brake cleaner?

Not in my experience, but it varies.

It may eat plastic, blueing, parkerizing, paint, etc. Just be sure to test it somewhere it doesn't matter. The $10 cans of brake cleaner sold by Birchwood Casey has a warning about it on the back.

I've used both, and they both degrease well. I just dont get either version close to plastic or pretty gunstocks.

Non-Chlorinated. Never had a problem with plastics, finishes, etc. Buy it by the case whenever it's on sale.

I use actual gun cleaning products on my guns.

I used to use brake cleaner years ago but since then I have decided that all I really need is a bottle of CLP, an M 16 brush and an air compressor. Brake cleaner strips ALL of the lube out of the gun which has to be replaced. The CLP will dissolve the fouling and leave some lube. Brake cleaner is also pretty hard on your hands. Wear gloves and eye protection when using it.

Perhaps the biggest danger of all is that brake cleaner is also pretty hard on your lungs. It really should be used outside.

I am also an advocate of compressed air and CLP, but ONLY if the compressed air is dry. Blowing moist air into the dark places of a gun spells disaster.

I have used it on brakes, but never on a handgun.

I think the negatives of using brake cleaner for regular cleaning far outway the positives. Its some nasty stuff. I only go that harsh if I'm removing cosmoline or something that requires more than a little CLP. I have been very happy cleaning/lubing all my guns with CLP.

After 45 years as a Master Marine and Industrial Diesel Mechanic I have determined that "brake cleaner" is for cleaning brake parts and gun cleaning products are for cleaning guns.

I did not vote!!

But carb spray cleans guns quite well. It works great to remove carbon deposits.

Aarggg..................

I use Birchwood Casey Gunscrubber to clean my brakes; works great!

The big difference between brake cleaner (non-chlorinated) and action cleaners is the brake cleaners have acetone or another ketone and alcohols (methanol, etc). These will suck some water out of the air if you don't use other good stuff afterward. Also, the stuff that ends in 'tone' is more likely to strip off a finish (nail polish remover has these).
So, you gotta be careful during and after use. Works for me, though.

L O L That's got to be a very expensive brake cleaner there, EddieNFL...

Non-chlorinated

The Bushmaster said:

L O L That's got to be a very expensive brake cleaner there, EddieNFL...

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'Twas a joke. I've never tried Gunscrubber.

I quit competitive shotgunning ten years ago but I can tell you that if you read the ingredients of your "Gun Cleaning Spray" you will find that there are "certain" brake cleaners that are virtually identical and a third of the price.

Buy a good gun cleaning spray, compare ingredients and buy a brake cleaner which closely matches it. Then use both and make your own decisions.

Both will probably contain trichlorethylene, this is not nice stuff. It will absorb through your skin easily and your liver will not like it!!! Wear chemical rated rubber gloves for either gun or brake cleaner and DO NOT use it inside your house!!

The only thing I use brake cleaner on is SKSs and AKs when I'm stripping cosmoline. I use gunscrubber on bolt/carrier groups on ARs ONLY, and only when the armorer isn't looking. I never let any of this stuff touch woods or plastics.

Both will probably contain trichloroethane, this is not nice stuff. It will absorb through your skin easily and your liver will not like it!!! Wear chemical rated rubber gloves for either gun or brake cleaner and DO NOT use it inside your house!!

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I remember using trichlorethylene, to clean flare dispenser, rocket launchers, etc., back in the 70s. No special handling requirements. Suddenly, in the 80s, .mil says this stuff will kill you if you look at an opened container. Self-contained breathing apparatus and full bio suit required to handle.

Obviously, I'm exaggerating, but typical military response, from one extreme to the other.

Can't vote as I don't use brake cleaner to clean guns. The brake cleaner stays in the shop, I use Hoppes 9 on the guns because it is made for guns and they aren't cheap!

I have used brake cleaner (chlorinated and not) on plastics though. It's all in how you use it. I spray it on a rag and then wipe that across the plastic I am cleaning. The brake cleaner does not stay on the plastic long so no problems. Even doing this will strip off many kinds of paint or printing though. I also only do it on tools that get dirty while working. These tools are already scuffed and scratched anyways so even if they were marred a bit by it I wouldn't mind. I do know that either kind will cloud clear plastics if not promptly wiped off however.

YMMV though. "Plastic" is such a generic term and includes thousands of different compounds that will all react differently, I have no idea how this would work on gun plastics. It is very harsh stuff and I would worry about it damaging any number of coatings used on guns.

I rarely use any degreaser on my guns. If I need to use a degreaser at all it will be a non-chlorinated break cleaner as it is dirt cheep. Most of the time I use break cleaner to clean small parts only when I need to get all the lubes off of them. Once I have accomplished whatever I am doing I will then relube the part as needed. A 16oz can of break cleaner will usually last several months in my shop.

KeithET

YMMV though. "Plastic" is such a generic term and includes thousands of different compounds that will all react differently, I have no idea how this would work on gun plastics. It is very harsh stuff and I would worry about it damaging any number of coatings used on guns.

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Very true, Blu.

One of my ARs is over 20 years old and still no sign of damage to the plastic from using brake clean. However, years ago I developed the habit of writing the set charge on powder measure hoppers with a marker. Wiped it off with brake clean, once. Now I put a piece of transparent tape on the hopper and write on that.

Brake cleaner is real nasty stuff I wouldn't use it on a gun, or anywhere you didn't have to.


I use CLP's version of gunscrubber, I forget what its called but it smells like oranges. Works great and its cheap.