Cleaning and Maintenance of your firearms

[Noven]

Quick question: I used to use shaving foam (not gel) during my weapons cleaning time in the army since it seemed to get a ton of crap out of all the small places. Is this ok or is it bad for the weapon?

[KeeblerNinjaClan]

Quick question: I used to use shaving foam (not gel) during my weapons cleaning time in the army since it seemed to get a ton of crap out of all the small places. Is this ok or is it bad for the weapon?

Beats me, but Gunslick makes a foam product for cleaning out barrels. I'm sure some other companies probably do as well. They say not to let it get into the receiver however. Considering that some guys wash their weapons in the washing machine, I can't imagine shaving cream being that much worse.

http://www.gunslick.com/products/chemicals/cleaners.aspx

[ODA 226]

So, can someone recommend me a good lube and where to apply it on a 1911? I was thinking CLP but that seems a little thin to be on the rails for it. Might go with the rem lube thats the oil/carbon mix unless anyone has better ideas...

Do yourself a favor and try "Marvel Mystery Oil". A light coat of this stuff has served me and my team well everywhere from Iraq to the Everglades and to Gulkana Glacier Alaska. It works well everywhere. Give it a try! You'll become a believer!
226

[GoSlash27]

If anything, I tend to under-oil.
I'll oil just enough to inhibit rust, with a thin film (just enough to make it shiny) in any tracks. In my experience, oil is gremlin bait. Maybe if I ran older stuff I'd have a different take.

[KeeblerNinjaClan]

oil is gremlin bait

cool concept

[squinty]

Look through the Box O'Truth, there are cleaning guides with pics for shotguns, rifle barrels, AKs, ARs, revolvers, 1911s, and glocks, along with lots of other informative stuff.
http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/educational.htm

http://www.cylinder-slide.com/technical.shtml

http://grantcunningham.com/library.html

[georgehumphreys]

I'm new to this site so please be gentle, I currently use a gun oil from remington, I have a friend that swears by WD40. Whats the pros and cons?

[Czechnology]

I use Breakfree to clean, and White Lithium Grease (The engine lube. Thanks for the tip PhilInCS!) as a lube/protectant for everything except .22s. For .22s I use hoppes 9. Corrosive ammo gets several cups of hot, soapy water and then clean as usual.

White Lithium Grease is not only an excellent product, it's designed to protect engines that run hotter, and for much longer than any weapon you can afford to operate. It's also $4 for a lifetime supply in a caulk tube. The one downfall is that it's thick, and I've found that in colder weather, .22's won't cycle well with it.

[shoggoth80]

CLP. Rem-Oil, Gunslick, Anti-Seize, motor oil, bearing grease, lithium grease, Tetra Gun grease...all seems to do about the same.
I've used varying products on varying guns, from many different years of manufacture. I'll coat any external metal, and give a thin coat to anything inside. Except for my AR, and 1911. I'll grease the 1911 rails, oil the guts... and the AR BCG gets drenched with CLP. None of my guns have ever complained.

[maldon007]

I havent used wd40 on firearms, but I have used it plenty on other stuff. Heavy equipment parts, stuck bolts, bike chains, etc. And half the time I ended up wishing I had used oil or some other lube. Imho, wd40 dries leaving a nasty film... not really slick at all. I dont know this for a fact, but have been told- the slick feel of wd40 comes from the solvents in it, not any lube it has. Its almost like getting chlorine on your hands... it feels slippery, but thats cause its eating your skin I would avoid it.

[Haji]

The "WD" in WD-40 stands for Water Displacer. That's what it does. It's not a lube. Don't use it as such.

[squinty]

WD-40 is a decent cleaner/solvent. But of course you're right it is not a lubricant at all.

[georgehumphreys]

Thx for the WD40 info. i'll pass that on to him. I know it works to keep 10/22's cycling when it don't want to work at the range. I think i'll stick with lithium and rem oil.

[squinty]

Thx for the WD40 info. i'll pass that on to him. I know it works to keep 10/22's cycling when it don't want to work at the range. I think i'll stick with lithium and rem oil.

I think .22 lr guns are more likely to malf from being dirty than from being dry, and heavy oil/grease only exacerbates the dirtiness by making a gross thick slurry out of the carbon and powder residue and such. So they benefit from lighter than average lube, both in quantity and thickness IMO. (I've heard people recommend sewing machine oil for .22 pistols.) I know a lot of old timers swear by things like wd-40 and three-in-one oil, and just as many people warn against them. The guy on "box o' truth" has had good success using wd-40 as his principle cleaner, but you'll notice he doesn't leave any wd-40 on his guns. He wipes all the wd-40 off of his guns, then blows out any remaining in the little cracks and crevices of his guns with compressed air. Then he applies oil and, for 1911s, greases the rails.

Check out the Grant Cunningham essay on lubrication.

[painiac]

I'm new to this site so please be gentle, I currently use a gun oil from remington, I have a friend that swears by WD40. Whats the pros and cons?

As discussed above, WD-40 is a decent cleaning solvent and has great short-term rust protection properties, but you don't want to leave it in place for this because it dries quickly and gums up your gun's small moving parts. It CAN be used for guns but it's not nearly the best choice.

Rem Oil is just baby oil that makes your guns shiny and pretty: it has poor rust resistance.

Breakfree CLP remains the king of lubricants that protect against rust, and does so very well.

White Lithium Grease is not only an excellent product, it's designed to protect engines that run hotter, and for much longer than any weapon you can afford to operate. It's also $4 for a lifetime supply in a caulk tube. The one downfall is that it's thick, and I've found that in colder weather, .22's won't cycle well with it.

Grant Cunningham recommends Lubriplate "SFL" NLGI #0, which is aluminum-based grease that has a much wider temperature range. I've been meaning to pick some up, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

[Spamity Calamity]

Got a visit from the OTIS fairy today....



Hope it lives up to the hype cuz I just dropped a bundle. Anybody else use an OTIS kit to clean their guns?