A friend who isn`t a die hard gun nut recently tried some brake cleaner to clean his Ruger P-95 after a session at the range. Right away he noticed that it was discoloring the frame so he wiped it off and washed the frame in hot soapy water. I looked at it and the damage appears to be purely cosmetic. It didn`t really eat away at the plastic but it lightened it just a little in streaks where the cleaner ran on it. We tried a soft cloth and some rubbing compound on it which helped a little. It`s only noticable if you look for it but it bothers him because he may want to trade it in someday and he`s affraid it will ruin the value of the gun. Any tips or ideas? Marcus
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Restoring the finish on plastic frames
- Thread starter Marcus
- Start date
Can your friend read the instructions?
I know George will back me up on this one! The key is "used brake cleaner to clean a plastic gun"! Ouch.... Have your friend get out the spray can and read the disclaimers and cautions on the back. I'll bet it says not to get it on plastic! Looks like your friend will have to get used to the discoloring. He's lucky it didn't do more damage to the polymer (it may be doing that as I write) that stuff was made to clean brake residue off of steel, not gunpowder off of metal or plastic. I wouldn't use that stuff on any gun, use Hoppes only!! It smells nice too! I use it as an aftershave! If this stuff doesn't continue to deteriorate the polymer I'll be suprised! It will even discolor softer metals and alloys. Marcus, whatever you do DON'T FOLLOW THIS GUY'S ADVICE IN THE CARE OF YOUR GUNS!!!!!!!!!!
I know George will back me up on this one! The key is "used brake cleaner to clean a plastic gun"! Ouch.... Have your friend get out the spray can and read the disclaimers and cautions on the back. I'll bet it says not to get it on plastic! Looks like your friend will have to get used to the discoloring. He's lucky it didn't do more damage to the polymer (it may be doing that as I write) that stuff was made to clean brake residue off of steel, not gunpowder off of metal or plastic. I wouldn't use that stuff on any gun, use Hoppes only!! It smells nice too! I use it as an aftershave! If this stuff doesn't continue to deteriorate the polymer I'll be suprised! It will even discolor softer metals and alloys. Marcus, whatever you do DON'T FOLLOW THIS GUY'S ADVICE IN THE CARE OF YOUR GUNS!!!!!!!!!!
Badger Arms
New member
Blasting the frame with plastic media or Walnut shells should take care of the discoloration and give a matte finish to the frame. Make sure to mask off the slide rails so you don't change their deminsions.