Barrel Cleaning With Filter Tips

[38super]

Hi All

 

I read a suggestion (on FB I think) of using cigarette filter tips for barrel cleaning.

Just wondering what people think of the idea?

I tried a 'slim' which fitted nicely, not tight, pushed through easily, and came out quite dirty from one of my pistols.

They are apparently made of cellulose acetate. Not sure how that affects the barrel or hop rubber if at all.

Dipped in surgical spirit should give a good clean.

Has anyone else tried this? 

Good idea? Terrible idea?

 

 

 

[EDcase]

If it works, it works 😉

But don't push it through the hop rubber.  You can use a Q-tip for that

 

Yes, I use a bit of Isopropyl alcohol on the cleaning cloth.

 

 

Edited April 8, 2021 by EDcase

[Adolf Hamster]

think that was from negative airsoft where i heard it originally, sounds like a good idea, not tried it myself. main downside i can see is it isn't that handy for guns where the barrel isn't easily removable (read: pretty much everything bar an m4)

 

my normal go-to is a strip of microfibre on your standard issue plastic cleaning rod, just run through dry.

[EDcase]

2 minutes ago, Adolf Hamster said:

main downside i can see is it isn't that handy for guns where the barrel isn't easily removable (read: pretty much everything bar an m4)

Yeah, that's true.  It would work fine for a GBBR but for an AEG its way easier to cut a strip of cleaning cloth and use the rod.

[Ad_]

I've used cigarette filters before, first tried it many years ago when my I noticed my dad's cigarette filters were 6mm & gave me the idea to try it... with the right filters it works very well although some filters have a tendency to leave fibres behind so be careful about that. Also it works best if you can readily access the chamber to feed it in then fire it through.

 

Don't use alcohol to clean your barrels, it'll deteriorate the hop rubber if it comes into contact with it. There should be nothing in the barrel that would require such cleaning anyway - just general dust/grime and maybe some grease from the factory if it's a new gun. I've always just used filters, strips of kitchen roll or barrel cleaning wipes or whatever with a little silicone oil spray.

[Skara]

36 minutes ago, Ad_ said:

Don't use alcohol to clean your barrels, it'll deteriorate the hop rubber if it comes into contact with it.

I call bollocks on that.

A light clean won't do shit to your hop rubber, of course it'll deteriorate if you leave it soaking in alcohol for 6 months, but a 10 seconds pass won't do absolutely anything.

 

With that being said, I use 8mm filters to clean my M4/PDW barrels (becuase the 6mm ones I use for rolling cigarettes), tighter fit but they work well

[Ad_]

It might not be an "instantly fucked" thing but it will lead to them needing to be replaced sooner rather than later. But you do what you want with your guns; it doesn't affect me in any way.

 

Personally I just give my gun barrels a clean with some cleaning cloth or whatever & some light silicone oil after a game day, a thin coating of silicone oil is good for the hop rubber although it will temporarily ruin accuracy if left there when you next try to use the gun - remove it either by using a dry cleaning cloth or so or just firing some shots through before use (it will clear up pretty quickly as long as it's not excessive amounts of oil); I favour the latter approach.

[Adolf Hamster]

19 minutes ago, Ad_ said:

It might not be an "instantly fucked" thing but it will lead to them needing to be replaced sooner rather than later. But you do what you want with your guns; it doesn't affect me in any way.

 

in fairness, a hop rubber is a wear item anyway, and given the price of them longevity shouldn't be a massive concern all things considered.

 

20 minutes ago, Ad_ said:

Personally I just give my gun barrels a clean with some cleaning cloth or whatever & some light silicone oil after a game day, a thin coating of silicone oil is good for the hop rubber although it will temporarily ruin accuracy if left there when you next try to use the gun - remove it either by using a dry cleaning cloth or so or just firing some shots through before use (it will clear up pretty quickly as long as it's not excessive amounts of oil); I favour the latter approach.

 

i must admit while i don't use silicone these days, when i did i can concur that it never seemed to be an issue when as you say it clears up after a few rounds.

