Best Gun Cleaner ever!!!

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WHY are people so obsessed with cleaning their guns or lubricating their guns with something other than gun cleaner and gun lubricant?
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Cost.

An awful lot of the stuff we buy is something pretty generic but rebranded into something that's supposed to be new and improved, given a fancy label, and marketed back to us at a higher cost. Drugs are excellent examples of this.

Advil, Motrin and generic Ibuprofen are are the same thing, just with different colors on the box and a different marketing campaign behind them. Motion sickness pills and allergy pills (of the diphenhydramine hydrochloride variety) are the same thing with different dosages written on the box.

I'm not surprised that gun cleaners are composed of some pretty generic substances. In fact I've switched to using ATF for my gun cleaning and light lubrication recently. $4 for a quart of the stuff isn't bad compared to a $9 tiny bottle of Breakfree CLP!

It's not a huge price difference, but it'll add up over the years.
 
I thought the neatest deal to come down the pike was the self service cleaning deal for a whole quarter.
This made fast work of getting mud and muck out of a shotgun dropped while duck hunting.

Then someone got a bright idea to hand "Car Wash" over the bays and messed this all up...
...folks were in the way washing cars with my power wands and all...

Oh this still works, just they want a darn dollar now, and I really hate it when someone uses floor mats for my gun holding dealies...

*dang progress*
 
Price for one thing. Brake Kleen in the red can is the same as Gunscrubber for 1/3 the price.

Effectiveness is another. If your gun gets soaking wet nothing beats WD40 to get all the water out. Then clean out the WD40. Also good lubricant for M60 is sub-zero weather. That was before the days of the PTFE products like Breakfree.

PS I had a chemist friend analyze the Brake Kleen and Gun Scrubber. Outside of some different inert ingredients they are both Tetrachloroethylene (don't know if I spelled that correctly).
 
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I studied chemistry for years. I've been a working chemist. Why pay marketing guys to sell me the solvents and lubricants that I already know how to use?
 
I bought some M-Pro 7, and it works wonders for both cleaning AND keeping the gun "clean" during extended use. I also have some Tetra, but I just apply that to certain contact points like rails.
 
It's gotta be Hoppes No 9

Thats 115% cleaner!
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NO WONDER IT WORKS SO GOOD!!! LOL!
seriously, i am for using gun cleaner, every time. but i also use brake cleaner as a next to final cleaning step just prior to oiling the bore. even after the patches come out clean, you would be suprised how much gook brake cleaner will loosen up inside of a bore. i will also use brake cleaner on bolts, and magazine clips.. but nowhere where it can come into contact with plastic, leather, wood, or the guns finish (other than blueing). i also realize that all gun cleaners do not work as well as the advertising would have you believe. if it did, you would simply use one product everytime, and every part of the gun would be completely clean. in one pass, with no scrubbing or soaking.
 
I've resisted brewing up a batch of Ed's Red until now, but I think I'm going to follow that recipe soon. It seems easy enough and I keep hearing how effective it is and how much cheaper it is then the commercial products.
 
Gun Scrubber is over 8 dollars here now for 26 oz.

Wal-mart brand "Super Tech" Non-Chlorinated Brake Parts Cleaner is the thing as Gun Scrubber and is priced at 1.88 for 26 oz. Guess which one I buy... here's a hint. It doesn't have "Gun" or "Scrubber" on the label.
 
jnyork said:
OK, if I were to go looking for the "K-1" kerosene, what would be a good place to start? Thanks.
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I've found it at gas stations, near the diesel pumps. You might ask at a home supply store that sells kerosene heaters; they'll often be able to tell you who sells K-1 kerosene locally.
 
all you need is a powerful cleanser, ammonia, etc. and WD-40. You can clean any gun. The only reason why I ever bought a cleaning kit was becuase they didnt sell the rods separately, and I couldnt find a makeshift for them. My cleaning kit now includes the rods and brush heads, what I have of the Hoppes cleanser, WD40, and a roll of toilet paper. No blotches or blemishes or spots anywhere on either of my shotguns :)
 
I use M-Pro-7. Hoppe's Elite is the same stuff. Try it, You'll like it. Non-toxic, non-flammable, biodegradable, and odorless, it cleans better than anything else I have tried.
 
Straight from the MSDS sheet for Hoppes No9

35% Kerosene
35% Ethyl Alcohol
25% trade secret
10% organic ester
10% aqueous ammonia
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In a previous duty position I had at a previous base I had access to non-proprietary MSDS. You had to sign what amounted to an affidavit to have access to the system as the "trade secrets" and exact portions etc were listed. For example I could have got the MSDS for "Coca Cola"

Too bad I never copied some gun cleaner stuff and made my own copper solvent/Hoppes/Break free. Could have been as easy as a trip to the local paint and chemical supply store. (they carry stuff like acetone, MEK, ammonia etc.) A qt each could have made enough to last a life time
 
Bought a gallon of CLP a few years ago.
1 gallon at $60 = $0.46/oz
4oz at $4 = $1/oz

I kinda like Xylene. They sell that by the gallon as well.

Wal-mart brand "Super Tech" Non-Chlorinated Brake Parts Cleaner is the thing as Gun Scrubber and is priced at 1.88 for 26 oz. Guess which one I buy... here's a hint. It doesn't have "Gun" or "Scrubber" on the label.
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Same here. I kinda like the Prestone brand.
 
Birchwood casey products are also good cleaners as well. Especially their "BARRICADE RUST PREVENTATIVE" and "RUST AND BLUE REMOVER". They are not just formulated for use on firearms, they can be applied to various other precision machinery and tools as well.

WD-40 and Hoppes share almost same things. They are both petroleum distillates, and basically, they do two things, solvent or lubricant. And they work good too.
 
Cost??

Cost? Seriously?

Some of you guys must clean A LOT more than I do.

Several hundred rounds out of a couple of 4 figure 1911's twice a week is what takes a chunk out of my recreational budget. I've never even really thought about saving money on cleaning solvent.

Not that I'm being critical or anything, but it just seems to me that it's kind of like trying to save money by finding alternative sources of salt for your steak.
 
tranny fluid
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:what:Now when you say "tranny fluid"...

:D

Just a word of warning to folks that own polymer pistols, have painted sights, or have the adhesive decal grips:
Many of the cleaners/solvents listed on this thread will turn plastic, adhesives, and paint into a pile of goo. You may want to avoid the "hotter" organic solvents (acetone especially).

Jason
 
I am a traditionalist, and I think that guns should remain the wood and steel as they always were.

While the polymer ones look cool and everything else, I see real beauty in shining steel and buffed and well conditioned cherrywood stocks.
 
Don't know if this is the place to ask but I was curious about using 3 in 1 multi purpose oil. Sorry if this is a silly question
 
WHY are people so obsessed with cleaning their guns or lubricating their guns with something other than gun cleaner and gun lubricant?
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I'll answer that question with a question.

Why do so many gun stores charge extra for credit cards?
 
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