Am I the only one who hates cleaning guns, HELP

Status
Not open for further replies.
Strangely enough it's been my experience that Breakfree CLP seems to make things even more "sludgie" (if that's a word) where other products seemed to make the job easier.
Click to expand...

Your experience is absolutely on point. It does kinda make a sludge. But that sludge easily wipes off and beats having to sit there and try to get the baked on carbon off.

It's really nice on revolvers, underneath the top strap and the front and back of the cylinder where you usually get bad carbon build up.
 
Ed's red cleaner and a Sonicare will do it. I keep the old heads from our Sonicare tooth brushes, and it get the stains off my SS Champ
1 part Dextron ATF [II, III,]
1 part paint thinner
1 part acetone or lacquer thinner
1 part Kerosene 1-K
This stuff works great! It's cheap to make. Enjoy.
 
I also hate cleaning guns. This is made a little worse because I shoot revolvers and all those little crannies add up. The rebated rim and dirty nature of cheap .22 necessitates a light cleaning every 50 rounds and a thorough cleaning at home. Luckily, the revolvers I shoot most are stainless and if the gun cleaner (whichever was on sale) doesn't cut it I just bring out a piece of synthetic steel wool and polish the dirty straight off. No smell involved and the security six doesn't know the difference.

The bore of my Baby Eagle only gets cleaned occasionally. The polygonal bore seems to come clean with just spit on a rag. It seemed wasteful of time and chemicals to give it the scrub down after every use.

The same goes for my motorcycles. I have a nice one ('04 zrx1200r) and a less nice one ('82 cb900f), and there's nothing I hate more than scrubbing off road grime, detailing chrome, and polishing paint. My time goes into oil changes and maintenance.
 
1 part Dextron ATF [II, III,]...transmission fluid
1 part paint thinner...odorless mineral spirits
1 part acetone .
1 part Kerosene 1-K
Click to expand...

I'll tell you what, this stuff works.:D
I just drop the small parts into a quart can with this solution and after a minute, I pull the part out and wipe them off...and it's clean. The barrels get dropped into the solution too.
 
I am not a big fan of cleaning them either. But you play you pay. On the other hand, I love cleaning a brand new gun I just picked up or brought home. Now that is fun. :)
 
cleaan the gun

ROTC: yep, we cleaned those old M1's until the oil soaked stock itself must have weighed the allowed 9.5 pounds and the muzzles were worn out like blunderbusses. And we did not even get to shoot them. Uncle Sam sold our 1600 to some little country years later.

POLICE DEPT: cleaned my revolver frequently, inspected and checked for functioning frequently. Had a detective friend who bought a new nub-nosed S&W , loaded it and just stuck it in his holster. Never cleaned it; never inspected it. SIX MONTHS later, he went to qualify and it would not shoot with the bent firing pin it came with. Some detective. Some cop.
 
I feel sorry for all of you autoloader-shooting folks out there. Allll of that disssassembly!

I only have revolvers so far and cleaning them isn't about fun, it's about keeping a mechanical piece of art looking like art. Unfortunately, my art is degarding no matter how long i spend rubbing that beautiful carbon steel.

Long range sessions are tough on guns. A thousand rounds of even the dimminutive .22 per session through a 60 year old revolver beats it up.

So I clean it extra good when I get home :)

I use hoppes on the boor and inside the cylinders, whipe down and soak the trouble spots with breakfree, then clean off with FP-10 and squirt a little of the overpriced-chicken-urine inside through the openings for the thirsty internals.

Takes about half an hour for the brief clean. Sometimes my conscience bothers me and I get it out between range sessions and clean it again. Lots of black stuff comes away, even when I am very anal. That's how it works.

If you want spotless -- which you don't need all of the time -- you have to take the whole thing apart and soak and scrub in some form of aggressive degreaser. I hear SimpleGreen fills the bill nicely. But I'm a young buck and haven't moved up to that level. My revolvers will have to wait for the day when I'm ready for open-plate surgery.

If you love your guns for their beauty as well as their function, you'd be wise to clean them as best that suits your comfort level. Even a brief cleaning after every range session is better than skipping a session. Me, I get off everything I can before I feel like quitting. Usually 2 hours total for my S&W 442 and K-22 (30 minutes for the 442 after a rough session, hour or more for the K-22). :eek:
 
The only gun I ever hated cleaning was my AR. That is kind of one of my rules. If It takes to long to clean I dump it.
 
Well, I didn't read all the replies, but the BEST Thing I have found, Is Simple Green. Mix some simple green in with water, and just soak all the components in it. Let it sit for 35-40 minutes. Pull it out, rinse with water, and use a light coat of CLP to prevent any rusting. Used that when we had to clean over 300 rifles, shotguns, and pistols before a massive weapon turn in. Disagree with me if you want, but it works like a charm.
 
I feel sorry for all of you autoloader-shooting folks out there. Allll of that disssassembly!
Click to expand...

Funny, I was gonna say something similar about revolver users and all of those chambers to clean. :D

But then again, my only revolver so far was a NINE SHOT .22...;)

BTW, I *think* you can get nitrile gloves at the drug store in with the latex gloves in the first aid sections.
 
