What is the best, most efficient way to clean a gun?

[illtmprdman]

Dear Shooters,

I have a Para-Ordnance P14 Stainless Limited.  In short, I want to know what is the best, most efficient way to clean my gun?  I want to know how other people clean their Para's.  What fluids should I use (I've heard of some people using WD40, etc)?  What parts of the gun should I concentrate on?  What types of brushes should I use?  How clean does the gun have to be?  How often should I clean my magazines?  Is it necessary to use brake cleaner as a final wash?

With regard to fluid types, I have a fiber-optic front sight, so I need to use a fluid that won't damage the fiber-optic insert.

Also, how much grease should I use on my gun (I use Wilson Combat Ultima Lube)?  Also, where should and *shouldn't* I be putting grease -- i.e. how much lube is too much?

I know these may sound like stupid questions, but I will be getting my gun back from Benny Hill (one hell of a guy), and I want to make sure that this time around, I do everything right!

[Jake Di Vita]

Buy a Glock.

[diehli]

Stainless is a bitch to clean. Believe it or not I actually got rid of my first stainless gun (and swore off stainless guns) because it was so time intensive to get it clean.

It takes time... I used Butch's Bore Shine and a mess of Q-tips as tools, though.

I'd get the slide finished in something that's easy to clean.

[paraman1]

I used a bore snake on the barrel and wiped off the outside on my Para . Every couple thousand rounds I would tear it down and scrub everything using WD-40 and a wire brush and soak the barrel using a mixture of 50% hydrogen peroxide and 50% white vinegar . Just shove an ear plug in the end of the barrel and stand on end then let soak for 15-20 minutes , drain , bore snake and then spray a little WD in there . Also when I was finished scrubbing I would just hose off all the scum into the garbage with WD . As for the magazines I cleaned them everytime they hit the dirt with a mag brush and a strip of terry cloth towel . The Paras arent nearly as finicky as the STI's or SV's about dirt since they tend to fit a lot looser , I found mine got more accurate the dirtier it got and ran great as long as I kept adding fresh oil to the rails and the barrel locking lugs as well as keeping the feed ramp clean .

[jhgtyre]

If you use WD40 make sure you get all of it out of there when you are done as it tends to leave a gummy coating everywhere and that will attract more residue in your gun.  I would skip the WD all together in favor of a good degreaser (brake cleaner works, I use rubbing alcohol and let it soak) followed by a liberal coating of slide glide in the top end and some gun oil in the bottom.  For maintenance between regular cleaning I reapply the gun oil as needed.

-ld

[BigDave]

1st - Buy some Slide Glide from our host here.

2nd - take your top end apart

3rd - coat all of the metal-to-metal contact areas liberally with Slide Glide.

4th- Use Red Oil, RemOil, FP-10, or whatever in the trigger group, safety's, etc on the frame.

5th - put gun back together, cycle slide several times to work the Slide Glide excess out.  

6th-Wipe with silicone/similar cloth

7th-Go Shoot

Repeat every 3000-5000 rounds.  Make sure you're using clean powder.  Also, go read what Wil Schuemann says about bore solvents and stainless steel.  At most, I only run a bore snake down mine every so often, and what does come out isn't much.

One caveat is to use a clean burning powder like VV N320, Titegroup or WW231.

Cleaning Sucks

Shooting is Fun

[TBF]

I echo bigdaves comments about Schuemanns article, any cleaner with ammonia can react with clorine ( triCLOROethane ) in spray cleaners. For serious lead removal, I use an Otis pull thru with a tight fitting button jag and kroil, its similar in action to a lewis lead remover but the only contact with bore is cotton. enlarge the hole in the end to fit over a small nail as it takes a considerable pull to get it pulled thru bore. Regular patches work if perforated with a small screwdriver. You can use this without dissasembly of gun.           Travis F.

(Edited by TBF at 8:01 am on Feb. 5, 2003)

[Jeffro]

While on this topic, I am curious how many of you (and how often) you remove your extractor from your 1911 when cleaning the weapon.  

    I hear so many differing opinions on this.............

        Thanks,   Jeff

[Loves2Shoot]

BigDave hit it on the head. I don't get the point of taking the gun down to bare metal. I don't use any solvents period on my handguns. Get them hardchomed and wipe them off, no worries and $150 well spent.

I use a toothbrush on the extrator and breech face after I shoot everytime. I don't remove it often, beacuse it is a pain and as long as the hook end is free from debris, what is the point? I do remove the firing in to make sure it is clean.

