gun cleaning: tips, tricks, advice

B

(BH)

New member
i was talking to a buddy earlier about gun cleaning and how everybody has different techniques and products they use as a part of their own personal cleaning ritual. i have my way, he has his way, and everybody else has their way. my way is just about as simple as it gets and im sure there are better ways than mine.

so anyhow, i was thinking it would be cool for people to share their procedure, what products they use, tips, tricks and anything else useful on the subject of gun cleaning. i was thinking particularly about semi auto's.
 
Hoppes No. 9 and a variety of implements, depending on what I'm cleaning. One of the best things I ever got was a small bore brush, but it's just a cotton mop type thing that's perfect for the .357 that I carry. So I can swab it out every couple days to make the scheduled cleanings easier.
 
Well, I consider myself a novice, so take my advice with a grain of salt (and, as always, I welcome suggestions and corrections from all you old farts :) )...

I use Break Free CLP spray. Used to use Rem Oil. I don't use grease, which I'm not sure if that's a mistake or not. I've found that using jags really help remove oil/junk from the barrel. I always make use of a small nylon brush, and my buddy introduced me to using the handle end of a small paint brush... ya put down a cleaning patch and use the wooden end to dig into all the nooks and crannies.

Of course, Q-tips are useful, too.

But heck, I get most of my cleaning done with an old army t-shirt.
 
I just have a mental block against Break Free. I hated it in the Army and have never given it a chance since. I'm sure it's probably the best cleaner ever when you don't have a hard charging armorer checking every nook and cranny with a white glove :D
 
I use ballistol. best. stuff. evar. I need to pick up a tube of Red N Tacky for certain gun parts
 
I only shoot jacketed rounds, no lead so I use a copper cleaner like Sweets and follow it up with a Kroil/Shooters Choice mixture. (1 oz Kroil to 3 oz Shooters Choice) I use some kind of FP-10 (Shooters Choice or Firepower) to lubricate.

I don't use brushes just jags and patches. I use this on both handguns and rifles. Hope this helps.
Dallas Jack
 
Coated cleaning rod,bore guides, cotton patches, nylon brushes, Butches Bore Shine, Sweets, Hoppes Benchrest, and Kroil. Once in a while JB Bore Paste.

I rarely brush my barrels, instead I let the chemicals do the work and patch out the fouling etc.
My firearms are " always" being cleaned....I let Kroil or Hoppes sit in the bore for days...until I see ALL the fouling removed.

I plan on trying Patch Out, heard good reviews on it.
Many good barrels are damaged in one degree or another by excessive, aggressive brushing and it isn't necessary.
 
I use paper towels for patches, with a little Hoppes for pistols. Takes a while to know how much to use so you don't tear it. They work fine.

I use the brass brush only occasionally.

For lube, I use FP10 or Mobile1 15W- 50 synthetic. Sometimes I mix the two. I'll also use TW25 grease alone, or mixed with a little FP10 and use that on the rails. For the bbl., I just use the FP10 or Mobile1.

At the range I use a bore snake, IF I shoot the gun I'm carrying, to clean off the chamber and feed ramp. I also wipe of the breech face and brush the extractor-- then clean it properly when I get home.


To clean out the action of, say, a SIG, I pour some Hoppes solvent in there, let it sit, and flush it out with GunScrubber, then dry with canned air I buy at Costco by the case. Then I like to apply a little FP10, or sometimes or maybe even even some MilTech. I leave the actiion on 1911's dry.

I stay away from RemOil because it's so thin, and acts more like a solvent than a lube, and it tends to disappear when in storage.

For rifles, I have the regular solvent, the copper dissolving solvent, the alcohol, proper patches and brushes. After using, say, Sweets, I run a dry patch, then one soaked in alcohol, a dry patch, then regular solvent, and dry patches.
The alchohol is so I'm not mixing different solvents--especially the ammonia based with regular. Simple techniques shown to me by a rifle builder and bench rest shooter. Overly cautious? I don't know, maybe he was just superstitious.:D

I also learned that Shooters Choice is nothing more than Gen. Motors Top Engine Cleaner. Wished I'd bought more before they dis-continued it, since it was about 1/3 the price.
 
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Every time I see a thread regarding cleaning products and such, I have to wonder... am I the only person (besides my dad who turned me on to it) who uses or has even heard of Prolix?? :confused:

Here's the page that describes what it does: http://www.prolixlubricant.com/productdetails.html It cleans and lubricates, and preserves the finish.

But as far as how I clean my guns, I just spray Prolix onto patches or spray it into all the little cracks and crevasses and scrub and wipe away. I used to use Hoppe's 9 and the Hoppe's oil, but this has cut my cleaning time by almost half per gun. :D

It's pretty awesome, and even tho it's a little pricey, it lasts along time. (I'm not even half through my first 16 oz bottle, after a few months of semi-weekly shooting.)
 
I dont use Q-tips in the hard to reach areas, I use Pipe cleaners with the Breakfree lcp, some jar head Instructer said the q-tip particles can ignight at 240 degree's and cause a blow out , Ignighting the ammo in the magazine. cant imagine that being a pretty picture.:eek:
 
the q-tip particles can ignight at 240 degree's and cause a blow out , Ignighting the ammo in the magazine.
Click to expand...

I would be really surprised if that's possible. :rolleyes: Maybe we should get Mythbusters to check it out, they need an excuse to test more gun myths! I love those episodes! :D
 
I drank the Weapon Shield kool aid and I liked it. I use good ol' Hoppes #9 to get the tougher stuff out, but WS actually seems to make cleaning my autos a lot easier each time. Could be psychosomatic though...:o
 
A bottle of compressed air, like you use for cleaning your computer keyboard, is very useful with its little straw nozzle. Gets into tight places a rag can't.
 
For those nooks and crannies and other tight spaces I use dental picks followed by pipe cleaners or q-tips. I only use one piece rods, either polished stainless or coated. I cut the neck off a 12 oz plastic pop bottle and put the bottle over my muzzle to catch the spray when using a bristle brush and it also catches patches falling off jags. When I'm finished I go all over the firearm with a short stiff paintbrush with CLP in it, let it soak for a few hours, then wipe the excess off with a soft rag. On my target rifles I use only fiber bristle brushes (available from Sinclair) to avoid removing the patina. On bolt action rifles I use a bore guide mounted in the receiver. To remove lead from handgun barrels you can't beat the Lewis Lead Remover (Brownells) or you can get a Chore Boy scrub pad and wrap a bit of it around a brass brush and scrub away. I have heard that turpentine is a superior lead remover but haven't verified that yet.
 
For something a bit different...

I use a fishing tackle box for my cleaning kit. I've seen some real trainwrecks of kits and I hate the ones you buy in the stores as they don't have flexibility. Get one of those plastic boxes with the flip-top lid and dividers that you can move for just a few $$.

It's a great size to throw in your gun bag and keeps everything organized.
 
For Stainless Steel guns only...>

...I find the lead removing cloths such as Lead-Away work very well. These are very effective on cleaning away fouling, and particularly handy on the face of the cylinder and for cleaning chambers after shooting .38spl rounds in a .357mag revolver. I also use them as patches for barrel cleaning every so often.

Don't use them on blued guns as they may damage the finish.
 
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