US cleaner for M&P

M

mendozer

New member
Just got a police trade in M&P and it's a bit dirty. I cleaned it pretty good using my typical Ballistol treatment and brushing it. However, I do have an US cleaner for brass and thought about putting the handgun parts in there (some videos show people putting the whole thing field stripped in.

Anyone do this and does the common Dawn/citric acid blend work well?

I don't want to subject anything in the handgun to unsafe chemicals.
 
kerosene as a metal and plastic cleaner? Wouldn't I have to thoroughly clean it afterwards?

What about Simple Green?
 
Gun Scrubber or non-chlorinated brake cleaner for the metal parts. You'll have to re-lubricate them after the fact but they will be clean.
 
kerosene as a metal and plastic cleaner? Wouldn't I have to thoroughly clean it afterwards?
Click to expand...
You'd need to blow it off with an air hose just like you'd have to do with the soap and acid mix

I really don't thing you need to use an ultrasonic cleaner anyway.

Just use Gunscrubber "composite safe"
 
my local gunsmith uses 10:1 SG solution and advised it would be fine with my gun. However, S&W responded to my email with
"We would not recommend the use of an ultrasonic cleaner. They tend to draw out the natural oils in the metal. Once this happens, it cannot be replaced.

Just because you oil it after words, the oil will not penetrate the metal it will just sit on top of the metal. Once the natural oil is drawn out by a ultrasonic cleaner it is gone."

Now I'm assuming the manufacturer is right, but they also could be awfully cautious as well. They don't know what I'm using as a solution. Gunsmith says most US solutions are rather harsh on some finishes, which is why he uses the SG dilution.

thoughts?
 
I've ultrasonic cleaned thousands of guns. M&P, Glock & XD's are no different than an 1894 Winchester, well for the most part.
The correct way to use the ultrasonic on any cleaning job is to completely break down the gun, every last part with the exception of calibrated (sights) or permanently attached (barrel) parts. If breaking the gun completely down is beyond your ability, I'd say don't ultrasonic clean it or use my alternative (lazy) method.
Once broken down and tanked rinse the parts completely clean. Check for left over dirt & debris. Brush and re-tank as necessary until spotless.

Immediately dry (towel and/or compressed air) and re-oil the metal bits once clean.

The alternative (lazy) method is to field strip, tank, rinse and then soak the sub-assemblies in a light water displacing oil. Wipe off excess oil and lube as you normally would.
 
"Natural oils in metal"

No such thing... To purify ore and the metals obtained, cast billets, Forge metal... You need heat... lots of high heat... Heat that would vaporize any other non-metallic compounds in the metal... Not to mention that any foreign material inside the grain and crystal structure of the metal would weaken it.

Oils and lubrication are added after the fact. Any oil that seeps into microfisures of the metal surface can do so after the old is cleaned out. You just need to let the oils soak in a bit. Warming the part up first could help but I don't think it is necessary.


Basically when using an ultrasonic cleaner... You need to use a solution that is suitable to the material.

Acidic solutions are bad for ferrous metals, rusting being an obvious reason. Caustic/basic solutions like simple green can be bad for aluminum, and weaken it. It can remove anodizing on it even with brief exposure... Other solutions can mess with the finishes on steel.

Poly and plastic parts have their own considerations as well. The poly parts tend to be pretty tough, but some plastic parts like grip panels can be a problem.


I have used pure isopropyl alcohol for cleaning metal parts in an ultrasonic many times. Denatured alcohol would work well too. (so long as it is Denatured using isopropyl and not another solvent)

It's safe for plastics as well... Though I am not sure about the long term affects on plastic... As I know some chemicals can break down plastics slowly over time... I do not suspect isopropyl or Denatured alcohol would do this.

I believe Slip 2000 gun lube and their 725 cleaner can be used in US cleaners...

Using an US cleaner to clean entire firearms is not something I would do often though, as it is not necessary.


As far as aerosol degreasers are concerned, non-chlorinated is important, because aluminum is damaged by chlorinated cleaners.