Trigger group, I have my beavertails so you don't have to remove the mainspring to remove them. I take it out and spray it with break cleaner, then RemOil, replace, done.

I used to spend 1 hour cleaning my gun, now 5 minutes. The 5 minute method seems to be just as good.

[jmaass]

---

Quote: from paraman1 on 6:10 am on Feb. 5, 2003

Every couple thousand rounds I would tear it down and scrub everything using WD-40 and a wire brush and soak the barrel using a mixture of 50% hydrogen peroxide and 50% white vinegar . Just shove an ear plug in the end of the barrel and stand on end then let soak for 15-20 minutes , drain , bore snake and then spray a little WD in there .

---

WARNING!  WARNING! WARNING!

The suggested Hydrogen peroxide/Vinegar solution CAN pit your barrel and cost you a lot more than time!

This was discussed long ago on the bullseye shooter's list, on rec.guns, and then on the premordial IPSC mailing list.

You can see some of the information from people's experience and a chemist at:

http://talk.shooters.com/room_47/7557.cfm

It starts at the third message in the archive, or so.

[EricW]

" I am curious how many of you (and how often) you remove your extractor from your 1911 when cleaning the weapon. "

I pull the extractor every few thousand rounds or so and clean the gunk out of the top end, including the firing pin channel.  As lackadaisical as I am about cleaning, that's one area I spend my time on as gunk does tend to build up there no matter what Gucci powder you shoot.

I do think people spend way too much time worrying about whether their bore is perfectly pristine.

[Rufus The Bum]

Man, half the fun of shooting is cleaning the gun.  I field strip it, take some Hoppes or Bore scrubber, a toothbrush and just clean everything I can get to.  I rinse it all off with Gun Scrubber and lube as req'd.  that's all I've ever done with my Stainless guns.  Have Fun

[TBF]

Great link jeff ! If you want further info on why not to use this mix (vinegar/peroxide) in your gun, make up a clear soda bottle full, drop in a bullet and a loose ball of steel wool. You wont be tempted to use it in your barrel afterwards. I wont describe the results, do the experiment if your interested, its actually really COOL TO WATCH.       Some good info there too, anyone else use stainless brushes? I wont, But admit its just because I always heard it would be bad for your bore.              Travis F.

[paraman1]

That was pretty interesting reading . I got this recipe from Mike Gibson who has been using it for years without problems and I myself have used it on all of my firearms except for my shotgun without a problem . I generally let it sit for 15-20 minutes and then clean it out with either WD-40 or Hoppes #9 . I will probably be discontinuing this practice after reading this article . I have probably just been lucky in the fact that most of my firearms have stainless barrels.

(Edited by paraman1 at 1:37 pm on Feb. 5, 2003)

[davecutts]

When I do a deep clean I use simple green (the automotive stuff), because it doesn't stink, and is easy on the skin.  I used to be a die hard Hoppe’s man, but it started to irritate my skin.  I do push two patches soaked with Hoppe’s through my bore every week or so, but no brush has ever touch my bore.  I shoot lead, and with a match grade barrel I've never hand a leading problem.  

For a quick clean I swab the bore, clean the breach face (if I remember), and wipe down the rails, followed by a thick coat of slide glide.  With the lead I do pull out the extractor ever couple of weeks if not more, and there can get to be a lot of gunk in there.

[benos]

I pasted in the cleaning instructions from the propaganda I send out with the Glide...

Cleaning and Lubrication:

Although not harmful to your gun, it is not necessary to clean the top end with solvents, brake cleaner, etc., especially if the top end was previously lubed with Slide-Glide. Initially, wipe the old lube from the surfaces in the top end with a paper towel; then finish cleaning by thoroughly wiping with a shop towel, using a small screwdriver or stiff brush to force the towel into the tighter areas. Using a "dedicated toothbrush" (the small end of an AR-15 brush, or the Super-Cheap brushes you can buy on be.com.), apply liberal amounts of Slide-Glide to both sides of every contact area in the top end. Basically, anywhere anything touches anything else, e.g., top andbottom locking lugs on the barrel, frame and slide rails, bushing or cone area, and especially the upper locking lugs on the inside of the slide. Also apply to the recoil spring and guide rod, and to the inside of the reverse plug. Assemble the pistol, cycle, and wipe off excess. Experiment – in general, the more you apply the softer the gun will feel. At first it might be a tad messy, but after a little experience with the dedicated toothbrush you will apply just the right amount.

be

[BSeevers]

Rufus The Bum

"Half the fun is cleaning the gun" I'll be over this weekend with 10 dirty guns and you can have some real fun. If you are nice I will let you load a few thousand rounds too.

