[Jay Kominek]

I've found a few mentions of people using compressed air to clean their firearms, but I thought I'd check:

Are there any pitfalls/caveats/things to keep in mind when using compressed air? (I realize metal isn't going to start falling apart if I blow air on it, but I'm just wondering if there is something subtle and non-obvious that I'm not realizing/thinking of.)

Would it tend to remove more oil from the metal faster?

Do I need to worry about abrading the metal surfaces?

If its OK, what sorts of pressure levels do you use? Just the little cans of air from the office supply store, or many hundred PSI air compressors?

[romulus]

moisture in compressed air is the biggest concern...abrasion like wind erosion would take centuries to have an effect on hardened steel

[lmccrock]

The greatest danger is parts being blown off the bench inadvertently.

Lee

[jrhines]

In my shop you don't use compressed air to clean anything! I find that it tends to blow dirt and crud into places that it is hard to see and hard to get out. Most (MHO) machinists would not use compressed air to blow off their machines because it would lodge chips back in the recesses of the ways and lead screws and was a momma-dog to get out.
But that's in my shop!

[Clark]

What jrhines said.

I keep the grinders and compressed air operations outside.
The only time I see comressed air in the shop is when a guy I know chambers barrels in the lathe, every time he pulls the reamer out of the breech, he blows the chips out of the muzzle. He DOES put a bucket over the muzzle to catch the chips.

I find that compressed air on oily parts gives me a headache. My sinuses do not like oil droplets.

In the shop, on the lathe and mill, I use a shop vacume.

I got a lathe third hand, and the second owner used compressed air when making bronze bushings. The machine had bronze chips up inside places you would never imagine compressed air could send them!