Questions about Cleaning Semi-Auto

Sorry about that. I'm a very mathematical, analytical, procedural sort of person. If its not written out in explicit detail I freak out.
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In some ways that can be an advantage here. All you have to do is figure out what you are trying to accomplish. Once you do that you can take advantage of the options and resources available to you, the rest can fall into line.

You are trying to keep the piece safe from corrosion.

You also want to lubricate the movement of one steel part against another. The lube is usually either oil or grease. It helps prevent premature wear of the gun.

The two things are different but inter-related.

Dirt and grime of any type retains moisture. Moisture promotes corrosion.

Being dunked in water is one way moisture can get to a gun. Salt water is worse than clear. Being rained on as well. Left out in the dew and damp, or fog as well. The piece needs to be protected from moisture. A trip from the safe to the range and back poses little risk. But a canoe trip up the Boundary waters of Minnesota is another.

Certain chemicals, solvents, natural juices can effect a gun. Orange juice is one. Carbon tet another. Acids.

Some people have a natural acidity to the perspiration and need to take more care of their guns from this. Same with people who take certain medications.

So if you know what you are trying to accomplish, there is more than one way to do it.

tipoc
 
Do baked on finishes (Springfield, HK, Glock) need any rust prevention?
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Glock's main protective finish is a nitro-carburizing/melonite/tenifer finish which actually changes the character of the top layer of metal. When done right, that kind of finish is extremely hard/durable and also very corrosion resistant. It doesn't really need to be oiled/coated for protection.
I'm a very mathematical, analytical, procedural sort of person. If its not written out in explicit detail I freak out.
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That's not a problem, BUT, in that case, you need to ask specific questions about specific guns. It's not reasonable to believe that you will be able to get explicit details on how to clean/protect every type of semi-automatic handgun in every type of finish ever made given the huge amount of variation encompassed.
 
Basically what I'm looking for is corrsion protection I should apply in Arizona for the following:

1. Typical Glock/HK/Sig
2. Blued 1911
3. Stainless S&W Semi Auto
 
No need to wipe down the exterior of the Glock with anything. TailGator gave correct instructions for lubricating it.

Here's the manual for the VP9. Section 7 on pages 25-27 cover cleaning and lubrication. It actually provides quite explicit instructions on lubrication/protection.
http://hk-usa.com/wp-content/uploads/VP9-Operators-Manual-08122014.pdf

The blued pistol will need to be wiped down with a silicone-impregnated cloth or some sort of protectant and re-wiped after handling to prevent fingerprints from causing rust. If you are carrying it or handling it a lot, a wax-type protectant would be a good idea.

The stainless semi-auto should be pretty resistant to corrosion. If you handle it a lot or wear it and sweat on it, it wouldn't hurt to treat it like the blued gun, but otherwise just lubricate it as the manual suggests.
 
If you have completely removed all traces of oil from a metal framed handgun, then you need to protect the metal somehow.

What I do:

Use an aerosol or spray lube, to cover all the parts and get into the small hard to reach places. (preferably a lube not know to dry out over time)

Wipe off any excess I can.

Use compressed air (canned air is fine) to blow out all excess oil from the insides and all the nooks and crannies.

Wipe off all excess again.

Wipe of any individual parts.


Now that everything is coated with a nice thin layer of oil, I know it is protected. Blowing it out means the amount of oil is minimal.

I then reassemble the firearm and lube all necessary parts as I do.


You end up with proper corrosion protection, especially in the hard to reach areas, but without excess lube to collect crud. And the firearm has lube in all critical areas and moving parts.


Completely stripping a firearm like that is not something I do often. Only if necessary... Say I took a tumble in a mud hole, or got caught in a massive downpour... Or it was an old firearm of unknown cleanliness, say old milsurp stuff.

Modern poly framed fire do not need this level of treatment. If I needed to force out water or make sure it was really clean... I would use an aerosols degreaser to clean it out, then do the oil and compressed air thing to make sure all the little metal parts had protection.

But many modern firearms have very good protective finishes on them already. So only the critical areas need lubed. So after hitting it with degreaser, I would blow it out well and lube as required.
 
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But many modern firearms have very good protective finishes on them already. So only the critical areas need lubed. So after hitting it with degreaser, I would blow it out well and lube as required.
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Hmmm... See that is what I was thinking and this is where the confusion starts. :D

Blued guns - I 100% understand that bluing is not very good at resisting any form of corrosion. It needs protection.

