WARNING!!! M7-Pro Gun Cleaner Spray screwed my finish!

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Andrew LB

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I bought a bottle of M7-Pro gun cleaning spray the other day at a local gun store after specifically asking him if it would damage the wood on my rifles and pistols if i got any on it and the guy told me he uses it all the time and it works perfectly.

Soo... i went shooting today and after i got home i started cleaning my weapons. My XD-9 was cleaned perfectly after a rinsing and drying in the oven along with my model 66 .357 S&W (without the grips) and then i went to work on my 50 year old Remington 521-T .22 bolt action rifle. I got a little of the cleaner on the stock and when i wiped it.... off came a ton of brown finish on my soft towel. I immediately disassembled everything from the stock and saw it did the same on the inside.

Long story short... i'm just a 'little' pissed off about this product when it comes to my wood finish. But on the other side of the coin... it worked wonders on my model 66 and XD-9 but only after a quick rense in scalding hot water and then 20 minutes in the oven at low low temps. Once everything was dry, i oiled them both thoroughly so no unprotected metal was exposed and they were cleaner than they have ever been. and function perfectly. :)
 
Your old Remington is an oil based finish, it only makes sense that a cleaner will remove the oil.

Most of the brown on your rag is dirt and gunk that has settled in the oil over the years. Wipe the whole thing down with mineral spirits until the rags are clean or relatively so and and then put a light coat of boiled linseed oil on it. Good as new.
 
I know there is the idea of cleaning firearms with "Simple Green", and rinsing with water, and then drying them thoroughly. I haven't yet tried this as I am not sure what the time period is before rust starts to happen. If it is immediate, I don't think I would do it.
As for the older finishes on wood, then tend to be very delicate. Time deteriorates the chemicals. Dirt, smoke, and other substances can become inbeded in a finish, and when cleaned come off as a brown residue. Clean it with a good wood cleaner then see if it polishes up ok.
 
M-Pro 7 Gun Cleaner is safe to use on all rifles, handguns, shotguns, machine guns, grenade launchers, artillery pieces, cannon, black powder, corrosive priming deposits, stainless, blued & nickel finishes, titanium, Polycarbonate plastics (e.g. Smith & Wesson's SIGMA®, Glock®, Heckler & Koch® frames), rubber, nylon, varnished and urethane woods.
 
If you use hot enough water it will evaporate before it can cause oxidation.
I used boiling water to take the cosmoline off an Enfield with no ill effect.
I had a friend that was in ROTC(medical discharge) and when left unobserved they would used scalding hot water to clean their 60 and other guns because the hot water took the carbon fouling off so rapidly.
 
the solvent tank in the motor pool also worked wonders but stripped all oil off weapon so it had to well maintained after a harsh treatment like that.
 
Do you make a habit of baking your firearms after cleaning?
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Nope. This was my first time doing it and i'll only do it with my newest handguns. I would never put a vintage firearm in water.

I actually got the idea from some people here in the forum and it works amazingly. One thing i forgot to add was that after rinsing them with super hot water, i used my air compressor in the garage to blow as much water out as possible. Then into the oven they went so any water inside hard to get spots would be gone. The metal gets really hot really fast and trys perfectly.

You just have to make sure you do a very good job of re-oiling everything.... but just like using a solvent... all oils will be removed and the metal left bare.


It was pretty funny though when my buddy came over and saw me baking my model 66 revolver and XD-9. He was like... "WTF are you doing?!?!?!"


He tried it the next day... said his HK USP 9mm has never been cleaner. My XD was just as clean as it was the day i had the guys at the LAX Shooting Range use their sonic bath cleaner on it. Difference was, i oiled my handgun properly.... they turned it into a oily mess.
 
I've used MPro7 for years with never the slightest trace of damage to wood/plastic/polymer parts or finishes on my guns.
Of course, these were all room temperature guns... :)
 
i have a hard time sympathizing w/ someone who puts a gun in the oven when something goes wrong. kharma

i have to come back to this...
look, i have to know WHAT gave nyou the idea of putting firearms in an oven?
think about this. i pistol or rifle is made of different metals. metals expand at different rates when heated and contract upon cooloing at different rates. even same metals manufactured differently will di this. you have springs, screws ect that you are putting under undp stress for no reason i can see.
think about it like this. if i have a grip screw that is CNC machined, a bushing that is cast and an alluminum reciver, OK.
when i heat that unit the three metals are going to expnd at diffent rates. the screw may expnd faster than the bushing causing the scarp edges of the threads to dull on the bushings metal. the bushing may expand and cut into the alluminum receiver damaging it. springs that are desinged for a certain lifespan my be re heated and cooled making them weak or brittle. a revolvers timing may be thrown of to the point that your cylinder does not allign perfect w/ the forceing cone.
you are for some reason toying w/ very dangerous machines. i for one think you need to stop and send them all back tot he manufacture, tell them what you have been doing and have them checked out.
now this course of action requires you to admit that what you were doing wasnt good and to come clean to the manuf. as well. i dont know if you will do it or not but i am danm sure glad i dont live in CA and have to run the risk of buying one of your clean guns.
 
