What’s the best way to remove carbon from the bolt carrier? Scraping or solvents? Thanks!
Welcome to M4C! Hope you enjoy your stay here! 
http://m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=5074&highlight=carbon+removal
http://m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=27331&highlight=carbon+removal
http://m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=17089&highlight=carbon+removal
brushes soaked with solvents, then scraping. a cheap screwdriver works good, cause it’s generally much softer steel than the carrier. i have one that i cut short and ground down to a sharpish edge… scrapes well, doesn’t beat up the carrier.
lotta guys will say don’t worry about carbon deposits. i think it’s more preference than anything… it seems like being adamently against cleaning is almost “cool” these days.
I mostly just keep it soaked in lube of some sort anyway. When it comes to cleaning I just wad up a bit of cloth and twist it in. The Slip 2000 Carbon Cutter does a pretty good job in there. If I get a big chunk of carbon that doesn’t want to come out I will either hit it with a punch-rod or one of the brass bore-brushes that fit (not sure which one it is, but I am fairly sure it is a worn shotgun brush) and twist it for a while.
I think it’s the pendulum swing away from the anal armorer inspections that plagued us for many years. I would like to see a sensible middle-ground met. But I am not going to be the one to lead that charge ;).
This is how I clean my BCG and weapon.
- Mix 7/8 pint of odorless mineral spirit with 1/4 bottle of CLP.
- Pour the mixture into a small metal pan.
- Take apart BCG and let it soak in pan.
- Clean the rest of your weapon.
- Use a small paint brush or q-tip to remove carbon from BCG.
- Remove BCG parts from soaking mixure, dry with can of air, Lube BCG, and put together BCG.
- Put BCG into your weapon. GTG.
- Recycle your soaking mixture with a funnel and coffee filter to remove large bits of carbon deposit. Store it in original mineral spirit container to be use again next time.
Total weapon cleaning time= 1 hour max. So simple a caveman can do it.
Like F2S recommends,I also just try to keep the inside of the carrier and the bolt tail wet with lube,which seems to help keep the carbon soft and prevent corrosion under the carbon.If the carbon gets real heavy,from say shooting cheap nasty ammo,I will soak the parts in Hoppe’s No.9 overnight and use a sharpened chop-stick to pick the remaining carbon off/out.
Otherwise I dont worry too much about it as the carbon seems to be self limiting,and I clean my weapons after every use…so I don’t see a huge buildup on the parts regardless.
I just keep it well lubed and scrape out the big chunks. I haven’t “white-glove” cleaned any of my rifles in years.
I don’t let it build up too thick but I don’t sweat getting every last piece off. I just use an old brass punch to scrape what I need to after soaking it in carbon cutter.
toothpicks and q-tips is what I use along with Hoppes No. 9.
I appreciate all of the helpful responses. Thanks!
Try this: http://catm4.com/ .
I just shot through a Magpul Dynamics Carbine I course starting with a case of Wolf (I know, I know…) the first day. My rifle got dirty enough to start double feeding. I scraped it down with this tool and lubed it up and was back on the line without missing a drill.
It also has instructions for “inspection” cleaning, whatever that means (I was in the Air Force ;-).
I shoot, lube, and repeat. This leaves the carbon at a set amount and the rest blows out. Stop worrying about carbon on your carrier.
Soaking the carrier and bolt rings with a hearty application of CLP really softens that crap up after about 2 or 3 days.
As soon as I’m done at the range, I drip CLP into the exhaust ports and a few drops down the carrier key. The next day or so, the stuff is much easier to clean.
I disasemble the BCG and place in a gallon size zip lock bag.
I place 2-3 ounces of Kano Kroil or Ford fuel injection cleaner in the
bag with the BCG. An overnight soak removed all or nearly all of the carbon.
A GI toothbrush will remove what is left.
Gas piston retro kit…
I have mixed for cleaning the blasters, one part Kroil to 2 parts Shooters Choice bore cleaner. I put the bolt carrier on it’s end, run some of it into the key, then the well and let it sit while I clean the rest of the weapon. I use a GI toothbrush with a patch doubled to run in and twist. Every so often I use the carbon scraper-excess build up w/o cleaning does stress the bolt lugs.
For the bolt, I use the same stuff after running an empty .44 Mag case around the tail.
once in a while i break out the Mark Brown carbon scraper, but usually i dont really worry about it too much.
http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=1851/Product/AR_15_M16_CARRIER_CARBON_SCRAPER
it wont work in the LMT Enhanced carrier, so i just use a cleaning rod section and dental picks for that.
once more i fully and totally agree with the above statement. if the designers had fired a thousand or so rounds, then inspected the parts, then added metal in those areas where carbon build up occurred there would never be a carbon build up !! just my OPINION of course
Im not sure why anyone here is scraping.
WHAT exactly are you guys cleaning off so rigorously?
I understand there is a difference between military cleaning procedures and civi procedures but a simple wipe down has ALWAYS been enough to keep my rifles functioning.
I do generously lube the bolt with CLP after shooting to help soften the deposits.
Also, in regards to that comment about it being “cool” to not clean these days i think its more about maximizing time. In today’s day and age and pace of life most of us want to shoot more, clean less and spend time doing other things. I dont have two hours to spend cleaning my rifle after shooting. A quick 10 minute clean and im on my way to do other things. I think alot of other guys here will echo this sentiment.
Never knew carbon promoted corrosion. 
I know the army manual actually states this, but it has never been proven to be the case, nor has anyone provided proof. It’s an old wives tale if you ask me.
Ive never personally seen corrosion on the bolt,or any of my weapons for that matter…ever,but I also PM my weapons after use and they are well lubricated.Personally I dont worry too much about the carbon as it seems to be self limiting,and a nice sheen of lube helps keep it that way.
But there does seem to be some folks that do have corrosion issues at the bolt tail.In fact there is a thread running on this forum that the fella has corrosion on the bolt tail.Was it caused by carbon,who knows.But I would not say that it does not,or could not happen as there have been folks talk about the very same issue for years over on TOS.