Cleaning and Maintenance of your firearms

[St.Michael]

The gun I carry (Glock 19). I clean it every couple months regardless of use. I usually hose it down with non-chlorinated brake cleaner, hit it with a bronze brush a few times and then apply grease. I use a $2.39 tub of bearing grease from Cheapo-mart. It looks, and acts just like it did the day I got it. Ive only put 15k rounds through it, the thing never stops. Oh and after I apply the grease I wipe it all off.

-Oil doesnt last. grease is the way to go IMO.

edited. I actually did some research on this and as it turns out, seems to work ok. I still would personally feel more comfortable using firearms specific chems instead of brake cleaner.

It is true that you can use no chlorinated break cleaner and it's cheap, but it does clean all the way down to the metal and the pours. It also can leave those nasty white spots and shit. I use it like once a year to do a full metal cleaning. That's about all though.

[thegratenate]

Is there any circumstance where cleaning will reduce the accuracy of the gun?
I don't mean that the solvents will due this, I am asking about disassembly and assembly.

Is there such a thing as cleaning too much?

[elricfate]

You can cause throat erosion and barrel erosion by constant and uncontrolled cleaning, yes. Even if you cleaned your gun after every shoot, as long as you were doing it properly, this is a non-issue.

[BCEagleAce]

One thought for cleaning handguns that is particularly useful in cold or winter climates -- after thoroughly cleaning the gun and parts with a solvent to break down dirt, grime, and debris, use regular WD-40 to spray down everything liberally to lubricate. You can wipe off the excess with a cloth. The result is a very oiled gun, and because of WD-40s non viscous consistency, it makes a jam or gumed up oil due to cold much less likely.

[Dark Angel]

One thought for cleaning handguns that is particularly useful in cold or winter climates -- after thoroughly cleaning the gun and parts with a solvent to break down dirt, grime, and debris, use regular WD-40 to spray down everything liberally to lubricate. You can wipe off the excess with a cloth. The result is a very oiled gun, and because of WD-40s non viscous consistency, it makes a jam or gumed up oil due to cold much less likely.

In the extreme cold where i live, wd-40 starts to break down. Tetra oil works great in extreme cold, so does dry lube. Just cant fire too much with dry. Then again, im talking -30 to -60 and colder lol.

Off topic... I am freaking happy the weather broke. went from -65 to +10 overnight...

[TofuBento]

Bore snakes don't really get bores whistle-clean. Without a white patch to check the condition, you don't really know when it's clean.

I've run a rod on a patch in a bore that I'd just cleaned, and it came out with both copper and powder residue on it.

I'll use them on pistols, but not my tack-driving rifles.

A little late to jump on the thread....buuut...I run a bore snake though my StagArms all the time and Ive run a couple of cotten patches through and always come back clean by the 3rd run through.

For the speed of cleaning I think it works well and cleans well.

[Halcyon]

Spray with carburetor cleaner, dip tip of Hoppe's bore snake in Hoppe's #9 (redneck cologne)

then Weapon Shield, swear by it, its in my CCW and AR

I use grease in my slide rails in 1911 and AK, it is more persistent than oil and stays put

My Savage Model 10 LE2 is so tight i have to use Weapon Shield, tolerances don't favor grease



If you need some Weapon Shield, i know somebody who can get it below cost.

[painiac]

But I'm of the mentality that alittle fouling in the barrel isn't going to make your gun less accurate, or reliable.

The problem with barrel fouling isn't its (probably negligible) effect on accuracy for all but the highest-end shooters.

Fouling in the bore absorbs moisture, which in turn causes your bore to rust and corrode. THAT will affect accuracy.

[Maeklos]

How good does Remoil work as a lubricant? I had some laying around that I used to oil my chainmail since I was out of Breakfree CLP and used that when I cleaned my new SKS. I've since gotten my usual Breakfree and was wondering if I should wipe off the Remoil from my SKS and hit it up with my Breakfree or if Remoil will work well enough for my jaunt to the range this weekend.

Anyone got any insight for me?

EDIT: Nevermind. I'm going to err on the side of caution and wipe it down and re-lube it with my Breakfree. I know, it's an SKS and you could probably lube it up with rock salt and babies' tears and it would still shoot, but I figure it wouldn't hurt.

[luckystrike]

VERY important. take care of you firearm as well as you want it to take care of you.

[luckystrike]

to the guy with the SKS asking about remoil,,,, its prettymuch the only thing ive ever used. onlything i dont like is youl have to reoil every 2/3 weeks using the remoil. yeah yeah i kno a lot of people will say NO WAY! but 70% of people ive seen over oil a TON

[LowKey]

One thought for cleaning handguns that is particularly useful in cold or winter climates -- after thoroughly cleaning the gun and parts with a solvent to break down dirt, grime, and debris, use regular WD-40 to spray down everything liberally to lubricate. You can wipe off the excess with a cloth. The result is a very oiled gun, and because of WD-40s non viscous consistency, it makes a jam or gumed up oil due to cold much less likely.

I'd be really cautious with this. To my knowledge, WD-40 can destroy (render inert) you primer. Not that I think it is highly likely that you would have that much excessive lubrication, but I'd be pretty pissed if it went click and not bang when I needed it.

[LowKey]

Well what about cleaning and maintaining firearms in the PAW?

Could water act as a solvent, a toothbrush as a brush, and olive-oil as a lubricant keep your gun firing if you maintained it enough?

In a pinch, ATF(Automatic transmission fluid) can be used as a cleaner and motor oil as a lubricant( as per Armalite tech note 64).

