The Ultimate Cleaning Thread

[sledhead76]

I've seen other threads where the conversation drifts into cleaning methods and preferred tools, oils, techniques, etc. What I'd like to do here is get all of your thoughts and insights on firearm cleaning and maintenance. I'm hoping to avoid posts that consist only of statements like "I hate Rem Oil" or "CLP Break Free is the best." I do want to know what products and methods you do and don't like, but I want to know WHY! I've seen in other threads where people will bash/push their least/most favorite product, but they often don't elaborate on the applications they used that product in. Maybe you hate Rem Oil, but maybe you aren't using it the same way that someone else is who is getting results they want out of it. I considered putting up a poll with all of the usual suspects on it, but the poll won't educate us all the same way as hearing about your familiarity with different cleaning agents.

I mentioned oils as an example, but I'm hoping you will all have thoughts on different kinds of cleaning rods, boresnakes, waxes, silicone wipes, optics cleaners, anything you can think of that is related. For a newbie browsing the aisles at Sportsmans or Cabelas or wherever, it can be overwhelming trying to figure out what is important, what may or may not be good for a particular application, and what is fluff. And I suspect many seasoned shooters may have been brought up doing things a certain way and now just continue doing it out of habit, so I think there may be a lot for everyone to learn here. So lets see what everyone knows!

 

[happygeek]

On a funny note, the surplus store sells sets of dental picks; they're next to the holsters, mags, etc. Personnally, I use all the standard stuff: CLP, brushes, bore snakes, rags, Q-tips, dental picks, barrel swabs, bore snakes.

 

[content]

Hello friends and neighbors // Canned air anyone?

I like to spray action with canned air while at the range.
It is not messy, great for grit and hard to get to places.

Otherwise I use Hoppes #9 solvent, and lube oil. Various picks,tooth brushes, brown paper towels, mechanics towels but I REALLY like Canned Air.

 

[mustang_steve]

I used to use a bore snake....used to being the operative words. Simply, I found it to be less than adequate.

Here's my list of cleaning chems:
Remington Bore Kleen <--Don't like it, bought it since I hate the ammonia smell of Hoppes no. 9
KG12 <--Best copper remover ever, it's done in 8 hours what Hoppes Benchrest 9 Couldn't do in 80.
Hoppes Oil <--Mostly used Hoppes from remembering my dad using it...and this stuff delivers.

I keep 100% cotton flannel round patches that fit every barrel I have, and plunger type jags in the appropriate calibers. Brass cleaning rod. I use some old t-shirts to oil-wipe the firearms after cleaning is done. Once you've used that patch/jag style combination, it's hard to go back....they make those thin plasticky things look like junk in comparison....they just do that much better of a job.

I'm eventually going to get the whole KG line of products, but I'm going to burn through what I have first....and I have a LOT of Hoppes.

 

[jnyork]

I favor Dewey rods, brushes and tips. Hoppes works just fine, with some Sweets 7.62 for the copper. Breakfree for lube. RIG for storage. A little $60.00 Walmart air compressor under the bench to blow things out. Occasionally some brake cleaner for the real gunge and mung.

Why do I like these? Because they work.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

I use hot soapy water(Dawn dishwashing liquid) for serious cleaning. Sometimes using BrakeKleene to loosen stuff up. Hoppe's bore cleaner with bronze brushes followed by oiled/dry cloth(old Tee shirt)patches through the bore. While the parts are still hot I spray them liberally with WD-40 and blowing the excess off with shop air. A little Rem-oil or equal and wipe everything with a clean dry cloth. I like to use a little Bircwood Casey stock wax on the (wood only)stock.

 

[kevindsingleton]

I use kerosene in a Zip-loc bag in a very hot water bath in the ultrasonic cleaner for small parts and disassembled handguns. Boresnakes, bronze and stainless brushes, and flannel-tipped jags for bores, using Hoppes and other cleaners, depending on the bullets (lead, copper, or moly) used in the gun.

