# Polishing your barrell



## Hawken2222 (Feb 13, 2010)

Ok guys I have a couple of questions regarding this.  First of all I have never had my shotgun barrell polished, does it really make that much of a difference in your patterns?  Secondly how do you do it?  Or is this something better left for a gunsmith to do.   Thanks in advance for any feed back.


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## J Gilbert (Feb 13, 2010)

I haven't tried it myself, but have read up on it a lot and the concensus seems to be that it will definitely tighten up your pattern.  I've got the supplies to do my barrels now, I might try to do my 20ga barrel tomorrow to see how it goes.  It's not a very difficult process by the looks of things, just a little tedious and tiring.  If you don't have a good drill though, I'd take it to a good gunsmith to do it for sure


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## Brad C. (Feb 13, 2010)

This might help you.  

I think polishing your barrel will help make any barrel more consistent.  It surely doesn't hurt.  And you won't over polish it I can guarantee you that.  The slicker the better is what I say.  

http://forum.gon.com/showthread.php?p=4604204&highlight=#post4604204


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## J Gilbert (Feb 13, 2010)

Brad's method is very smiliar to the one I'm going to use, the only difference is I'm using a scotch brite pad around my brush instead of patches.  I've got a drill with a cord as well, so there won't be any changing out batteries for me


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## Dudley Do-Wrong (Feb 13, 2010)

I gunsmith told me that it helps the wads clear the barrel a lot better.


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## Sloppy_Snood (Feb 13, 2010)

*How To:  Sloppy's Original Barrel Polishing Info*

Back in 2008 on a forum I call "_Moderator World_", I posted a bunch of information and links on barrel polishing.  I re-present this information for anyone who is interested in barrel polishing shotgun barrels for ease-of-cleaning and potential for improved pattern results.

IMO, the best shotgun barrel/choke bore cleaner, polishing agent, and accuracy enhancement is obtained through the use of a product called J-B Non-Embedding Bore Cleaner and Kroil creeping oil from Brownells. This combination will help your shotgun pattern pellet counts (in your favorite size circle at 40 yards) anywhere from 0% to 10% (depending on initial condition of the barrel bore). 

*Product Links for J-B Non-Embedding Bore Cleaner & Kroil*

Note: Prices listed are current as of July 2009.  

Here is the $10.65 (2.0 oz.) product as listed at Brownells: 


*LINK*: $10.95 J-B Non-Embedding Bore Cleaner (2.0 oz.) at Brownells (Click Here)

...but, it is cheaper at Natchez Shooter's Supply 

*LINK*: $8.89 for J-B Non-Embedding Bore Cleaner at NatchezSS (Click Here) 

And one of the best "creeping oils" to use with it is Kroil. It is less expensive at Natchez as well. 

*LINK*: $8.49 Kroil Creeping Oil / 8.0 oz. Can (Click Here)


...and here is how you use it: 


*How To: Polish Your Barrel with J-B Non-Embedding Bore Cleaner & Kroil*


*LINK*: How To Clean Your Shotgun Bore with J-B Non-Embedding bore Cleaner and Kroil (Click Here)

*LINK*: J-B Non-Embedding Bore Cleaner and Kroil - Best Use (Click Here)


And this is how you keep it off the carpet and from flying all over the place: 


*LINK*: Muzzle Mate Universal Firearm Cleaning Tool (Click Here)


And if that were not enough....if you have a rough, "chattery" forcing cone (remove barrel from your shotgun; look inside chamber end at "the ring" inside the barrel closest to your eye), try using a FlexHone to smooth it up for about $50 from Brownells.


*LINK*: $39.86 800-Grit (Fine) Shotgun Flex-Hones from Brush Research (Click Here)


*How To: Polish Your Barrel with the Brownells 500-grit Shotgun Barrel Honing Tool*


For polishing to remove all traces of tooling marks from the forcing cone and within the shotgun barrel's bore, the Brownells Shotgun Barrel Hone with the Barrel Hone Extension Shaft and Brownells 500-grit Professional Series Barrel Honing Stones. *Unlike the Flex-Hone tools*, the Brownells honing tools are safe to polish over the gas ports of semi-automatic, gas action shotguns.  


*LINK:* $13.75 Brownells Shotgun Barrel Hone Tool (Click Here)

*LINK*: $76.06 Brownells Barrel Hone Extension Shaft (Click Here)

*LINK*: $13.48 Brownells 500-grit Professional Series Barrel Honing Stones (Click Here)


I would recommend using the J-B products with Kroil and FlexHone bore hone (using its own "Flex-Hone oil" oil exclusively) in the following order:

1. Use the FlexHone and specific FlexHone oil (only) that comes with the kit if you have a rough forcing cone or visible pitting or bore scratches in your barrel. Hone it and clean it out with patches and a bit of solvent, then dry patches until it is dry and clean. This is the most cost-effective option for *PUMP* shotgun barrel bore polishing because there are no gas ports to deal with in the barrel.  Due to potential to damage gas ports, I no longer recommend utilizing Flex-Hones for polishing SEMI-AUTOMATIC shotgun barrels.

