CLP on the firing pin?

T

Tauruspt92AF

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I just bought my first gun about 3 weeks ago and being that it is was first gun (just bought another because you can never have just one(S&W Shield 40) I have cleaned it half a dozen times (shot around 1200 rounds out of it as well… its a Taurus pt92 if you couldn't tell by my user name). After watching a youtube video on how to clean the gun i began using clp and a nylon brush to get the grit out of the rails and such, but i have also been using it on the firing pin area to get it clean. Is this a bad idea? I've read that you should never use lubricating oil on the firing pin area which i don't, I'm just wondering if i should stop using clp and the nylon brush as well. Thanks for the input.:o
 
TaurusPT92AF said:
Is this a bad idea? I've read that you should never use lubricating oil on the firing pin area which i don't, I'm just wondering if i should stop using clp and the nylon brush as well. Thanks for the input.
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You are aware that the "L" in "CLP" is "Lubricant," right? So you ARE using lubricating oil on your firing pin.

IMHO it's okay to use CLP to clean any carbon off the firing pin, but then wipre it off and install it basically dry.
 
Yes I realize what CLP stands for, what I was referring to was that when I clean my taurus I use the CLP to get rid of the grit and whip it clean and then i put Hoppes#9 lubricating oil on the rail and where metal to metal contact happens, but I don't use that on the firing pin. Sorry if I wasn't clear.
 
You're fine using the CLP. Wouldn't hurt even to use a patch with a drop or two on the CLP on the firing pin -- but then wipe it off. CLP, or any penetrating lubricant, can theoretically run into and penetrate around a shell's primer, causing the round to malfunction. There has to be a fair amount for this to happen and it is EXTREMELY unlikely to happen. Next to impossible if you wipe off the pin.
 
If you clean it with CLP and then wipe it off with a rag, and clean the channel the pin rides in and wipe it out with a dry qtip... You will leave just the faintest trace of CLP on the parts. Not enough to hurt, but enough to provide some lubrication to those parts. They don't need much lubrication, so what is left after wiped off is plenty.


Most striker fired pistols have a plastic sleeve around the striker, which makes them not really need lubrication. But you can do the same basic procedure when cleaning and be fine.


The big problem is if you use too much lube on the firing pin. Many just drop a drop or two in the hole, which is way more than needed, and never open it up to clean it. That can lead to gunk accumulating and causing issues. Some oils can dry out as well, some get gummy... Combine that with a little carbon fouling in there and you can have a pin that is sticky. Most of the better oils will not gum up or dry out, so they work better for that use.

The problem isn't so much the fact that they lubed the firing pin, but that they never clean out the channel or only do it rarely. For those people, not lubing the firing pin allows the gun to run much longer without cleaning the pin and channel.
 
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CLP on the firing pen

:eek: Dont put anything on the firing pin your not going to wipe off. Speaking from experience. I once managed to leave some on one of my 1911s firing pin spring it caused a FTF (light primer strike). Not sure how i got that mutch in there but i did, but i learned to be more careful.
 
The main reason not to (over) lubricate the firing pin is that in some guns oil will build up in the firing pin hole and cushion the firing pin blow. That is probably what happened in jmay's case. There is rarely any need to remove or lubricate the firing pin and it is just about the last part that will rust or be affected by fouling (unless something is very wrong). But if you do remove the firing pin, wiping it with a oiled patch won't do any harm; just avoid squirting oil into the channel.

Jim
 
When I was a noob I put lube on the striker of my XD9. Learned not to after a while, but it attracted junk and eventually started light striking. Had to completely strip the slide and clean it all out. Different guns, moral of story, be careful where you put the lube.
 
Thanks everyone for the replies. From now on I'm just going to dry brush the firing pin area and just make sure to keep lubricants of all kinds away from the Firing pin.
 
Wipe the pin dry and dry the channel. I've had oil from the firing pin hole kill the primer in the round in the chamber. Another reason to fire the ammo in your mag. every once and a while. That's how I knew what happened. I try not to leave any oil in the firing pin hole in my carry guns.
 
CLP is a little too heavy for the firing pin, in my view.....a light spray oil, like Rem Oil or Rig #2 are better options...( I prefer Rig #2 ).

I "spritz" the firing pins...and their springs - and before I reinsert them / I wipe them with my fingers.....just leaving a little of the oil behind.
 
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