best cleaning solvent for all firearms?

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I agree that a .22lr squirrel gun or can plinker rarely needs cleaning. Benchrest guns are a whole 'nuther matter. Benchrest shooters may clean after every 25 shot card.

The cleaning a .22 ruins it story is mostly a wives tale. Cleaning doesn't harm a barrel. Improper cleaning may, though.
 
I think I'm all over the place. It didn't start out this way, but eventually grew into it: I use Hoppe's #9 for powder solvent, Sweet's 7.62 for copper cleaner, Remington 40x bore cleaner for lead removal (only after steady diets of non-jacketed rounds), CLP for AR-15 carrier group and bolt, Remington Action Cleaner for trigger groups on 22's, and soap and hot water for black powder.

After that, interior parts, barrels and stocks get rem oil, bolts get tetra grease and the AR gets Remington dri-lube. For older wood stocks I like Hoppe's oil. It's thicker and seems to soak in better.

I tried cleaning 22 barrels once years ago, but it didn't really seem worth the effort. I'll run a bore snake once in a while, but that is about it.
 
Hoppe's No. 9. It's all I use.

It removes copper fouling as well as dedicated copper fouling solvents. Run a wet patch thru the bore, let it sit 20 minutes to an hour and run another wet patch thru. Repeat until the patches no longer have green copper oxide streaks on them.
 
Another vote for Hoppe's No. 9. While it's not as potent as it used to be back in the day, it's still a great all around cleaner for the money. I went through a quest to try them all and I've always came back to Hoppe's No. 9 (just be careful using it on nickle finishes). I have a small bottle of their Copper solvent as well, that I'll run though my centerfire riffles at the end of the year. Breakfree is decent for the quick and dirty sessions and I tend to use it to wipe down the insides/run a patch down the bore after I'm done cleaning it with Hoppe's. My dad got me hooked on wiping everything down with Rig Gun Grease for long term storage. I've used Hoppe's Gun Oil as a lube for most of my life and it's seems to work just fine for the cost, however I've recently switched to Lucas Gun Oil for my pistols - so far, so good. Never had a problem with my guns for over 30 years. Good luck!!
 
A bottle of CLP is all you really need. I have never seen a gun that it would not clean. You don't need 4 or 5 different products. I have been using CLP alone since the 80s. I used to have to clean an entire table full of guns after every class when I was an NRA Instructor. All I ever used was a bottle of CLP and an M16 brush. It only took about 10 minutes for each gun. You guys are WAY overthinking this. The one exception is if you have copper fouling in the bore - for that you need a dedicated copper solvent or diluted ammonia. I never shoot jacketed bullets. If you can't find CLP or don't want to pay the price buy a quart of Dexron ATF and a small squeeze bottle to dispense it with. Dexron is pretty effective at dissolving carbon - though I have no idea why. But it does. Ed's Red is also VERY good. But a bottle of CLP will get your guns clean and lube them just fine. The reason the D.O.D. requested a product that would do everything makes sense to me and although at the time most of the manufacturer's said the specifications were impossible to meet - someone did - and it not only met the specs - it exceeded them.
 
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I've been using Hoppes #9 since I first bought a gun. I've tried a few others but keep coming back to it.
 
chanroc said:
Another vote for Hoppe's No. 9. While it's not as potent as it used to be back in the day, it's still a great all around cleaner for the money. I went through a quest to try them all and I've always came back to Hoppe's No. 9 (just be careful using it on nickle finishes). I have a small bottle of their Copper solvent as well, that I'll run though my centerfire riffles at the end of the year. Breakfree is decent for the quick and dirty sessions and I tend to use it to wipe down the insides/run a patch down the bore after I'm done cleaning it with Hoppe's. My dad got me hooked on wiping everything down with Rig Gun Grease for long term storage. I've used Hoppe's Gun Oil as a lube for most of my life and it's seems to work just fine for the cost, however I've recently switched to Lucas Gun Oil for my pistols - so far, so good. Never had a problem with my guns for over 30 years. Good luck!!
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I run either lucas or MPRO 7 on handguns as its stays for a long time on the rails and rod.
 
I use Hoppe's No.9 for all of my guns with the exception of my nickel plated one. Some guns require a layer of copper plating first before the nickel plate can be applied. Since Hoppe's is a copper removing solvent there's a possibility that it will get to the copper plating and cause it peel away from the metal surface, taking the nickel plating along with it.
 
