Suggestions for cleaning BCG?

omegared24 · Mar 11, 2017

Airbornemp said:
And that method leaves to oil doing storage specialy with that weight of an oil . Maybe with R.E.M. Oil for storage and bearing grease at sub zero temps can cause feeding issues.

How sub zero? Like last night? If oil and bearing grease freezing was an issue than my car wouldn't have made it to the swap meet today. If you're referring to temps that 99% of us will never see then it isn't a valid argument. I can leave my rifle outside tonight loaded with grease and oil and it will function perfectly in the morning.

The military makes mistakes too. Anyone that was in the military will confirm that.

Airbornemp · Mar 11, 2017

My post wasnt to start a pissing match. More of the scientific reasons. I can tell you that thicker grease will gum at low temps. What fact can be proven that a scaper made of a softer metal will damage the parts it made to clean. It just might change how I clean my Ar.

ashershapiro · Mar 11, 2017

clandestine said:
Tools for scraping are awful. Scraping a BCG is like pulling the heads off your vehicle to "clean the carbon" from around the valves. It self limits in an engine and on the AR.

I didn't know that, but it makes sense.

outrider58 · Mar 11, 2017

Airbornemp said:
My post wasnt to start a pissing match. More of the scientific reasons. I can tell you that thicker grease will gum at low temps. What fact can be proven that a scaper made of a softer metal will damage the parts it made to clean. It just might change how I clean my Ar.

I don't think we have a pissing match here. Most recommendations I have read seem to favor automatic transmission fluid for extreme cold conditions.

As for softer metals not wearing harder metals, carbon acts as an abrasive, sand paper if you will. That's where the wear comes from. There have been instances where convicts have sawed through iron bars using nothing more than waxed dental floss coated with mortar scraped from the stone walls.

omegared24 · Mar 11, 2017

Airbornemp said:
My post wasnt to start a pissing match. More of the scientific reasons. I can tell you that thicker grease will gum at low temps. What fact can be proven that a scaper made of a softer metal will damage the parts it made to clean. It just might change how I clean my Ar.

No pissing matches. Obviously the tone of the conversation is difficult to gauge online. Not intentional on my part.

Softer is relative to the material it is attempting to clean. Too soft and it will be useless. Too hard and it may damage the surface it's trying to clean. How much force is needed to scrape the carbon? A fair amount based on the videos I've seen.

Just like cars, the overwhelming majority of time the issue isn't carbon buildup, it's something else causing a malfunction.

Edit: Outrider got his comment out before I did. Great examples.

Airbornemp · Mar 11, 2017

Cool Sorry to steal the thread any insight on this product. http://www.midwayusa.com/product/810457/ar-stoner-upper-receiver-lapping-tool-ar-15

outrider58 · Mar 11, 2017

Airbornemp said:
Cool �� Sorry to steal the thread any insight on this product. http://www.midwayusa.com/product/810457/ar-stoner-upper-receiver-lapping-tool-ar-15

My personal opinion...never barrel an AR upper without first lapping an upper extension. You will find no argument here on that. Before mounting that barrel, I recommend neatly coating the barrel extension with a thin coat of Locktite 620 if there is any wobble at all(I always do this anyway, as per SOTAR and Chads teachings). Welcome to MDShooters. Discussion is always welcomed here. :thumbsup:

dist1646 · Mar 12, 2017

Biggfoot44 said:
Was 30sec of nylon toothbrushing, wipe off with rag, dip in synthetic motor oil, reassemble, one of the four so far ?

Lots of different ways of cleaning are shown in the videos. None of the videos over on the accurate shooter forum showed dipping them in oil. They do show putting lube on the wear points. The videos are under the title "Black rifle maintenance - cleaning the AR15", just scroll down the page.
The one by Jerry Miculek is pretty long.

Pinecone · Mar 12, 2017

Airbornemp said:
I can tell you that thicker grease will gum at low temps.

1) It depends on the grease. Many of us use synthetic lube based greases, that to do thicken as much with cold.

