Cleaning and lubrication?

[pilot25]

There are five products you need. You can combine uses for some of them, and they are combined products for some, but you cannot combine all of them. And in general, individual products work better than combined ones.

1) General Cleaner - to remove dirt and gummed up lubricant. I use Brake Clean. Works well, and cheap by the case at Costco. WD-40 is a pretty good cleaner also.

2) Bore cleaner - used to remove fouling from the bore. Depending, you may need a few different ones. I primarily use Hoppes #9 with some occasional use of others if needed. Primarily copper cleaners.

3) Oil - oil is used primarily for parts that rotate. Parts on pins and things like that. I use Mobil 1 and a couple of "gun" oils that I have picked up over the years. Marvel Mystery Oil and WD-40 are NOT lubricating oils. And use of them as a lubricant can cause wear. Both are very light fractions and will evaporate over time. Rem Oil is a "gun" oil that is not a good lubricant either.

4) Grease - grease is used for sliding parts. I use grease on pistol rails and where bolts slide on the receiver. Mobil 1 red synthetic grease is great. Even better is Mobil 1 synthetic grease with moly. But watch out, moly stains clothes. I use Brian Enos SlideGlide on pistols. Brian swears by it, and it has shot a few rounds of pistol over the years.

5) Rust preventative - this is used to wipe down the exterior of firearms after they have been handled. Fingerprints are highly corrosive and will rust very quickly. Also, moisture in the air can cause rust on unprotected surfaces. MMO, WD-40, and RemOil are all pretty good for this use. I used BirchWood Casey Sheath or Barricade. It has protected my firearms for a number of years. And that is a number of years without them being taken out of the case at all.

As to how often to clean, when the firearm needs it. When there are functioning issues or accuracy drops off. Most people clean too much. And cleaning too much can cause more damage than shooting. A lot of the clean after every use comes from the days of corrosive primers. And the military trying to instill a habit into new soldiers. But in the military if you ruin the barrel with over cleaning, they just replace it, for free. If you overclean and damage your barrel, you get to pay to have it replaced.

Some of my pistols and shotguns have gone thousands of rounds and a year or more between cleanings. Never had an issue.

So I've cleaned a pistol a few times now that I'm a couple thousand rounds into it. I clean it after every use. 50 rounds or 300 rounds doesn't matter. I clean and lubricate it. However, at what point do you take the whole thing apart and do a full clean and lubrication?

Another forum, "experts" state they take the grips off (Sig Sauers) at every cleaning and lubricate in there too.

I stripped a new Sig P938 to clean and lubricate before my first trip to the range and it was a pain in the butt to put back together. Nothing like the P226. That thing is a piece of cake and a tank comparatively. I imagine the more in depth I get the harder it gets to reassemble without possible damage or potential mistakes in reassembly.

 

[Blaster229]

So I've cleaned a pistol a few times now that I'm a couple thousand rounds into it. I clean it after every use. 50 rounds or 300 rounds doesn't matter. I clean and lubricate it. However, at what point do you take the whole thing apart and do a full clean and lubrication?

Another forum, "experts" state they take the grips off (Sig Sauers) at every cleaning and lubricate in there too.

I stripped a new Sig P938 to clean and lubricate before my first trip to the range and it was a pain in the butt to put back together. Nothing like the P226. That thing is a piece of cake and a tank comparatively. I imagine the more in depth I get the harder it gets to reassemble without possible damage or potential mistakes in reassembly.

There's really no reason to take the grips off any P series pistol. Especially if you're not familiar with the trigger bar spring and how it goes back in correctly. It's easy enough to figure out, but still. Some never know that they disturb it when they put the grip panels back on. If you don't know how to fire a P series with a dislocated spring, you're in for a hell of a surprise if it's in a self defense shoot.

I always tell this story in cleaning threads. One of our agency armorers went 15,000 rounds without cleaning his P229, just lubing it. He finally broke down to clean it because his OCD was killing him. Clean it as often as your OCD wants you to.
50 rounds though? I think you are just wasting time and materials at that point.

 

[pilot25]

Thanks..

 

[Pinecone]

50 rounds though? I think you are just wasting time and materials at that point.

And doing more damage with wear and tear than just shooting it.

 

[Pinecone]

So I've cleaned a pistol a few times now that I'm a couple thousand rounds into it. I clean it after every use. 50 rounds or 300 rounds doesn't matter. I clean and lubricate it. However, at what point do you take the whole thing apart and do a full clean and lubrication?

Another forum, "experts" state they take the grips off (Sig Sauers) at every cleaning and lubricate in there too.

I stripped a new Sig P938 to clean and lubricate before my first trip to the range and it was a pain in the butt to put back together. Nothing like the P226. That thing is a piece of cake and a tank comparatively. I imagine the more in depth I get the harder it gets to reassemble without possible damage or potential mistakes in reassembly.

Up to you. I field strip and clean/lube a new firearm. Then I may not clean it for years. I DO wipe down the outside every time I handle it.

I have gone thousands of rounds between cleanings.

And I virtually never go past a normal field strip/clean/lube. I do not fully disassemble firearms unless there is a real need to do so. And that is normally for changing parts.