UPDATE-

I cleaned up my Muzzleloader and a rifle over the weekend with a small bottle of CLP. my local shop had it 40% off so I grabbed a small bottle. I started with a bucket of very hot soapy water and a 20ga brush for the Muzzleoader and it was pretty nasty. I had maybe 50 shots through it before it was cleaned. I scrubbed the barrel really good until it appeared clean and then soaked a diaper material patch that fit the barrel nice and tight with CLP and ran it through about 4 times and only the first patch came out with a little residue on it. i then looked through the barrel at the light and noticed it was still a little cruddy so i ran another CLP patch through it and it came out clean. well i sprayed some hopps in there and the patch came out almost black.

Not sure if CLP isn't good for 777 powder or what but i was a little disappointed. I didn't do a test with the 223 though just cleaned and stored. I did like how the CLP worked for wiping down the barrel and the internals of the ML.

One other thing i noticed was the Hopps barrel blast started eating the metal on the steel trigger guard. the rifle is a stainless cva optima. i don't think its stainless must have just a stainless finish.
 
Hoppe's No. 9 must have changed because I was never able to remove copper with it back when it was just about the only thing on the shelf. I know for a while they marketed a copper solvent - why would they do that if good old No. 9 worked on copper? I think I still have a bottle of their copper solvent - and it worked very poorly compared to Sweet's 7.62 or common ammonia.
 
I have had good results with Hoppes Benchrest 9 in regard to removing copper. I leave a barrel wet overnight. The next day the patches are very green. Repeat until the patches come out clean.
 
Drail said:
Hoppe's No. 9 must have changed because I was never able to remove copper with it back when it was just about the only thing on the shelf. I know for a while they marketed a copper solvent - why would they do that if good old No. 9 worked on copper? I think I still have a bottle of their copper solvent - and it worked very poorly compared to Sweet's 7.62 or common ammonia.
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This was my experience as well. I think I also tried letting a wet barrel rest over night and got green patches in the morning but I don't want to spend a week cleaning my barrel.
 
]UPDATE-

I cleaned up my Muzzleloader and a rifle over the weekend with a small bottle of CLP. my local shop had it 40% off so I grabbed a small bottle. I started with a bucket of very hot soapy water and a 20ga brush for the Muzzleoader and it was pretty nasty. I had maybe 50 shots through it before it was cleaned. I scrubbed the barrel really good until it appeared clean and then soaked a diaper material patch that fit the barrel nice and tight with CLP and ran it through about 4 times and only the first patch came out with a little residue on it. i then looked through the barrel at the light and noticed it was still a little cruddy so i ran another CLP patch through it and it came out clean. well i sprayed some hopps in there and the patch came out almost black.

Not sure if CLP isn't good for 777 powder or what but i was a little disappointed. I didn't do a test with the 223 though just cleaned and stored. I did like how the CLP worked for wiping down the barrel and the internals of the ML.

One other thing i noticed was the Hopps barrel blast started eating the metal on the steel trigger guard. the rifle is a stainless cva optima. i don't think its stainless must have just a stainless finish.[/QUOTE]

CLP is a catch-all term. It just means CLEAN LUBRICATE PROTECT.

Not all CLP products are equal. Not even close. IMHO most of them are junk. They aren't good at anything but taking money out of your wallet.
 
The best way to clean black powder guns in my experience is with boiling water. There may still be small traces of carbon baked on to the bore but a brush should remove it. Just be sure to get a coat of oil on everything before you put it away. When I use the term "CLP" I am talking about the original Mil spec product and nothing else. I guess I should be more careful when using that term. It really does do everything it claims. It was not intended for use with black powder (or substitutes) But you are right - everybody uses the term "CLP" - sort of like "match grade" and it has become rather meaningless. I only wish I could still find the original Mil spec CLP. The only CLP product that actually currently meets military specs and is approved for use by the military now that is available to consumers is G 96's CLP. It is expensive. Safariland bought the original Breakfree CLP name and changed the formula but unfortunately it does not meet the current Mil spec. It still works pretty good.
 
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I was using break free CLP. seen it suggested on here a lot so tried it.
 
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