870 - Do i need to dissassemble the trigger?

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Pizzapinochle

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I got an onld 870 wingmaster. Got a decent deal, but new it was in serious need of cleaning.

Get it home, pull it apart and the trigger group is all sorts of cripudded up.

Clean it with a brush and various cleaners as best I can, but pulling the hammer back still feels gritty. Feels like someone dumped sand into the thing.

Short of complete dissassembly of the trigger group, which I have heard is quite tricky, are there any good methods for a more thoroguh cleaning?
 
I have sprayed carb cleaner into trigger groups using the little extension tube to focus the stream. It will remove some stuff in tight spots. Just make sure there is no plastic in there as it will eat a lot different types of plastic up. Then compressed air and repeat as needed. Oil when done.:)
 
Wash it out good with the hot water kitchen sink sprayer and mild hand soap on an old toothbrush.
Blow-dry.

Then buy a can of WD-40 with the red plastic spray tube and hose it out over & over again while cocking & carefully letting the hammer down.
Do Not Snap it with it out of the gun.

WD-40 will cut crud out that most other solvents or hot water leave behind.
And it is 100% safe with any gun grade plastics.

If you have access to a high-pressure air compressor, blow it out with that between hosings with WD-40 too.

Once done, blow it dry one last time and re-lube with Rem-Oil spray and blow it semi-dry again.

rc
 
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If it's one of the few with a metal trigger housing, you could soak it in a strong solvent. If it's plastic hot water, and a soak in the blue dawn dish soap that claims 3 mins to overnight soaking. That's good stuff that de-crud-ifies most stuff pretty well.
 
I soak the 870 trigger groups in mineral spirits and then blow dry with an air compressor. Has worked for me for years.
 
Two choices - tear it completely down and clean and reassemble (not recommended unless you are pretty mechanically talented) or use lots of solvent and compressed air to flush and blow out all of the crud. I would go with solvent and compressed air. Rinse and repeat. I would not use carb cleaner.
 
Seems I need to invest in a source of compressed air... something I have been considering for awhile anyway.

Will something like this...

http://m.homedepot.com/p/Husky-2-Gal-Portable-Electric-Dual-Output-Air-Compressor-DISCONTINUED-2G110DPNG/202563947/

...provide enough power, or do I need a more industrial air compressor?

Or, what about just a tank that I could fill at the gas station when I needed it? Something like this....

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200577548_200577548?cm_mmc=Google-pla-_-Air%20Compressors-_-Air%20Compressor%20Accessories-_-28792&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=28792&gclid=CMTAx6id5b0CFeMSOgoddVkAhw

I don't have a ton of space, so a big ol compressor is going to be hard to work around, but one of those would be pretty easy.

Thanks for the feedback, I'll be trying all these ideas over the weekend.
 
Seems I need to invest in a source of compressed air... something I have been considering for awhile anyway.

Will something like this...

http://m.homedepot.com/p/Husky-2-Gal-Portable-Electric-Dual-Output-Air-Compressor-DISCONTINUED-2G110DPNG/202563947/

...provide enough power, or do I need a more industrial air compressor?
A small portable type like the one you posted or a "pancake" type compressor will be fine. They all allow adequate power/air pressure. The bigger ones just allow it for a longer duration before pumping/charging. For something like blowing crud out of a trigger group, the small one is ideal. Once you find how easy it is to do that kind of thing, inflate anything that needs inflating, etc. you'll wonder how you got along without a compressor.
 
No WD-40. It leaves a film. Use a good gun oil.

The 870 Trigger group isn't that hard and I've taken them apart before; but for fear of losing the detent ball, I wouldn't take apart the safety. See if you can find a YouTube video on it and a parts diagram. Take pictures along the way.
 
Brake cleaner will work just fine. Make sure that you buy the one that is chlorine free. Spray until clean. Blow it out with canned or compressed air. Then lube it up.

Good to go! Works for me!
 
15 minutes in an Ultrasonic cleaner should do the trick.
 
Been there with a few 870s.

Drench the trigger group with WD-40 as a solvent/cleaner. Spray it down until it's running off.
Use old toothbrush to assist cleaning.
Spray more WD-40 and continue to loosen and remove crud.
Once all crud is loose, wash completely with HOT water + Dawn detergent. Dunk it and swish around.
If still gritty repeat as needed to flush out the grit.
Wipe dry or blow off water.
Apply your choice of gun oil.

Found the above to be fast (15 minutes), easy, and with excellent results.

Did essentially the same for the rest of the gun, furniture excepted. One of mine had been liberally dusted with fingerprint powder and was gritty throughout.

Now would also be a good time to check that your action bars are straight and align well in the receiver -- to assure smooth operation.
 
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I know it's an old thread, but this is something I've had to deal with before. I drop them in a pan of boiling soapy water, tooth brush, rinse, and blow out with compressed air, oil, and re-install, done.

GS
 
No WD-40

Again, stay away from WD-40 as it leaves a film. WD stands for water displacement. If you must spray, use a spray cleaner or even brake cleaner. Better yet, learn to disassemble the trigger group. It's not rocket science. Take pictures along the way so you know how to reassemble them.

Once you have the group disassembled, clean it with regular gun solvent and then oil the moving parts. Wipe off any excess gun oil.

As for compressed air, make sure your tank is drained of water; otherwise you'll be spraying water into your freshly cleaned parts.
 
Of course you are!

Use the whole can of WD-40, and another one if thats what it takes!
It's cheap!

Its still the best cheap gun cleaning product you can buy for blasting out dried oil & crud nothing else, including brake cleaner will touch.


I simply don't know where all the WD-40 Internet hate comes from?

Nobody said to use it for gun oil and leave it in there for 30 years!

Use it to blast out the crap.
Then blow it out with an air hose and re-lube with gun oil.

Works for me perfectly for 50 years!

rc
 
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I didn't learn about WD-40 from the internet. I learned that at Illion, New York when I attended a Remington Armorer's Course.

Remington was sued when some fellow shot himself in the foot while climbing into the truck. Certainly poor trigger control was involved, but the fellow said the safety failed. Remington examined the rifle and determined that the WD-40 he used to hose it down with left a film that defeated the safety. He never bothered to have a gunsmtihg clean it and remove the film.
 
Could have happened with any kind of oil, if Remington decided to blame the Walker trigger defect on that brand of oil.

Ever see the dried varnish like sewing machine oil or 3-in-1 oil inside an old sewing machine?

Like I said, there is absolutely no reason not to use WD-40 for blasting crud out.

Just don't rely on it to oil your gun the rest of your life after one application.

rc
 
Could have happened with any kind of oil, if Remington decided to blame the Walker trigger defect on that brand of oil.

Ever see the dried varnish like sewing machine oil or 3-in-1 oil inside an old sewing machine?

Like I said, there is absolutely no reason not to use WD-40 for blasting crud out.

Just don't rely on it to oil your gun the rest of your life after one application.

rc
True that RC. All lubricants attract dirt and grime. WD 40 is an excellent product when used properly. As you stated, to remove crud in this trigger group for instance...then business as normal with proper lubricants in proper amounts and application. Other than the internet, the only worse information is that told by a company who has been nailed in a products liability lawsuit.

That said, no, WD-40 is not clp, frog lube or even Rem-oil when it comes to lubrication of firearms. In the stated case, this was likely the problem: First someone did use it for "gun oil." Like most lubricants, it attracted and held on to dirt and grime. Then the WD evaporated, leaving the crud alone?

Russellc
 
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