*OR*

Use the Brownells Barrel Honing tool equipped with 500-grit polishing stones if you have a rough forcing cone with tooling marks (i.e. concentric rings on the cone) or visible pitting or bore scratches in your barrel. Hone it and clean it out with patches and a bit of solvent, then dry patches until it is dry and clean. A final rinse with isopropyl alcohol will clean any residual oils out of the bore and also remove any traces of water.

2. Use J-B Nonembedding Bore Cleaner next. It is a slightly larger "grit" than J-B Bore Polish and will help remove anything left over from the FlexHone treament. Use the J-B Bore Cleaner repeatedly on the barrel bore but do not "slick up" the chamber itelf too much (if at all). Leave the chamber alone (safety reasons). 

3. Lastly, polish it all up with J-B Bore Polish and Kroil as your lubricant. After following the container's directions, push dry patches through the bore until the patch comes out clean. 

4. Admire your work and test to determine if any pattern improvement can be realized (i.e. go shoot your favorite turkey load!)

Help the economy.....buy guns!!!! –Slopster


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## Dudley Do-Wrong (Feb 13, 2010)

Sloppy_Snood said:


> Help the economy.....buy guns!!!! –Slopster



 I like that


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## J Gilbert (Feb 13, 2010)

Sloppy, what do you recommend for a semi-auto barrel?  I spoke with you a good bit about my SX3 on the other forum, it's playing back up now but I'm wanting to polish the barrel on it as well without hurting my gas ports


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## Sloppy_Snood (Feb 13, 2010)

timbawolf98 said:


> Sloppy, what do you recommend for a semi-auto barrel?  I spoke with you a good bit about my SX3 on the other forum, it's playing back up now but I'm wanting to polish the barrel on it as well without hurting my gas ports



Browning/Winchester barrels are quite good straight from the factory so you may want to just slick it up with J-B and Kroil.  If not, use a professional service.  Why?  The service fees cost less than buying the Brownells Honing Tool, Extension, and Honing Stones.

Two gentlemen providing some of the best barrel honing services (12 gauges) are Denny Tubbs and Johnny Stone.


*Denny Tubbs, Gunsmith
FFL  ~    NRA   ~  ACSA
1920 Bumford Rd., Marion OH 43302
740-361-1767

EMAIL: Gunworks@turkeyshoot.net*

*LINK*:  Gunworks Shotguns by Denny Tubbs (Click Here)


*Johnny Stone
1703 Vaden Lane
Ardmore, OK 73401

Home Phone: (580) 226-5349
Cell Phone: (580) 504-0455

E-Mail: jrstone1@swbell.net*

*LINK*: Johnny's Shotgun Chokes & Forcing Cones (Click Here)


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## J Gilbert (Feb 13, 2010)

So just stay away from the ports and I'll be fine with J-B on a scotch brite pad?


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## Brad C. (Feb 13, 2010)

Sloppy_Snood said:


> Back in 2008 on a forum I call _Moderator World_, I posted a bunch of information and links on barrel polishing.



I think I know that such forum.


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## Sloppy_Snood (Feb 13, 2010)

timbawolf98 said:


> So just stay away from the ports and I'll be fine with J-B on a scotch brite pad?


The short answer is "Yes."

J-B, Kroil, brass brush or Scotch-Brite pad *is* okay to go over the porting BUT absolutely do not stop moving the brass brush / Scotch-Brite / J-B toolhead on the gas porting.  Passing over them is fine but do not "park" the spinning toolhead on the gas ports.  J-B, Brass, and Scotch-Brite are soft and flexible enough that they do not round off the gas ports. 

After you are satisfied with your polishing efforts, you *must* clean out the gas ports as they will fill with Kroil/J-B.  "Poke" them out with a toothpic and blow them out with a small can of compressed air.  Those ports cannot have anything in them when you fire the shotgun.

*Do not Flex-Hone (any grit) over ANY semi-automatic shotgun's gas ports!*

A Flex-Hone will "round off" the gas port holes and eventually wear a ring around the bore if hit repeatedly with a Flex-Hone.  Don't anyone do this PLEASE.


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## creekrocket (Feb 13, 2010)

Brad C. said:


> I think I know that such forum.



OH no! I think I just registered at _Moderator World_. Should stay away, huh guys?