 

hence why i ended up just going dry- split the difference but i'm not convinced either method is really an issue unless done to the extremes.

[Ad_]

1 hour ago, Adolf Hamster said:

in fairness, a hop rubber is a wear item anyway, and given the price of them longevity shouldn't be a massive concern all things considered.

 

Perhaps, but why do things to make them wear out faster? If properly taken care of & matched with the right ammo they can last a very long time (I can't remember the last time I replaced a hop rubber because it was worn, it's been so long... my P90RD is one of my oldest guns and I've only replaced its hop rubber 3 times; only once was due to wear and that was the stock rubber. Can't remember exactly when I got it but at the time TM had stopped making P90s due to an accident at the factory destroying one of the moulds & I had to buy it second hand from Airsoft Dynamics, so it already had some wear on it).

 

Plus it's not just about the cost, but the time spent installing the new rubber, setting it up, re-zeroing sights etc.

[ak2m4]

ideally you want the 8mm bull brand with a couple of drops of surgical sprit soaked into the filter, heck you could also just use a bit of tissue with some water will also do the job.

[Adolf Hamster]

4 minutes ago, Ad_ said:

 

Perhaps, but why do things to make them wear out faster? If properly taken care of & matched with the right ammo they can last a very long time (I can't remember the last time I replaced a hop rubber because it was worn, it's been so long... my P90RD is one of my oldest guns and I've only replaced its hop rubber 3 times; only once was due to wear and that was the stock rubber. Can't remember exactly when I got it but at the time TM had stopped making P90s due to an accident at the factory destroying one of the moulds & I had to buy it second hand from Airsoft Dynamics, so it already had some wear on it).

 

Plus it's not just about the cost, but the time spent installing the new rubber, setting it up, re-zeroing sights etc.

 

i suppose i'm coming from the viewpoint that a hop rubber replacement is pretty run of the mill maintenance, i tend not to do it often but then i also tend not to have a gun in the same config long enough for wear to really be an issue.

 

the curse of the serial tinkerer......

[Ad_]

10 minutes ago, ak2m4 said:

ideally you want the 8mm bull brand with a couple of drops of surgical sprit soaked into the filter, heck you could also just use a bit of tissue with some water will also do the job.

 

Surgical spirit is still basically alcohol, so I wouldn't recommend that. Plain water shouldn't hurt, but it won't do a lot to help either besides help it pick up dirt on the way down the barrel... it's best to just use some light silicone oil IMO.

[DerDer]

The last few times I cleaned a barrel, used cut up microfibre cloths and Isopropyl. Then followed it up with a few dry passes. That was stopping short of the rubber and hop up chamber. 

 

Used to use j cloths and  silicone oil. One of the claims was that the oil acted as a dust magnet of sorts.  

[SSPKali]

Alcohol pre-injection swabs. Tear them in half and use on the cleaning rod supplied with the gnu  

You can get a box of 100 for a few quid on Ebay or Amazon.

[Ad_]

15 hours ago, DerDer said:

Used to use j cloths and  silicone oil. One of the claims was that the oil acted as a dust magnet of sorts.  

 

A thin film of silicone oil should be all that's left, and that shouldn't result in accumulation of dust. Or if it does then you should probably think twice about whatever it is you're doing to allow so much dirt to get into the gun...

 

Anyway, all of my gun manuals say to use silicone oil (some also have "...or teflon oil") for cleaning the barrels; not one of them suggests using any kind of alcohol for cleaning/maintenance, not even the most recent ones.

 

He takes it to an extreme but here's Negative Airsoft's take on the subject:

 

 

[DerDer]

That video makes me sad that I don't have a folding stock FN FAL aeg. 

[ak2m4]

18 hours ago, Ad_ said:

 

Surgical spirit is still basically alcohol, so I wouldn't recommend that. Plain water shouldn't hurt, but it won't do a lot to help either besides help it pick up dirt on the way down the barrel... it's best to just use some light silicone oil IMO.

