Soaking a Gun ( Pistol )

[Biggfoot44]

I have an interesting C&R pistol ( shooter to me ) . Purchased back when Keep Shooting was in Maryland.

Good condition, but it was heavy with long congealed lubricant and/ preservatives . At the time , cleaning up with usual solvents & gun scrubbers freeed up enough for function testing . But the trigger action seems particularly stiff , and I suspect the dried gunk is contributing. As such things sometimes happen , I set it aside at that point , and " later" stretched out . But now , I have a hankering to put it into service , wishing a gun of its class .

I"m thinking initially giving it an overnight bath before tearing into it . What is reasonably good to soak without damaging finish ? I see Simple Green mentioned on the internet?

 

[JimB]

Purple power for old lubricants.

 

[Harrys]

I have an interesting C&R pistol ( shooter to me ) . Purchased back when Keep Shooting was in Maryland.

Good condition, but it was heavy with long congealed lubricant and/ preservatives . At the time , cleaning up with usual solvents & gun scrubbers freeed up enough for function testing . But the trigger action seems particularly stiff , and I suspect the dried gunk is contributing. As such things sometimes happen , I set it aside at that point , and " later" stretched out . But now , I have a hankering to put it into service , wishing a gun of its class .

I"m thinking initially giving it an overnight bath before tearing into it . What is reasonably good to soak without damaging finish ? I see Simple Green mentioned on the internet?

Do not recommend simple green it can actually cause rusting of metals. Kerosene does a great job in cleaning out all the crud and will not affect the finish. I have used it many times, about 40 years ago I was gifted a 1941 Colt 1911 and it was totally junked up and was never shot. An armorer told me about the kerosene, and it worked great.

 

[Doco Overboard]

I always boil parts in washing soda.
All the grease crud and oils will float on the top.
A second dunk in plain boiling water will remove any accumulated oils after pulling the parts out of the first bath.
Just be mindful of leaving parts settle to the bottom of the pot and resting directly on the heat source for too long a period.

 

[Boondock Saint]

Hot water would be my first and second attempt before going to something harsher, if needed.

 

[E.Shell]

How about 'soaking' it in an ultrasonic cleaner?

Mine did a great job on old dirty gun parts assemblies with hot water and Dawn. Cycle it once or twice, then pull it out and oil it. Don't leave it sit in the cleaner or it will rust because EVERYTHING will be cleaned off, including protective oils.

 

[Biggfoot44]

How about 'soaking' it in an ultrasonic cleaner?

Would be my go to , other than not having an ultrasonic .

Guess I'll check Harbor Frt , otherwise break out the kerosene .

 

[Biggfoot44]

Imeadate questions .

Ultrasonics are spec'ed Liters . The $89 HF is 2.5L . How does 2.5L compare to a. CZ- 50 ? ( 3.75 in bbl , aka large pocket- pistol )

 

[w2kbr]

Back in the day(1957 Army recruit) we were issued M1 Garands, wrapped and packed in cosmoline. Army set up 3, 55 gallon barrels full of very hot water, After unwrapping,the entire rifle was "washed" 3 times, then stripped down and pieces laid out to dry. Metals were then oiled, and wood was treated. So it went.

 

[pre64hunter]

Kerosene or Kroil oil, then I take real dirty guns and old gun sights with a toothbrush under hot running water and soap in the laundry tub. Be careful when dumping the water or letting it run down the drain, you don't lose any parts.
I tried the Harbor Freight ultra-sonic route and it took some of the bluing off some of the parts.
I don't use my Harbor Freight cleaner often but it works good and I've had it several years.
I don't like it for gun parts, it doesn't get them clean, leaves residue and you still have to hand clean each part.
It works good for small engine carburetors, jewelry and reloading brass.

 

[Boats]

Pump diesel works well too.
As does ATF, although it takes longer.

 

[ShafTed]

Imeadate questions .

Ultrasonics are spec'ed Liters . The $89 HF is 2.5L . How does 2.5L compare to a. CZ- 50 ? ( 3.75 in bbl , aka large pocket- pistol )

Doesn't HF give dimensions of the container? Visual conversion aids can be found at the grocery store. The large soda bottles are 2 liters, a gallon of milk is 3.8 liters.

 

[slsc98]

Low odor mineral spirits.

 

[Doco Overboard]

That purple power is really good for cleaning wood stocks of grime dirt grease oils etc. Just spray it on and watch it drip off onto a trash bag or waste receptacle. The wood will turn a scary grey and then when you put linseed on it will pop right back to life.

But when I’m working on something and it’s really cruddy.
I boil water and throw in a cup of washing soda, agitate maybe detail with dental pick or brass detail brush, dunk and then done.
The parts will dry almost immediately.
A pvc pipe with a cap on it will manage a barreled action no problem.

 

[fredthe]

Imeadate questions .

Ultrasonics are spec'ed Liters . The $89 HF is 2.5L . How does 2.5L compare to a. CZ- 50 ? ( 3.75 in bbl , aka large pocket- pistol )

That exact one holds my full-size 1911 parts just fine.

 

[johnkn]

Waterless ultrasonic cleaning solution


.

 

[Biggfoot44]

Doesn't HF give dimensions of the container?

They give outside dimensions of the unit , but didn't see inside .

 

[Growler215]

I used to soak cosmoline encrusted SKS bolts in gasoline. Oil them up afterwards. Never had a sticky firing pin or slam fire.

 

[Melnic]

Cosmoline covered?
Mineral spirits/Kerosene bath

First remove any plastic/wood and then hit with heat gun to melt bulk cosmo off.

 

[linkstate]

Already mentioned but I’ve had good success with odorless mineral spirits.

Bought an early 80s S&W 66 that was gummed up something fierce with old oil. Soaked the internals and cylinder pin with the mineral spirits, wiped off what I could, oiled her up and good as new.

A needle oiler from Amazon made the job easier.

ETA: like Melnic said, remove the grips before hitting with mineral spirits.