Soaking the cylinder

R

Roland Thunder

New member
The cylinder of my Security Six revolver is gunked up and turns very slowly. I have tried spraying CLP and other cleaners/solvents on it which have helped but not entirely. I am thinking about removing the cylinder and soaking it overnight in Ed's Red.

Do you see any risk in soaking it this long?
 
You gonna buy it ready mixed, or DIY? Just curious, as there are variations for the DIY'er.

Completely safe for use with blued and nickel finishes. Don't expose wood or plastic to it for prolonged periods, because the remaining evaporating acetone (or MEK if that is used as a substitute) can do damage.

Just use some caution as it's flammable and can be somewhat toxic in an enclosed environment.

Cheers,
C
 
I was going to mix it myself. from what I am reading the acetone can be omitted, it just takes longer to clean without it.

My original question, though, was is it ok to soak the cylinder overnight in the ER solution or is that too long
 
I've bought several revolvers used and they all had this occurence, both Ruger and S&W. I simply took the cylinder off, dipped a Q-tip into Hoppes and swabbed out the channel here the cylinder fits into, as well as the cylinder itslef, and reassembled. Spun like silk.
 
Inside the front of the cylinder there is a groove that will accumulate carbon fouling. Brownells sells a special tool which will reach in and scrape this groove clean. It looks like a small pick with a short 90 degree bend in the end and it is contoured to fit the groove perfectly. Don't try to use a screwdriver or some other makeshift tool or you will damage the cylinder. A small ball rides in that groove and retains it on the crane. If this groove has never been cleaned (probably not) it is almost certainly filled with carbon. The cylinder will have to be removed from the crane to do this. All it takes is a small punch and about three hands to break it down. If you don't want to mess with tearing it down remove the crane and cylinder from the frame and heat it up with a hair dryer (do not use a torch), just warm enough you can't hold onto it and soak it in either Dexron ATF or Kroil. Heating the part really does help. A little bit of acetone helps loosen it also. Ed's Red works well also (with or without acetone - it's added to remove plastic wad fouling in shotgun bores). It won't hurt to soak it for a week if you want to. Allow it to drain out thoroughly or use compressed air to blow it all out. Best thing is to pull the cyl. off of the crane and clean out that groove or else the problem will keep coming back.
 
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When I buy a used revolver, I normally soak the cylinder (without disassembling the center pin/extractor spring/etc apart) in hoppes. I use eds red sometimes, but hoppes will loosen up copper fouling (although I don't know if that is a problem in a cylinder chamber). Warning, hoppes (but not ER) will remove nickel by removing the copper underneath it, so don't soak nickel guns in hoppes.

I've been known to drop a frame/barrel/piece that is giving me trouble in an oil pan filled with eds red for 7+ days. Never noticed any harm to any of my guns for it. It certainly won't rust in there!
 
GreginAtl:

Why not purchase a half ammo can of diesel amd soak the whole gun over night: it works. I use any good solvent but solvent drys the pores and the gun must be oiled thourghly.I soak my guns every two to three months when I'm shooting a lot. Remove grips.


Semper Fi.

Gunnery Sergeant
Clifford L. Hughes
USMC Retired
 
God I love the Marines. Seriously. He's right you know. Gunnery Sgts. are ALWAYS RIGHT!!! If you don't want to get into dis and reassembly just do as he suggested. Diesel makes a very good gun solvent as I'm sure he knows. Be sure to use a real G.I. ammo can. Don't buy one of those cheap plastic imitations from Cabelas or Cheaper than Dirt. Actually Cylinder and Slide has offered the Dunk It cleaning outfit for many years now which consists of a plastic bucket filled with their own proprietary solvent (top secret formula) Probably just Diesel fuel. (I'm kidding, it's really a great product and works as advertised) It's perfect for those who don't want to tear their guns down and put them back together repeatedly. It leaves the gun clean and slightly oily but you do want to let it drain for some time.
 
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