[PoorImpulseControl]

One thought for cleaning handguns that is particularly useful in cold or winter climates -- after thoroughly cleaning the gun and parts with a solvent to break down dirt, grime, and debris, use regular WD-40 to spray down everything liberally to lubricate. You can wipe off the excess with a cloth. The result is a very oiled gun, and because of WD-40s non viscous consistency, it makes a jam or gumed up oil due to cold much less likely.

I'd be really cautious with this. To my knowledge, WD-40 can destroy (render inert) you primer. Not that I think it is highly likely that you would have that much excessive lubrication, but I'd be pretty pissed if it went click and not bang when I needed it.

Also, WD-40 was never designed to be a lubricant, merely a "water displacer." The fact that it also acts as a VERY light oil is merely a side benefit.

[qwertyuiop]

I'd be really cautious with this. To my knowledge, WD-40 can destroy (render inert) you primer. Not that I think it is highly likely that you would have that much excessive lubrication, but I'd be pretty pissed if it went click and not bang when I needed it.

http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/bot39.htm

Some interesting debunking to the conventional wisdom of "oil on primers" being detrimental to the primer.

[LowKey]

Interesting. I still don't recommend WD-40 for firearms, but from what BOT demonstrated it doesn't seem to be much of a threat to your ammo.

[qwertyuiop]

I don't recommend WD-40 either, not the least because it doesn't play nicely with synthetic materials or wood (some finishes in particular can be ruined), and because it isn't really all that great of a lubricant. It tends to gum up and even solidify over time. Combined with the fact that it is a penetrator, and you get things like WD-40 worming into assemblies, pinholes, post holes, bolt carriers, etc. and gumming up. Bad, bad, bad. Not to mention that it isn't that great of a lubricant for longer than 20-35 minutes, depending on temp and humidity.

I use Hoppes #9 as a solvent, wipe clean, then lube with Hoppes #9 lubricating oil. I'm a little old fashioned in that I don't believe wonder chemicals can do the work of actually taking your time to clean a piece - and even if they can, you shouldn't use them. The extra few minutes spent scrubbing and picking by hand help you get a better feel for the piece and help you catch the finer points of effective long-term maintenance, like finding early signs of normal wear, and more importantly, early signs of abnormal wear.

[Phoenix David]

Well what about cleaning and maintaining firearms in the PAW?

Could water act as a solvent, a toothbrush as a brush, and olive-oil as a lubricant keep your gun firing if you maintained it enough?

In a pinch, ATF(Automatic transmission fluid) can be used as a cleaner and motor oil as a lubricant( as per Armalite tech note 64).

Once back in the 80's we were doing some force on force with the Army National Guard and for some reason (don't remember now) we were using their M-16's. Well they had been put in the racks bone dry, well we found that out after we were in the field and could only get them to cycle 1 round at a time (blanks and MILES). So we used the dipstick of a jeep (pre Hummvee days) and lubed them all up with engine oil, worked fine. That was a sweet day. Up on a hill picking off the Army guys one by one.

[Wolfgang]

Q: How Do You Clean A Gun?
A: Cleaning a gun is a seven-step process:

1. Make Sure Firearm is Unloaded.

That is so WRONG for us soldiers !

NO 1. Check serialnumber so that you don't clean someone elses gun !!!

[nimdabew]

I use Mobile 1 full synthetic deep cleaning oil as lube. It costs 6 dollars per quart, has cleaning properties that let engines run at high temps, for long periods of time, and given that it lets you run your dirty engine for almost 8k miles, I figure it is good enough for a few hours of range duty. If you need more, it acts like a mild cleaner, great lubricant, and any excess you put on your weapon gets blown off the first few rounds anyways. I am in the group of use enough where it is running freely on moving high friction parts. Ie, on the bolt itself in a BCG, rails on the BCG, firing pin. If you need more oil, just put a drop or two in the cam pin hole and on the bolt itself when the bolt is forward in the BCG. Push the bolt in and out a few times, it will be almost fully lubed and excess will be blown out/off the moving parts in the first 3 rounds. I use the same stuff on the outside of the barrel of my pistol as well as the rails and rail groves. No FTF or FTE since I started using liberal ammounts of lube.

[kungfutiger]

[Spam Spam Spam Spam, Spam Spam Spam Spam]

[nimdabew]

If you need to learn how to clean your AR-15/M16 type firearm, I have an informative website that will help you. (found on kylomg.com)

http://www.ep.tc/problems/25/

[nyiangelo]

Quick Question:

Someone pretty much gave me a Conneticut Valley Arms " Firebolt" .54 black powder rifle. Well when I picked it up it was dirty and greasy. Did I mention loaded . Well I got a bullet puller and and took the bullet out, but it still has the pyrodex propellents in it. I can't get them out for the life of me. Someone said just go fire it and that should clear it. But I'm still not sure, being I didn't load it or handle the gun before. Any ideas?

[1EyedDeath]

Quick Question:

Someone pretty much gave me a Conneticut Valley Arms " Firebolt" .54 black powder rifle. Well when I picked it up it was dirty and greasy. Did I mention loaded . Well I got a bullet puller and and took the bullet out, but it still has the pyrodex propellents in it. I can't get them out for the life of me. Someone said just go fire it and that should clear it. But I'm still not sure, being I didn't load it or handle the gun before. Any ideas?

2 ways
A.as long as the ball is out of it,you should be fine to fire it..Just point it at a safe location,free of flamables..

B.Depending on the type of rifle,pull the nipple out and use compressed air to push the powder out..It may break apart from the clump it formed from being compressed for so long....

if it where me,and the rifle looked to be in good shape,i'd pick A..but I have been known to rish life and limb before..