Mag maintenance

[99mpower]

Using Lucas Speed Wax after a complete mag disassembly/cleaning, when reassembling, has made a huge difference. Apply like a car wax on the mags, and it helps keep dirt away, and mags cleaner, longer

[rowdyb]

i already armor all the inside of my holster and mag pouches, so I like this idea as well. thank you.

[Powder Finger]

oh boy, now we're going to have wax wars just like oil/grease

 

[Farmer]

36 minutes ago, Powder Finger said:

oh boy, now we're going to have wax wars just like oil/grease

 

Thanks for the tip. Anything I can do around here to keep the dirt away is a plus. Need major anti-static on everything. 

[Malarky112]

Do you put it inside the mag bodies as well?

 

[ts199982]

Interesting, never thought of that.... We had a set of STI Gen 1 magazine, 6 total, that were used for 2 years, probably 15K rounds, never had them apart, they just ran. Sometimes you get lucky I guess, but the surface we drop in is usually gravel, grass, some hard packed dirt. I could see sand, dry dusty dirt, causing more maintenance for sure. 

[Orlandoech]

Ha, I never thought of this. I will need to go grab some, thanks.

You can also use car wax on shower glass doors to help keep water stains lol.

[99mpower]

On 8/31/2020 at 7:19 PM, Malarky112 said:

Do you put it inside the mag bodies as well?

 

 

yes.. spray in the mag bodies, use mag brush, and then wipe clean with a "wet" microfiber, and let air dry completely

 

[Bakerjd]

I'm just trying to remeber the last time I took apart and cleaned mags at all? Either 2011, 1911, or P320. My usual method is bang against hard surface and wipe the outside. 

[M1A4ME]

One of the guys on the CZ Forum suggested waxing mags to me a couple years ago.  

 

I carry all the time outside the house.  My pistol, holster, mag pouch and mags get dirt, sweat, rain, sawdust, pollen, water/crud splash from high pressure washing, etc., etc., etc. on them on a regular basis.  The pistols get field stripped cleaned/lubed and reloaded.  Holsters/gear get wiped off/out and hung up to dry.  The mags - used to unload them, wipe them off with the same oily cloth used to wipe down the pistol parts and every so often as I unloaded them I'd notice that gritty/grating sound that told me crud was building up inside the magazine.

 

He suggested wax.  I've used Nufinish mostly.  Strip the mag of spring, base and follower.  The strip all the old lube and crud off of and out of it (alcohol and cotton balls).  Then two coats of wax like you'd wax your car/truck.  The mags, load easier/smoother.  As you unload them you don't notice the drag/catching/jumping of cartridges as the move upwards.  The dirt/crud don't stick to the outside or inside like it did before waxing.  So I can just take a dry paper towel and wipe the outside of the magazine down and it looks like I just wiped down an unwaxed blued magazine with that oily cloth.

 

I'm slowly working my way through the pistol mags. to get them all waxed.

[SISIG]

I use pledge lemon scented 

[X5SigChris]

I think I’ve done mag maintenance twice. Both times were because of base pad changes. Not that I never thought about it, just never did it. I never even considered the idea of waxing though to keep the dirt off. The wife is going to be mad when she catches me waxing gun gear before I wax he van lol 

[GOF]

Cleaning mags is a good idea. But I wouldn't put any oil or wax inside the magazine body. That stuff just grabs stuff and can create feeding problems. 

[MHicks]

I've surprised at the number here who don't need to clean their mags. Right now in the winter our dirt or decomposed granite bays aren't as dusty and maintenance during a match is less. In the dry summer months sometimes they get pretty loose and dusty/powdery. My 1911 mags run longer but I have enough of them I just set a dirty one aside and grab another clean one.  My Cz tac sport mags aren't as forgiving and I  clean them when they hit the ground.

 

A lot of Open, Limited shooters clean their mags every stage in this area.

[njl]

Has anyone used a product called "Wipe" on polymer mag bodies (like Glock mags)?  It makes them look armorall'd, but I gather it lasts much longer.  One of the guys who sometimes comes to our matches has it on his Glock mags.

[bludog]

I've been told by experienced shooters that pushing a rag with some silicone spray through the mag tube on a regular basis is a good idea. Yes, I have seen open shooters pull out the followers and spring to clean the mag after each stage.  A little bit of grit inside the mag can cause "nosediving" on my CZ's.

[Scrounger]

I hadn’t heard of the armor all trick for holsters, mag pouches, makes sense. I may try some silicone inside of a mag or two to see how it works. 

[Rjz5400]

Yea here in the SW where we have the moon dust I clean every mag that hits the dirt, every time... Rifle shotgun pistol doesn't matter.

 

It helps to have multiples for every length so you can clean at home later. 

 

 

[Scrounger]

Great tip. I just moved from steel challenge into USPSA…no mag drops into the dirt unless by accident

[WestPat]

Thanks for this tip.  I am a firm believer in silicon lubricant, and will definitely do this the next time I have the mags apart.

David

[Joe4d]

I usually just bought STI tubes from Brownells,, or Shooters connection. 
Id throw them in my brass tumbler with corncob and what ever waxypolish I had on hand over night. Call em good other than a wipe down or running a brush in them

[Nitro1]

Atlas gunworks recommends silicone on a mag mop after using a brush. Don’t know how often you really have to do it. I know for me doing it every stage would be insane. 
 

video here. 
 

 

[LibertySpam]

Great tip. Just cleaned my competition mags last night. They'll get Lucas next time....

[99mpower]

definitely has made a huge improvement in magazines for me. Helps keep the feeding issues at bay. Once i went to a more regimented cleaning schedule, Ive had zero failure to feeds from a magazine issue