Basic Pistol Cleaning/Maintenance (long)

C

Cullen

New member
Hi folks,
Another question from someone new to autopistols: When I lubricate my P229, which parts need lubrication? How much should be used and how much left on the pistol?

Here's what I do: I use a nitro solvent to clean the barrel and all fouled parts on the pistol (after disassembly) until a gun patch comes away clean. Then I wipe off excess solvent and soak a patch with gun oil. I run this through the barrel, over the feed ramp, and over the outside of the barrel. Then I wipe the whole shmear down with a fresh, dry patch to remove excess. I then run a lubed patch over the slide, the rails, and the outside of the pistol frame, followed by wiping down with a clean towel to remove excess. I don't leave any visible lubricant on the pistol, inside or out - just rubbing in oil, then rubbing it off like furniture polish.

Is this a sound way to do the necessary maintenance? Also, I have cleaned my gun every time I've shot it - usually a couple of boxes at the range, sometimes only one. Is this overkill? Can it be left or should potentially corrosive powder residue be removed immediately?

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We scoff at honor and then are surprised to discover traitors in our midst - Edmund Burke
 
I think you are doing the right thing by cleaning after each range session. I do the same and I think my guns shoot better when they are clean, just like my car runs better when it is clean :~)

On a more serious note, I would suggest a good synthetic grease for the frame/slide rails and a good synthetic oil for the rest. The rest would include the following: the outside of the barrel (keep the oil away from the feedramp and breech face so that it doesn't migrate to the round in the chamber and make the primer inert), the underside of the slide where the barrel hood rubs during firing, the inside circumference of the barrel bushing and the inside of the bore followed by a dry patch.

As to the outside of the slide and frame, I use Birchwood Casey Sheath which works real well at cleaning and protecting metal surfaces.

There is a good article on proper lubrication at www.cylinderandslide.com. Good luck!


Frank
 
Cullen:

1. Cleaning after every session is prudent.

2. Cleaning after a couple of months pass by without shooting is also advised. I will explain why below.

3. I advise you when swabing the barrel with nitrosolvent to put the barrel down for an hour or so after application and let the nitrosolvent do its thing versus immediately running patches through.

4. After extended periods of time lapse between range trips, when you re-clean the Sig, invaribly you will find places you missed and you will see that the nitrosolvent may have been working while your pistola was in storage as well.

5. I avoid greases in favor of high quality oils simply because I have witnessed that greases love grit. For heavy bore fouling, use Hoppe's #9. For moderate cleaning, use Breakfree CLP, for lubrication, use Breakfree LP. The LP has no solvents to damage the finish of the weapon over the long haul and has teflon particulates for lubricity and wear reduction.

Enjoy!

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"When guns are outlawed;I will be an outlaw."
 
Greetings, I use Break Free CLP for all my
cleaning chores; and have not had a problem.

Regards,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member
 
Cullen:

I'm sure you already know this but I cannot quite tell from your post:
use the bronze brush followed by more patches and nitro solvent and REPEAT to make sure the bore is clean. Bronze brushing once and pushing patches through until they come out clean gives the illusion that the barrel is clean. But brush some more and watch more crud come out on the patches.

Other than that your cleaning technique seems sound.

Edmund
 
Thanks to everyone who wrote back - I appreciate it.

Ed, you're right - I failed to mention the bronze bore brush step. But now that you mention it, I only do that step once. Thanks for the tip to repeat because I hadn't considered it.

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We scoff at honor and then are surprised to discover traitors in our midst - Edmund Burke
 
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