2) It depends on how thick is too thick.

teratos · Mar 12, 2017

Airbornemp said:
If tool that scrap are so bad why does the military issues them?

Airbornemp said:
Cool �� Sorry to steal the thread any insight on this product. http://www.midwayusa.com/product/810457/ar-stoner-upper-receiver-lapping-tool-ar-15

I have it. I use it whenever I build an AR.

clandestine · Mar 12, 2017

Airbornemp said:
If tool that scrap are so bad why does the military issues them?

Because the Military continues to demand that Marines, Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen clean their issued weapons the same way they did when we used Black Powder and Corrosive Ammunition. The teach people to white glove a firearm which can involve scraping, brushing, and using harsh solvents to the point of wearing or damaging a weapon. They also teach to "lightly lubricate" even though testing from APG proved out that heavy lubricant allows a modern firearm to be more reliable than other light handed methods, this includes in cold, tropical and desert conditions.

They also used to use Animal or Veggie based Oils for lubrication and protection instead of the lubricants we use now which lube, protect, and last longer than the latter.

A modern firearm, using modern ammo, and modern (non snake oil) lubricants do not need to be cleaned like the military teaches nor as our forebearers passed down. There is lots to be learned from those of the past, but treating modern firearms like those of the 18th and 19th century causes more harm than good to the modern firearm.

A vast majority of gun owners over clean barrels and actions, and under lubricate their gun.

People should treat their gun like a car. Dont change the oil after each time they drive it. They should use a maintenance schedule.

John from MD · Mar 12, 2017

clandestine said:
A vast majority of gun owners over clean barrels and actions, and under lubricate their gun.

People should treat their gun like a car. Dont change the oil after each time they drive it. They should use a maintenance schedule.

I've been preaching the same song for forty years. :lol:

clandestine · Mar 12, 2017

John from MD said:
I've been preaching the same song for forty years.

Thank you my friend for this.

DeadeyeJack · Mar 12, 2017

I'm going to throw this out here. Lube it and shoot it. A BCG is, what, $90? I shoot 1,000s of rounds a year, and have never used a scraper. If it gets unreliable, toss it into the recycling bin and use a new one. (this has not happened, however I have a few just in case.
How much time should you spend on a $100 part? One 4 hour shift at wall mart and you could earn enough for another one. One's time would be better spent on other shooting related activities.

outrider58 · Mar 12, 2017

DeadeyeJack said:
I'm going to throw this out here. Lube it and shoot it. A BCG is, what, $90? I shoot 1,000s of rounds a year, and have never used a scraper. If it gets unreliable, toss it into the recycling bin and use a new one. (this has not happened, however I have a few just in case.
How much time should you spend on a $100 part? One 4 hour shift at wall mart and you could earn enough for another one. One's time would be better spent on other shooting related activities.

I like the cut of your jib Deadeye!

bkuether · Mar 19, 2017

John from MD said:
I've been preaching the same song for forty years.

And I have been preaching it since Chad preached it to me....

Best thing that ever happened to me. I shoot more, clean less, and never once have I had any type of failure.

Before shooting my ARs, I INSPECT them and make sure they have grease on the wear points, oil in the BCG lubrication ports. (of course after the first "full dip" has been done....)

The only carbon build up I have is on the boat tail. When it gets high, I shave it down a bit. I know I don't even need to do that, but it works for me.

Jim12 · Mar 19, 2017

DeadeyeJack said:
I'm going to throw this out here. Lube it and shoot it. A BCG is, what, $90? I shoot 1,000s of rounds a year, and have never used a scraper. If it gets unreliable, toss it into the recycling bin and use a new one. (this has not happened, however I have a few just in case.
How much time should you spend on a $100 part? One 4 hour shift at wall mart and you could earn enough for another one. One's time would be better spent on other shooting related activities.

But...but what about all the specialized cleaning tools and equipment that you don't buy ... or lose and have to replace... as a result of that approach? :-)

Suggestions for cleaning BCG?

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