 

clean using spirit without the bucking of course!  never a fan of silicon oil, always found it never cleaned that well, just me of course, everyone is different.  Do whatever works for you, what you have round.  

Edited April 9, 2021 by ak2m4

[Skara]

 

This rubber is a Prommy Purple, it's about 5 years old, it was the first hop rubber I bought when I got back into airsoft (I know it's this one because I had to cut it to fit into the Ares hop chamber).

I cleaned this twat with alcohol a lot and it's had a lot, i mean A LOT, of bbs put through (at least 2k per Sunday, 30/35 Sundays a year, for 4 years before I switched to Maple Leaf rubbers).

According to you, it should be utterly fucked, but it's not

 

With that being said, Luke makes a point, but also exasperates the "example" by leaving both rubbers soaked overnight, something nobody would do.

Silicone inside the barrel creates deposits of shit that lead to either fuck all consistency or straight up jams, which btw aren't good for your gun. 

Edited April 9, 2021 by Skara

[Adolf Hamster]

5 minutes ago, Skara said:

at least 2k per Sunday, 30/35 Sundays a year, for 4 years

 

if it was a car tyre it'd have done 1.7km

 

no i don't know why i made that comparison either, carry on......

[Ad_]

1 hour ago, ak2m4 said:

clean using spirit without the bucking of course!  never a fan of silicon oil, always found it never cleaned that well, just me of course, everyone is different.  Do whatever works for you, what you have round.  

 

Sure, in that case for an initial clean of a new barrel it's definitely best to use a strong solvent to get rid of all the crap that may be left over from manufacturing Routine maintenance doesn't typically involve disassembly of the barrel though.

 

For routine maintenance (where it's just general dust or so picked up over the course of a game day that needs to be cleared out) I've found it depends on the silicone oil used, the thicker stuff from dropper bottles isn't so good but the light silicone oil from aerosol sprays works well.

 

19 minutes ago, Skara said:

According to you, it should be utterly fucked...

 

I never said it should be utterly fucked, just that wear will have been increased/performance reduced as a result. But whatever, we're all responsible for our own gear, I personally wouldn't let alcohol or other strong solvents anywhere near my hop rubbers but if you disagree then that's your decision. You just do whatever you think is best for your gear

Edited April 9, 2021 by Ad_

[Adolf Hamster]

tbh i reckon there's no real true answer to this both sides have good points and bad points.

 

anyone using silicone oil, alcohol, or nothing at all to clean their barrels are still at least cleaning their barrels. which is better than not cleaning at all which is the trap so many fall into.

 

 

[Ad_]

True enough. Especially with cheaper guns, where you can often get a small "free" boost to power & accuracy right out of the box by simply giving the barrel a good clean to get rid of all the grease/other crap that's usually left in them. It also matters what specific material the hop rubber is made of, since they're not all of the same composition & some will be more susceptible to damage from solvents like alcohol than others.

[Shamal]

On 08/04/2021 at 14:37, 38super said:

Hi All

 

I read a suggestion (on FB I think) of using cigarette filter tips for barrel cleaning.

Just wondering what people think of the idea?

I tried a 'slim' which fitted nicely, not tight, pushed through easily, and came out quite dirty from one of my pistols.

They are apparently made of cellulose acetate. Not sure how that affects the barrel or hop rubber if at all.

Dipped in surgical spirit should give a good clean.

Has anyone else tried this? 

Good idea? Terrible idea?

 

 

 

I've tried it with Benson and Hedges superking blue filter tip but they are far too big??

What am I doing wrong.🤔

Regards 

[Adolf Hamster]

7 minutes ago, Shamal said:

I've tried it with Benson and Hedges superking blue filter tip but they are far too big??

What am I doing wrong.🤔

Regards 

 

you gotta smoke it first, makes it a bit softer so you can squeeze it into the barrel.

[Shamal]

16 minutes ago, Adolf Hamster said:

 

you gotta smoke it first, makes it a bit softer so you can squeeze it into the barrel.

Got it. Ta...😉