Can you use soap and water to clean your guns?

P

Pops1085

New member
So it's been quite a while but I seem to remember my grandfather cleaning his Garand and pistols in the sink out in the shed. I think he only used hot soap and water and even would pass the parts to me to dry them off. When he was done I'm assuming he oiled them up, but am not certain. I never got a chance to ask him why he did it that way, but he was a WWII vet with a purple heart and I have the documents that put him at the Battle of the Bulge.

Anyways I did some digging and the old M1 Garand manual states that you can either use hot soapy water or solvent if it's available.

I might just start doing this from now on, what are your thoughts on this?
 
Yes, you can. He was going off of standard military procedure that is still used today. When I was at Parris Island we used to have to take our upper recievers off our M-16s and walk in a single file line and dunk them in a trash barrel filed with hot soapy water and Dawn dishsoap, then go to the rinsing barrel to get it out. We would then go back to our footlocker and swab the bore and dry it off.

It worked alright at getting burnt powder and previously applied oils off of it in that the soap breaks up the 'grease' Heck, they clean baby ducks covered in oil form oil spills with the stuff! After it was thoroughly dried, we would then apply CLP to the areas that needed lubricated and a light coat to the surface of the steel. The Marine Corps manual states that soap and water is an authorized cleaning method to this day... Just be very sure to get it bone dry afterwards.
 
I'd love to do some reading on those manuals, got a link?

Ps. that is in no way a back handed comment, I just love reading old documents.
 
If your grandpa was shooting military surplus ammo in his Garand and pistols, quite possibly it was corrosively primed. In that case, water (ideally soapy) or military bore solvent would be necessary to dissolve the primer salts that would otherwise draw moisture and cause the bore to rust. :eek:

You don't need to use water to clean firearms if you're shooting only modern non-corrosive ammunition in them. You can as the Marine Corps manual states, but modern cleaning materials will get the job done without exposing your gun's metal to water, which may cause rust if not thoroughly dried. :cool:
 
I wouldn't say its 'old' but outdated. When I came in we were still using the A2 variants and in 2007 the A4 came out and they updated the manual. However on our annual tests and when we would go to the rifle range, one of the questions was "What are the only approved cleaning methods for the M16A2 service rifle?" and the answer was CLP or warm soapy water. The only time I used soapy water was in boot camp. I used to have the manual, but unfortunately don't anymore. I no longer have access to the Marine Corps Technical Manual site, or I would send you a PDF of the manual. (notice it says 'former' Marine ;)) but I will try to find something and I'll post it when I do...
 
I collect old military arms. When I get an old gun, I always tear it down to single pieces and wash them with simple green and water. Then I dry each piece thoroughly with compressed air, and spray all pieces with breakfree. It is my standard procedure to clean and inspect.

-TL
 
Tangolima, I have heard that simple green is a very effective cleaner, but will dissolve aluminum. I am sure you have heard this (and are probably not getting any guns with aluminum parts currently) but something to be aware of nonetheless.
 
I mean the main thing I was thinking about doing was taking a few of my 1911's and washing them in the sink with dish soap from now on. Would be a whole lot less messy and since I buy the dish soap anyways I could save money by only having to buy clp or oil to lube them up, but I still want your guys opinions and so far they've been pretty helpful!
 
Simple Green - carefully read the instructions . You can wash off aluminum but don't soak !!

There is a difference between soap and detergent Some people use the two words interchageably. Dawn I think is a detergent. Detergent is better at removing oil. I also would think that military soap may be stronger than your wife's finest.
 
Think about an iron frying pan.

Yes,you can use water,soap,detergent.You will strip all the oil off,and so the parts need to be thouroghly dried and then re-oiled.Depending on conditions,rusting can begin in minutes.

Also be aware not to leave detergent on the metal.

Old school water cleaning was about corrosive salts from priming or black powder.Not real oil soluble.Water dissolves it.

Boil them for final rinse!Shake,blow,wipe,whatever,then you have hot,dry parts.But you need feed the bluing or Parkerizing.Like seasoning a pan.

I've mixed a little turpentine,RIG,and beeswax for a "new blue" sealer,seems to work.You can blow it off with air,wipe,rub.It just fills and seals the oxide "bark"
 
I must add, that the use of the soap and water was employed when we were trying to get the rifles absolutely spotless... (as in return to the armory, and final drill competition) Hot water and soap works great for this, but I wouldn't even personally recommend it for everyday cleaning because of the pain in the butt of trying to get every last bit of the firearm dry...

Solvents and lubricants used today are much easier to employ. As someone mentioned earlier with the analogy of the cast iron skillet; I agree 100%. When you use soap and water, as I stated earlier, your firearm comes out 'bone dry' Reapplying the CLP and getting it worked back in was tedious.

Pops, I'm sorry, I can't find the Marine Corps Order on proper cleaning techniques for the M-16, but I have a friend that is an Armorer that might be able to get me some reading material for you. I will try to get ahold of him this week.
 
I don't think simple green is harmful to Al, and certain I didn't soak gun part in it. I spray and scrub wash. The idea is to remove the old grease and oil. Simple green is good as it doesn't leave residual.

I must add, I don't do this as regular cleaning. I probably do it only once to any gun I own, when I first take ownship of it. After that I don't see any reason to do it again.

-TL
 
Simple Green and aluminum

I have a friend who is a pilot and he used to take care of several warbirds (restored WWII aircraft) worth big $$$$. He used a lot of Simple Green, but then read in some aviation publication that normal Simple Green can harm aluminum over time, but they do make an aircraft approved Simple Green formula for cleaning aluminum. I believe it is clear instead of green colored. He bought it through some aviation supply company. Of course it cost more than regular simple green.
here is the aviation stuff
http://industrial.simplegreen.com/ind_products_extreme.php
 
I just used concentrated carpet cleaner to clean my O/U shotgun - worked like a champ. I couldn't find any solvent, so I figured, what the heck. Just make sure the bore is completely dry and oiled after. :)
 
Both Castrol Superclean and the automotive orange degreaser are very effective degreasers.Don't get them on stock finish or in your eyes!!
But thoroughly rinse!!And re-oil hot.
 
But your dish washer is not glock-safe. I hope people are not silly enough to clean guns in their dish washer. The lead, even it is natural as salt, will make you sick.

-TL
 
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