PS I use brake cleaner. Its just like gun scrubber and 1/3 the price.

[Rufus The Bum]

Bring em on......

[skeeter]

what ever happened to sparying with gun scrubber then oiling takes about 3 mins. every 5000 rounds or so clean firing pin channel.

[illtmprdman]

Here's my plan,

When it's time for a cleaning, I take the gun apart and spray all of the parts with some WD40,  pass a patch through the barrel, use a toothbrush to scrub the dirty spots (breach face, barrel ramp, etc), and hose it all down with some brake cleaner.

Sound good?

PS: Will WD40 harm my fiber optic sight?

[Skywalker]

I have SS SVI with fiber optic front sight.

My usual cleanup is done this way: I put in a plastic bowl about 1" of Diesel gasoline, strip the gun down to frame, slide, barrel and guide rod and (except for the frame) I immerse them in the fluid.

Then I proceed to wipe off all dirt with a paint brush and clean the barrel with a Kleen-bore brush.

The advantage (for me) of the Diesel gasoline is that it leaves the internal parts of the gun slightly lubricated, and thus no need for grease or other lubricating compound.

BTW, I won't use grease in any case: it builds up like sludge. By this cleaning method I have been able to shoot up to 1'500 round w/o cleaning in between.

This procedure won't harm your fiber optic, and...

no, you won't throw flames when shooting: Diesel won't light up and burn in your hand .

[Carlos]

NEVER CLEAN YOUR BARREL (and yes, I meant to shout).

Not sure everyone understood the previous posters on this so I will mention it again:

NEVER EVER CLEAN THAT BARREL!! Throw away your brushes and turn your "cleaning rod" into a dedicated squib rod.  You must be thinking I have lost all reason.

However, I agree w/ Brian Enos, Wil Schueman, Big Dave, and scads of  others. I have posted before on this and I am not sure the message is getting through. Don't take mine or BigDave's word for it, check the USPSA website- click on schueman, look for "barrel cleaning",  , oh hell, I'll just do it for you:

"My Personal Practice has become to never clean the bore of my barrels. I do use a brass rod to scrape the deposits out of the chamber. But, I've learned to leave the bore alone and it very slowly becomes shinier and cleaner all by itself. Years ago I occasionally scrubbed the bore with a brass bore brush. But, doing so always seemed to cause the bore to revert to a dirtier look with more shooting, so I eventually stopped ever putting anything down the bore except bullets...

Good luck,""

You don't have to agree. Clean it if you like - its your gun, but you will be wasting your time (unless you shoot lead, but I will never shoot that stuff again).

[Carlos]

I agree w/ Tuner w/ regard to high velocity chamberings like the .223 we use in 3 gun - got to clean those.  And, you are right, Tuner, about the effectiveness of Sweets 7.62 Copper Solvent (strong ammonia!) on copper fouling.  I use that on my ARs, followed by a quick shot of brake cleaner (do NOT use carb cleaner!!) through the gas tube to get the Sweets outta the gas port, then a thin film of Kroil followed by one dry patch.

I should also add that my advice does not apply to those who are forced to use lead bullets like Cowbay Action shooters.

Finally, as Wil points out, you need to occasionaly clean the chamber, BUT NOT THE BARREL of a handgun.  I stand by original post - including the part about choosing your own path as to whether to waste time cleaning your IPSC/USPSA handgun's barrel. Got a .40, 9mm or a .45 w/ a stainless barrel? Clean it if you want but its a waste of time.

[Derek45]

My gun is hard chromed by METALIFE.

I use Break Free CLP, although I'm starting to use FP-10 now.

I use a worn bore brush wrapped with a copper kitchen cleaning pad in the bore.

It cleans the lead out fast.

I use a toothbrush, q-tips, and these little disposible make-up sponges( stolen from my wife) to clean the feedramp, breachface, slide rails, barrel lugs etc..

It takes me about 10-15mins to clean my 1911.

About once a year I detail strip it and really clean it out good.

[John Dunn]

I've got a table top parts washer I filled with some solvent from Brownells. When the guns start getting gritty from the blowing dust that's seemingly omnipresent, I toss the whole gun in the tank and let it soak, completely submerged for a day or more. Then it's disassemble, quick toothbrush, rinse and lube with slide glide. I mess with the firing pin and extractor only before matches, mostly to help me sleep better the night before.