Gun Discoloration
 

A guy at work bought a stainless steel Smith and Wesson revolver the other day and has shot it very little. But, for no more than he has shot it, there seems to be a lot of discoloration around the cylinder and at the end of the barrel. He has tried cleaning it, but it isn’t cleaning easy. I suggested buffing it, and he tried that with a little Dremel grinder and a buffing wheel for it, but that hasn’t worked for him either. Is this normal, or do any of you have a suggestion for him to try?

tooldummy,

Stainless guns will discolor upon firing ammo. The front of the cylinder takes on a black, tar-like appearance. Several good gun cleaning products will remove that baked-on carbon. G.I. Bore Cleaner, Shooter's Choice and CLP will remove it.

Adam

If you can find one of those impregnated cloths for lead removal, they'll take it off, too.
The one I have is called "Lead Wipe Away". It's a felt like cloth with something impregnated into it (no idea what).
The original purpose of the cloth is to cut it into patches for removing lead from bores (it works).

I agree with Jack
 

Lead Wiping Cloth does a great job cleaning up stainless steel cylinders. All the best...
Gil

I use one of those little wire wheels in a Dremel tool. A soft touch does the job.
Paul B.

Sorry guys, but you should not use a buffing or wire wheel of any kind on the face of the cylinder. The chamber throats will be wallowed out by the wheel. Use a soft cloth or a chemical only.

An excellent product to remove carbon, copper or lead is RB-17 found here:

http://www.rb-treasures.com/product3.html