I don't like criticizing people's methods.
I say what people want to do with their guns is their business and their right.
I did see something that I felt compelled to comment on though.
That is the use of metal polish in the barrel.
I don't care what manufacturers say, ALL polishes are abrasive. Including Flitz which I too use and have used though not IN my barrels.
There is nothing going on inside a barrel that needs anything but solvent, occasional copper/lead remover, and oil. Well, I should say that there may be rust in a used one you pick up or has been neglected.
But, I am talking about polish for any kind of routine barrel maintenance/clean.
Doc
Oh, and I clean EVERY gun I get first, whether it is new or used. I don't trust ANYone other than me.
Not being the, '
new kid on the block' I've been listening to this complaint for, at least, the past two decades - if not more. So, as succinctly stated as I know how, all I'm going to say is, .......
First, I'm going to agree that there is an extremely mild abrasive quality to Flitz Metal Polish; however, it is nowhere - nowhere - near as, '
intensive' as other bore cleaners like, say, J-B's, '
Non-Embedding Bore Cleaning Compound', or Sweet's, '
7.62 Bore Cleaner';
AND - just so we're clear - Flitz Metal Polish is chemically
IDENTICAL TO both IOSSO, '
Bore Cleaning & Polishing Compound' and, '
GunBright'; as well as the chemical base that's used in Kleenbore's, '
Lead Away' and Hoppe's, '
Quick Clean' cloths.
If there is a, '
trick' involved in (all) modern gun cleaning then that, '
trick' is to not abuse your bore by
overusing any of these products. I clean a lot of guns; and I've been cleaning a lot of guns for more than 50 years. I think it safe to say that, by now, I have a pretty good idea of what I should or shouldn't be doing!
When it comes to gun-cleaning, '
donkey work' I don't care to waste my time or, '
elbow grease' with a stinking chemical like Hoppe's #9, or much slower chemical bore cleaners like either Ballistol, or any of the other CLP's. Anyone who is worried about the extremely slight polishing effect Flitz has on metal should simply not overuse it, and
NEVER scrub!
Personally, I usually get all of the difficult-to-remove crud out of a barrel with no more than two or three patches, and no more than 6 to 9 passes. This method works; and it doesn't require, either, a lot of time or effort in order to clean a bore and clean it well.
No bore cleaning solution is perfect - None! With other slower and more arduous cleaners all of the multiple passes that are always needed in order to clean a barrel can be wearing on the muzzle's crown, as well as on the barrel, itself. Bore wear is attributable to a lot of different factors: friction, residual firing residue, and cleaning are among them. The fact of the matter is that any gun that's used and subsequently maintained often enough
IS going to wear out.
I've got expensive custom-made barrels around here that have been cleaned with Flitz Metal Polish and Break-Free CLP (both the old and new formulas) for more than a quarter century. Know what? These barrels continue to be able to produce better accuracy than the guy who's shooting them; and, by anybody's definition, the guy who shoots them continues to be a highly precise marksman who has a long personal history of
NOT tolerating the use of any inaccurate firearm!
Flitz Metal Polish wearing out gun barrels is a rumor that I've been listening to, and occasionally coming across on internet gun forums for many years, now.
IT'S A MYTH! That's all it is. When properly used Flitz Metal Polish is no more wearing on a gun barrel than any other cleaning method that might be employed.
The chemical gun-cleaning products I won't overuse are compounds like Sweet's, and J-B's. I
DO use these products, but only occasionally. (Maybe once or twice a year; and, again, only on certain guns.) Whether it's shooting or cleaning them, I know what I'm doing with guns; and the advice I've posted here is not only, '
tried and true' but reliably sound, and pragmatic.
So, let's not start another great internet gun forum myth (of which there are already far too many).
