Scotchbrite for Bore Lapping

[draken]

I read somewhere of lapping a bore with a Scotchbrite pad. 
I think I may want to try this on my 54 cal. Rice barrel, but not before I know a little more about the process. 
I presume a section of the pad would be wrapped around either a .50 or .45 cal cleaning jag for starters, but I'd like to get some input from others.

P.S., I've already tried a half hour with steel wool.

[Dave R]

Normally Rice barrels have an excellent bore finish!! Please describe your problem.

[Dennis Glazener]

Unless you have seen/felt roughness in the barrel I would not think of lapping it. If its rough the first thing I would do is call Jason at Rice Barrels and discuss with him. I have owned/used a pile of Rice barrels over the years and have never seen or felt one with a rough bore. (except one a friend forgot to clean after a shooting session!)
Dennis

[Scota4570]

That is not lapping.  It is just unconrolled removal of the inside of the barrel.  Lapping is done with cast lead laps and abrasive.  IF you have a specific issue, say a wire edge on a land that is cutting th patches, that might help.  If you just want to shine it up, fine steel wool and Semichrome metal polish may be a better choice.  IF it shot well already I'd leave it alone. 

[Daryl]

Scotchbrite, like 0000 steel wool, will slightly or microscopically round the corners of the lands, taking off a sharpness or a feather if the barrel is cut rifled without pulling a button through as some 'makers' do.  If your crown is too sharp & thus cutting the patch when loading, polishing the interior of your barrel will not stop the cutting the patches. Patches that are cut by too sharp a crown, will burn as they cannot seal the powder gasses and flame behind the ball.

As Scota4570 notes, Scotchbrite or steel wool rubbing is not true lapping.

If you have spent 1/2 hour running steel wool up and down the bore, there likely is nothing more to do. I have never heard of a Rice Barrel that needed any polishing nor lapping.

If it is not shooting well for you, it is likely your load combination that sucks, not the barrel. However - all barrel makers will turn out a lemon from time to time & if that is the case, lapping will likely not help as there will be something "wrong" with it's lands or/or grooves.

[Jerry V Lape]

My limited experience with scotchbrite in the bore is related to one Getz barrel which I could not get a fired patch from that wasn't cut.  Don Getz told me to scotchbrite the bore and that bore works good ever since.  It was probably a wire edge somewhere in there.  

Added to clarify which grade - the thin green stuff for kitchen use. 

[hanshi]

I use ScotchBrite patches sometimes in my cleaning routine.  ScotchBrite can really get out stubborn fouling that a cloth patch leaves behind.

[Scota4570]

Scotchbrite come in various various grades (grits) .   It is like sand paper.  You all should be specific about what one you are reccomending.   

[hanshi]

I was not aware of it coming in more than one grade.  I just buy the little pack, usually store brand which is cheaper, with three thin green sheets.  Which grade am I buying?

[bgf]

I was not aware of it coming in more than one grade.  I just buy the little pack, usually store brand which is cheaper, with three thin green sheets.  Which grade am I buying?

Those are the ones I use.  I think the grit is just a little north of a coarse washcloth, but the hardness of the material is low. I doubt they remove solid steel, just edges and residue/corrosion. 

I like them in place of brushes, which are not well made these days.  Adding polishing compound increases their uses.  A 1x1 or so patch on my 40 Cal jag works perfectly in my 50s.

Much like a brush, you can usually see more stuff knocked loose.

[bgf]

To op, the steel wool should have done all the smoothing you need.  More likely, as said,  the crown is still too sharp and cutting patches.  Less likely, but still possible, there is a burr or other problem with the crown.

[moleeyes36]

I was not aware of it coming in more than one grade.  I just buy the little pack, usually store brand which is cheaper, with three thin green sheets.  Which grade am I buying?

Hanshi,

I've found Scotch-Brite pads that aren't attached to a sponge increasingly hard to find in my area.  However, MCS Industrial Supply sells the different grades by single pad or bulk. http://www.mscdirect.com/browse/tn/Abrasives/Coated-Non-Woven-Abrasives/Pads-Sponges/Hand-Pads?searchterm=3m&navid=12100118+4294957236  This link also describes how course the different colors of pads are. 

Mole Eyes

[hanshi]

Moleeyes, those pads carrying the "ScotchBrite" label are also scarce where I shop.  But they do carry those same pads in the store name; they're also cheaper.  Three pads last a good while.

[Standing Bear]

The different Dollar Stores usually carry the green pads that are good for scrubbing. The brown pads (says on the pkg will remove metal) I got in one of the hobby stores iirc.
TC

[WadePatton]

ANYWHERE auto paint/body shop supplies are sold will have all the grades of scotch-brite.

There's a green, white, gray, maroon, and maybe a black.  These are all different grits.

Don't try to save a buck when toying with a bore is my motto. Get the good stuff-it's useful for lots of things. 

I love to use the 2000-5000 grit wetsand papers for cleaning polished surfaces.  But that's not the same thing.

I was not aware of it coming in more than one grade.  I just buy the little pack, usually store brand which is cheaper, with three thin green sheets.  Which grade am I buying?

Hanshi,

I've found Scotch-Brite pads that aren't attached to a sponge increasingly hard to find in my area.  However, MCS Industrial Supply sells the different grades by single pad or bulk. http://www.mscdirect.com/browse/tn/Abrasives/Coated-Non-Woven-Abrasives/Pads-Sponges/Hand-Pads?searchterm=3m&navid=12100118+4294957236  This link also describes how course the different colors of pads are. 

Mole Eyes

[bgf]

One thing I couldn't figure out even with a lot of googling ( was whether the green scouring pads are the same as the green sanding pads.  The green sanding pads have a grit of 600, basically small abrasive particles embedded in a polypropylene fiber.

I took a generic green scouring pad to a mildly patinaed piece of mild steel.  The oxide layer was removed quickly, and the steel itself was lightly polished/scratched.  It would take hours of scrubbing to remove much steel!  I would estimate the grit to be at least 600, probably much finer in effect.

One other thing I regularly use these pads for is whiskering wood before applying stain or finish, not to mention scratching finishes between coats.

[Kaintuckkee]

I have used the green and gray ( finer ) to clean up used ML'er barrels, one TC Hawken 45 I had was dark and dingy looking, no pits in it and did not shoot all that well, I used the green Scotchbrite followed by a normal cleaning, that thing shot great after I used the Scotchbrite and loaded easier to.

[little joe]

Unless you have seen/felt roughness in the barrel I would not think of lapping it. If its rough the first thing I would do is call Jason at Rice Barrels and discuss with him. I have owned/used a pile of Rice barrels over the years and have never seen or felt one with a rough bore. (except one a friend forgot to clean after a shooting session!)
Dennis

Excellent advice