Stainless - Sounds like a very, very thin coat is a good idea (stainless can rust, in my experience stainless Colt 1911s rust like crazy compared to the blued ones).

It's the latest finishes which I'm not quite sure of.

I feel that a Glock probably could only get lubrication. Corrosion protection is an afterthought.

The VP9 has HK’s hostile environment finish. I would assume this is equal or better than the finish on the Glock, yet the manual for HK says to lube all metal parts (which I believe would include the slide).

Some manuals mention the rails and that is it. I don't like greasy exteriors. Any ideas?
 
I should say what I don't understand is why I've gotten different responses from different people. Radically different.
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They live in radically different places. Folks living in the high desert would be foolish to slather on liberal amounts of oil on their guns: doing so would only collect dirt, if left for an extended period of time, the resulting sludge would bake into place .... conversely, someone in Florida or the Tidewater of most of the east coast would be foolish to only wipe oil onto the "contact points": doing so would make their gun a chew toy for a herd of rust monsters.....

I've spoken to many at the shows and find a high percentage of folks never disassemble.
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How much do these "many" actually shoot? I'd wager most folks that don't clean their guns don't have a reason to: they spend more on guns than ammo to, you know, actually shoot them.

This is more so when it's a pain in the rear like a Ruger Mark series pistol
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It's only hard if you refuse to put any time into learning how to do it..... pretty much applies to most anything.....
 
I don't like greasy exteriors. Any ideas?
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Hmm...

Maybe a wax-type protectant would be a good idea. ;)
...yet the manual for HK says to lube all metal parts (which I believe would include the slide).
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The manual says "light lube" which, by their very detailed definition, would fit the description of a very thin coat of lube/protectant. Most people wouldn't really call that "lubing" the slide--they'd say that there was a very light coat of oil to protect it. For exterior surfaces, it wouldn't have to be oil, it could be some kind of a dry protectant.
 
It never hurts to wipe down the slide with a little oil, and then wipe it off with a clean rag.

It will leave a very light amount, and that is enough.


I do it on all my firearms... Even if it's not really needed on the newer stuff like glock and M&P, etc...


A little lube on the metal parts for corrosion protection won't hurthurt... As long as you are not slathering lube on.
 
I should say what I don't understand is why I've gotten different responses from different people. Radically different.
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Let's make it easy and based on common sense: Take two pieces of bare steel, wipe one down with some kind of oil or silicon, and leave the other bare. Leave them out for a while and see what happens to each piece. That will be your answer.

(P.S. The more humid your location, the quicker you will have your answer.)
 
Regardless of whether I'm going to take the gun to the range immediately or not, I usually wipe the metal parts down with a silicone gun reel cloth and then lightly lubricate the gun.
 
I hate to bring this up (continuing this thread), but I see a lot of people spray Gunscrubber and the like in their slides and frame and then just oil the contact points as described in the manual.

Won't this cause the slide finish and frame to rust inside?

And is Cerakote (when intact) totally impervious?
 
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Cerakote done right is pretty impervious.


Depending on how good the corrosion protective finish is on the firearm, just blasting out with gun scrubber may need a follow-up of some corrosion protection.


I have given you my method of cleaning a firearm when using decreaser. Others have said their piece in their methods... Beyond that, there is no magic. At this point... You have to take what you know about the firearm and make the call yourself.

I err on the side of caution and leave the bare minimum oil I can on any hidden parts. For a couple of reasons... One for added piece of mind against corrosion, and the fact that many of the parts do move relative to others... This minimum oil, does provide some lubrication. (especially if you use a quality oil)
 
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I hate to bring this up (continuing this thread), but I see a lot of people spray Gunscrubber and the like in their slides and frame and then just oil the contact points as described in the manual.

Won't this cause the slide finish and frame to rust inside?
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If you remove all the oil then rust is a possibility if conditions are conducive.

If you want to use a spray cleaner and don't want to go to the bother of relubricating afterwards, something like Hornady One Shot is an option. It does about as good a job of cleaning as GunScrubber but leaves a lubricating/protecting "dry" residue when the carrier/cleaner evaporates.
 
I am going to share my experience on preventing rust issues to a variety of firearms. Everything from collectors to shooters.
I use CPL. I hose it down, let it set 24 hours, wipe it down completely, hosed down and let it sit 8 hours, wipe it down, oil per directions and good to go.
Everyone who used this has expressed thanks and gratitude for a way that preserves their guns.
 
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