Another solvent question... for revolvers

F

FLChinook

New member
I've just started collecting revolvers and I haven't given much thought to cleaning them. I just Googled the matter and was aghast to find just about everyone advises cleaning a revolver after every use. That's no problem when I just use one gun but when I take three or four, the cleanup time could eclipse the range time... :mad:

I clean my long guns in my cabin (where my wife banned the operation due to the vast number of odors involved with all the solvents. I must confess to have tried just about every solvent made and have even combined some in the search for the perfect solution.

Which brings me to my question. If I'm going to be allowed to bring my revolver cleaning back into the house where it will be so much more convenient and where it might actually get done, I need to find an almost odorless solvent that can be used by itself and that will get the bulk of the gunk off. It needs to be TOTALLY harmless to bluing. I grew up with Hoppe's No. 9 but while I love the smell, my wife does not. What's recommended?
 
Give the Mrs. nose plugs.

As an experiment a few years ago I fired nearly 5,000 lead handloads through my S&W Model 19 without cleaning.

Was still working fine when I finally broke down to peer pressure and cleaned it.
 
I don't fully clean mine after every range trip either. But I always wipe mine down after every time I handle them(blue ones anyway, not stainless) because I have sweaty hands and they rust if I put them away without a wipedown. Rem-Oil in the aerosol can works great. It's a two in one, a lubricant and it contains cleaning solvents, so it easily removes the powder residue. Quick wipe down, no powder residue, no rust, and it doesn't smell.
 
If you like Hoppe's, convince the wife to go shopping during gun cleaning time. Then clean up and spray some air freshner. Dump your used patches, Q tips, and other materials in the outside trash. Store your gun cleaning kit in the garage. Run a fan and open windows if necessary.

I lay down protective material, then my towels, clean with Hoppe's 9, then clean with lysol wipes just to get everything up. No complaints from the wife.
 
Or you could try cleaning with Butch's Bore Shine a couple times, which has got to be the stinkiest stuff on the planet. She will think the Hoppes #9 is an expensive French perfume after that.
 
M-pro 7 is my choice.
Low odor, can be applied & left in to work, without you scrubbing the chemical does the work, not your elbow grease, then removed, minimising work effort & removes copper (most modern cleaners don't). Come in 3 versions powder cleaner that removes some copper, copper cleaner, a much stronger version, but still safe to leave in & low smell, & a lubricant to finish off & protect from corrosion.
Process takes 10 mins a gun, go do something else, 5 minutes a gun to wipe out & oil.
 
Most probably clean every time but many do not including a professional exhibition shooter I know of. The world will not stop turning if you don't. Check out Ballistol, Frog Lube or Gunzilla. All non-toxic CLPs, with Ballistol being the original CLP. They all work well and I can't pick a favorite. Hickock 45 really gave Ballistol a second wind which is a good thing as it is a great product.
 
For a qwik clean I use G-96 (it has a vinilla smell) but for a deep cleen I use ED`s RED (keroseene smell) I do a once a yr. tear down to clean it all to the metal & take measurements for wear monitoring.

Very little grease (I like the synthetics ,no runnin when hot & no stiffinin when cold)& oil & a dry lube when possible so it does`nt attract dirt,carbon lint, hair & anything else that it may come in contact with !

For extended blue gun storage they get Dextron III ATF.
 
Hoppes Elite Guncleaner and MPro-7 cleaner are both very good cleaners with very minimal odor. My wife has trouble with strong solvent odors and there have been zero complaints about these two productss. I've been very happy with their performance.

There are also some very low odor lubricants out there. Dillon Snake Oil has virtually no smell, but it may not provide much corrosion protection. Lubriplate FMO-350 AW is supposed to be very good in terms of corrosion protection and it has no detectable odor. You can buy it from a small company called Lubrikit who sells it along with another Lubriplate product, a light grease which also has little or no odor.
 
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