Wheel Gun Cleaning

[BCRider]

I've read from those that say they have used both that Gun Scrubber is the same as brake cleaner. I've not found or used a can of it so I can't personally comment on that aspect.

I would assume, unless the label says different, that "Gun Scrubber" is a full on degreaser that will strip any and all oil films away from the metal. So unless something on the label says that it leaves a light rust resistant oil or wax film thanks to some additive in the solvent that you need to do a full on oiling job on anywhere you use it.

For all my guns I remove the grips and put it in a sonic cleaner. 15 mins later it's clean everywhere. A quick wipe down and done.

Joe, I hope you realize that the detergent or other cleaning agent you use in the water is also stripping away any and all oils internally as well as the fouling in the shooting part of the gun. A "quick wipe down" is not going to replace the oil needed by the internals of the action. For that you'll want a quick shot of a spray oil of some form followed by a quick shot of compressed air on low to blow out the excess. I'd also want to use compressed air on such things as the cylinder ejector area to blow out water from the sliding internals. If you're already doing that then fine. But your reply suggested otherwise. In fact in the form you posted it's a recipe for rust due to trapped water/cleaner in tight spots that won't dry away easily.

On semi autos much of the action is more exposed and would respond well to US cleaning then blowing out and spray oil. But there's a few tighter spots on revolvers that demand more attention when they get soaked in water such as a dip into a US cleaner. The ejector assembly and crane pivot being two of those just for starters.

 

[CraigC]

You're supposed to clean them???

 

[Bama Drifter]

Yeah, BCrider it (Gunscrubber) leaves the metal TOTALLY DRY. I do a thorough coat of Ballistol after using Gunscrubber. Sounds like I should take a trip to Autozone next time I run out of my aerosol cleaner

+1 on ventilated work area. I open both doors of my garage, then douse w/ the gunky spray running off onto the floor to dry into a black puddle. Works great on Russkie ammo Glock gunk!

 

[C0untZer0]

I've sprayed non-chlorinated brake cleaner on the cylinder face and wiped it with a rag and I still have black stains. I'm thinking of taking a copper brush & some kerosene.

 

[BCRider]

I've come to the conclusion after cleaning lots of cylinders that if I were to remove all traces of staining then it's only because some of the metal comes along with the last traces. So I don't even bother trying. As long as it's smooth and thin enough to be no more than a stain I call it done. It'll just build up the next time I go shooting anyway.

The copper or brass brush might or might not remove the last vestiges of the stain. But at what cost in time? I've got too many revolvers and other things to do to go that OCD over removing the last vestiges of the stains that are living down in the micro grooves of the surface finish.

I do use a brass brush to remove the crusty buildup along with my favorite Ed's Red cleaning soup. And the odd time early on I did work at removing as much as I could. But I just about wore out the brush doing so and there was still a slight stain left even after all that. Now I just get it to where it's smooth and flush with the metal's surface. The amount of fouling down in the surface texture that isn't scuffed off by a little brush work can stay there.

 

[C0untZer0]

I use a version of Ed's Red

⅓ ATF, ⅓ Kerosene, ⅓ heavy mineral oil. I can't really say it works better or worse than anything else.

Something else that I found is that if I use grease in a barrel that I thought was clean, the grease will pick up some carbon. Like if I'm using CLP or Hoppes or just about any cleaner including my version of Ed's Red or motor oil, and the patch comes out clean... If I put a plug of regular bearing grease and a wad of cloth and rod it, that cloth will have a little carbon on it. I have to run a few wads through the barrel then to make sure all the grease is out, but it seems that the grease gets the barrel extra clean.