 

[Blaster229]

Many people in many pistol classes shoot many 100's of rounds without cleaning their pistol during class. No problems what-so-ever.

 

[W2D]

When I was a kid, my brother and I had a .22 and I don't remember it EVER being cleaned. Maybe my father did, but we didn't. I don't remember it ever misfiring.

 

[pilot25]

And doing more damage with wear and tear than just shooting it.

What do you mean? How does cleaning it do damage?

 

[clandestine]

What do you mean? How does cleaning it do damage?

Cleaning, unless its necessary causes more harm than good in most cases. You should clean based on a maintenance schedule.

Cleaning your gun after each range trip is like changing the oil on your conveyence after each trip to the grocery store.

Cleaning when its not necessary introduces the human variable.

To minimize the human variables, its advised to only clean when it reaches a schedule point, is exposed to excessive fouling or corrosive elements, or you behin tobsee malfunctions.

One should not clean for the sake of cleaning, you clean to check for wear and breakage. Its to observe. Quality firearms dont require any cleaning if you keep adding lubricant tobthebinternals and protecrant tobthe exterior.

Unless you are shooting corrosive ammo, cleaning the bore is a waste unless you see malfunctions or accuracy degredation.

Here are things that I have seen from people who clean too often:

Damage to the Crown
Damage tobthe Mouth or Throat
Stuck Patch
Forgotten Patch (This is BAD)
Broken Bore Snake
Loss of Zero/DOPE
Buggered/Stripped Screws/Bolts
Finish removed because scrapers and picks were used
Damaged Parts from improper assembly or reassembly
Lost Parts
(DAMAGED OR LOST Parts means a replacement part may require fitting by a manufacturer/armorer/gunsmith)

 

[Shoobedoo]

I've read on a couple AR forums about people making their own Red Lube with ATF, Motor Oil, and Hoppes. Anyone ever make/use this?

Yes, it's universally known as "Ed's Red" and is essentially the same formula as a cleaner/lubricant developed at Picatinny US Army Arsenal. It's more of a general purpose cleaner than a "lube", and there is no "motor oil" in it though, it consists of equal parts of ATF, kerosene, Acetone, and Aliphatic Spirits..ie. "mineral spirits". It's primarily the only thing I ever use, I find it to be just as effective as any commercially available general purpose cleaner I've tried, and I've tried about all of them, you can make a gallon of it for very little money, and it leaves a thin film of ATF as lube behind after cleaning. It doesn't smell real bad either, at least not to me, but like most cleaning solvents it's best to have some ventilation to dissipate any odor. The acetone won't harm polymer frames, but try to avoid getting it on varnished stock surfaces etc, it can mar some of those.

 

[TomisinMd]

Oil...and some grease...

 

[DE21740]

i've always used 3-in-1 oil for guns and never had one rust

also makes it easier to clean.

 

[Sleepy]

What do you mean? How does cleaning it do damage?

Ask anyone who went through military boot camp.

The M-16s we used on Parris Island had been so over scrubbed that almost all the bluing had been worn off.

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As for my personal choice I've usually use Lubri-Kit or Frog Lube because they're food safe.

Stuff like WD-40 not only sucks as a lube but it's toxic.

 

[omegared24]

Ask anyone who went through military boot camp.

The M-16s we used on Parris Island had been so over scrubbed that almost all the bluing had been worn off.

-

As for my personal choice I've usually use Lubri-Kit or Frog Lube because they're food safe.

Stuff like WD-40 not only sucks as a lube but it's toxic.

Once you fire your gun any lube you use becomes toxic. Even that fancy Frog Lube stuff. I get the marketing ploy but the toxicity argument doesn't make sense.

I have been avoiding licking my guns and consistently wash up after range visits. That's the best way to avoid kicking the bucket. Besides basic safety measures.

 

[Blaster229]

People who shoot a lot have a bigger issue than "lube toxicity".
Lead poisoning. I'm not sure if I have ever read about the topic addressed on the forum.
Most never think about it or the tiny precautions to take.
Not eating at the range
Wash hands at the range
Separate shooting footwear, clothes.
Changing out of them before entering the house, i.e...garage, mud room.
Washing those clothes separately from other clothes, especially infant/toddler clothing.

The list goes on.

 

[Pinecone]

People who shoot a lot have a bigger issue than "lube toxicity".
Lead poisoning. I'm not sure if I have ever read about the topic addressed on the forum.
Most never think about it or the tiny precautions to take.
Not eating at the range
Wash hands at the range
Separate shooting footwear, clothes.
Changing out of them before entering the house, i.e...garage, mud room.
Washing those clothes separately from other clothes, especially infant/toddler clothing.

The list goes on.

No, we haven't mentioned it, that I have seen.

Smaller problem at outdoor versus indoor ranges.

A bit of TSP in the wash will help remove lead from your clothes.

The big problem is inhaling lead fume. Mainly comes from primers. Again, outdoors is less of a problem than indoors. Few indoor ranges I have seen have really good ventilation.

 

[lee2]

one way to reduce lead exposure is to use lead free primers and tmj bullets.