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## J Gilbert (Feb 13, 2010)

Perfect, I'm gonna grab some H13 7's or Magnum Blends to shoot in this gun when I decide not to carry the 20ga


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## returntoarchery (Feb 13, 2010)

Sloppy_Snood said:


> *How To: Polish Your Barrel with the Brownells 500-grit Shotgun Barrel Honing Tool*
> 
> 
> For polishing to remove all traces of tooling marks from the forcing cone and within the shotgun barrel's bore, the Brownells Shotgun Barrel Hone with the Barrel Hone Extension Shaft and Brownells 500-grit Professional Series Barrel Honing Stones. *Unlike the Flex-Hone tools*, the Brownells honing tools are safe to polish over the gas ports of semi-automatic, gas action shotguns.



I've been eyeballing that exact honing tool  today in my Brownells catalog.

The 500 grit all you need to remove tooling marks from the bore and forcing cone? No need to start with the  150 and 400 grits?


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## Sloppy_Snood (Feb 13, 2010)

returntoarchery said:


> The 500 grit all you need to remove tooling marks from the bore and forcing cone? No need to start with the  150 and 400 grits?



Yes.  The 500-grit stones will do everything you need.  The 150 is far too coarse to use in a gun barrel (the Brownells tool is nothing much more than a Lisle brake cylinder honing tool  ).  I have never seen a barrel that the 500-grit stones could not smooth up.  After a 500-grit smoothing, I would use J-B / Kroil to shine it up to a higher polish.


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## returntoarchery (Feb 14, 2010)

Sloppy_Snood said:


> Yes.  The 500-grit stones will do everything you need.  The 150 is far too coarse to use in a gun barrel (the Brownells tool is nothing much more than a Lisle brake cylinder honing tool  ).  I have never seen a barrel that the 500-grit stones could not smooth up.  After a 500-grit smoothing, I would use J-B / Kroil to shine it up to a higher polish.



Great I'm gonna order up one today. 

yep. Knew it was a mini brake cylinder hone.  I've got swirl marks and and a chip gouge or tool burr, not too deep though, where I can determine the feed rate of the reamer when they reamed/cut the bore at the factory. That'll do the trick.


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## DonArkie (Feb 14, 2010)

I have Angle Port in Batesville Arkansas polish all my barrels, they have the  Horizontal  Boring Machine with the stops and all.


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## ncturkey (Mar 5, 2010)

Sloppy is the man when it come to the do-it-yourself barrel polishing. The methods he got from Brownell's and his own experience in polishing barrel he really know what he is talking about. It is really worth the effort. With just the Kroil and JB method alone I got my Remington 11-87 21" shooting great. I went from 170's to 200+ pellets in a 10" circle @ 40 yards. And that was with a Hevi 13 - 3"/2oz/#6 load too. Also my patterns were even and well spread arounf the 10",20" and 30" circles with no holes for the gobbler to hide in either. It is just awesome how a clean polished barrel will shoot. It is getting warmer so clean and polioshem' and go shoot. See ya, NC


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## returntoarchery (Mar 5, 2010)

edit: don't know how I double posted. removed the duplicate.


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## returntoarchery (Mar 5, 2010)

One caveat with Brownells 500-grit Shotgun Barrel Honing Tool is it's a little tight with a 20 gauge. I had to put a couple layers of electrical tape around the knurled spring tensioning nut to keep it from hitting the barrel walls.    For a 20 gauge unless it's a gas operated auto with barrel ports, I'd use the Flex-Hone instead. 

Also with the  Honing Tool I get better results using denatured alcohol than with honing oil.


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## 01Foreman400 (Mar 9, 2010)

Are the Benelli crio barrels polished at the factory?


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## Nitro (Mar 9, 2010)

01Foreman400 said:


> Are the Benelli crio barrels polished at the factory?



They are hard chromed. Attempts at polishing a Benelli barrel will not improve it.

Polishing internals is better served on Browning/Winchester, Remington and others that don't hard chrome.


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## 01Foreman400 (Mar 9, 2010)

Nitro said:


> They are hard chromed. Attempts at polishing a Benelli barrel will not improve it.
> 
> Polishing internals is better served on Browning/Winchester, Remington and others that don't hard chrome.



Thanks.


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## WOODS N WATER (Mar 9, 2010)

is the extrema 2 hard chromed? can it be polished?


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## Nitro (Mar 9, 2010)

WOODS N WATER said:


> is the extrema 2 hard chromed? can it be polished?



The Extrema 2 barrel is hard chromed.. polishing will give minimal improvement. 

All current production Benelli semi autos, Beretta autos and O/Us have hard chrome lined barrels.


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## WOODS N WATER (Mar 9, 2010)

thanks


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