It's been years since I've owned a stainless revolver that I plan on shooting a lot. Last one was a 686 and to remove all the soot from the end of the cylinder, top strap, and outside of the barrel I used a tooth brush and tooth paste (whatever flavor I had around at the time).

Sold the 686 over a decade ago but recently bought a Taurus Tracker.

The number of gun cleaners that claim they'll remove carbon are so numerous I just thought I'd check in to see what others do to keep their stainless revolvers clean and looking good.

One reason I am looking for something other than toothpaste is that while it worked well on the semi-gloss/satin finish of the 686, the Tracker has more of a bead blast finish I want to retain if possible. Not only does carbon build up on the front of the cylinder, etc, there are also ports on the front of the barrel that now have "carbon feathers" above them that my regular rifle bore cleaners don't seem to have any effect on.

Asking the group what individuals might have found that removes the carbon without being abrasive enough to polish down the bead blast finish.

I have always used tooth brush sized Brass or steel brushes along with those green scrubby pads.

Brass brush and MPro7. This will take off 95%. If you just must get the last 5%, a metal care cloth will work perfectly.

Not to step on dan10mmman, but I would never use Scotch pads on steel...they will leave scratches. I don't know how nylon scratches steel, but it does.

JB Non Embedding bore cleaning compound. And a soft rag.

https://www.brownells.com/gun-cleaning- ... d1160.aspx

MPro7 or Bore Tech C4 Carbon Remover are both pretty solid products.
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/2093587388/bore-tech-c4-carbon-remover-bore-cleaning-solvent-liquid

Recommend soaking the porting vents and cylinder flutes in Bore Tech C4 then scrub clean with a nylon brush.

Though to be honest on the cylinder faces to get them factory or near factory clean I scrub with a fine #000 synthetic steel wool pad from 3M available at Home Depot, Lowes, or Walmart. If that seems to be abrasive for your finish, then a good alternative is the Birchwood Casey Lead Remover Cloth. My PC627 also has a matte finish but I basically just use the lead remover cloth on the cylinder face to be safe.
https://www.brownells.com/gun-cleaning-chemicals/solvents-degreasers/solvents/lead-remover-cloth-prod59702.aspx

Should be possible to get your stainless revo completely clean of carbon stains with some patience and elbow grease.

EDIT: Just saw HK's post so please disregard my comment on the 3M pads, looks like the Birchwood Casey cloth is the better way to go. Please be aware that the reviews on Amazon for the Birchwood Casey cloth also include at least one review that cautions against using the cloth on bead blasted or matte stainless. I'll take a close look at my 627 when I get home tonight to see if the original matte finish has worn through.

I like the Pro Shot gun care lead cleaning cloth. $6.00 - $8.00. I'm sure you can find it on Amazon and probably others.

nevr-dull works great. i think walmart carries it, lifetime supply for $5 and change.

Why are you needing to clean soot from a pistol? Have you been fitting parts with the aid of a candle?

I use Flitz metal polish on all of my SS Smith's and it takes the soot off as well as leaving a nice shine.

Carb Cleaner

You gutys might laugh but use a really soft tooth brush and dawn dish washing fluid. Ive used it for years on stainless guns and when cleaning the gas pistons of AK's

Essentially we have three general techniques for the removal of heavy carbon deposits on cylinder faces/flutes/etc.
- Mechanical e.g. 3M synthetic steel wool pads or polishing compounds like Flitz or Nevr Dull
- Chemical e.g. MPro 7, BoreTech C4, carb cleaner, engine cleaner
- Combination e.g. chemically impregnated cleaning cloths like the Birchwood Casey or the Pro Shot lead remover cloth

The mechanical methods typically involve some kind of abrasive with the potential for removal of a small amount of metal along with the carbon deposits. So this technique generally best for traditional satin stainless finishes though unsuited to the OP's requirements for preserving matte/brushed finish. Similar concern may apply to the lead/carbon removing cloths.

So that leaves chemical methods.

Many folks like carb cleaners as OldGrowth mentioned. For this wood or synthetic grips would need to be removed and I would also be concerned if any fibre optic sights were mounted on the gun. Top Engine Cleaner was a favorite of many folks in the past though no longer sure if this is available. There should be plenty of products currently on the shelves at local auto part stores for use though. So that's one avenue for experimentation.

The alternatives are the newer, more environmentally friendly cleaners such as MPro 7 or BoreTech C4 which are surprisingly effective for general gun cleaning though I remain unconvinced that they are capable of completely removing baked on carbon and lead deposits from cylinder faces.

