Nylon brushes vs. bronze brushes ?

[TMan]

I finished cleaning the Colt .45, but hadn't started putting it back together again. I was putting away the jag and brush. Prior to storing a brush, I spray it with gun cleaner first, then wipe it off with a paper towel. Well the brush felt funny. Looking at it closer, it appears to be made out of nylon vs. bronze.

I then dug through the supply bag aka the home for my safe keys!!! I got a new brush, which I found was a true bronze brush. Just out of curiosity, I decided to clean the bore again using the bronze brush. The results amazed me it was like it hadn't been cleaned previously.

I'm not sure the value of the nylon brushes. It seems like some guns, like either the Glock or H&K shipped with a big nylon brush. Begs the question: are there instances where you wouldn't want to clean with bronze brushes and you need to use nylon?

["DoubleAction"]

TMan; The Glocks and HKs have the Polygonal and Hexagonal bores, as opposed to the rifled bores; That might be some of the reasoning behind the use of the nylon brushes, unless it has something to do with the manufacturer's recommended bore cleaner.
I have only the rifled bores in my guns and thus I use the bronze or copper brushes, unless I'm using the copper fouling cleaner. Copper cleaners like Shooter's Choice will damage the bronze brushes, so I use patches and jags with it. Nylon brushes are recommemded for use with some bore cleaners, but for the most part I use Hoppes # 9 to remove most of the fouling, and then proceed to remove the copper with the Shooter's Choice.

[TMan]

admin said:

... Copper cleaners like Shooter's Choice will damage the bronze brushes, so I use patches and jags with it. Nylon brushes are recommended for use with some bore cleaners, but for the most part I use Hoppes # 9 to remove most of the fouling, and then proceed to remove the copper with the Shooter's Choice.

Well, that is the first that I've heard that Shooter's Choice will damage bronze brushes. I just thought I'd bought cheap brushes because they kind of fell apart on me. I think I have some other guns too that don't have rifling - maybe the IMI ones? I wasn't aware that they made copper brushes, I thought all of the brushes were bronze except for the funny ones on their own rods that came with the guns.

["DoubleAction"]

TMan; Most all the bore brushes I've seen are bronze but I sometimes use a couple of stainless and copper brushes for the chamber, if it looks too bad. I have what appears to be a nylon coated bronzed brush, could be either a Pro Shot, Kleen Bore, or one from Dewey. I sometimes use a .50 cal. bronze black powder brush in the bores of my .45 acps, if they are stubborn to clean.

[TA]

Well, that is the first that I've heard that Shooter's Choice will damage bronze brushes.

The copper cleaners have ammonia and other chemicals that attack copper. The problem is that they will also attack bronze. Your brush will turn blue. I have used bronze with copper cleaner, but as soon as I remove the brush from the bore, I clean it with a spray like Rem Oil or Gun Scrubber.

[TMan]

Well, they didn't turn blue on me, the bristels fell out. I normally spray my brushes with gun scrubber and wipe them off on a paper towel before putting them away.

Speaking of brushes, I cleaned my Bond Arms Cowboy Defender today. I bought a couple of .410 brushes and much to my surprise they barely touched the sides of the barrel. Then it dawned on me: this is really a .45 Long Colt that shoots .410 ga shells, not the other way around. Previously, I'd used a bore snake, but it needed a really good cleaning. Between my brother, nephew, and me, we had put quite a few rounds through it. I guess what I should be using is a .45 bore snake not the 410 one.

["DoubleAction"]

TMan; Most brushes also have a brass core. If the gun scrubber is not getting to the core, it might give some reasoning as to why the bristles are jusy falling out.