Firearm cleaning

[Suave]

How do you clean your rifles and handguns? What agents and tools do you use?

Hops No.9? CLP? Urine water? Dishwasher? Sandblaster? A pull-through of knotted boot laces?

[Irwink!]

Hoppe's 9 unless its a black powder weapon.

[Blooz]

Hoppes 9 with a pull through snake.

Light coat of CLP over all exposed steel.

Dab of grease on my M1A's bolt roller bearing.

[storch]

yup on the hoppe's 9

[Dago]

Hoppes 9 for general work, but you have to use a good copper solvent occasionally for the barrel.  9 will not take away the copper fouling.

A good grease for the wear point and slide rails.

CLP is a good oil for areas that need a light coat of oil.

[Makarov9]

I just finished cleaning four rifles from a fun day at the range today. I use to use Hoppes no.9 but I'm trying to get away from petroleum based cleaners, mostly for potential health reason. I use a foaming bore copper cleaner if I need to remove copper. I then normally use Hoppes Elite (non-toxic) to clean the bore. Sometimes I use boresnakes for quick cleans. For more in-depth I use a Patchworm (http://20-20.8m.com/) I bought in the past. It's basically a heavy-duty nylon string used to pull through patches. I finish off with a little oiled patch and then a clean one to remove the excess.

Oh, if I shoot corrosive ammo, I saturate the bore with Windex to dissolve the salts, then clean as normal.

[Maverick]

I use a mix.

Soap and water followed by solvent based cleaner and oil for black powder.

Hoppes for general cleaning.

I use an ammonia based cleaner for copper fouling. That's primarily in my high power 22's. I'll use it also in my 30 cal. rifles occasionally.

If by any chance you have a nickle plated firearm, do not use hoppes #9 on it. It tends to remove the finish.

[Hornet33]

OK you can believe me or not but the best thing I have ever used to clean any weapon has been Scubbing Bubbles bath and tile cleaner. Spray everything down with the stuff, let it sit for about ten minutes and drop everything in the bathtub in HOT water and soak for five minutes. Rinse everything off with fresh warm water and let air dry or if you have an air compressor blow it dry. A hair drier works well too. Run a couple of dry patches down the barrel and chamber. Lightly oil with CLP and your good to go.

For black powder I'll pour a 50/50 mix of Hydrogen Peroxcide and Murphys Oil Soap in the barrel until it's maybe a 1/4 full, then fill the rest of the barrel with hot water. Let soak for ten minutes, drain the barrel, run a brush down the barrel, then a couple of dry patches to get everything out, then wet patch the barrel with peanut oil.

I know it all sounds crazy but it works. WD-40 also works real well as a cleaner and lubricant on stainless weapons but it will mess up a blued finish.

[Dago]

I just can't bring myself to was a weapon in soap and water.

[Suave]

Very hot water works very well on really dirty guns, like after an ftx. It's one of the most usefull lessons that my drill sgt passed on to us at the end of basic training. Beats toiling for an hour with a toothbrush.

Just be sure that that it's scalding hot water so that it will dry fast. And keep it on the down low if you're active duty.

Cleaning weapons after recovering from a field problem is great busywork to give soldiers since it generally takes hours. I'd knock mine out in 15 minutes and then ghost like Swazey.

I've heard of people using dishwashers with the heat dry setting, but I've never tried it. Some people say that wd40 is too corrosive. CLP is pretty poor bore solvent.

[Suave]

Also, soap and water is the easiest way to clean the salts out left from corrosive ammo. Oils won't work.

[Hornet33]

Originally posted by Dago
I just can't bring myself to was a weapon in soap and water.

Why not?? Soap and water won't hurt them. You wash your car right? Ever wash the engine of your car with soap and water? I do and that has more moving parts and electronics to boot than a firearm. Hell I've cleaned computer mother boards with soap and water and they worked just fine afterwards.

Just have to make sure the parts are dry and then properly oiled on a firearm.

[Dago]

Originally posted by Hornet33
Why not?? Soap and water won't hurt them. You wash your car right? Ever wash the engine of your car with soap and water? I do and that has more moving parts and electronics to boot than a firearm. Hell I've cleaned computer mother boards with soap and water and they worked just fine afterwards.

Just have to make sure the parts are dry and then properly oiled on a firearm.

Cars often are rusty corroded things.  My guns never are rusty or corroded.

I typically tend to drive a car until the body is shot, and when it is just too rusty, I get rid of it.  I have several firearms approaching 40 years old,  not a spec of rust on any of them.  I have one firearm that is 70 years old.  No rust.  But then I don't use water on them, and if they get wet while hunting, it gets a complete dissassemble, clean and oil as soon as I get home.  If I anticipate moisture in the air while hunting, I slip a small can of oil and a few patches in my hunting jacket and oil the weapon during the hunt.

I have seen rusty guns.  I have never owned a rusty gun.

Bad comparison, cars to guns.

I never use WD40 on a firearm.  It dries off to much and leaves the weapon exposed.

[Dago]

double post

[Hornet33]

OK I can see your point on the older firearms in addition I wouldn't use soap and water on a weapon that has a wood stock. I use soap and water on most of mine because they are modern military style weapons. I've never had any problems with rust on any of them.

Now my 30-06 I use regular cleaning sovlents and gun oil. It's a Remington 700BDL with a very nice solid walnut stock. Everything else I own has composit stocks.