Don't do what I did!

M

Model12Win

Moderator
Well it's squirrel season, and I want to hunt Saturday morning.

Well long story short, I went to clean my Marlin model 60 and went to spray the trigger group (plastic) with chlorine free brake cleaner... big mistake! The trigger group MELTED! :eek:

That's right. It melted. I first realized this when I started to see a great deal of black stuff run off the thing. Then the next thing I know my hands are covered with black melted plastic goo, and the trigger assemble is destroyed. The trigger is actually welded stiff... nothing works now. It is totaled!

So I go to put the gun back together again, hoping by some miracle that the trigger group can work itself free later, and upon insertion of the bolt into the reciever... I break the main spring! It bent right in half, and is now useless.

So as a warning to anyone out there with a Model 60 rifle... DO NOT USE BRAKE CLEANER ON YOUR GUN!!! Also be careful putting the mainspring back in. On the good side of things, this gives me and excuse to get a bolt-action .22 which is something I've always wanted to get!

Learn from my mistakes guys, the Marlin Model 60 is no AK-47 in the durability department and just take care in cleaning and taking it apart and putting it back together again. I paid something like $150 for the rifle a year or two ago, so I'm not out all that much thankfully.

Just felt like I should share this! :)
 
YES! I for some reason thought it was okay to use on plastic... I think I was thinking of CLP or something God I don't know I was so confused... :(

I am pretty devastated, I feel like such an ass and now I have no way to take squirrels until I can get a new .22 up and running.
 
Thanks! Sure didn't think that would happen... I'm used to disassembley/reassembley of an SKS so yeah... a little more "robust" LOL! :D
 
Sorry, my tablet or something was giving me trouble completing or editing my post. I hope it's working now. I was trying to be persistent to provide a helpful link. I'm a Marlin fan myself.
 
It's a great solvent/degreaser for METAL parts, and similar to many "gun cleaner" sprays costing 4-5 times as much
Click to expand...

"Penny-wise and Pound-foolish" comes to mind .....

Why do people use stuff for things it was not intended? Target bullets for deer, brake cleaner or water displacement fluid to clean guns, .223 for deer, the Taurus Judge for a CCW ....... they are just smarter than the rest of us, I guess ......
 
Thanks for posting Model12Win. I've never used anything but WD 40 and motor oil. After 50 years of owning firearms, No melts. No malfunctions. No rust.
 
WD40 is the cheapest and best gun cleaner you can buy! I to have used it for about 30 years, just keep it away from ammo and no problems!
 
Brake cleaner is an extremely harsh substance, as you found out. I found it out when I was young and it took the paint off my truck! Best practice it to stick with the stuff that is meant for guns. I know it cost more but sometimes spending more money now saves heartache later. Any chance you can borrow a rifle for this Saturday?
 
Stick with clp and the hornady products, you wont regret it... I use a couple other things like eezox, rem wipes, and howards feed n wax on the woods, too bad to hear about your parts, looks like they wont be too expensive to replace, I wonder if the savings from the brake clean will make up for it?
 
Penny-wise and Pound-foolish" comes to mind .....

Why do people use stuff for things it was not intended?
Click to expand...

Not really. If you were to see the material data sheet on some of the actual gun cleaners you would see that it is the exact same stuff as non-chlorinated brake cleaner. Those gun cleaners arent' safe on plastics either. Only, it sells for 4x the price.
 
The onlything I use on trigger assemblys is Lighter Fluid, it will flush an grime and at the same time lightly lube.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top