Some say blast with brake cleaner. What about...

P

Pond James Pond

New member
.... contact cleaner

I have an entire can after using it to spruce up the full beam connector on the car.

It must be plastic friendly if useable on circuitry and contacts but apart from that is it a possible alternative? It's what I have and I don't see myself cleaning many other contacts with it, so it'll just sit there otherwise...
 
Should be okay but "test"

contact cleaner
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If this is anything like the contact or electrical cleaner that I have used, it should be fine. It's always a good idea to test it, just to make sure. I have fond that a can of contact cleaner usually costs more than a can of brake cleaner. The back guy to watch out for, is "Carburetor Cleaner". ...... :(

Be Safe !!!
 
I once was a proponent of the various chlorinated hydrocarbon sprays.I picked up a little education from Schuemann Barrels,and he presents info from Mr Borden of Precision Shooting Magazine.

I'm convinced,to err on the safe side,I just don't use them anymore.

FWIW,I have an air compressor and a touch-up size spray paint gun.If I need to flush degrease,a little laquer thinner works good.

Please read here

http://schuemann.com/Portals/0/Documentation/Webfile_Barrel_Cleaning.pdf

The chapter on barrel steel is good,too
 
I read the link, and it seems that he is suggesting to just not clean your barrel. That is interesting, since that is exactly the same thing that I have come to do over the last few years.

I don't clean until I start to see accuracy fall off. In my hunting rifles, that takes quite a while. In rifles that I shoot a lot, it may take as much as 300 or more rounds.

I do run a patch with Hoppes, followed by one with CLP to prevent rust. That's it, nothing more.
 
It completely removes ALL oil from the surface and the surface grain of the steel.

It does the same to your hands and lungs.

So use with caution.
 
I mostly use "carb cleaners" and have never had a problem.

I figure if they don't damage seals in carbs, they are less aggressive tham brake cleaners

I try not to get it on anything other than the metal parts, and I relubricate immediately upon evaporation

As to the "chlorinated" hazards, most of those types have been off the market for a long time, and the most commonly found products are NOT cholorinated
 
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I too plan to buy carb cleaner. It does seem the least aggressive of all of these types of angry cleaning agents!!

Still, on this occasion I did use the contact cleaner.

I don't think one use will dissolve my gun. And I shouldn't need to do much more for a while as the dri-lube I left there should keep stuff moving and dirt at bay for a while!
 
Carb cleaners - designed to dissolve gummy pertroleum residue after a long soak. Unless that's the issue with your gun, you'd be better off with something that's less disruptive of the finishes used on gun wood.

Brake / gun cleaners - more volatile than carb cleaners, will remove oil and loosen dirt to wipe away.

Contact cleaners - extremely volatile, won't hang around long enough to work with.

Formulas vary, I like Gunscrubber.

Use with lots of ventilation and avoid skin contact in any case.
 
I just believe in using parts, tools and solvents for their intended purposes. Can't go wrong using gun solvents and cleaners on guns
 
As an old car guy, I've been using auto cleaning products on guns for a long time with success.
Mostly for the cleaning effectiveness and low prices.
So far the only damage done was to some plastics.
Always test first, and for finish damage.
And that's true for official gun products, too.
 
I clean a lot of guns.
I have used the various spray can cleaners, both gun scrubber and automotive cleaners.
Unless your gun is not very dirty to begin with, and you're mostly just replacing the oil, they suck, and will end up costing more than breaking out the solvent and a brush. It often takes a lot of spray cleaner to get caked in crud out of corners and crevices. Yes, it dissolves it, but it dissolves it a lot slower than it evaporates, so you have to keep re applying it.
So, if you clean real often, and there isn't much inside the gun, and that is real wet, sprays will mostly work. If not, they will leave a lot behind. Also, they don't change having to take the gun down near as much as many think. They flush out some gunk, but often they leave behind just as much, if not more.
I even have an ultrasonic cleaner, and it won't always remove the crud that gets built up inside a gun.
 
I just believe in using parts, tools and solvents for their intended purposes. Can't go wrong using gun solvents and cleaners on guns
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The solvents are the same
The only difference is on the label and the price tags

Formulas vary, I like Gunscrubber.
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From reading MSDS sheets, that appears to be identical to most carb cleaners

They all blast off residue, and dissolve oils
 
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