# Deja Vu Twenty-Two



## Goldwing (Nov 5, 2014)

A couple of years ago my friend complained that his MK II Target wasn't reliable and was terribly inaccurate. He said he had cleaned and oiled it regularly and tired of wasting time at the range with a gun that didn't work well. 
I jokingly offered to trade my tuned up 10/22 for it and to my surprise we traded. 
That night I took the MK II to the bench and totally stripped it down, cleaned everything thoroughly. I also hand lapped the barrel which was badly fouled with lead and copper. The barrel turned out better than brand new IMHO.
On my next range trip I had zero malfunctions and the little pistol was extremely accurate. I was very pleased.
On my way home I thought about what a great deal I had made and how a 10/22 is worth maybe half of the MK II. SOOOOO, I called Jim and told him HIS gun was fixed and if he wanted it back it was o.k. He thanked me and took it back and returned my 10/22.

Flash forward to this weekend when he offered to trade the MK II for a toy that he wanted more than MK II. The numbers were slightly tilted in his favor so he evened things up with a Vortex Razor optic sight with a $380 retail price tag on it. There will not be any take backs on this round!

GW


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## rickclark28 (Apr 14, 2019)

So that is the old girlfriend that keeps showing up?! She is a keeper and I commend you on your treatment of your friend. Nice looking Ruger there and I am glad she returned to you.
*What did you use to clean the badly fouled barrel with lead and copper?


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## Goldwing (Nov 5, 2014)

rickclark28 said:


> So that is the old girlfriend that keeps showing up?! She is a keeper and I commend you on your treatment of your friend. Nice looking Ruger there and I am glad she returned to you.
> **What did you use to clean the badly fouled barrel with lead and copper?*


I put a patch around a .22 brush and coated it in fine lapping compound. I gave the barrel ten passes in and out, then thoroughly cleaned the barrel. Since the patches did not come out completely clean, I repeated the lapping process. After the second round of lapping and cleaning the barrel shined like chrome and the patch came out snow white.
There are many who go through the process of casting a slug of lead in the gun barrel and using it to carry the lap compound through the barrel. I am sure they have their reasons. I like my method because it is effective without wasting as much time.
GW


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## rickclark28 (Apr 14, 2019)

GW, 
Thanks for the reply! Last night I used the above mentioned method on my Ruger Mark III 22/45 and after several tries I came out with a VERY clean barrel. I did not think at first it was bad but after 8,600 plus rounds it really needed a cleaning. I am impressed with how well it came out! It is now clean and I can not wait to get to the range. It took x2 tries with some really old "Radiac Diamond" compound. I need to get more lapping compound so what do you recommend for a lapping compound?
Rick


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## Goldwing (Nov 5, 2014)

rickclark28 said:


> GW,
> Thanks for the reply! Last night I used the above mentioned method on my Ruger Mark III 22/45 and after several tries I came out with a VERY clean barrel. I did not think at first it was bad but after 8,600 plus rounds it really needed a cleaning. I am impressed with how well it came out! It is now clean and I can not wait to get to the range. It took x2 tries with some really old "Radiac Diamond" compound. I need to get more lapping compound so what do you recommend for a lapping compound?
> Rick


Wheeler 600 grit is available at Midway USA for $15 an ounce. O'Reilly auto parts has a 1.5 ounce tube for under $5, just get as close to 600 grit as possible. They have been using the stuff on engine valves longer than they have used it on gun barrels.

GW


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