I have a Knight SR15E3 and I am a clean freak with all my guns.  The E3 bolt is the only area that is tough to clean.  I have looked at the G&G Tools Bolt Cleaner

http://www.gngtools.com/

And the C.A.T. M-4 Tool

http://www.catm4lesales.com/

Both look like a great and easy way to scrap the carbon build up off.  Is there any other way to do this without harming or scratching up the bolt or do these solutions work excellent and safely.

You could just go and buy Slip 2000 Carbon Cutter and through the bolt in the bottle for 10 minutes or so.



If you are cheap, go to Lowe's/Home Depot/Ace and get a 1/2 Gallon of Odorless Mineral Spirits. It will do the same thing, just remember to re oil the bolt, as OMS will take off all oil and solvent.





 

Oh and add this one to the list:

http://www.magna-matic-defense.com/CRT-15-Carbon-Removal-Tool-p/crt-15.htm

Thanks I have considered a brilo pad as well.  I lube my SR15 with Mobile 1 which last longer and keep the carbon floating from the metal surface.  So the carbon on there now is old.  But I will say those that comment on 10 secs with a metal brush are full of crap!  This carbon (not much) is baked on there like enamel paint on a weber grill!!  It is on there!  I spent a ton of time with my brass brush and hoppes, shooters, clp, you name it!  Didnt touch it at all!   I might need to also find a better cleaner for carbon like the Slip 2000.  But it seems these other scrappers are faster and less crap to breath while doing this if you know what I mean.    The Magna looks really cool because it cleans the inside of the BCG.  Mine looks good till you get to the back.  As I said...I am a clean freak!  I had a piston AR before and that was a piece of cake to clean.  I believe the SR15 can be as well with a few extra tools to make it really simple.

Faster? Maybe, but dropping something into a jar, or in a pan with OMS, and walking away is less effort.





You could use the spine of your pocket knife for the bolt tail and a Mark Brown tool to scrape the inside of the Bolt Carrier. Others use a spent 9x19, .40 S&W, or .45 ACP case to scrape the tail.




 
 

+1 on the Slip 2000.



The first time I used it my bcg was full of build up.

15 minutes of soaking, a rinse with water, and it was squeaky clean.



Also, Slip 2000 is non-toxic.

I don't fully understand the infatuation with the carbon on the bolt tail that we now have all these new specialized tools made for it 40 years after the fact.Clean it or don't,its not that critical as the carbon is self limiting as its gas cut everytime the trigger is pulled.Any of the carbon that breaks loose is simply blown out the carrier gas ports.If your worried about corrosion oil the bolt with a sheen of CLP and let it work.

I personally prefer to rely on the chemistry of my preferred products,rather than mechnical action.
For example,one of the ways Ive found to make cleaning the bolt tail easier,is to pull the BCG back about .5"  with the CH and put a few drops of CLP in the carrier gas ports before,during and after use.Especially once your done shooting for the day put a few drops of CLP in the gas ports and cycle the action a couple times.Break Free CLP aerosol is very handy(only use I have for the aerosol CLP in fact) for this as it foams up and fills the chamber coating all parts including the gas rings.This gives you a jump on cleaning as the CLP is allowed to penetrate and clean during the drive home,or however long the gun will sit before PM is done.

Ive also found that dropping the bolt in a 4oz. jar of Hoppe's No.9 Nitro or Outers Nitro solvent tail end first,quickly loosens the carbon after a bit of soaking.What does not wipe off easily comes off with a sharpened chop stick.
Otherwise a regular PM routine also helps limit the amount of carbon that will build up.

As far as scraping or polishing the carbon off everytime,just take care to not damage or reduce the bolt tail in doing so.Gota remember the bolt tail is part of the mechanical seal that is completed when inserted and mated with the rear carrier chamber port.Damage to the bolt tail will create a gas leak.

I looked into chemical vs scrapping.  I would rather chemical but it seems it will get prices (16 bucks for 16 oz of Slip) and can it be reused? But I would imagine the chemical would lose its strength and you would need to dump it...plus it would contain contaminates of carbon deposits over use.  Once again I could be wrong.  I also dont like to be around that stuff...inhaling it and so on, I know it says it is non-hazardous and bio-degradable but it is still a chemical....hoppes and shooters choice gets me flyin high mixed with nice fat headache and nauseous.  I used chemicals in a well ventilated area as well but still cant stand it.  The scrapper seems to work very fast with limited chemicals needed.  With a scrapper, I questions the safety of the scrappers on not damaging the BCG or Bolt.  G&G Tools, C.A.T., and CRT-15 seem like they are designed around scrapping without damaging the harden steel BCG or Bolt.

I am coming from a Piston AR, ACR, and XCR and now have a DI one so heavy carbon build up is new to me.  Finding the best fastest way to clean is my goal I would give the Slip 2000 a try but I am also considering the tool.  No one likes to clean for an hour or so...I certainly dont.  But my question is how are you guys soaking the BCG and Bolt with Slip 2000?  Putting it directly in the bottle of Slip 2000?  How long do you wait and how many cleaning with slip can you get out of a 16 oz bottle?

Take a minute to look at my method: http://www.weaponevolution.com/forum/showthread.php?1607-QUIB-S-ODORLESS-MINERAL-SPIRITS-CLP-BOLT-CLEANING-PROCEDURE

Ok good news...Slip 2000 is reusable!!!  AWESOME!  But how big (tall) is the jar?  Can I get the BCG in the 16oz bottle or do I need to put it in something else to soak...and if that is the case what do you guys recommend?

