanism had failed, so there was basically not difference from the was standpoint between the two guns..... the first was lucky to shoot 2" groups until about 400 rounds....then it started tightening until it got to about 3/4" reliably at 20yrds. Moving to the new/replacement gun... after cleaning with goo gone and waxing the bore, the first magazine (10 rounds) shot a group of 1/2" at 20yrds..... and has continued to do so. I'll take it out of a Gamo gun!
So, based not only on my own experiences, but now with the confirmation of others, I'm convinced.... IT WORKS!
I had returned a Gamo Swarm Whisper for a replacement, and decided to wax the bore of the replacement before shooting it. The prior gun's feed/mag mechanism had failed, so there was basically not difference from the was standpoint between the two guns..... the first was lucky to shoot 2" groups until about 400 rounds....then it started tightening until it got to about 3/4" reliably at 20yrds. Moving to the new/replacement gun... after cleaning with goo gone and waxing the bore, the first magazine (10 rounds) shot a group of 1/2" at 20yrds..... and has continued to do so. I'll take it out of a Gamo gun!
So, based not only on my own experiences, but now with the confirmation of others, I'm convinced.... IT WORKS!
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Interesting! It was mentioned in another thread that some waxes contain abrasive particulates that smooths out burs, rough spots, etc: Wouldn't firing a hundred shots or more with harder non lead alloy pellets accomplish the same thing ? The wax embedding in the microscopic pores of the bore definitely sounds beneficial. I think I might even have a can of Mothers wax in my closet. I would assume using automotive rubbing compound might also work to condition the bore ??
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Ed must have at least a twinge of a smile on his face trying to picture all of us scrambling to our garages looking for a can of carnauba wax
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Shot this out today with my 30 wildcat, in which I polished and waxed my STX barrel almost 700 pellets ago. Still going strong.
I believe in waxed bores, lol
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So, are we saying that even though we are shooting waxed pellets, that isn't enough to burnish the wax to the bore/barrel? Another wax it the barrel is the proper thing to do? Why do pellets not burnish the bore?
Just asking.
mike
Just asking.
mike
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I'm too new to airguns to give a viable answer to that question.... maybe others with more knowledge can answer.
I don't shoot waxed pellets..... at least not that I know of. All I can tell you is what I found between waxing and not waxing the bore of an air rifle.... there was a noticeable difference in accuracy and grouping.... for me..... YMMV,
I don't shoot waxed pellets..... at least not that I know of. All I can tell you is what I found between waxing and not waxing the bore of an air rifle.... there was a noticeable difference in accuracy and grouping.... for me..... YMMV,
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You are correct about some waxes containing abrasives...for example, Meguiar Black. But there are plenty of 'pure' carnauba waxes out there. That's the direction I'll take when I try waxing.
As far as polishing the bore, I think I'd stay with a substance made for the purpose. I use JB Non-Embedding Bore Paste. Not saying that rubbing compound (very coarse), polishing compound (not as much), or the various grades of abrasive intended for automobile use won't work...but I know which one of those will do what I want when I cut and buff a car body. But if I foul up, I can always reshoot the car. A barrel...not so much.
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Great post Ed... good stuff, I am definitely going to apply it to mine. And thank you for your service. Bob N
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On the question of why using waxed pellets isn’t equivalent, I suspect it comes down to volume of wax, method of application, and type of wax.
I will attempt to explain in detail why I think these are the key factors. Full disclaimer, I’m using a bit of speculation here but I can definitely attest to the fact I don’t get anything approaching the same results by simply using waxed pellets. That was certainly the case with the .177 LW barrel described above…the one I said needs 30 pellets before it starts grouping.
1. Volume of wax – A wax lube like White Lightning or Krytech has a solvent carrier that evaporates and leaves a trace amount of wax behind so I doubt there’s enough volume to sufficiently coat the bore. Not only that, it’s but a tiny percentage of that already small amount of wax that has an opportunity to be transferred because the pellet is making contact only for small bands at the head and skirt. Then whatever infinitesimal amount is deposited would be focused at the breech end. By the time pellet #1 has traveled an inch, whatever wax it had is already gone and the process of depositing lead has already begun for the remaining 95% of its journey down the bore.
2. Method of application – Since the wax on the pellets is no longer wet and dilute with solvent, it can’t get into the pores of the metal as readily.
3. Type of wax – This comment will be specific to White Lightning because it’s the kind I use, but it seems to be a relatively soft wax. Once dry, it rubs off fairly easily. Now that might actually be advantageous in helping to keep the bore waxed but I doubt it would make a very long-lasting base coat of wax like a hard paste wax.
I will attempt to explain in detail why I think these are the key factors. Full disclaimer, I’m using a bit of speculation here but I can definitely attest to the fact I don’t get anything approaching the same results by simply using waxed pellets. That was certainly the case with the .177 LW barrel described above…the one I said needs 30 pellets before it starts grouping.
1. Volume of wax – A wax lube like White Lightning or Krytech has a solvent carrier that evaporates and leaves a trace amount of wax behind so I doubt there’s enough volume to sufficiently coat the bore. Not only that, it’s but a tiny percentage of that already small amount of wax that has an opportunity to be transferred because the pellet is making contact only for small bands at the head and skirt. Then whatever infinitesimal amount is deposited would be focused at the breech end. By the time pellet #1 has traveled an inch, whatever wax it had is already gone and the process of depositing lead has already begun for the remaining 95% of its journey down the bore.
2. Method of application – Since the wax on the pellets is no longer wet and dilute with solvent, it can’t get into the pores of the metal as readily.
3. Type of wax – This comment will be specific to White Lightning because it’s the kind I use, but it seems to be a relatively soft wax. Once dry, it rubs off fairly easily. Now that might actually be advantageous in helping to keep the bore waxed but I doubt it would make a very long-lasting base coat of wax like a hard paste wax.
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Thank you nervoustrig for the detailed answer. It makes sense to me,a single volume over quantity application. I'll have to give it a go. As stated in an earlier post, I have used wax for firearms on the OUTSIDE for many years so have a lot of Carnauba floor wax handy (that's what I use beside Reno wax).
mike
mike
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A little update on something that came up...elsewhere Scott mentioned that the treatment generally lasts for a competition season (1500-2000 pellets) with periodic cleaning every 200 pellets or so with a dry bore snake. In other words, no solvent.
Up until now, anytime I’ve seen a change in grouping I would go do a deep clean with wet patches. I was just out practicing and everything was going great, pretty well drilling the bullseye over and over again. All of the sudden a pellet went 1/2” high. Next one, same thing. And again. Huh? I kept on for a few more shots and it looks like it’s grouping, just higher than expected. After a few more I begin to realize it’s grouping okay but not quite as well as it had been. Okay, maybe it’s time to clean. I thought back to his comment and decided to try just running a couple of dry patches through.
Straight away it went back to the original POI and grouping. I’m kinda curious what the longevity will be with each successive dry cleaning but that’s pretty cool! Quick and easy and I was back at it again.
Up until now, anytime I’ve seen a change in grouping I would go do a deep clean with wet patches. I was just out practicing and everything was going great, pretty well drilling the bullseye over and over again. All of the sudden a pellet went 1/2” high. Next one, same thing. And again. Huh? I kept on for a few more shots and it looks like it’s grouping, just higher than expected. After a few more I begin to realize it’s grouping okay but not quite as well as it had been. Okay, maybe it’s time to clean. I thought back to his comment and decided to try just running a couple of dry patches through.
Straight away it went back to the original POI and grouping. I’m kinda curious what the longevity will be with each successive dry cleaning but that’s pretty cool! Quick and easy and I was back at it again.
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