I find the "electrical connector cleaner" from the auto parts store to work well and at a lower cost than gun specific stuff...

It is designed to clean the plastic electrical connectors in cars, so it is plastic safe, and not chlorinated.


Any full degreasing will need the parts to be given a thin coat of oil, regardless of the type of cleaner.

Some cleaners may need rinsed off as well. I find that alcohol works great at driving off water from parts after a rinse... It drys quicker as well.
 
We alternate between Slip2000 concentrate and L&R Gun Cleaning Solution for use in our tanks. Both of these are totally safe, non toxic and clean really well. Slip2000 725 would get expensive real quick.

While other home brew solutions may work, why take a chance on harming a firearm when there are tried and proven solutions available?

If I had a junk gun lying around to destroy I might experiment a bit. In fact I may do that.
 
As Marine said, there are no "natural oils in metals." Whoever said that at S&W should be fired, or at least retrained. Such drivel is inexcusable from a manufacturer.

NEVER, NEVER, NEVER use volatiles like alcohol, kerosene, gasoline in an ultrasonic cleaner. It's unsafe and can burn your shop down. There are solutions that are made for ultrasonic gun cleaning. Use them.

I don't advise using an ultrasonic on aluminum, as it can remove the dye used during anodizing.
 
what part in an M&P are aluminum? Because I couldn't find any resources they say there are any. I would imagine maybe the sear lever but I'm not sure
 
None on an m&p, but there are many firearms with aluminum parts, so it's a good idea to mention the problems.


I was active duty when I was using an ultrasonic for parts cleaning... Cleaning electric components so choice of solutions was important... So that is why we used the isopropyl. We never had an issue, but I can see the potential. The tank was kept covered. We had a fire extinguisher on hand and someone was around during cleaning...

But yeah, I can see potential problems with flammables.


Slip 2000 725 concentrate, can be had in a gallon jug for $60-70. Makes 5 gallons at a 4 to 1 ratio.

That stuff would be perfect for US cleaning... Five or ten minutes would be enough to clean even a neglected filthy AR bolt.
 
I've never had issues with sonic cleaning aluminum parts. Trick is to not over do it. Don't be a complete lazy a$$. Prep the parts, knock off the big crud and run them for ~5 minutes. Pay attention to any problem areas and repeat as necessary.

Have never damaged a single part in my sonic tank. Well not any customer guns . . . . :D
 
Not sure about that pistol...

......
In an US, it's chemical threat to aluminum, not physical.


........
I would imagine distilled water and laundry detergent would work pretty well... Stronger surfactants than dish soap.
 
Once again... It's not the ultrasonic cleaner itself that poses the risk to aluminum...

It's the cleaners/chemicals used that damages aluminum.

Just pick an aluminum safe cleaner.
 
I went ahead and did the M&P the other night. I used a 10:1 dilution of SG as my gunsmith said (my other option would be isopropyl because of the cost, but I had SG on hand at the time).

I used my wife's fancy shmancy hair dryer to fully dry (and heat...ouch) the parts well. Assembly was a breeze and since I've only bought my 9mm and 40 used, I've never seen them this clean! Metal was bone dry and I gently oiled the M&P spots on the frame (5 spots I think) and it's smoooooth.

I also disassembled my 5906 and did most of it, but I had to order a punch set to finish the slide disassembly, but that frame sparkles!

I was honestly surprised at the grime that came out of these nooks and crannies. I've only done field strip cleanings up until this point. How often should a full disassembly like this be done? Maybe once a year with monthly use (couple thousand rounds)?
 
Also, any differences between jewelry cleaners, gun cleaners, lab cleaners?

Is there an optimal frequency or something that specifically benefits our uses?
 
There is a quality difference... And there are optimum frequencies. Better quality will last longer and hold the frequency better.


Diluted simple green will probably be OK for most cleaning, but do not use it straight on aluminum.

An old trick in the RC hobby, is to use straight simple green to remove colored anodizing from parts if you do not like the color.

Fine for cheap parts in a hobby where broken parts are expected sooner or later, and when life and limb are not at stake.
 
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