Polish a cf barrel??

[Village_idiot]

At the end of last season, i ended up getting a DW cf barrel for my mag. I love it, but after putting several cases of paint through it this season, i'm beginning to notice a lot of fine scratches in the finish of the bore. This is my first cf barrel and i'm wondering if theres a good way to polish the bore without damaging the barrel. I dont even know if this is something that should be done with cf. I'm not yet seeing any problems with the barrel, I'm just hoping to extend its life as much as possible and keep my mag working in top form.

[t_boneshacone]

At the end of last season, i ended up getting a DW cf barrel for my mag. I love it, but after putting several cases of paint through it this season, i'm beginning to notice a lot of fine scratches in the finish of the bore. This is my first cf barrel and i'm wondering if theres a good way to polish the bore without damaging the barrel. I dont even know if this is something that should be done with cf. I'm not yet seeing any problems with the barrel, I'm just hoping to extend its life as much as possible and keep my mag working in top form.

you are talking about carbon fiber i assume, right, and i dont think you can "polish" carbon fiber

[Village_idiot]

yeah, i do mean carbon fiber.

if you cant polish carbon fiber, can refinish it or something?

[Ruler_Mark]

refinishing would be to grind down some of the outer epoxy coat then re-seal it, i dont even know if this is in practice by companies for small tolerance aplications like this,, might be cheaper to just get a new 1

[maniacmechanic]

if there is something wrong with the bore of your DW write them , there customer service is great , they may replace it for you ; a carbom fiber barrel shouldn't get scratches in the bore unless your shooting sand balls through it ( not saying you did )

[trevorjk]

and you are using a normal barrel cleaning device. remember the cotton barrel cleaners and these barrels do not mix! rubber squeegy only

[Ruler_Mark]

and you are using a normal barrel cleaning device. remember the cotton barrel cleaners and these barrels do not mix! rubber squeegy only

wrong DW fiburs can be swabbed

[nicad]

Yes they can be swabbed. However, if there is dirt being dragged through them (dirty paint or dirty swab/squeegee, or you used the barrel as brake when you went for your dive and over-slid!), that can start scratching the bore. Normal shotting paint should not damage them at all.

[Village_idiot]

I appreciate the advice given so far. In the interest of full disclosure some of the scratching is my own fault. Like i said previously, this is my very first cf barrel. The instructions i was provided for caring for this barrel were a little vague. I was told not to use natural fibers (cotton, paper, etc) and only to use synthetic fibers. Turns out that the 100% synthetic microfiber cloth i use for all my other delicate cleaning jobs (CDs, DVDs, LCD screens, etc) still scratched the barrel. My cleaning regimen is now warm water and air drying. I was repacking my gun and barrel in a new case i purchased earlier this week when i noticed the current condition of the barrel. I mentioned in a previous post that there are lots of little scratches in the bore. The bore is still very smooth, but I've noticed that there are patches in various places in the bore where it doesn't quite have that liquid glossy finish. I hesitate to say that its lost its mirror finish, because its still very smooth and mirror like. If it were a metal barrel i would say it looked more like minor tarnish. The scratching is VERY minor. I'd post a pic but i think it would take a much better camera than i have for you to see what I'm talking about. I don't think that my initial swabbing attempts can account for large amount of surface area that has these scratches. When i looked at my barrel recently I was surprised because the scratching seemed to be more than i remembered the last time I looked. I'm not saying I'm completely free from blame, but i cant explain how it got scratched as much as it is, and I'm curious to see if there are any ways polish the bore.

[maniacmechanic]

Yes they can be swabbed. However, if there is dirt being dragged through them (dirty paint or dirty swab/squeegee, or you used the barrel as brake when you went for your dive and over-slid!), that can start scratching the bore. Normal shotting paint should not damage them at all.

if anyone knows it should be this guy ;)

[trevorjk]

well i stand corrected then. is this only for your barrels or can any CF barrel be swabbed? i was under the assumption that CF barrels couldnt be swabbed since the cotton swabs and other swabs will break down the carbon fiber over time?

[Ruler_Mark]

well i stand corrected then. is this only for your barrels or can any CF barrel be swabbed? i was under the assumption that CF barrels couldnt be swabbed since the cotton swabs and other swabs will break down the carbon fiber over time?

currently yes

[maniacmechanic]

well i stand corrected then. is this only for your barrels or can any CF barrel be swabbed? i was under the assumption that CF barrels couldnt be swabbed since the cotton swabs and other swabs will break down the carbon fiber over time?

how does a soft material loke a swab " break down " carbon fiber ? isn't carbon fiber stronger & lighter ?

[craltal]

how does a soft material loke a swab " break down " carbon fiber ? isn't carbon fiber stronger & lighter ?

they can catch onto the fibers of the barrel and damage them. A Cf barrel is woven and unless you seal the weave in all directions you can damage it. DW's manufacturing process doesn't leave any fibers exposed, which isn't the same for the others.

[Pacifist_Farmer]

Just throwing this out there...

Just because you see lots of little scratches in the bore does not necessarily mean the barrel is "damaged". I look at metal parts every day that have millions of scratches, and they have fantastically smooth surface finishes. The way light is reflected off a potentially minor imperfection can make it seem like a gigantic problem.

I understand your concern for the barrel, but do you really think those scratches are going to have an impact on the flight of the paintball?

[caylegeorge]

I have a fibur barrel purchased in the last year and it was never glossy on the inside. From day one it has had a dusty matte finish on the inside of the barrel.

Odd that yours is glossy - or mine is dusty.

-cAyle

[Village_idiot]

Just because you see lots of little scratches in the bore does not necessarily mean the barrel is "damaged".
I'm not worried about my barrel being damaged yet. I'm trying to figure out a way to extend the ammount of time until the scratches reach the point where i would consider it damaged. I would think that if you could polish out some of the scratches periodically you might be able to slow any damage that would be done to the barrel.

I have a fibur barrel purchased in the last year and it was never glossy on the inside. From day one it has had a dusty matte finish on the inside of the barrel.
your 'dusty matte finish' description appears to be accurate when looking at the bore from an angle. However, if you put your eye to end of the barrel and look through it toward a light source, you may be able to see what i was trying to describe.