So today was surfing the interwebs on this topic and found an article describing use of an unexpected product is cheap, readily available, and worth some further investigation.
https://www.primalrights.com/library/articles/evolution-barrel-cleaning

Basically the article describes the use of CLR calcium/lime/rust remover to dissolve and remove built up carbon deposits inside rifle bores in conjunction with the VFG weapons care system 'pellets' which are basically felt or felt/bronze threads (aggressive pellets) used to carry cleaning products into the bore. This is followed by use of a more traditional bore cleaning compound. The author happens to use Wipe-Out products but one could use any one of a number of effective bore cleaners.

The take away for this thread is it might be worthwhile to try swabbing down cylinder faces with CLR, allow to soak for 10-15 minutes, then remove with typical cotton cleaning cloth or maybe some scrubbing with a bronze brush which shouldn't affect stainless matte finish. I'm certainly thinking to remove grips to avoid any effect on synthetic grips or wood grip finishes here also.

May give this a test this week as we have some CLR laying around the house and my 627 is overdue for cleaning.

Very interested in what you find out! CLR is super cheap compared to the usual gun cleaners. More and more, non "gun" cleaners/greases/tools have made their way into my life, simply due to cost. Synthetic motor oil, a tube of moly grease, RC-car boron nitride grease, etc. And you're right, MPro7 and the rest can't seem to get that last bit of carbon for some reason. Most of the time, and particularly on my blued revolvers, I don't bother with the cloth to get that last bit of discoloration. It doesn't affect performance, it's purely aesthetic.

Tried all kinds of cleaners, Break free clp is okay and lubes the gun, but I’ve always gone back to hoppes no 9. I’ve used degreasers too, birchwood Casey, Remington brand cleaners, Otic clean lube protects. I even purchased sweets 7.62 solvent. Some of them even smelled nicer, but old hoppes seems to work best. Never tried Brake fluid though.

Test results are in!!! Results are that CLR effectively removes hard-baked, crusted on carbon deposits, albeit some patience required. More detail below.

I wish I could claim credit to this ground breaking discovery but have to credit the following article
https://www.primalrights.com/library/articles/evolution-barrel-cleaning
http://forum.accurateshooter.com/threads/clr-for-hard-carbon-removal.3935826/

Background: The test subject is a stainless Smith PC627 revolver with matte finish. It dines on a regular diet of 158gr .358 LRN bullets over 5.0 gr Unique. So the gun gets pretty darned dirty between the lead bullets, burned off bullet lube, and powder residue since Unique burns really dirty at low pressure.

A bit about CLR. Common household cleaning product consisting largely of water, lactic acid, and gluconic acid as per the MSDS. It's basically a mild acid for removing calcium, lime, and rust. A 28 oz bottle is a couple bucks at Wally World. The manufacturer's website indicates safe to use on stainless steel but not copper/brass, aluminum, or any kind of wood. I have tested this only on stainless, not blued steel.
https://clrbrands.com/Products/CLR-Household/CLR-Calcium-Lime-Rust-Remover

As a weak acid, I would also recommend neutralizing it once the carbon deposits have been stripped off as an acid left active on the gun could potentially discolor and/or etch the metal surface if left in prolonged contact. This can be done with a bit of cheap, old baking soda (Sodium Bicarbonate) in water as a solution to act as a mild chemical base. Ash/washing soda (i.e. Sodium Carbonate) can also be used. Both available in your laundry detergent sections of Wally World or local supermarket for a couple bucks at most.

Precautions:
- Wear eye protection in case of splash or droplet of CLR to avoid contact with eyes

Method:
- Remove any wood or synthetic grip from the revolver. Protect fiber optic sight tubes with tape or what have you.
- Use a long handled cotton swab dunked in CLR to apply directly to your dirty revo (e.g. forcing cone area, front of cylinder, cylinder flutes, bottom surface of backstrap, and anywhere else with heavy carbon deposits such as the cylinder charge holes).
- Let sit for several minutes.
- Use a cotton cloth to remove dissolved carbon.
- Reapply CLR as needed and let soak for really stubborn areas (e.g. forcing cone, front of cylinder). These areas may need several applications.
- I did resort to a limited amount of light scrubbing with a bronze brush or fine synthetic steel wool (like #0000) on the cylinder face and forcing cone areas.
- Once carbon removed, then neutralize the acid by wiping down with a cloth dunked in a solution of Baking Soda or Washing Soda and water.
- Optionally blast the gun down with a Contact Cleaner (I had Lucas Contact Cleaner on hand but brake cleaner would also work).
- Wipe the gun down thoroughly with a clean cloth to get any final traces of gunk.
- Apply your lubricant of choice (e.g. motor oil, Lucas gun oil, pick your poison here).
- Reinstall grips.

Your gun should now be pretty darn sparkly and ready for further punishment at the range.

I remain a huge fan of MPro 7 and Boretech C4 Carbon Remover though CLR is pretty darn effective at a very low cost. Just be careful to completely neutralize or remove all traces of CLR after cleaning to prevent any etching or damage to your gun.