To all,
I do a fair amount of polishing of gun barrels and actions. I have tried or used at one time or another all of the products that are listed above, plus others such as Mothers, Meguires and The Wax shop products.
My experience supports Don's findings. JB Bore Paste is more abrasive than Flitz et al. JB should be used following the directions.
On the other hand if you are worried about metal polishes such as Flitz, etc as being too abrasive for occasional use in a barrel than try a simple experiment. Take a piece of mild steel and with the point of a knife put the slightest scratch in the surface. Now take your product of choice and try to buff out the scratch. Once it looks as though the scratch has disappeared, take a good look at it with a magnifying glass or similar tool and a good light. You will see that all your work has produced the shiniest scratch you have ever seen.
I have no axe to grind with the barrel makers that say you will ruin your barrel. If I produced barrels for a living I wouldn't warranty my barrels for anything other than bullets. That being said I have used these and similar products to polish the bore of most of my rifles. In my opinion, used correctly they can improve the "clean-ability" of a barrel and in some cases improve accuracy.
Jim
