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Alternative to "Gun Scrubber"


Cosby

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PS My pistolsmith washes his gun in soapy water, drys with hairdryer if he's in a hurry and lubes.

I run a RemOil soaked rag over my gun and spray some in the gun after using Brake Cleaner and keep it away from LockTite and Fiber Optics too.

You know I REALLY miss the old GunScrubber. It had some now banned cancer causing chemical(Big Teteadibenzon.... type name) but it worked real good.

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Mineral spirits=Iuse it in my parts washer and I have a pump up

spray bottle that is really neat to clean a gun with if I have to

use a solvent . :rolleyes::wub: I try just using cotten swabs and cloath this lets

you keep an oil base to your gun.

I feel washing especially with gun scrubber or brake clean takes

the oil out of the poars and is detramental to long like of parts.

Jim anglin

Sailors custom Pistols

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i've used everything under the sun. Var-sol or mineral spirits used in a parts washer is my favorite. As for something that comes in an aerosol can, I use electric motor cleaner. The kind I'm using now is called Lektra-Clean. It is about $3 at Home Depot stores.

Mark

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I feel washing especially with gun scrubber or brake clean takes

the oil out of the poars and is detramental to long like of parts.

You're right about this, Jim - the gun is *very* dry when you get done hosing it out w/ brake parts cleaner. The trick is that you have to restore that oil. I go over it w/ my a generous coat of my "light lube" (a 50/50 mix of 10w40 and Slick-50) which I then wipe off. Seems to re-load the pores pretty well. Of course, I'm generous with the regular lube, too - I keep the gun pretty clean, so buildup isn't a problem for me :) I actually *like* cleaning my gun :)

I'll have to give mineral spirits a whirl. Is a parts cleaner a necessary thing, or can I use a plastic tub that'll fit the slide and frame in it?? How do I dispose of mineral spirits??? :)

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Good, cheap, auto parts, brake cleaner. Cheap, does a better job than Gun Scrubber and you can find it anywhere!

After that, a little Hoppe's or Sweet's 7.62 (for my rifle barrels) and you're good to go.

SPC Richard A. White

C-Co, 232nd Med Bn

3rd PLT (Wolverines!)

Fort Sam Houston, TX

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How many rounds are you guys running before you clean it out? I will go 2K once and a while before I clean it, but I only use WD40, shop cloths, a tooth brush and someQ-tips. It comes clean right away. I do you a little #9 in the bore then swab it out. Seems like the brake cleaner would be hard on any poly or plastic parts.

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On the pistol, I clean it around every 2-3k (gotta love Rusty Kidd pistols). I mostly use the brake cleaner though for the shotgun. Quick and easy and it's what Briley told me to do...so it's gospel.

SPC Richard A. White

C-Co, 232nd Med Bn

3rd PLT (Wolverines!)

Fort Sam Houston, TX (Home of the Combat Medic! Hooah!!!)

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I usually dismantle the pistol and drop it into mineral spirits for a minute or so. Every part of the pistol goes into the pan except the barrel. It goes on the bench with the foaming bore cleaner. I scrub all the parts with a toothbrush and set them on a rag. Blow them out with the air compressor, clean the barrel, reassemble and lube with Mobil 1 Synthetic. Done in about 15 minutes usually. I have a case of Brake Cleaner but at 3 bucks a can, I'm too cheap for that. Besides, I get the mineral spirits for 4 bucks a gallon at Home Depot and clean the pistol about 100 times before changing it.

To answer the next question, I clean my pistol every time I shoot it.

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I cleared out my house one time with break cleaner...my wife thought it was some type of bio-terrorist attack, will not be doing that again.

I really like "dunk-it" from CS in Nebraska.

http://www.cylinder-slide.com/

I got a few commercial giant coffee filters, bungied them over the top of an extra pale and filter it once a month. I think it works great. it may seem pricey but that whole divorce thing seems like a big hassle.

Gio

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Oh my God. I didn't think anyone used brake cleaner anymore. Wow was I wrong. :(

Brake cleaner is extremely toxic - I advise anyone using it to stop. That stuff has neurotoxins in it. Way, way bad.

Two gunsmith friends enlightened me a long time back. Don't use brake cleaner, they said! So, I listened. Here is the advice, and I've been doing this for at least 5 years now:

Get a small bucket and 1/2 fill it with 409. (Don't laugh, once you try this you won't ever go back to brake cleaner.) Put in your gun pieces and parts (if you shoot limited, the whole frame can go in) and use an old toothbrush on any hard to get at areas. Using a strainer basket helps too... MOST of the gunk will fall off on it's own in a couple minutes.

Think about it - 409 is meant to remove what? Grease, oil, and carbon based gunk. What's on your gun? Grease, oil, and carbon based gunk!

Pull the parts out and blow them off with air.

This works awesome! Your gun will be spotless. I even run a bore brush through the barrel while soaking / brushing everything with the 409.

