Nylon 66 home.Now what to do to clean it?

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bk42261

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Leant my Nylon 66 to my Dad probably 10 years ago for "varmint control" and, to be honest, completely forgot where it was.
Was visiting with my parents yesterday, and Mom wants someone to thin out the squirrels with the pellet gun.
Yada yada. She brings out my rifle and asks if I have any "pellets to fit it"
Not real "gun savvy" Democrats as you can tell.
Short version, the gun has been in the cellar and/or closet for 10-plus years with no attention (poor baby) and looks like crap.
Checked the bore for obstructions and shot it at about 75 feet at a license plate(best I could do, as I didn't bring any targets with me, not expecting to sightin any guns.)
They also have an old J.C. Higgins bolt-action magazine (7-round) .22 that I had sort of refinished for Dad to use.
With the bolt gun, I could put holes in the "empty" part of the number 9 on the license plate.
With the Nylon, the first two shots hit 3" right and 2" high.
Tried again with the Nylon, using Kentucky windage, and didn't even hit the license plate!
At that point, I gave up on the Nylon.


So, I have it home and want to really clean it, but know that parts are almost impossible to find if I screw something up, like melt the "receiver rails" with the wrong type of solvent.
When I had it previously I had it apart several times to clean it, but has the chemistry of solvent changed enough so that some types could ruin this rifle?
BTW it has a K-Mart All-PRO 3-9X scope on it if that gives you an idea of how long it's been over there, and yes I will put on a better scope after it's cleaned.
Thanks in advance for your help, it's always appreciated.
 
Learn to shoot with irons as the nylon does not do well with scopes. The "receiver" is separate from the barrel and pressure on the forearm and other parts of the gun will cause the poi to change with a scope. Takedown is straightforward and bulletproof as long as you don't go messing with the internal screws. Leave them alone. Don't loose the charging handle. You will be amazed at how simple it is.
 
I'd use your normal solvent on the metal parts. For the plastics I'd use soapy water. Not so much to drench it and get water trapped in recesses but enough to get the grime off.

BSW
 
1959...Reno, NV. Tom Frye used three Nylon 66 rifles and shot for 13 straight days, 8 hours a day at a pace of about 1,000 shots per hour . When it was all over he had only missed 6 times out of 100,010 for a new record of 100,004 two and a half inch square wood blocks.
Click to expand...

Just sayin'.
Nice rifle.
The guy, Tom Frye, had to have had remarkable endurance, as did the guns. 1000 shots an hour is one shot every 3.6 seconds....non stop for 13 8 hour days.
 
That add was Remington's "claim to fame" and surely helped their sales. I know I bought several. I think out of all those shots the gun malfunctioned 3 times and thinking back he was probably using Rem. famous golden bullet which we all know that story.
 
I've had good luck on various types of plastic found on motorcycles with removing stains using the creamy NON abrasive hand cleaner such as GoJo or similar. It seems to reach in and lift out grease and oil stains in the plastic that water and soap can't touch. Apply the waterless hand cleaner and rub it around then let it work on the stains for a few minutes before rinsing clean.

Another option for the plastic is basic Varsol or low odor oil paint thinner.

Just don't use anything more aggressive such as lacquer thinner. And generally the stronger the smell and faster drying it is the worse the risk of affecting the plastic. And as aways with ANY solvent and plastic if you are not sure then test a Qtip's worth on a hidden spot. Hold the solvent on that spot in a wet condition for a good minute and if the plastic wipes off clean and still shiny then it's good to go.
 
If you'll go to the Remington website you'll find a section where you can order a photocopy of the original owner's manual for most Remington firearms. This includes the Nylon 66 series.

All you need do is fill out the request, provide the serial number (this so that they can ascertain the year of manufacture and make sure you get the correct version) and they'll send you one, gratis.

Good thing to have, plus it'll show you how to field strip, clean and reassemble it correctly.

FWIW, plain ol' Hoppe's No.9 has worked just dandy on my Nylon 66 for nigh onto 20 years now and hasn't affected the Zytel in the slightest.
 
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Call Remington and see if they'll send you a manual if you can't find one online. They sent me one some years ago.

