1858 Remington new army question

Z

Zathras

New member
A friend brought me his genuine Remington 1858 new army, manufactured in 1863. It hasn't been shot in about 10 years, but its in nice condition, and he wanted me to clean it for him, as he knew I have a pietta 1851 Navy. I removed the cylinder, and it looks pretty grubby, and there is some rust near the outside of the barrel where the cylinder lines up with it. The nipples wont budge. I was wondering. Can wd 40 be used to loosen them up?? ..and does the barrel and the rest of the gun still get the hot soap and water treatment..? and lastly as you pros would know...can the barrel after cleaning, be oiled with gun oil??

Thanks
 
Kroil penetrating oil or any good penetrating oi for nipples and yes gun oil over all metal parts. I like to clean mine without grips then put in oven on about 250 for about 15 minutes and then oil when still warm.
 
For post cleaning rust preventative I'd rub it down with bore butter or some other nonpetroleum product designed for the purpose. Petroleum oils and black powder don't work well together.
 
I use a breakfree spray overnight, then some heat to loosen the nipples. It might take a few tries. I've also walked away from a truly stubborn nipple -at some point it is not worth ruining it.
If I'm going to shoot an original, I clean and lube it like a repro - hot, soapy water and Bore Butter. After cleaning an original, if I'm not going to shoot it for awhile, I use gun oil on internal and external parts.
 
An original that will remain unfired I would leave the nipples alone. If they're not battered I would still leave them alone.
 
Hawg +1.

But, if you really need to remove them, here's what I do on the really tough ones.

Assuming that the nipples have been soaked in a good rust removal medium (Kroil, Liquid Wrench, a 50/50 solution of Automatic Transmission Fluid - ATF - and acetone, etc.)...

First, make a nipple wrench out of a deep well 1/4" drive socket by cutting slots for the shoulders on the nipple. Insert two wooden dowels into chambers on opposites sides of the cylinder, and tighten the free ends of the dowels in the jaws of a small vise - the cylinder is now held from rotating by the dowels in the chambers and the jaws of the vise.

Set the vise on the table of a drill press (unplug the drill first). Tightly chuck the nipple wrench you made from the socket into the drill jaws. Lower the drill head down and rotate it to put the nipple into the slots on the wrench. Lock the head into the down position. Now turn the head by hand to loosen the nipple.

The hard steel of the socket will prevent wrench failure and the drill press head ensures that the only load applied to the nipple is pure torsion.

Following cleaning the gun, use Ballistol or Birchwood Casey's Barricade for long term rust prevention. Both products are compatible with black powder combustion.
 
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