Silicone or Alcohol bore cleaning?

Scrivah · October 26th, 2012, 17:50

Hey guys,

Just wondering if you use Pure Silicone or 70%+ Rubbing Alcohol to clean your bore?

I have been reading a bunch about this on other sites and they say that people who run the patch with silicone on in thru the bore are noobs are really don't know what they are doing. The reason being that silicone is a lubricant not a cleaner. Where on the other hand alcohol cleans the bore and leaves zero residue for dirt/dust to adhere to.

How you guys doing it?

ShelledPants · October 26th, 2012, 18:03

I haven't found a need to use anything but a dry patch for my barrel. Alcohol could damage the hop up rubber. Silicone can also cause the hop up to swell and become damaged through use.

Dirtbag · October 26th, 2012, 18:07

It really does not matter that much, these fairly loose smooth bores. You should not be getting dirt or crud much in your bore, maybe a little from the bb's in a dirty mag.

As long as the is no actual crud in there you are fine, On most airsoft rifles you have no good way to check anyway, with out disassembling your AEG. So pop a good blast of silicone in there from the feed end with the muzzle face down.

Then run some bb's through and you are good, just remember the bb's will go everywhere until things dry.

Hi performance sniper rifles are a little different, but in reality the same applies, if you mags are not full of dirt you should not have an issue.

Point in the post above about the hop is a good one, I literally clean my bore once a year.

DustMagnet · October 26th, 2012, 18:08

The manual for my KWA doesn't say to put anything on the cotton strip.

The manual for my VFC says to put silicone oil on the cotton strip.

Neither mention alcohol.

I follow the VFC suggestion for both, but then again I am a noob.

Also I don't jam the cleaning rod through the hop-up bucking. You can use a cotton swab to clean the hop-up.

L473ncy · October 26th, 2012, 18:22

Coming from an electronics background I have a tonne of Isopropyl easily accessable to me. Good thing about Isopropyl is that it dissolves any residual oils and evaporates quickly.

I'd say go with Isopropyl and if you're not that zealous like I am then use a dry patch but I honestly don't believe in using oil down the barrel without at least running a dry patch through a couple times to pickup any residual oils and dirt/dust that the oils pickup.

Oborous · October 26th, 2012, 20:13

Do not use 70% isopropyl alcohol, that 30% is a mineral oil. It's rubbing alcohol that is designed not to dry out skin. If you're going to use isopropyl, you need to find the ultra purity stuff that doesn't actually leave a residue.

I vote for the dry patch with single piece nylon rod. If I have my hopup rubber off for whatever reason, I then clean with some Hopps #9; really polishes the inside. I think it's probably overkill, but I had some lesser quality chinese barrels that had some crappy tarnish inhibiting grease in them... didn't affect the accuracy of cheap BB's (it sucked), but was a dramatic improvement in consistency with good BB's after I cleaned it (Go Green Devils!)

Basically I only use Prommy barrels now, dry patch keeps them beautiful

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October 26th, 2012, 17:50	#1
Scrivah Trader rating Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: London, ON	Silicone or Alcohol bore cleaning? Hey guys, Just wondering if you use Pure Silicone or 70%+ Rubbing Alcohol to clean your bore? I have been reading a bunch about this on other sites and they say that people who run the patch with silicone on in thru the bore are noobs are really don't know what they are doing. The reason being that silicone is a lubricant not a cleaner. Where on the other hand alcohol cleans the bore and leaves zero residue for dirt/dust to adhere to. How you guys doing it?

October 26th, 2012, 18:03	#2
ShelledPants Trader rating Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Toronto, On	I haven't found a need to use anything but a dry patch for my barrel. Alcohol could damage the hop up rubber. Silicone can also cause the hop up to swell and become damaged through use. __________________ Ár skal r?*sa, sá er annars vill fé eða fjör hafa. Sjaldan liggjandi úlfur lær um getur né sofandi maður sigur.

October 26th, 2012, 18:08	#4
DustMagnet Trader rating Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Victoria, BC	The manual for my KWA doesn't say to put anything on the cotton strip. The manual for my VFC says to put silicone oil on the cotton strip. Neither mention alcohol. I follow the VFC suggestion for both, but then again I am a noob. Also I don't jam the cleaning rod through the hop-up bucking. You can use a cotton swab to clean the hop-up. Last edited by DustMagnet; October 26th, 2012 at 18:14.. Reason: grammer is a btch - don't tell her I said that*

October 26th, 2012, 18:07	#3
Dirtbag Trader rating Join Date: Feb 2004	It really does not matter that much, these fairly loose smooth bores. You should not be getting dirt or crud much in your bore, maybe a little from the bb's in a dirty mag. As long as the is no actual crud in there you are fine, On most airsoft rifles you have no good way to check anyway, with out disassembling your AEG. So pop a good blast of silicone in there from the feed end with the muzzle face down. Then run some bb's through and you are good, just remember the bb's will go everywhere until things dry. Hi performance sniper rifles are a little different, but in reality the same applies, if you mags are not full of dirt you should not have an issue. Point in the post above about the hop is a good one, I literally clean my bore once a year.

October 26th, 2012, 18:22	#5
L473ncy Trader rating Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: 11-30-24-1W5	Coming from an electronics background I have a tonne of Isopropyl easily accessable to me. Good thing about Isopropyl is that it dissolves any residual oils and evaporates quickly. I'd say go with Isopropyl and if you're not that zealous like I am then use a dry patch but I honestly don't believe in using oil down the barrel without at least running a dry patch through a couple times to pickup any residual oils and dirt/dust that the oils pickup. __________________ ಠ_ಠLess QQ more Pew Pew READY TO >> RACE

October 26th, 2012, 20:13	#6
Oborous Trader rating Join Date: May 2008 Location: Edmonton, AB	Do not use 70% isopropyl alcohol, that 30% is a mineral oil. It's rubbing alcohol that is designed not to dry out skin. If you're going to use isopropyl, you need to find the ultra purity stuff that doesn't actually leave a residue. I vote for the dry patch with single piece nylon rod. If I have my hopup rubber off for whatever reason, I then clean with some Hopps #9; really polishes the inside. I think it's probably overkill, but I had some lesser quality chinese barrels that had some crappy tarnish inhibiting grease in them... didn't affect the accuracy of cheap BB's (it sucked), but was a dramatic improvement in consistency with good BB's after I cleaned it (Go Green Devils!) Basically I only use Prommy barrels now, dry patch keeps them beautiful

Silicone or Alcohol bore cleaning?

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