Facing your dirty habit....

P

Pond James Pond

New member
... How exactly do you clean a gun?

I can see that it is instrumental in making a gun last and reach its potential, but what exactly is involved, what do you need to buy and where do you need to stuff it?

And why?

When I finally get a gun, I am determined to show it more respect and TLC than I do my poor long suffering motorbike....:o

I service my bike, but it sees soap and water once every leap year.

Help me change my errant ways with my up and coming purchase. :)
 
Apply petroleum solvents to the parts of the firearm that have black crud on them.

Use fabric soaked in solvent to remove the black crud...

Use white fabric to find more black crud.

Repeat until clean.

Apply moisture-displacing and corrosion resistant petroleum lubricant when the firearm is clean.
 
Apply petroleum solvents to the parts of the firearm that have black crud on them.

Use fabric soaked in solvent to remove the black crud...

Use white fabric to find more black crud.

Repeat until clean.

Apply moisture-displacing and corrosion resistant petroleum lubricant when the firearm is clean.
Click to expand...

Sounds like my dental hygiene routine....:D
 
Stressfire had the good advice,,,

When you get your handgun go to youtube,,,
Type in your gun and "how to clean".

There will probably be a video there on your specific pistol.

I just tried it for 4 of my guns,,,
There were lots of videos to choose from.

Ya just hasta luv the interwebz.

Aarond
 
Field strip and clean but only as needed. Rarely do I do a complete take down of any of my firearms for a thorough cleaning...usually after purchasing before its first day on the range.

My carry gun is kept relatively "dry" so as not to attract lint or dirt which can really gum up the works.
 
Seriously, it's not a big deal, and like many, I clean mine after each trip to the range.

Buy the following tools: A cleaning rod, a tip for patches; a brush in the caliber of gun you're using (or, just slightly larger than the one you're using, as in a .40 cal. brush for a .38/.357); cotton patches; a bronze and a nylon "toothbrush"; some good solvent (I like Birchwood Casey Gunscrubber); and a good lubricating oil. Other items that you might want to get include bronze wool (available at hardware stores), a lead removing cloth (Birchwood Casey makes a good one), and hollow ground screwdrivers in various sizes (you'll be amazed at how screws on handguns tend to back out from recoil).

The actual cleaning process begins with my brushing out the barrel, and if I'm cleaning a revolver, the chambers, with a dry brush. I then brush exposed surfaces like the cylinder face with a bronze brush. The idea is to knock off as much carbon as possible before doing anything else. I then rub down my cylinder face with a lead removing cloth, removing as much of the carbon stains as is possible (note: do NOT do this with a blued gun unless the cloth is labeled as safe on blued surfaces). I also use the lead removal cloth on the forcing cone, the gun's muzzle, and any other surface where carbon builds up. Next, I run solvent soaked patches through the barrel and the chambers until they go through clean. I then wipe the gun down with a couple of solvent soaked patches with the objective being to pull as much carbon off the gun as possible. I place close attention to the area underneath the ejector. I then run a patch on which I've put a drop or two of gun oil through the barrel and chambers, followed by a couple of clean dry patches to soak up any oil residue. I finish by wiping the exterior of the gun with a lead removing cloth.

The entire process takes me about 20 minutes for a revolver. For a semi, the time is less, usually about 12-15 minutes.
 
I almost never clean my guns. They still shoot. They are still pretty accurate. I have never had a failure caused by dirt. Although I have not been to the range since April. When things slacken up, I usually don't go more than twice a month. That said, I shoot a lot of .22's in the backyard and still rarely clean my firearms. And they still shoot just fine.
 
Field strip
Spray with Hoppes Elite
Wipe Hoppes Elite off
Apply CLP to cleaning patch
Wipe parts with patch until the patches stop getting black
Use brush if necessary on stubborn blackness
Pull boresnake or push brush down bore
Apply CLP or Slip 2000 to various parts
Reassemble pistol
Rack slide a couple of time to make sure pistol is assembled correctly and spread lube
Go shooting
I do this when I get around to it, mostly I just go shooting
 
I started using Ed's Red about six months ago. It's a simple, home-made CLP solvent solution made of equal parts of ATF, diesel fuel, mineral spirits and acetone.