 

[matrem]

Needs: brushes, patches, bore rod, powder solvent, copper solvent (centerfire rifles), rust preventitive.
Nice to have: A whole lot of what's "in those aisles"

 

[2nd 41]

After using the solvent....Gun Scrubber works well. It smells, it's bad to breath, it'll damage stuff in the room....but it cleans. Just gotta be careful.
I'm going to consider an UltraSonic Cleaner in the Spring.

 

[Tim the student]

My stuff consists of an nylon double sided cleaning brush (Army cleaning kit type), q-tips, a Dewey rod, Shooters Choice, CLP, dental picks, a bag o' rags or old t-shirts I cut up, appropriately sized patches, and pipe cleaners.

I like a bore-snake to use at the range sometimes for rifles, but not to really clean the bore well. I do use a bore snake exclusively for shotgun bores though.

 

[The Gunman]

Strip and clean:

I use Simple Green and a toothbrush(not mine of course)

I haven't found anything that works better for a complete strip and clean.
Strip everything down, spray with Simple Green, scrub with toothbrush and HOT water.

The Simple Green doesn't smell bad, isn't that hard on the body, and is biodegradable. It does, however, take all the oil off, so oil the crap out of everything when you are done. I use a bore brush, mop or jag with patches in the bore with the Simple Green. I even use it on the wood stocks and grips, just don't soak them or you will be refinishing them. Give them a quick scrub, rinse, and dry immediately or they will absorb water and swell the grain or worse.

I scrub until clean, take it to the air compressor outside, blow all the water out of every little hole and channel. The HOT water makes the parts hot so everything dries fast. I give a liberal coating of oil and let it soak in a moment then blow off the excess with compressed air. Reassemble and give a wipe down with a rag.

I have used Rem Oil in the past, but it doesn't seem to have good rust inhibiting ability. I have recently switched to the S&W oil for the outside, but still use the Rem Oil for lubrication purposes. The Rem Oil seems good for auto's in cold weather as it isn't as thick as the S&W.

That's my 2 cents.

 

[mljdeckard]

I have actually gone to the post dental clinic and asked them for old picks. When you have anal-retentive armorers who are more concerned with how a gun looks than how it works, you need them to clean under the gas tube, in the locking lugs, and in the bolt carrier.

Break-free/CLP is a pretty good lube and protectant, it's BARELY a cleaner. Yes, if you soak dirty parts in it it will help break up the carbon over time, but it's not like gunscrubber or Hoppe's, REAL cleaning agents. It's the army's way of keeping dangerous chemicals out of the hands of children while saving a buck by pretending that one product can do three things.

I have started switching over to 5w30 synthetic, because I am convinced how well it stands up to temperature and abuse. Synthetic oil doesn't attract dirt the way regular motor oil does. And I use it in all three of my cars, so I have plenty of it around.

I use gunscrubber spray to blast out nooks I don't want to clean with a tiny brush or toothpick. (When I am cleaning the army's rifles, I use it on bolts and carriers only when I am around leadership that doesn't care.) I don't really trust it to be safe for plastics, even the stuff that SAYS it's safe for plastics. It discolored the stocks on my 870 synthetic. (I don't really care because it's my beater gun, but I feel like I should tell people anyway.)

I use hoppe's #9 for bore-swabbing only. I don't use it on the rest of the mechanics of the guns. It is a SOLVENT solvent, by nature made to eat away at finishes and well, everything it can down to bare metal given enough time and abrasion. I don't want to find out on my guns which parts hold up to it and which ones don't.

I try to get the mechanics as clean as I can with a rag, a toothbrush, (Sometimes with the rag wrapped around it,) and an air jet.

I did hear once (from some female soldiers who had just come from basic training,) that they used (swallowing hard as I say this,) Skintimate ladies' shaving gel to clean their M-16 uppers. SO THEY SAY, the detergent and sticky properties pull all the dirt out of every nook. Which might impress the white-gloved armorer. I did ask them what they thought would happen if they left that gunk in the gun and let it get hot from firing. I never hope to find out.

I also use a boresnake, and have enlightened many other soldiers to their convenience. Don't misunderstand, they don't REALLY clean that well, they just make the bore shiny enough to impress (wait for it) the anal-retentive armorer. For rifles which I REALLY care about their accuracy, I use a one-piece rod and a guide, brushes followed by patches until clean.

