Sigh, the important thing is to keep barrel clean.....
yes silicone will assist bb's to slide down the barrel with nearly zero drag
BUT if a tiny tiny drop of silicone mist of gets on that bucking in hop - you are gonna notice the crappy effects
and until you totally strip that hop down it will remain like that for quite some time
So the general advice is for people to NOT use silicone until you have gained experience in barrel cleaning
you learn exactly where your hop is and keep a good inch or 25.4mm away from it at least
Cleaning the barrel with alcho wipes is the main thing - cheap and easy to use
The cleaning rod that you use - mark it where you feel the hop unit is
cleaning the barrel first of all crud that builds up to stop the bb dragging on this crud will help maintain performance
so do that just with alcho wipes for a good while.....
if at a later date the you wish to polish it with silicone then you are aware of the risks of contaminating the hop rubber or bucking
It does help to reduce drag but like I said get it on your bucking and you won't get the backspin you should be getting
So bb's or their range is actually worse and you are screwed - complete strip down or replace bucking
THAT is why we do not recommend silicone for barrel cleaning tbh
it is good really but ONLY IF YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND UNDERSTAND THE RISKS !!!!
only a very very small amount is needed and you buff it with a dry cloth to polish it - well away from hop unit
If anybody is thinking this is way way OTT try this.......
apply a small tiny amount of silicone on your kitchen floor.....
polish it up with dry cloth - now you see how slippery it is as your nearly break ya neck walking on it
if that is your bucking - it is f*cked !!!
now get some hot water, washing up liquid, lots of bubbles/lather, get on your knees and try to de-grease that silicone before you have a bloody accident
ACTUALLY - don't put it on floor - polish say a worktop as you will avoid breaking your neck or others that use that kitchen
It is very very slippery stuff but can cause more grief if used improperly.....
So just clean barrel with alcho wipes - that will do wonders on its own
Silicone if used needs very very very very careful application in the most smallest of amount and polished and polished dry
Spraying, pouring, soaking the cloth in silicone - that is just a waste of time and you may as well start stripping down the barrel/hop now
Think that should get the message across to most people - hope so coz I'm done on this
