solvent over soap and water

Soap and water for me. It's cheaper and always available! But what defines better? Some use just water...

Disclaimer: I've never used any sort of solvent.
 
No. 13 is water-based cleaner, not really a solvent - so essentially you are still using water (along with other additives). I do use No. 13 for a quick cleanup at the range, but still prefer to use water with a touch of soap for a full cleaning when I get home, as I believe it does a more thorough job of rinsing out places where a patch might not necessarily make contact with. I shoot sidelocks though, which have a small flash channel from the nipple area into the breech - no such worry for an inline of course but I bet there are still areas of the breech that a patch doesn't reach. I suppose you could also remove the breech plug and clean that with hot water, and simply use wet patches to swab the bore.
 
I dont put water on any of my guns... Smokeless or BP.

I only shoot T7 so far, so I cant say what would happen with real powder... But my guns are basically treated the same with the exception of using only organic (canola and olive) oils in my BP.

Clean, bore and internals, with hopps #9... oil for lube and storage... Done.

Not a speck of rust on mine yet!
 
water kills the corrosive salts in BP and the subs.

Dry patch it and then pour in a good amount of alcohol to soak in the bolster/breech plug to remove moisture/water then dry patch it again, oil for protection.

I'd love to run my bore camera down a traditional barrel that hasn't been cleaned with water to flush out the bolster and face of the fitted breech plug.
 
What I do : -
Remove grips first.
Dismantle as far as needed, barrel off(Walker), cylinder and remove nipples.
Boiling water and detergent.
Immerse all bits in water and detergent.
Wet .45 brush and .44 mop up barrel and cylinders while in the water.
Rinse all soap and black bits off all parts.
Put parts on baking tray covered in baking parchment.
Dry in oven on 200C fan bake until dry.
Remove and let cool so you can pick it up.
Re-lube trigger mechanism and hammer, Ballistol patch up barrel before assembly and re-assemble.

I haven't tried the Dishwasher route as yet, but I'm told it works fine.

Cheers
Gaz
 
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A time and place.

There are three basic ways to clean M/L's

Water & Soap;
Then the question becomes, "hot" or "cold"? In the old days, it was hot and then they said that hot was not good so folks started using cold. As noted, there is nothing cheaper than water and "very" effective on BP and Pyrodex. ... :confused:
Solvents;
Many good solvents out there and most of them are water based. Water is classified as a solvent depending on it's application. ... :confused:
A Combination;
Of both water & soap followed by a solvent wash ... :)

If you are shooting BP or Pyrodex, I'd recommend tap water and soap and always followed by your favorite solvent wash.
If you shoot most other M/L Propellants, drink the water with Jack and go right for the solvent. ..... ;)

Be Safe !!!
 
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