Brake cleaner as a substitue for CLP?

Status
Not open for further replies.
M

marklbucla

Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2003
Messages
1,195
Location
Los Angeles
I've read and seen that car brake cleaner can substitute for CLP. Is there any type I need to be careful of or anything I need to watch out for before I get going with it? Can I just use the brake cleaner and stop there, or do I need to do anything special afterward?
 
Not sure if this is serious, but here goes. Brake cleaner is more dangerous because you have to use a well-ventilated area. It does a fairly respectable job of the "CLEANING" part of the CLP but won't LUBRICATE or PROTECT very well. Brake cleaner also evaporates really fast so your work time will be lower.

Are you trying to save money or do you think Brake cleaner might make your job easier?
 
Well, Both. But I've seen a lot of people mention that they used brake cleaner as cleaning solvent, so I thought I'd give it a try as a cheaper alternative to the CLP.
 
Brake cleaner is a fine CLEANER. Its the lube and protect part that it doesnt do.

edited to add I appear to have missed the post before this one that already made this point abundantly clear.
 
Brake cleaner is a reasonable substitue for "Gunscrubber", but certainly not CLP.

For that matter, I don't think that WD-40 is a reasonable substitute for CLP either.

Do yourself a favor and contact the makers of the popular CLPs for a free sample. See which ones clean up dirty guns the best. Do a side by side test on nails. Tap them into a piece of wood so they stick up, degreased them with alchohol, put a single brand of CLP and whatever else you wish to try on each one, leave one dry for a control. Lightly mist them a little with water every day for a couple weeks and see which ones develop the least corrosion.

http://www.break-free.com/

http://www.fp10.com/

http://www.militec-1.com/
 
Lightly mist them a little with water every day for a couple weeks and see which ones develop the least corrosion
Click to expand...

You know this reminds me of something i THINK i saw on the old TFL. Someone perfromed EXACTLY this test using a wide variety of cleaning and protecting chemicals. I wish i could find it today. But i remember breakfree CLP doing well enough that i was happy to continue using it. Anybody remember this at all?
 
Mark, as they said, it does the 'C' part, but not the 'LP' part.

Breakfree CLP is a good all-in-one, but if you use the brake cleaner you'll still need to lube the parts.

Brake cleaner is good though, for getting lots of junk out, fast.

Also before you use the stuff, get a pair of Chem 101 goggles. I got the stuff in my eye once and didn't think I could run so fast. :eek:
 
Do a side by side test on nails.
Click to expand...

Great idea, Dave! I've been using FP-10 exclusively on my new gun (Steyr M40), but since I have a very expensive unused bottle of Gun-Guard sitting around calling to me, tempting me to rub some on the slide :uhoh: , I decided to try your nail test.

The result was that I'm glad I didn't put Gun-Guard on my gun, because the nail I put it on became VERY rusty while the FP-10 nail had only a couple of minor spots.

I did change the test just a little; I added salt to the water, and rather than spray the nails I dipped them in the salt-water once for a few seconds. I did this after leaving the treated nails outside (Florida heat and humidity) for 24 hours with NO rust on either one. (This surprised me.) That's when I moved things along with salt. After that, it was just a matter of a few hours for the rust to start appearing on the Gun-Guard nail. I ended the test about 10 hours after using the salt.

Lessons learned:
1. Wipe down the gun much more frequently than I thought necessary.
2. There's got to be something out there that protects even better than FP-10...and no matter how much money I have to spend, I'll find it... :what: (This may not be far from the truth, considering the mountain of car cleaning/waxing products I have in the garage. :eek: )
 
Brakecleaner and carburator cleaner work fine to flush dirt, grit, grease and oil from the surfaces after you scrub them with a suitable CLP or solvent and they dry very quickly. You must recoat the flushed surfaces with a proper lubricant/protectant after you clean.
I have recently discovered or been converted to an MPro-7 disciple. It does what brake cleaner solvent does except it does it mo better without the health and fire risks. Afterwards I recoat all metal surfaces with a CLP drifting between Break-Free and Militec-1.
 
