Glock Cleaning

[StephenG]

Ok, now that I have used the Slide-Glide, how the heck do I clean this thing? Do any of you use the Gun Scrubber type products? Are these the same as brake/carb cleaner?

The Slide-Glide works great but gets everywere.

Steve

[GMyers]

Stephen,

You might check out http://www.schuemann.com/ and scroll down to the "Barrel Cleaning" section.  Amongst the other ideas that are thrown out he discusses how certain chemicals can react within the barrel as a result of firing.  I sure don't have the authority to say if this stuff is right or wrong (he makes a living doing it) but it is at least some interesting reading.

[Bill]

You mean you're supposed to clean Glocks??????

BILL

[Nik Habicht]

I use gunscrubber on the frame, the slide, the exterior of the barrel, and the recoil spring assembly.  I then hit it pretty hard with a toothbrush and powerwash it with gunsrubber again.  The bore gets some dry passes with a brush, followed by lots of applications of whatever bore cleaner I was able to buy.  I follow that with several patches, squirt some Breakfree in the bore and run a boresnake through several times.  Then I place one drop of Breakfree on the connector at the right rear corner of the frame.  I put some slide glide on the slide rails, reassemble the gun, lock the slide to the rear, smear some more slideglide around the barrel, close the action, put some more on the barrel hood, cycle the action vigorously several times, wipe off the excess.  Then I usually wipe all metal down with a soft rag that's been dampened with a few drops of break-free.  On the Glocks I shoot a lot, I do this about once a month and before major matches; on the occasional shooters every six months or so.  I do check for lubrication before I shoot though.

[StephenG]

Nik,

That sounds like what I have been doing with the exception of using gun-scrubber. I can't bring myself to spend $9.00 a can. That's why I asked about brake cleaner.

steve

[Nik Habicht]

Stephen,

Sorry about the run on sentences above.  I was on my way to bed, and annoyed with myself because I had meant to respond to the question earlier.  Gunscrubber makes the job much easier every six months or so.  I don't know about brake/carb cleaner.  Brian? Any other mechanics, present or former, want to weigh in on that?

The alternative to Gunscrubber is just to use a toothbrush and a solvent like Hoppe's 9, and spend more time scrubbing.  When I clean guns every six months or so, I'm usually cleaning 6-8 guns and I want the speed advantage that Gunscrubber gives me.  If I'm just doing one gun, it's o.k. if it takes half an hour.

[Carlos]

Carb cleaner is nasty stuff and you do not want to use it on your guns! On the other hand, BRAKE cleaner is a very mild solvent and I bet it is the same stuff as gunscrubber (at a much lower price). I helped pay for college working in a scooter and motorcycle repair shop (in Eugene, OR, BTW) and learned that carb cleaner is a very aggresive cleaner that works well on baked-on carbon deposits and the "varnishes" one finds in old carburators - deposits that are that are impervious to gasoline. We soaked carbs in it after we had removed all the rubber and plastic parts.  Carb cleaner will also eat most types of paint - even baked on paint finishes and powdercoats.  It also soakes into, softens, and will eventualy break down rubber. Any seals we missed would swell up and not fit if they came into contact with this stuff. It eats many types of plastic (but not all - like the way battery acid attackes only some plastics). Carb cleaner has some sort of chlorine compound that accounts for its aggresiveness. I never use carb cleaner on any of my guns.

I do use break cleaner. Its very volatile so it dries very fast and it leaves no residue behind (though it will strip the oil right off your skin leaving the skin looking very white).  Brakes are often painted and any cleaner used on them has to be safe around that paint.  Also, the brake cleaner comes out so fast that it often gets on rubber brake lines & possibly tires so it is made to be safe on those materials. I use a shot or two down the gas tube of my AR15s after I have used a very aggresive bore cleaner like Sweets.  I know the sweets gets forced through the gas port and I do not want it hanging around in there so the brake cleaner blasts it back into the barrel where I can clean it out. It also evaporates leaving the gas tube 100% dry (as its supposed to be).I have never had brake cleaner hurt any gun finish.

D.

[snokid]

Don't laugh at me but when I do clean me glock (around 2000-3000 rounds) I just use rubbing Alcohol on the barrel and other metal parts, then I completely strip the rest of the gun and good ol fashoin dish washing soap on all the plastic parts.  reassamble the gun and put 3 drops of oil on it and that's it.  I'm not saying this is right but I haven't had any problems yet....

sno

[38supPat]

I pretty much hand clean without the use of solvents, I just go in with a brush and cotton patches and manually remove everything, result is that there is always a film left. Using brake cleaners or gunscrubber removes ALL oils from everywhere...If you don't manage to get more on EVERYWHERE there could be internal rusting or at least some dryspots that may impede functioning. When I was in the reserves we used a mixture of Breakfree and kerosene we just poured in a gallon of each (obviously it was free/gov't supplied) into a large flat pan and dipped all our rifle parts in. The theory was that the kerosene would clean out the hard to get grit by soaking it out while the breakfree would avoid drying it out (I never really bought this but the rifles always worked...they were FN 7.62's...and the solvent mix was free so who am I to argue ) They worked and never rusted so maybe there was something to this.

Pat

PS having just written this its time to get back to detail cleaning my IMM for the new season

[EricW]

I'm glad someone else said it first.  But I do the soap and H20 trip too.  Except I use it on EVERYTHING.  (No your Glock won't rust shut - just dry it promptly.)  Simple Green seems to be the best, but dish soap works too.  Strip that puppy neked and give it a bubble bath.  Yes, it strips all the oil off, but to me that's a 10 cent problem.  Soap and water does NOT do a good job of removing carbon, so every six months or so, I use the Hoppes & a copper cleaner just get the barrel back to it's shiny self again.

Do take care to dry the springs well.  They are NOT very corrosion resistant.  Fortunately they're cheap to replace.

Eric