Bake your firearms?

That's amazing. I, on the other hand, seem to fall behind in cleaning my firearms. With my .45, for instance, it usually takes 600 - 1,000 rds before it gets cleaned. I guess that I'm not so meticulous. I'd rather be shooting.

I've never had problems with M-Pro7, but I do notice that I like to wash with hands soon after using it to get it off of my hands.
 
I've never had problems with M-Pro7, but I do notice that I like to wash with hands soon after using it to get it off of my hands.
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straightShot, you might be interested in purchasing a box of disposeable Nitrile gloves for cleaning. They are pretty much impervious to chemicals and give peace of mind. Remember NOT to get the latex gloves, especially NOT the ones with powder.

You can find Nitrile gloves at your drugstore...I purchase mine at Long's Drugs.
 
Of course, these were all room temperature guns...
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I only used this method of cleaning on my polymer XD-9 and my Model 66 S&W .357mag with grips removed. I would never put anything wood in the oven.

i have a hard time sympathizing w/ someone who puts a gun in the oven when something goes wrong. kharma
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Once again, the Remington 521-T .22 was never cleaned in that fashion. I simply removed the magazine, bolt, peep sight, and cleaned it normally. The slight dripping of the M7-pro made the 50 year old wood stock discolored even though i wiped it down IMMEDIATELY.

i have to come back to this...
look, i have to know WHAT gave nyou the idea of putting firearms in an oven?
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1. People here on this forum have done it. They've also put disassembled semi auto pistols in the dish washer.... something i would NEVER do.

2. My neighbor is a swat guy and said many of the LAPD SWAT guys dry their disassembled poly weapoins as well as MP5's, etc in a very low temp oven to make sure its completely dry after cleaning in either products like M7-pro or various sonic bath type chemicals.

3. Very low temps like just barely 100'f wont hurt a thing. Next time you shoot a few mags of 9mm... quickly disassemble it and see how long you can hold the bare barrel in your hand. Hell... some days when i go shooting at San Gabriel Gun Club its over 100'f outside! All it does is accellerate drying as to prevent corrosion. Most people recommend a special M7-Pro gun oil product which lubes all the internals after stripping them of all dirt and oils to further protect them. Their product does not drip or run once its applied and works great.

when i heat that unit the three metals are going to expnd at diffent rates. the screw may expnd faster than the bushing causing the scarp edges of the threads to dull on the bushings metal. the bushing may expand and cut into the alluminum receiver damaging it. springs that are desinged for a certain lifespan my be re heated and cooled making them weak or brittle. a revolvers timing may be thrown of to the point that your cylinder does not allign perfect w/ the forceing cone.
you are for some reason toying w/ very dangerous machines. i for one think you need to stop and send them all back tot he manufacture, tell them what you have been doing and have them checked out.
now this course of action requires you to admit that what you were doing wasnt good and to come clean to the manuf. as well.
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Again... you guys are sure in the habit of starting flame wars. I'm not baking the damned thing at 450'f. I'm barely warming them to make sure they're dry. Many gun ranges like the LAX range sonic clean weapons in a not completely oil based solution, they blow them out with an air compressor, and then dry under low heat. Only then are they oiled for protection.

i dont know if you will do it or not but i am danm sure glad i dont live in CA and have to run the risk of buying one of your clean guns.
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Good for you. Its not like i'd sell any of my valuable firearms to people like you who can't comprehend what i typed earlier in the thread. People need to be slightly educated to own a firearm in my opinion. And reading comprehension is quite elementry. And like i said, the only two i've done this with are my two workhorse pistols and the temps involved are about as it gets during a California heat wave.

I would never clean my very collectable A.H. Fox 16ga, Belgian Browning semi-auto 16ga, assortment of 100 year old lever action rifles, or my grandfathers WW2 model 1911 with anything other than hoppees and quality gun oil.

Hoppes has worked for me since I've been shooting, which has been 11 out of my 17 years on this earth.
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Yep. I swear by the stuff as the best solvent for not only its great cleaning, but is also delicate enough for my very expensive and old weapons... all while having an oddly good smell (yeah.. you can all call me weird for that last part)
 
Not yet. I'm going to strip the entire thing down for a super thorough cleaning, bolt disassembly as well, probably tomorrow and use mineral spirits to clean the stock as good as possible. Then apply some coats of boiled linseed oil. The actions internals have been in need of a good cleaning out for years.

I'm sure it will look fine after that.
 
maybe you could run it through the autowash at the gas station then drop it off at a pizza restraunt to bake.
 
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