This is super effective, cheap, totally non-toxic, and the gunk and crap sinks to the bottom of the bucket so the 409 is always clean. There really isn't any downside except do not leave your parts in the bath overnight. They will rust while in the solution. They WON'T rust after you blow them off with air - don't worry one bit about that, just don't leave your gun in the 409 overnight.

FYI I went from 12 cans a year to less than one using this method. I am NEVER using that toxic crap again and I don't miss it one bit!

Now on rifles that is another story... I still use bore cleaner.

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Non-chlorinated brake parts cleaner is relatively safe - the stuff your friends were warning you about is the chlorinated stuff, and they're absolutely right. I don't think you want to breathe either one - acetone isn't nice on your lungs, either way. However, the really really bad stuff was pulled out of the non-chlorinated version. Any of this sort of thing (including Gun Scrubber) should be used with adequate ventilation.....

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Try Simple green.

Get a small bucket and 1/2 fill it with 409.  (Don't laugh, once you try this you won't ever go back to brake cleaner.)  Put in your gun pieces and parts (if you shoot limited, the whole frame can go in) and use an old toothbrush on any hard to get at areas.  Using a strainer basket helps too... MOST of the gunk will fall off on it's own in a couple minutes. 

...

This is super effective, cheap, totally non-toxic, and the gunk and crap sinks to the bottom of the bucket so the 409 is always clean.  There really isn't any downside except do not leave your parts in the bath overnight.  They will rust while in the solution.  They WON'T rust after you blow them off with air - don't worry one bit about that, just don't leave your gun in the 409 overnightNow on rifles that is another story... I still use bore cleaner.

I like Simple Green too. The AGI armorer's tapes on various guns used to recommend the use of SG, using a technique similar to Bret's.

Works for me... :rolleyes:

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  • 3 weeks later...
Try Simple green.

Works for me... :rolleyes:

What are the effects of Simple Green on aluminum (besides cleaning it)? I seem to remember reading somewheere that GI's were using it on their M-16s and it messed up the anodizing or corroded the aluminum. Of course I could have breathed in too much chlorinated brake and carb cleaner and halucinated the whoe idea. :unsure:

Mike

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I've used Simple Green for years, works great.

Detail strip the gun, toss all the parts in a big acro bin.

Put the bin under the sink, pour in some Simple Green, and turn on the hottest water you can get.

Put the electric stove on the lowest setting, after you scrub, toss the part on the stove to evaporate the water.

wipe all nooks and crannies with FP-10 as you re-assemble.

Ignore wife while she rolls eyes.

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Mineral spirits is a lot quicker!

Simple Green and 409 leave a milky film on metal that you can see

under a microscope mix it with (some) petrolium products and it will

get gummy and then add a little gun powder and you can have a a mess

at the end of your slide rails.Especially at cool temps.

The reasom I use mineral spirits is it dry's quick and when Im building a

gun i dont have time to mess with anything else.

Cleaned a slide once with simple green dryed it off good I used hot water

dryit with air set it on my nylon bench pad went backa while later and it

was stuck to the pad.

Jim

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i have cleaned the glock with unleaded gasoline, the1911 too!

i just take the grips off the 1911.

doesnt seem to have much effect on the FO sight.

cleans really good.

B12 carb cleaner is bad shit. it will eat most plastics and FO rods.

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I am not trying to be your Daddy, just worred about a fellow shooter, but I use to sell a product to Burn Units in Hospitals and honestly ever other person started their story with "well I got some gas and I wanted to"

i have cleaned the glock with unleaded gasoline, the1911 too!

i just take the grips off the 1911.

doesnt seem to have much effect on the FO sight.

cleans really good.

B12 carb cleaner is bad shit. it will eat most plastics and FO rods.

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  • 3 weeks later...

most any hydrocarbon solven is flamable. most are extemely flamable.

B12, brake cleaners ect...they are all more volitile than gasoline.

i understand the concern bill, but im not smoking a fat cuban cigar while cleaning my guns...

nor am i stating thats how i always clean my guns..i just stated i have and it does work.

before i started shooting competitivly, i worked on race cars...seeing one of my friends burned to death in a methanol powered car gives me a certain respect for flamable liquids.

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Go to the paint section of Walmart and get a gallon can of odorless mineral spirits for about $6. Then go to the garden section and get one of those garden sprayer/squirt bottles for about a buck. That works great. You don't get quite the velocity of gunscrubber, but it is WAY cheaper. You'll still need to hit it with a tooth brush a bit, but if you spray it, brush it, and spray it again, it will be clean as a whistle. Use plenty of slide glide and oil afterwards, cause it takes it all off.

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Go to the paint section of Walmart and get a gallon can of odorless mineral spirits for about $6.  Then go to the garden section and get one of those garden sprayer/squirt bottles for about a buck.  That works great.  You don't get quite the velocity of gunscrubber, but it is WAY cheaper.  You'll still need to hit it with a tooth brush a bit, but if you spray it, brush it, and spray it again, it will be clean as a whistle.  Use plenty of slide glide and oil afterwards, cause it takes it all off.

welcome to the forums. great idea

lynn

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