 

[sledhead76]

I'm learning a lot already... I'm surprised to hear about people using water. My instinct would be to avoid water at all costs, since that's going to start rust problems. I don't have any one piece rods (yet), so I've been using the three piece ones you screw together, or a quick boresnake for a light cleaning. I've used Hoppes for cleaning, and Rem Oil wipes for keeping everything coated and protected, but I'm not sure I'm sold on the Rem Oil yet.

Has anyone used those cable-type pull thru cleaners, where the cable takes the place of the rod? Would that design have less risk of nicking the barrel?

 

[jimmyraythomason]

HOT water and soap is a great cleaner(the best IMO) just rinse to remove the soap residue and use a good lube afterwards. Hot water will evaporate very quickly. If you have ever seen a gun being hot blued you wouldn't worry too much about water. A typical gun bluing sequence is(bare,polished metal) Hot soapy water to degrease,hot clear water rinse, hot salts bath(contains 4-6 gallons of water) cold water squelch,bluing stop bath(more water),more hot clear water rinse THEN water displacing oil dip.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Ed's Red (equal parts of deodorized kerosene, Stoddard's Solvent, Automatic Transmission Fluid and Acetone, with melted anhydrous lanolyn if you also clean black powder guns.) For leading I like 50-50 mixture of white vinegar and hydrogen peroxide -- but be careful with it, it can take blueing off.

 

[Pileatus]

I love the bore snakes! You can wash them after a few months of use and have them come out good as new. Plus, you can put the Rem Oil or BreakFree right on the bore snake, run it through the gun, and you've got an oiled barrel ready to keep the rust away while not in use. An amusing aside: once, it completely slipped my mind what these things were called, and I wound up asking for a "tube snake". That got an interesting look from behind the counter.

After shooting, I'll run the bore snake through a few times, then put some Rem Oil either in the barrel or on the snake itself, and pull through once or twice more. Every so often I'll also take the cleaning rod and a fabric swab, dunk it in Hoppe's, and scrub the chamber and forcing cone. I'll use a metal brush first, and then put in the swab and let the solvent sit for a minute in the barrel before clearing it out and then oiling. It keeps any rust scoring from popping up inside the barrel. I do this pretty religiously on my BT99 as it's an older gun and I want to make sure that bore stays nice and bright!

Another neat trick I've found for shotgun cleaning involves scrubbing removable choke tubes. I have spent long hours with a steel brush and cleaning rod trying to scrub the inside of those things clean, and then realized that an electric drill and vise would do all the work for me. Put the choke tube in the vise (use padding!), then attach the steel brush to the rod and put the other end in your drill. Slow speed and some Hoppe's is all you ever need, although you do go through your steel brushes quicker. A word of caution: make sure the fumes from your cleaner won't burst into flame. Electric drills use brush motors, which make sparks naturally as part of the operating process!!!

Stuff I can't live without:

Rem Oil and/or Break Free (I use them more or less interchangeably)
Hoppe's #9 solvent
Bore snakes (one for the 12ga clay guns, one for the .22)
Cleaning kit (rod, brushes, swabs, etc)

 

[kda]

As far as using a bore snake, I like to soak (get it wet) that part of the bore snake BETWEEN the pull cord and the brass bristle brush ... I get it wet with Hoppe's #9. I pull that part of the snake into the pistol barrel and leave it there to soak while I clean the lower part of the pistol with a nylon brush.

Eventually I finish pulling the bore snake through the bore and then a couple of patches with CLP and I'm satisfied the bore is clean enough. The patches won't be virgin white, but I'm OK with that on my pistols.

 

[Omaney]

Mymost invaluable toool when cleaning is my air compressor. Scrub with #9 and blow it off. I wipe down with CLP. Old tshirts and q-tips are the only other tools besides the rods and bore brushes.

 

[redwallet]

I've been looking for info on cleaning nickel...maybe others will benefit from my question.

Evidentally, Hoppes 9 is a no no on nickel - I wasn't sure about Outers so I used some S-758 CLP.

