Chrome Lined Barrel Ruined?

[Shmoopinator]

So I was cleaning my Supernova Tactical this morning, and was getting frustrated because it seemed that no matter how many patches I ran through the barrel, there was still heavy residue caked on. I would look down the barrel from the rear and see that just after the chamber, there is what looks to be some caked powder residue that wouldn't be removed.

To clean, I used some Frog Lube and a nylon brush. I would sort of double patch my cleaning jag as just one patch didn't seem to have enough width to effectively catch the residue. I used one wet patch first, then a dry patch. Then used the other side of each patch in the same order. I probably went through about 12 patches total this way.

I then used a hair dryer to heat the barrel in hopes that it would loosen up some of the residue and make the Frog Lube a bit more efficient. After running a couple more patches through, I noticed that there were some tiny shiny silver looking pieces in my cleaning patches. This is where I stopped because my first thought was "Oh crap". (However a little more vulgar)

I'm really hoping that I haven't ruined the chrome lining in the barrel. Has anybody else had this happen or has any idea if this really could be the chrome lining or not?

[truckcop]

Well, can you seen any places on the interior of the barrel that look like the chrome is flaking away? It may have just been bits of lead that had adhered to the interior that are coming out. Generally, powder residue isn't going to "cake" up just past the chamber. It's usually either lead or, more likely, plastic from the wads. If the lining of the barrel is nice and smooth and shiney all the way down, the barrel is probably GTG.

[Shmoopinator]

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Here are some pictures I was barely able to take. (I apologize for my camera's bad quality, but it's also hard to focus on the inside of a barrel).

If you can sort of see it, it looks to be some roughness to the barrel, but I don't see any peeling. So I assumed that it was caked on powder residue since the cleaning cloths were still coming out dirty.

All of the pads that I was pushing through before the heating came out with none of the shiny silver pieces. Here's how they started coming through after the heat.

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If this is really the damaged chrome lining, do you know if Benelli's warranty will cover this? I haven't done anything out of the ordinary that I do to my other guns. I would hope that with a big name like Benelli they'd stand by their product and warranty.

[Shmoopinator]

That's what I'm hoping, but I found the same thing towards the front of the barrel (the side I point at you). I tried scrubbing it and cleaning it, but it seems like it is on there permanently. I guess I might just have to go buy a bronze brush and try that. Any other suggestions?

[benelliwerkes]

Wrap the bronze / brass brush in #3 / #4 - OOOO steel wool, and then chuck the brass rod securing the brush into a hand held variable speed drill......low speed, multiple passes will usually make the bore sparkle.

[Shmoopinator]

So my dad suggested using his Hoppes to soak the affected area (sounds medical all of a sudden), then vigorously run my nylon brush through it. Lo and behold, the crumminess was being removed to reveal the original smooth finish. I guess I just panicked a little too much on this. However, it doesn't hurt to be too safe. Especially when dealing with such a marvelous work of art. Thanks for all of the suggestions guys!

[StrangerDanger]

The silver is lead. You need to get a tornado brush.

[-=WGT=-EMSDJ2]

I use Kroil when hoppes wont get all the fouling out

[SgtCathy]

The old 0000 steel wool and a variable speed drill trick. Many years agao I had a Remy 1100 gummed up pretty bad with plastic fowling. Placed a serraded wood dowl in my drill, wrapped it with the 0000 steel wool. Then soaked the steel wool with Hoppe's and went at it. Five minutes later my barrel looked better than brand new (it came from the factory dirty). Not sure I would do that with a crome lined barrel. For some reason I don't understand, I never had a problem with plastic fowling after that in the Remy. My two Benelli's, a 20 guage short stock Monty and an early H&K S90 M1 in Police configuration never had fowling problems. Both barrels in my Benelli's look pristine.

[jaegerbataillon511]

Frog lube is also a preservative to leave in the barrel for long term storage, and heating up the barrel with a hairdryer would do the same less damage to it as a hot barrel after shooting several rounds. I too get some shiny spots on some patches, but I think they are lead.

These scratches inside your barrel are very common and probably done from steel shots or your cleaning rod.