Meditation on cleaning guns
Let me start off by saying that I'm a "neat freak". Don't take my word for it, ask Tinygnat219 or Titan6
However I am also very sensitive to chemicals and it takes very little odor to leave me feeling slightly ill
So for me every gun cleaning session includes GOOD VENTILATION and latex exam gloves (
$10 for 100 at Staples).
Next are the chemicals I commonly use (all selected for their good performance and low odor).
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Gunzilla cleaner: weird stuff, smells like veggie oil, cleans up powder crud very well and also the plastic "snot" out of shotguns.
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WeaponShield CLP: A very good Clean/Lube/Protect that I've been happy with for a while now.
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WeaponShield "LithiLube" grease: A nice light lithium grease for slides and such.
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Outers Foaming Bore Cleaner: Easy to use, low odor, cleaner that is great for removing copper fouling (which, admittedly the other stuff sucks at).
The first thing I do is field strip and put cleaner down the barrel (Gunzilla usually or Outers if I see a need to remove copper). Then I set the barrel aside to "soak" while I do the rest of the cleaning.
Next comes some time with a Gunzilla soaked cotton patch or two and a few (or sometimes many) q-tips. First I go over all of the "load bearing" surfaces (the places that rub, spin, slide, etc.) then I give everything else I can get to a wipedown. Yes I know that there are nooks and crannies that still have crud hidden away but I've learned over time to accept that it really doesn't matter.
By now the barrel has usually "soaked" for about 15-20 minutes so I do a focused cleaning of the barrel and the chamber area.
Then it's relube and reassemble, do a quick external wipedown with some Weaponshield on a cloth to protect the surfaces and remove excess lube/oil and I'm done.
At 1,000 to 1,5000 rounds I'll do a more detailed and complete scrubdown of the firearms (sooner if the gun is acting up) but so far this has kept me malfunction free on all of my firearms.