Do you clean before selling?

Yup. And try to repair any known issues as well.

The cleaner it is, the more attractive it is to a potential buyer, private or dealer. I won't do a full detail strip, unless it needs it, but I will do a full field strip, clean everything I can get to, and make sure everything works as well as it can. Any problems, I am upfront about. The last thing I want is a disgruntled buyer wanting a refund or starting a Yelp page for me...

Always keep guns as clean as needed to sell or use ; )
H/D

Yes. When I worked at a gun shop, there was a lot of this going on with the used guns- even using metal polish. Also do the same with cars and trucks, motorcycles, and anything else of value that I intend to sell. To me, it's just good business sense.

I clean after shooting. Like Yarddog, my firearms are ready to shoot, whether by me, or a new owner.

I'd be willing to wager I've done more private deals than most on here, (200 in the last year) mainly trading vs selling. My thoughts have been this.

For Blued guns you WILL get:
Clean cylinders for revolvers
Clean Chambers
Clean barrels
IF there are any rust spots steel wool and oil to take it off.

Stainless:
Same as above mostly but I will polish not to a shine but to get rid of any surface level scratches and especially burn marks on a revolvers cylinder face.

If it doesn't look clean - inside and out- of course. I wiped a dry patch inside the (already) clean Enfield #4 (non "sporterized") to double check. Ran two patches of thin CLP through the bore, then wiped it dry, before meeting the buyer yesterday, via Armslist.

Why buy a nasty gun from a person selling just one, unless the seller recently acquired a large number in an estate sale or inheritance and is a bit overwhelmed?
Anybody who seems to be selling just one Really Dirty gun might not have treated it well, and could be lying about the operating condition. The eight or so guns I've bought via Armslist have always appeared very clean.

Some of those at gun shows are kept dirty to hide very worn/corroded bores.

Credibility. The "Golden Rule" applies?

Always clean regardless of selling or not....so yes it will go clean.

Yes clean all my firearms after shooting or at least a quick CLP if shooting soon. SD9VE recently sold was better shape when bought it and made a few bucks more, same buyer was interested in my 10/22 . Test fired it at the range and cleaned it up before he picked it up , received full asking price plus extra for box of accessories.

I’ll at least do a field strip, clean, and lube.

Typically I do a detailed strip though.

I keep them clean. I'm a buyer, not a seller.

I clean anything shoot, as soon as I get home, so anything I sell or trade is clean.

Ive bought a lot of dirty guns too, and usually offer less for them, because who knows whats up with them. At least its a haggling point.

I got burned on a couple of M1's that looked like they hadnt been cleaned, but looked good on the outside. Turns out those "dirty" bores, were guns put away after firing corrosive ammo, and the bores were trash.

I recently traded for a nice 3" S&W 65 at a local shop that was pretty dirty. I have a feeling, thats why it was sold at the shop. I ran some wet patches through it when I got home, before I took it to the range, and got most of the loose fouling out, but didnt give it a good scrubbing, as I was going right out to shoot it.

The gun "shot" fine, but I had to literally hammer all the cases out of the cylinder with my stapler. When I got home, I scrubbed the hell out of it and fired off three quick cylinders in the yard. They came right out, as they should.

Im betting whoever had it, never cleaned it, and figured something was wrong, and dumped it.

This is a pretty common thing around here, and people seem to shoot them and not clean them, or at least thats what I often see. The dealer I do the most business with, is a high volume dealer, and he often just takes things in trade and puts it right in the counter. He trys to clean, or at least bore snake them,when he has time, but more often than not, they are dirty when you look at them.

Yea when selling or trading a gun I always make sure it's nice and clean. I find it rude not too.

Legionnaire said:

When you sell a gun, do you clean it first or not?

Click to expand...

Yes! And if it is a milsurp, I like to include some unadvertised accessories, if possible ... just something(s) to make the "opening the package smile" a little bit bigger.

Yes for all the reasons others mentioned, plus I wouldn’t blame a buyer for walking away from a sale if the gun I showed up with was dirty.

I clean after each range session so there is no need to clean before sale. It's already clean...

Every gun that I’ve cleaned before selling sold for what I was asking (or sometimes a bit more if more than one person was looking to buy it.)

Like the others said, I try to always keep guns clean, lubed and in ready to go shape. If I’m selling it, I give it a bit of an additional once over before it’s shown.

I’ve bought used guns that were dirty, and I almost always offer less than asking when examining one in such shape. Much more often than not I get it for what I’m offering.

Stay safe.

I will field strip, wipe down and lube.

I dont do private sales so I dont have to worry about someone really picky looking it over. Still, I want it to look clean and function smoothly for whoever's doing a basic check behind the counter.

You can tell when a shop doesn't think what they have is precious. Got a great deal on a filthy gun.

I seem to be the odd one out.

I am okay with that.

I HATE cleaning guns, one of the reasons I stay away from blackpowder...

Anyway, I hate cleaning so I dont clean before selling, and frankly, dont really give it a whole lotta consideration when buying as to whether or not its clean.

I don't usually sell guns, but when I do, I clean them.

I always clean my guns when i am done with them.