need a great cleaning solution

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Doc Holliday 1950

New member
I really want to keep all my revolvers spanking clean. I've noticed that they are all starting to have areas that I can't remove the carbon? spots and slight burn marks.
What's a good cleaning solution that will not stink up my house or cause my wife's COPD to act up. Or, do I have to give it to my gun smith and leave it with him to do the job that I really enjoy and want to do myself? Cleaning and lubricating my revolvers is very calming and seems to me to be part of why I enjoy shooting . It's like brushing your teeth. Do it or they rot.
 
It's like brushing your teeth. Do it or they rot.
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But the analogy is far from perfect. There's a common refrain along these lines: "Many more guns have been ruined by overzealous cleaning than by not enough cleaning."

Carbon rings are inert. The ones left behind after cleaning of normal intensity hurt nothing. If you want to go crazy on them, you'll end up harming the finish on your blued revolvers. It's much easier to remove the rings without apparent consequence on a stainless revolver, but many of the things that remove them are abrasives (lead-away cloths, etc.). They may be mild abrasives, but as abrasives they're still removing metal.
 
shoot some pics up and we can surely solve your problem
if its lead or build-up n barrel, I put a piece of duct tape on front to plug it up, then fill it up ith hopes and sit overnight. then scrub diligently with brass brush. other than the carbon rings, hich can be removed with any abrasive if you feel obliated to keep them clean, the outside can always be emedied with CLP and a soft bristled toothbrush.
 
I use Kroil and Ed's Red for cleaning, though neither of them are odorless. Among the cleaning reagents on my shelf, Otis 085 UltraBore has the least odor. Outers and Hoppe's Elite are supposedly low-odor.

Doc Holliday 1950 said:
I really want to keep all my revolvers spanking clean...Cleaning and lubricating my revolvers is very calming and seems to me to be part of why I enjoy shooting . It's like brushing your teeth. Do it or they rot.
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It's not like brushing your teeth at all. You like spanking clean revolvers, but they don't need to be spanking clean; and, as mentioned, keeping them that way everytime they're shot can do much more harm to them in the long run. I understand you get enjoyment out of the process, though. I personally wouldn't want dirty gun residue in the house, no matter how neat I'd try being, though.
 
I like my guns clean too but I won't say they'll rot without it...errr unless you're talking about black powder!

Carbon rings on the cylinder hurt nothing but if you want to remove them, or any stuck on carbon build up get you a lead removing cloth. It's impregnated with something (doesn't stink) and with a little elbow grease will remove carbon rings and such. The one I have is by Birchwood Casey but other brands should work well also.
 
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Like that?
 
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FIREClean. Also, it'll jive well with your wife as it is non toxic and has no smell. Not a minty smell, not a bearable smell, no smell. You basically disassemble, clean and degrease the offending firearm (I used rubbing alcohol) to remove any old oil or solvents. Then, coat all wearing or carbon collecting parts with a good application of FIREClean. Let it sit overnight. If the parts look dry after sitting, apply another light coat and let sit again. After that, wipe the carbon that you didn't know existed off with a paper towel or rag (it'll leach carbon from beneath the surface as it soaks in) and reapply with a 1" paintbrush. It'll only take two or three drops to coat all wear or carbon collecting parts. A very, very light coat is all that's needed.
 
Leave the carbon rings on the cylinder face, they will just keep coming back and the effort put into getting rid of them is not worth it. The truth of the matter is, no one should even see them in the first place unless they are looking down the barrel of that gun. The only one who will ever notice them is you.
 
I shoot revolvers is IDPA, ICORE, and Steel Challenge. I do a lot of revolver cleaning. Step 1 is to wash the bore and chambers in Hoppe's #9 and let them sit for an hour or so. Step 2, run another Hoppe's patch through bore & chambers. That pulls a lot of powder fouling. Step 3, run a stainless steel spiral wound tornado brush through all. This removes solid matter. Step 4, wash again with Hoppe's, and let sit. Step 5, run a clean patch through all and inspect.
If there is any solid matter left (lead or carbon) wrap a piece of copper Chore Boy cleaning pad around an old bronze bristle brush and scrub what needs scrubbing. Finish that with one more Hoppe's wash... then dry patch clean, and you should be looking good -- and I love the smell of Hoppe's!
Put some Hoppe's on a toothbrush. push the ejector rod and brush the ejector end of the cylinder to remove any crap that's left under there. Wipe the exterior down... add lube of choice (mine is Corrosion X) where needed.
That's a clean revolver.
 
Seal1 brother! Only thing i use.

After about 25 years or so of Hoppe's #9 and REM oil a local gun smith had me try SEAL1. Its some amazing suff, and good on everything from knives and axes, steel and polymer pistol and rifles and just melts black powder. Its bio safe, actually it eco green and smells good, anybody remember Pepsodent Tooth Powder? Smells just like it.

It cleans and actually seals the mico fractures in the metal to keep dirt and moisture for getting in. You can actually pull the bolt of of your rifle, wipe it clean and your good to go after you treat you gun.

Best you dont need to oil your guns as it also acts as a lube. And because your not using oil you gun doesn't attract dust and grime, especially on you CCW gun.
 
I've never tried it, but I suspect Sea Foam would do a good job of removing carbon build up, since it works great in engines
 
cleaning gun

Skizzums has a pic of what I'm trying to clean. Being a novice I get to ask
some questions I have no idea of the answers.Burn marks on cylinder I get and over cleaning I now understand. The teeth and rot part is stupid.But, I get to ask stupid questions as long as I do it once and don't repeat myself.
Thanks everyone. Keep them coming
 
Doc Holliday 1950 said:
The teeth and rot part is stupid.
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Well, despite what I wrote earlier, the teeth analogy isn't too far off. But brushing your teeth regularly is more like the type of regular cleaning we're recommending. Getting your teeth really clean is good, but involves delicate mechanical scraping, so it's best done occasionally (and by a pro). Doing that level of maintenance regularly isn't likely doing your teeth much good. So it is with guns.
 
I use Fireclean on all of my DI AR's which get filthy with carbon, it gets them sparkly clean.

It works equally well on handguns.

I also used a mix of brake cleaner and other crap for parts that are especially fouled, but handguns don't get as dirty as AR's.
 
Ive tried a majority of the cleaners on the market over the years, and always seem to come back to Hoppes and Gun Scrubber for general cleaning.

Ive always used a bronze or SS brush on the face of the cylinder and around the barrel inside the frame. Never had an issue with damaging the finish, and I clean my guns every time I shoot them.

I had a couple of Ruger revolvers who had very tight cylinder gaps, and the fouling from just a couple of cylinders full, would cause the cylinder to bind. Even when they came back from a trip to the factory to resolve the gap issue, while better, they still tended to bind up after a couple of hundred rounds.

Ive used the Lead Away clothes, cut into patches for lead in the bore a number of times, and they have worked well there, but I dont use them on the blued finish in general, or on my SS guns. A quick brushing with Hoppes across the face of the cylinder, and its usually right back to "clean", with no carbon.

It seems to be popular these days not to clean your gun after every outing, and I think waiting until things are built up and slowing down, is a poor way to do things. They clean up a lot easier and a lot quicker, if you clean them each time.
 
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