Works pretty well on everything...revolvers, semi auto pistols and .22s. Makes cleaning pretty simple, and seems to leave "just enough" petroleum behind to serve as an anti-corrosion film. Obviates the need for multiple products, which I really like.

My actual cleaning routine is pretty simple. I run a solvent-soaked bore brush up and down the bore three or four times and set it aside for 5-10 minutes. In the mean time, I wil do the same with each of the other guns I am cleaning (I typically take 3-4 each range session). If it's a revolver, I'll do the same with each chamber. If it's a semi, it will have been field-stripped, so once the barrel is scrubbed and sitting, I'll clean the frame and slide with a small pice of t-shirt with a bit of solvent on it. After the "sitting period", I'll run a couple clean patches through the bore. Usually two of three is all it takes for them to come clean (and I shoot lead rounds almost exclusively). A little Ed's Red on a clean patch wiping down the inside and outside, then a dry patch to remove the excess. Done.

Note that I don't let my firearms sit idle for years at a time, so I don't know how it would do for extended storage.
 
I run a bore snake through the barrel followed by a quick wipe down with a silicone gun cloth. Normally I do a detail cleaning after 2 or 3 range outings (200 to 300 rounds) or when I get really bored...
 
You can buy a kit at you local gun store or most sporting goods retailers. It will have every thing you need.

5 minute job. You will have no problems.

IMHO It is not worth getting a gun "spotlessly" clean. People sometimes jam tight patches in the bore trying to "push hard" to get all the crud out. No need for that. Just get it "clean" and you're good.
 
Ed's Red

I've never heard deisel fuel listed as part of the ingredients for Ed's Red. Listed below is what I've always seen listed as "Ed's Red"

CONTENTS: Ed's Red Bore Cleaner

1 part Dexron ATF, GM Spec. D-20265 or later.

1 part Kerosene - deodorized, K1

1 part Aliphatic Mineral Spirits

CAS #64741-49-9, or substitute "Stoddard Solvent", CAS #8052-41-3, or equivalent.

1 part Acetone, CAS #67-64-1.

(Optional 1 lb. of Lanolin, Anhydrous, USP per gallon, or OK to substitute Lanolin, Modified, Topical Lubricant, from the drug store)

MIXING INSTRUCTIONS:

Mix outdoors, in good ventilation. Use a clean 1 gallon metal, chemical-resistant, heavy gage PET or PVC plastic container. NFPA approved plastic gasoline storage containers are OK. Do NOT use HDPE, which is permeable, because the acetone will slowly evaporate. Acetone in ER will attack HDPE over time, causing the container to collapse, making a heck of a mess!

Add the ATF first. Use the empty container to measure the otherainer to measure the other components, so that it is thoroughly rinsed. If you incorporate the lanolin into the mixture, melt this carefully in a double boiler, taking precautions against fire. Pour the melted lanolin it into a larger container, rinsing the lanolin container with the bore cleaner mix, and stirring until it is all dissolved. I recommend diverting up to 4 ozs. per quart of the 50-50 ATF/kerosene mix to use as "ER-compatible" gun oil.
 
Ed's Red
Click to expand...

Why all the mixin', and witches brew when Hoppe's is so easily available, convenient, and works great!

A patch soaked in Hoppe's #9 down the bore. Let it soak a bit while you wipe down the frame, slide, other parts. Clean patches through the bore until they come out clean and dry. A brush dipped in Hoppe's down the bore if there is any copper of lead fouling. Finish with a patch with a little gun oil through the bore, and chambers in a revolver. Light drop of oil on moving parts.
I used to clean my guns a lot. Needed or not, just every time a new guy picked my daughter up for a date!:eek::D Now she's engaged, and living on her own, so I don't clean them as much. Just when needed after shooting.
 
Where are you getting that drop of oil?

What kind of oil is it?

HOW MUCH DID YOU PAY FOR IT ON A PER GALLON BASIS ???? :eek:
 
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