Alternative cleaning methods?

[Shadow 7D]

I have cleaned an M16, probably physically cleaner if not as sterile as a hospital OR (most harsh cleaning product will also kill germs)

Doesn't mean it ran any better than the one that the one I cleaned later in my career by dropping the bolt in a solvent tank and hosed the bore, with nothing more done other than a few patches down the bore, inspection and final clean of the bolt, general wipe off and blown dry by an air compressor. Took all of 5? or less minutes.

 

[Rail Driver]

I don't know about ultrasonic cleaners, but every once in awhile when I feel my guns REALLY need a cleaning, or when gunk builds up in the stippling on my Glock, I'll run the pistols through the dishwasher. Make sure you take your gun and parts out about halfway through the drying cycle (the parts will be hot enough that the water evaporates almost instantly when you take them out). Oil and lube each part as you re-assemble the pistol, wipe it down with a silicon or oil impregnated rag (I use full synthetic 5w30 though I'm experimenting with nanolube for my internals).

My girlfriend doesn't even mind when I wash guns, parts, and brass in the dishwasher... According to her it's better than dealing with that nasty Hoppes #9 smell... I like the smell of Hoppes, but she doesn't so I get free reign with the dishwasher... If it fits, it washes.

 

[orionengnr]

I hate cleaning guns too. IMO cleaning a gun every time you shoot it is akin to changing your oil every time you drive your car.

Hmmmm....I look at it as changing your underwear. Do it daily, or do it monthly?

To take the parallel a bit further, if I did not sweat, or take a poop, I might lean toward the monthly underwear change. That is not how my body works.

I view my guns the same way. If I never shot them, I really would not worry so much about cleaning. Since I do...I do.
I do not let the sun set on a dirty gun. Some enjoy the cleaning, some hate it. Some view it as a necessary evil (much like wiping one's backside after defecating). For me, it is part of the experience. Not necessarily a positive or a negative, just a reality.

I don't see any need for my solvent and patch budget to rival my ammo budget. I clean when I think they need it.

Nor do I. Cleaning costs are trivial. One worn out T-shirt will produce so many patches that I cannot use them all. I can produce a gallon of Ed's Red for about $16...and I have been working on the first pint (1/8 of that gallon) for the last year, shooting and cleaning every week. Call it one used T-shirt per year plus $2 per year for chemicals.

That's not gonna break my bank.

 

[mbopp]

Ed's Red and cut up T-shirts for me also. I field strip my 1911 once a week and detail strip it at 1500 rounds or so since I shoot it twice a week in matches. My old HS .22 gets field stripped after every outing but I don't scrub the bore, just the chamber.

 

[Dr.Rob]

I probably clean mine more than I need to. But I learned long ago that if you want something to last, clean it.

If I was shooting weekly, I'd definitely clean less.

 

[shaolink9]

This is Funny i love cleaning guns its therapeutic for me . Anyway i knew a guy who bout an old sonic jewelry cleaner kinda like a sonic brass cleaner, takes his guns apart and just puts it in there lets it clean for a few minutes then blows them off with air and lubs em up and hes done.

 

[robinkevin]

I enjoy cleaning my firearms... but then again I may be a little on the OCD side.

However soaking parts in a cleaner or diesel fuel works good, follow by a good wipe down when the come out, oil in needed places and run a bore snake through it a few times and you should be good to go.

To those who say you don't need to clean your guns every time you shoot. This is true as we have a .22 that we use to chase off strays, wild animals or whatever other need we need on the farm. It doesn't get clean every time its shot as it gets shot often... but shooting hundreds of rounds through a firearm then just throwing it back in the safe is just firearm abuse... Sure it won't hurt them but do you want to go a month with out a taking a shower?

 

[Ankeny]

I shoot a lot. When the pistol gets dirty (kind of subjective) I field strip, run a patch with solvent down the bore, apply solvent to parts, scour a bit with a nylon bristle brush, rinse with brake cleaner, blast it with an air compressor, lube, and assemble. Before a big match or after a boat load of rounds I'll tear the gun down a bit farther (depending on make), clean it well, reassemble, then test fire.

I have no problem at all with field stripping a 1911, cleaning, lubing, and stuffing it back in a holster without shooting it before carrying. Same is true of a Glock. I guess I am comfortable with a dozen cycles of the slide and dry fire. FWIW, I clean my carry guns after every range session.

 

[CoRoMo]

Alternatively, a gun used ... for competition doesn't have to work.

I wish more people like you would show up in the matches that I compete in.

 

[mljdeckard]

I'm with Sam. If I am so worried that a gun will malfunction if I don't ALWAYS keep it SQUEAKY clean.....why would I trust it for carry?

Every few hundred rounds, or more if life gets in the way. And it isn't surgically clean. I think that the military does more damage from improperly overcleaning guns than they do from actual use.

I won't mock anyone for cleaning them more often than I do, a gun is an investment and it's a good idea to take care of it. I have just found little difference between religiously cleaning after each use or just every once in a while.

 

[pekosROB]

Awesome, I have been looking for a "bath soak" method, or whatever you call it. Will need to explore these options!

Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk

 

[BCRider]

As for using a dishwasher to clean a gun I'd be leery at best with that. The dishwashing "soap" is actually quite corrosive on it's own. And in fact some hard anodized aluminium cooking pans I've got specifically say NOT to clean them in a dishwasher for this reason. Yet it was recomended right in the instructions to use 3M Scotchbrite to scrub them. For those that haven't tried it Scotchbrite will cut into steel and leave a sandpaper like brushed finish. Yet it doesn't even touch the hard ceramic anodizing on these pans.

So all in all I'd suspect that unprotected non stainless steel could come out of the cycle with the possibility of rusting. And some of the coatings on slides and such could possibly be lifted off the metal by the corrosive nature of the dishwasher "soap".

 

[Rail Driver]

As for using a dishwasher to clean a gun I'd be leery at best with that. The dishwashing "soap" is actually quite corrosive on it's own. And in fact some hard anodized aluminium cooking pans I've got specifically say NOT to clean them in a dishwasher for this reason. Yet it was recomended right in the instructions to use 3M Scotchbrite to scrub them. For those that haven't tried it Scotchbrite will cut into steel and leave a sandpaper like brushed finish. Yet it doesn't even touch the hard ceramic anodizing on these pans.

So all in all I'd suspect that unprotected non stainless steel could come out of the cycle with the possibility of rusting. And some of the coatings on slides and such could possibly be lifted off the metal by the corrosive nature of the dishwasher "soap".

I should've been more detailed... I just use hot water, I don't put in detergent. I have yet to have a rust problem or issues with finishes. Even cheap cold bluing holds up to the dishwasher just fine.

 

[BCRider]

Thanks for that clarification Rail Driver. I can see things being a lot less risky that way.

 

[mfldmike]

I like cleaning my guns also...for me, it's relaxing. I'll easily waste away an evening cleaning them