I keep Lead Away cloths for my stainless guns. Makes cylinder faces shine...and saved the day a few weeks ago when I pulled out my ~6 month old 1911 (new series 70 in SS) and all the bead blasted areas had a light coat of rust (yes, I wasn't very happy). They made the gun new again. I know these cloths are a little harsh, but I read that they are safe on nickel. Any experience with it? Eventually I'd like to really clean it, but this is my first venture into nickel plating.

Otherwise, I keep Outers Nitro Solvent Cleaner, Outers Gun Oil, S-758 CLP, and MIL-PRF-372D cleaning compound on hand depending on what I'm cleaning. I think each do their job very well. Other than standard brushes, rods, etc...I have a lot of hand carved plastic 'jigs' to reach certain spots.

 

[Extremely Pro Gun]

I have found this method to be great for my AR and Glocks!!

1. Mpro7 cleaner + toothbrush in reachable places. Then Rag it all out. (Repeat until clean)

2. Nylon bore brush with the Mpro7 cleaner.

3. Bore snake with the Mpro7 cleaner multiple times

4. Birchwood Casey Gun Scrubber Synthetic Safe on everything even the plastic!!

5. Grease the HIGH FRICTION areas with Hoppes

6. Break Free dropper on moving parts and springs

7. Break Free aerosol on metal parts inside the gun and in bore.

8. If its parkerized Leave it degreased from the Gun Scrubber... UNLESS its to be stored then spray it with the CLP as well, then degrease the outside later when you need to shoot it



Hunting Guns are a little easier.

1. Spray with Mpro7 cleaner inside and out

2. Scrub where possible, rag out until clean

3. Run the Boresnake multiple times

4. Aerosol CLP!!!


The Benelli Nova:

1. Hose off

2. Allow to dry

3. Touch up the spray paint color

4. CLP, well... maybe


LONG TERM (LONGER THAN A MONTH) STORAGE OF CLEAN OR NIB INVESTMENT GUNS:

1. Soak em with BC barricade

2. Plastic Wrap

Now... the BoreSnake makes my bores look amazing. They seem clean... Am I missing anything?

 

[BK]

I always hear and read the recommendation to swab a barrel from breech to muzzle. The purpose is to prevent some sort of calamity.

Anyone know how probable such a catastrophe is?

 

[2TransAms]

Now... the BoreSnake makes my bores look amazing. They seem clean... Am I missing anything?

Probably. If you were to continue to use patches and a metal brush you'd keep getting more and more junk out that the Boresnake just does not pick up,even though it looks clean.

Does it need to be sparkling clean? No, unless you're babying a long range rifle.

I used to clean the heck out of barrels. Lately I've just been using a Boresnake and I've not noticed a difference.

1:Clean barrel with Hoppes
2:Clean the rest of the gun with Breakfree CLP
3:Spray CLP down the barrel and make two passes with the Boresnake
4: Lube with FP10 or any 10w30 motor oil
5:?
6rofit

 

[mljdeckard]

BK

You clean all guns breech to muzzle because whatever you are cleaning out of the barrel needs to go outside the gun, not into the action. When you are cleaning a gun that can't take a rod from the breech, (like a lever gun,) I usually push the rod from the muzzle with no brush, and hold the brush with my fingertips in the ejection port with my fingers and screw the rod onto it and then pull it out the muzzle. Yes, when you are using Hoppe's this can get messy.

You also want the rod and brush to exit the bore evenly, not putting wear or pressure on the crown. (The last thing the bullet touches as it leaves the barrel.) The crown is finished very precisely and it is possible to damage it without trying too hard. Rod guides for ARs and bolt rifles are made to let you push a cleaning rod through the barrel without dinging up the rifling or crown.

 

[DagoRed]

I don't use water, it causes rust. I don't use simple green, it is corrosive to some metals.

I use Hoppes mostly, and other gun cleaners, and on occasion brake cleaner.

I have a variety of lubricants, NEVER WD40. I use one of several greases for some actions like semi-auto weapons.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

I like Simple Green as well. I used it full strength as a coil cleaner for refrigeration units for a couple of decades. It cleans aluminum,copper,stainless steel as well as plastic components. I haven't used it on guns but would without reserve.