This thread has not been representative of most that I have read on the subject.

After reading this thread, I would be very reluctant to buy a used gun from many of you.
 
army GI cleaning viewpoint

Like many Americans, my dad was in WWII as an artilleryman. He carried and cleaned the M1 carbine to army standards, that is to say, he was somewhat burdened by the constant hassle to keep it clean. After he was discharged, he said he wanted to get one of the little carbines and clean it HIS way: every morning he would take a piss down the barrell to see how rusty it WOULD get.
 
Its real simple, get a job at a machine shop. Then strip your piece down to metal only components. Place them in the sonic solvent tank for 30-45mins (@300Hz).
Remove parts and cotton dry them. Apply light oil to protect and BAM, your done with only 5 mins of work....

Now I know that was a bit sarcastic, but anyone with a garage or yard can get a tank for <$200 and save all the elbow grease...Think of how many hours you will spend on cleaning in your life...probably hundreds minimum if not thousands. A cheap pump tank can clean with enough agitation (so you don't need the $4K sonic version) to eliminate all the heavy work.

Here is the one my buddy got:
http://www.brandsonsale.com/ht-001170.html

And for solvents its really simple. If you knew how badly you were being screwed paying $10 for a simple ammonia based cleaner labeled as "Powder Solvent" #9, you would flip....by the gallon, this stuff costs the same (from a local tool and die store) as by the ounce, at your local gun shop charges....

You may think that the industrial stuff is not as refined as the Brand name cleaners made for guns.... Think again, these are the solvents used by the aerospace industry to maintain helicopter parts with tolerances equal to or greater than that of modern commercial firearms.

Just my $0.02.
 
I sometimes think I spend more $ on cleaning supplies than ammo! But, as in all things in life, if you wanna hear the band, you gotta pay the Man!
 
When I was a kid I loved to clean my gun, now I look at it as a chore.
Just cleaned 5 myself.

I was on another form and this topic came up. Some over there said they use automotive brake cleaner non clf I think it was. I have used it on barrels and slides it cleans pretty good and fast and is also cheep $1.50 a can. I have used all kinds of $5 cans of stuff.

on the same form oil cam up, again some say you can use MOBIL1 synthetic
0-05 weight. Said it works great on AR's. I have played a little with this and so far the gun runs great, time will tell but for now that cheepy gun is the guinea pig.

Now with this said, it will destroy plastic grips and any paint that maybe on the gun. but gun scrub will also on some,

if anyone has more info on this please share
 
I don't like it although I do get some satisfaction from it. It is still a chore that I'd rather not do but I don't blow it off. I second the opinion on using nitrile gloves.
 
Ah, cleaning my precious guns. It can become zen like. Put on some good music, a beverage of your choice, and voila. Relaxation combined with pupose, boy what a great way to kill a couple of hours.:D I just love the methodic way of getting my guns glistening and reoiled so I can put them back to sleep in the safe with their brothers and sisters.:p
 
Cleaning guns made easy! Ultrasonic gun cleaner

Why work so hard to clean your guns? Try an ultrasonic cleaner. They are not that expensive. Bought small system from www.sterlingtime.com for very little money. They eaven have complete gun clenaing systems.
regards
J
 
Do I even need to clean them that much? How do you do it? What do you use? Is there a way to clean a gun, such that it will function as clean, and can be stored for 6 - 12 months, and do it all in 10 minutes???
Click to expand...

Cleaning several guns in one sitting is certainly a great way to be in pain. I've found a few ways that make it at least a little easier.

Bringing a bottle of cleaner to the range. When finished shooting, spray it down while its still hot. I'll lock the slide back, spray into the action, slide rails, etc. Spraying into the barrel usually makes a muddy mess, so I avoid that.

Once home, I take them down immediately. Usually the cleaner has done a good job sitting on them hot, so I get into the narrow areas with a toothbrush then wipe it all down. This makes the second cleaning a lot easier, if at all needed.

If you can bring a cleaning rod and patches to the range, makes things a lot easier too. Run a few patches through the barrel while it's still hot.

Cleaners like Hoppes Elite seem to be the best to use without getting high off the smell. Letting them soak for awhile makes it easier.

If you'll be shooting again soon give them a nice light coat of oil (Tetra, Remington Oil, FP10, etc) in the needed areas and pack away!!
 
I like cleaning my guns.

Admire the fine working machinery as you disassemble it.

Admire the fine working machinery as you oil it and reassemble it.
Click to expand...

These thoughts also cross my mind. Everytime I clean my 1911 I marvel at the genius of John Browning.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

E
  • Locked
Gun Cleaning: Field vs Detail Stripping
2
Replies
43
Views
5K
moooose102
M
B
  • Locked
Am I the only person who cleans his guns?
2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Replies
175
Views
7K
JRH6856
JRH6856
X
  • Locked
gun cleaning please help... lol
Replies
6
Views
576
AKElroy
A
QuietMike
  • Locked
Should I be using a Copper remover?
Replies
15
Views
2K
ATLDave
A
A
  • Locked
Finally !!! I have a gun !!! I have a gun !!! And few questions too :)
Replies
22
Views
1K
hexidismal
hexidismal
Back
Top