I've used it to clean the front of revolver cylinders.
Scotch-brite is a better way to go though - less mess, less clean up of fine metal particles that came off the steel wool.
0000 steel wool is great for little messes. You can even use it to remove spots of rust from blued steel. You MUST keep it wet with solvent or very light oil to flush the rust away as you remove it. The rust you are removing is more abrasive than the steel wool.
For stainless steel residue, a lead free cloth works well. If you have some rare rust/corrosion on SS, use the steel wool as above.