need a carbon remover.

Question

hello,

what chemical can i use to remove carbon from firearm parts?

i have been told that carbon cant be broken down into other elements

so when a company make a "carbon dissolver " its mostly a gimmick to sell

the product & that i need a chemical that would "lift" the carbon off the parts

and then dispose of the carbon. what say you?

Answer 1

It is true that carbon cannot be broken down into other elements, but it can be cleaned off metal parts. You might try mineral spirits, kerosene, gasoline, etc. Possibly even warm soapy water, or other commercially available cleaners made for "grease".

Answer 2

If you don't live in an area that outlaws it, MEK (methyl ethyl ketone) works well. It removes carbon by dissolving it in solution (it's a solvent) using its strong polarity to interact with and break down the molecular bonds of carbon compounds. You still need to wipe away the resulting solution though.