So if you squirt down the gun including the guts, how do you lube the guts? Drop oil in it or would that not do it, or OTOH gunk it up too much?
 
I purchased Gunscrubber thinking that it'd be more gun-friendly that generic carb cleaner- it wasn't. I don't believe there's any difference in the two products except price: Gunscrubber costs about twice as much.

Both work great for their intended purpose (cleaning out gunk), but be VERY careful with stock finishes and any of the plastic parts your firearm may have (some of them can dissolve using these products!).
 
I'm cheap!

I like Hopps to break down the crud. Then when the gun is scrubbed I use brake cleaner to clean is down to the metal. Two kinds of brake cleaner exist. One is standard blend and tends to be a little rough on the hands. The enviromentally friends formula is a little easier. Both work like a champ.

Then once I'm down to bare metal I use a gun grease or a teflon spray lube depending on what is being lubed and where in the gun.

Either kind of brake cleaner can be had for $2 / can on sale at an auto parts store.
 
I use break cleaner as the first step to my cleaning. Spray liberally and give light scrubbing where necessary. Oftentimes it is enough to remove fouling in most areas as well as the unseen internals. -Give plenty of time for spray cleaners to run-out as well as completely evaporate from internals!

This is followed by more aggressive area cleaning like barrels or anywhere else that still has build up. Here I use gun-specific solvents and cleaners.

Lastly I lube parts of the as necessary. I have learned through too many oil splashes back into my face during firing to very lightly lube. (it is better to underlube than to overlube). I prefer grease on the rails and small amounts of FP-10 elsewhere (sometimes applied with Q-tip or toothpick).

Lastly I protect with wax products. Or for parkerized guns, I will wipe down with silicone-wipe or RIG.

Interesting to note, on my hardchromed guns, after blasting with break cleaner, I find it clean enough to wipe with rag and reassemble. HC does have it's benefits.
 
Skunk,


The best way to relube the guts is to detail strip the gun for cleaning in the first place. Recoat the parts with a Q-tip soaked in your favorite lube/protectant, let them sit for a few minutes, wipe off excess and reassemble.
I usually mist the inside of stripped recievers with CLP and wipe them out after letting them sit for a while.
 
Be Carefull...........
I use CRC brake clean often for work. It will peel paint like no other. I know guns are not painted.......... we also use 1st Ayde brand in a red can. Is much better on finishes and your health, makes little boom rather than a KB;). I have not used either on a gun so nothing specific to report there.
Tony
 
I've used Gunscrubber and various brands of Break Cleaner for at least 10 years on my Glocks, Polymer Wilson KZ-45, synthetic M1A stock, AR-15 furniture as well as my Daewoo rifle without any noticeable damage to the plastics. Some fouling residue will remain on teh black plastic and dry as a dull gray coating. A wipedown with oil or silicone rag will remove these residuals.

HOWEVER, having neglected to remove wood grips from pistol I was spraying once, I noticed immediate stripping of clearcoat/lacquer from wood. Cherrywood grips were now minus stain & clearcoat. :(
 
"So if you squirt down the gun including the guts, how do you lube the guts?"

With a spray can of Birchwood-Casey Sheath. It doesn't take much to keep the rust away and it's a nice, light, fine oil that hasn't gummed up on me yet. I use q-tips and patches to clean up any small drips. (I wonder what it would be like to live where a really humid day is around 30% or 40%? Or no % even.)

I only use spray cleaners to hose the gun down after I've scrubbed it with whatever cleaner I'm using and a toothbrush.

John...sunny, 76*F and 94% humidity.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

M
  • Locked
Brake cleaner use and precautions questions
Replies
14
Views
2K
Claymore1500
C
S
  • Locked
Dura Coat -- learning the hard way.
Replies
10
Views
2K
Nullcone
N
F
  • Locked
dura coat degreasing question
Replies
10
Views
2K
czarjl
C
E
  • Locked
Which company makes Mil Pro 7?
Replies
5
Views
961
avan47
A
T
  • Locked
Unchlorinated aerosol brake cleaner remove BP sub crud?
Replies
8
Views
1K
Noz
Noz
Back
Top