As I recall, takedown involves unscrewing the two screws at the bottom of the receiver cover (just a sheet metal plate) and I think there is a screw at the front of the stock to get the barrel out. Once you get the plate off and the bolt out, STOP. But definitely get some instructions. I do recall that getting the bolt back in and the barrel reinstalled was a little bit of a pain, though it's been years since I did that so the details are fuzzy.

I shot a Nylon 66 regularly for two decades and only ever took it apart to clean it once, and that was when it had built up so much powder residue that it started failing to fully cycle.

Scoping a Nylon 66 can be frustrating because that metal part where the scope mounts isn't the receiver, it's just a loose sheet metal cover that fits over the nylon receiver. It is solid enough to work with the irons but a scope waggles enough to change zero in a very frustrating way. The only scope I ever had any luck with at all was an old Weaver 4x from the 1960s that came with the gun when it was given to me, and I think that only worked becuase it was so small and lightweight that it didn't shift under recoil.

Other than the scope-shifting issue, it is a really neat design. And the time I took it apart to clean it, I couldn't see any receiver or bolt wear at all even though it was over thirty years old at the time and had many thousands of rounds through it.
 
I have to agree with most here. Normal gun solvent won't hurt the plastic and should be more than enough to clean the metal. Dirty plastic? Can't help you there, if it won't just wipe clean. And like they've said, don't disassemble past the receiver cover and barrel - unless you've got something dead and crusty in the action you shouldn't need to do any more. Just running a patch down the barrel every few months has kept my 66 running like a champ since 1982....

Oh, and dump the scope.
 
"If you take it apart you'll be posting on here tomorrow for help putting it together again."

Where the heck is that "like" button!
I'd spray the action and barrel with some RemOil (or similar), wipe out the bore, and shoot it to see if I had a problem or not.
 
Listen closely to jerkface11. I don't know how many posts there have been about disassembling Nylon's. All of 'em ended in, um, frustration(still trying to figure out how a buddy of mine managed to take his apart and get it back together with no fuss. Mikey took everything apart and usually just left it that way. Smoke has yet to clear from the day he took his ma's car radio out and they're both dead now.).
There's a user's manual here.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/26621040/Remington-Nylon-66-Manual
And a 'factory service' manual here.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/49618867/Remington-Nylon-66-Factory-Service-Manual
GunParts lists most of the parts. Not really likely you'll break any though.
 
couple years ago i came across a Nylon 66 also. I asked the same question on the Rim Fire forum and was told DON"T DO IT. I asked that question to guys selling them at gun shows and they said the same thing...DON'T. They said to take it to a gunsmith that is at least 50 years old.
 
And here I thought you meant Nylon 6 (or Nylon 6-6) and was being cute referring to a Glock by what it is made out of. Remington Model 66 with Nylon stock :D I learn something every day!

"I've got a new nylon rifle."
"Will it run?" *rim shot*

Mike
 
Here's a suggestion...

go to www.nylonrifles.com and look at the various field service manuals and directions found in the documents section. There is a disassemble/assembly video which also shows how to filed strip them. There are a number of article on how to date them and also some history. There is also a forum if you need help.

That's my website and I collect 66s and other nylon rifles and have fixed,repaired, assembled dozens and dozens or them.

66s are neat rifles and not hard to work on once you know how.
 
Hoppe's #9. Just clean with a rag and Q tips in the action. Clean the bore the regular way. Spray a bit of Remoil or WD-40 (it works on Nylon 66s!). Ours is 30+ years old and works great. Never have taken it apart.
 
See Post #4

If your don't think you can take it down: Soak in wd-40, spray it out with ether, LUBE, shoot.

Please don't scope it. The irons work pretty good. I have the 66 with the "wood like" color stock. It looks horrible but shoots good. It was a gift(used) from my Pawpaw and my uncle is taking care of it now.
 
And here I thought you meant Nylon 6 (or Nylon 6-6) and was being cute referring to a Glock by what it is made out of. Remington Model 66 with Nylon stock I learn something every day!
Click to expand...
Not just the stock, but the entire receiver, is made from nylon (Zytel 101, which I presume is reinforced nylon 6-6?). It is a fascinating design and it worked great, except for the scope mount being an afterthought. If they had cast some integral steel bases into the nylon, it would have been great.
 
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