Like I said,cleaning the carbon off the bolt completely is not that important of a detail.Just keep it lubed up and as clean as possible,the carbon is self limiting anyway.If your worried about it go to Wal-Mart and get a 4oz. bottle of Hoppe's No.9 or Outers Nitro Solvent for under $5.00 and drop the bolt in it for a bit and wipe the fouling off the bolt.If you shoot/clean your weapons alot,Quibs method is a good one.

You are really over thinking it.  The bolt and carrier and do not have to be spotless, and trying to get them hat way will likely do my harm than good.

Completely agree...but I like it clean.  Never once worried about function but it is my baby...my first knight...HAHAHA!  So I really like to keep her looking her best.  I have never shot a rifle I like this much.  Cleaning isnt something I hate however I also dont like to make it take forever.  That is why I asked about tools or chemicals.

the CAT M4 is the best thing since sliced bread

IMHO, QUIB has a TON of knowledge/experience and this method has proven pretty fool-proof and very useful...  Good to see him back and hope all's well.

Definitely like the idea of "mild petroleum-based" soaking/pretty hard to hurt anything in the BCG vs trying some of the whatever based stuff; especially if it's "environmentally friendly"!  

Honestly, for very low $ investment you'll see chunks of carbon you would've never scraped out, plus you'll not be "scraping" and start out with a semi-lubed BCG to start with.

No hard-core, 500,000-round expert-knowledge here, but this works!

Using a sharpened metal "cleaning" tool to gouge out carbon from a CHROME LINED surface (inside of the BCG) is just silly.

Don't waste your money on a tool, I have the CAT and wouldn't buy it again.

Is the cat even milled...I see the fabulous cs famous botach has a kz USA CRT for 19 bucks that is a milled knock off with some minor improvements over the cat tool.

whats wrong with your cat? i love mine, its not designed to remove 100% of carbon its meant to remove enough that it wont damage the finish and enough to keep it running always

Nice procedure. Thanks for the post, i'll definitely will try this thing.

I used to hose my parts down with non-chlorinated brake cleaner from the auto parts store whenever I wanted to deep clean carbon deposits. I recently mixed a batch of Ed's Red bore cleaning formula, and now I just soak my BCG in ER for about 10 minutes, wipe it down, then re-lube with ATF. If I really want to get the bolt tail spotless, I just hit it with a used brass case after it has soaked in ER, the carbon is soft and comes off with minimal effort. I've yet to see the need to buy a pricey tool just to clean my BCG's.

I didn't add the lanoline and acetone in Ed's original formula. I just mixed equal parts ATF, odorless mineral spirits, and kerosene. The mineral spirits and kerosene I purchased from Home Depot, the ATF I just bought the cheapest no-name or store brand bottle I could find at the auto parts store. My days of buying gun-specific solvents, cleaners and lubes are over.

ETA: Here's a pic of one of my bolts I cleaned today. I took off the extractor and soaked the bolt in a glass jar half-full of Ed's Red while I cleaned the rest of the rifle. After about 10 minutes, I took the bolt out and wiped it down. I then scraped the tail with a few passes from a spent .45ACP brass case. I snapped this pic before I re-lubed it with ATF. The petroleum-based solvents will do all the heavy lifting when it comes to removing caked-on carbon. Just work in a well-ventilated area.

But how will you clean the shoulder of the firing pin?!?!

seems so easy to drop bolt/carrier  in a tub and let it soak while cleaning the rest of the weapon.

I use to use just CLP & GI tooth brush.

I never scrape and I havent had any problems since buying my first AR in 1983

Get the Harbor Feight ultrasonic cleaner for $30 and Supergreen. Just 15 min in and your BCG will be just about spotless with just a rinsing under water and some q-tip cleaning....Obviously use oil afterwards. I use WD-40 and wipe clean, then oil. The $30 ultrasonic cleaner is not big enough for the whole bolt carrier to fit, but it's deep enough to submerge the entire front end about to the back of the gas key. Which is more than enough to get all the important areas that get gunked up. It doesn't take off all the burnt on carbon, but loosens it up a bit. You can't go wrong with this set-up.

I always thought it was kinda f**ked up that the Drill Sargent's in the Army would use a screwdriver and grind it into the bolt carrier to show you that you didn't clean it very good....Of course, there was no way to get that burnt in carbon out....unless you had a screwdriver. If I was out in the field, I think I would go with that carbon tool for cleaning. I like how you can clean inside the carrier with a patch on it the way they showed in the video.

Find a steel 7.62x54r case at your local range. Cut the neck off so you have a straight case. Sand off the burrs, and put a bit of a bevel on the edge. Slide over tail of bolt and scrape carbon off. Don't go crazy, but the soft steel casing is softer than the bolt.

Use a wide mouth glass (must be glass) jar to collect the residual bore scrubber (brake cleaner, whatever) when you rinse parts off. Soaking the bolt in this leftover stuff will soften the carbon before scraping.  This will also soften the gunk inside the FP channel from the sealed primers. I cleaned an old bolt like this and pushed a bunch of red crap that looked like half cured red RTV out the FP hole in the bolt. Looked like the red primer sealant on brown bear ammo.

You can clean the carriert with a 9mm bore brush (I think it's 9mm). Twist in, twist out, carbon gone.