Plugging a barrel

A careful borescope examination of my 45 barrel seems to indicate that my normal cleaning routine isn't quite doing the job. I'd like to leave it to soak in Kroil for 24 hours before the next clean - but I can't for the life of me figure out how to plug the barrel well enough to stop it leaking out and thus not doing any good. I'm sure there's an obvious and simple way to do this and I'm just not seeing it. Would some kind soul care to enlighten me?

Thanks

I have heard of a cork or a wooden dowel, cork probably won't work very well for that but a tight fitting dowel would. By tight fitting, I mean slightly tapered and hammered in.
(Use dowels for sealing bores for rust browning or bluing muzzleloader barrels.)

A tapered rubber plug could be tapped into the breech. Quick websearch shows Home Depot carries tapered plugs, but the sizes appear to be slightly too large.  (Smallest one has a minimum diameter of 1/2".)  Best guess says a size "000" (triple zero) might work.  See https://www.sciencecompany.com/Black-Rubber-Stoppers-Size-Chart.aspx for the sizing chart, looks like the stopper in question is $.40 plus shipping.  https://www.sciencecompany.com/Rubber-Stopper-Size-000-P6525.aspx

Hope this helps.

Local hardware stores should have a selection of rubber stoppers

I use a short section of PVC pipe with two caps to soak barrels

Why not just put the barrel in a container just big enough for the barrel and fill with Kroil until it covers it? Kroil is highly penetrating and very well might seep out of any plug over time.

Rubber ear plugs

Soak up paper towel very heavily and push into barrel with chopstick. Place it all into ziplock for 24 hours, rotating barrel every 8-12 hours. This way you have least amount of waste and you will visually see deposits on the paper towel after you push it out.

I have an olive jar that is 2" wide and 6" tall. I fill it with kroil and drop my barrel in it and soak for a few hours. It's amazing shards of lead I get out of it. I also use the o-ringed jag Brownells sells. I buy kroil by the gallon. I use a lot of it.

Bill

Thanks for all the ideas. I checked the spec sheet and it looks like PETG is unaffected by oils (we'll see) so I printed a barrel sized tub, put the barrel in and topped it up with Kroil. I'd add a photo but srvimg is just giving me cloudflare errors today.

The best is Nitrile.  See if you can find a nitrile plug.  Or just wrap in a decent tape for oil paints.

I do like NYKenn does and use foam ear plugs. I've also used that caulking rope you put in concrete cracks, it's a closed cell foam that works real good also.
Stan

straybrit wrote:Thanks for all the ideas. I checked the spec sheet and it looks like PETG is unaffected by oils (we'll see) so I printed a barrel sized tub, put the barrel in and topped it up with Kroil. I'd add a photo but srvimg is just giving me cloudflare errors today.

3 D printer. The technology available today is amazing to me.

saran wrap and painters tape