I could not wait to post this one. I just got back from a hunting and fishing show in Charlotte, N.C. I was going to get some Butch's Bore Shine at one of the booths but the guy had a new product there called Monana X-treme. He had the Butch's but only in the big bottle and being short on funds I asked if he had the smaller bottle. This opened up the discussion on cleaning and he offered a bit of advice. I want get into all that we talked about but I did buy a small bottle of the X-treme to try but I mentioned that I used Flitz as a kind of bore conditioner and he said you do realize it is an abrasive. I had always heard it wasn't so he peaked my interest. He pulled out a stainless steel rifle barrel and cleaned a spot on it with a jewlers rouge. wiped it clean and then rubbed vigorously with a clean cloth. The cloth remained completely clean. He then put a small amount of Flitz on a patch and rubbed. It was very dirty. Just like it was finding more dirt or fouling. He rubbed with a clean cloth until it was clean. It's clean now, right. Anything else that comes off now has to be part of the metal, right. Patch of flitz again, guess what, dirty as everything. Just like you had went at it with a lapping compound again.
I came home and went to work. I had to try this for myself. Yep, same result. I used a stainless steel cleaning rod. I cleaned it with a jewlers rouge and then with Sweets, then with Breakfree. I got it clean. Applyed the Fritz and you guessed it. Dirty. This changes my view on Flitz. I will still use it but I realize now it is abrasive. I think it still is conditioning the metal also because I am happy with the bores I have used it on.
Oh. The new stuff. Seems to be good. It smells just as stought as the Sweets to me. The guy said he had left it in the bore of a gun for days with no problems but the instructions do not say you can do that. It is suppose to not have an etching acid that Sweets has but on the bottle it lists an acid with the other ingredients. The oil is something I may continue to use, It says it is a good breakin product for new barrels.
I came home and went to work. I had to try this for myself. Yep, same result. I used a stainless steel cleaning rod. I cleaned it with a jewlers rouge and then with Sweets, then with Breakfree. I got it clean. Applyed the Fritz and you guessed it. Dirty. This changes my view on Flitz. I will still use it but I realize now it is abrasive. I think it still is conditioning the metal also because I am happy with the bores I have used it on.
Oh. The new stuff. Seems to be good. It smells just as stought as the Sweets to me. The guy said he had left it in the bore of a gun for days with no problems but the instructions do not say you can do that. It is suppose to not have an etching acid that Sweets has but on the bottle it lists an acid with the other ingredients. The oil is something I may continue to use, It says it is a good breakin product for new barrels.