Best method for protecting sights from solvents and degreasers

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lostbird

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I'm looking for the best method for protecting my Tritium Night Sights with White Outline from cleaning solvents and degreasers while cleaning. When I clean the slide I brush a liberal amount of Hoppe's or other solvents on the slide and let it sit for awhile. Then I go back and blow out the carbon and powder residue with a pressurized can of Gun Scrubber or brake cleaning fluid. This is fast and simple and works well. Since the Tritium is encapsulated I don't worry too much about it, but more concerned about protecting the painted on white outline portion of the sight. I've already ruined one sight which prompted this post. I'm as careful as possible to keep solvents and cleaners away from the sight in the first place, but it is inevitable that it will get saturated. If you use this cleaning method for cleaning your slide how do you protect it from any adverse effects of the solvents and degreasers while cleaning? Do you not even think or worry about it? Any recommendation such as sealing the sight with epoxy, clear finger nail polish or airplane modeling dope. I've also considered wrapping the slide around the sight area with a wide rubber band or maybe even Electrical tape while cleaning. Any suggestions or thoughts regarding this would be very much appreciated. Thanks.
 
Unless the slide is really grungy, there's no need to use so much solvent that the sights get "saturated." The top of the slide is probably the cleanest part of the gun. I don't think any sort of shielding will work; after all, we're talking about powerful solvents here.

If your slide really needs such heavy duty applications of solvent, consider cleaning it more often.
 
Masking tape or blue painter's tape. Covers my CTC lasers very well and peels off leaving no residue. Apply enough to cover the aperture prior to cleaning then peel it of when I'm done. Any sight so covered should be protected.

Edit: Now that I think about it, I have used little balloon like things I got from the drug store: finger cots. Just slipped them over the rear of the slide. Other little balloon-like appliances should work but not sure of how any of them would react to new-fangled lubes and solvents.
 
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Don't use the brake cleaner on paint and or plastics. Some whole gun finishes or subassemblies are essentially one or the other.
 
I always wonder about the big fascination with gun scrubber/brake cleaner for use on guns.

You want lube on your guns, why take it all off?

If you are refinishing your pistol or putting on new sight paint, or trying to get something to stick to your pistol, well then there is certainly a reason to degrease your pistol. Other than that I'd stay away from degreasers.
 
"I always wonder about the big fascination with gun scrubber/brake cleaner for use on guns."

Why? After I finish cleaning the bore and scrubbing everything else that's dirty with solvent and a toothbrush I hose the crud off with a blast of Gunscrubber.

I cover the night sight inserts with my thumb and spray around them.

John
 
JTQ said:
I always wonder about the big fascination with gun scrubber/brake cleaner for use on guns.

You want lube on your guns, why take it all off?

If you are refinishing your pistol or putting on new sight paint, or trying to get something to stick to your pistol, well then there is certainly a reason to degrease your pistol. Other than that I'd stay away from degreasers.
Click to expand...
There was a time in my log ago youth when every gun had to be "white glove" clean. I'd spend hours cleaning them. Then a few things dawned on me: I'd never get 100% of the residue off, I was spending way too much time cleaning and far too little time shooting and a little sooty residue made absolutely no difference in either functioning or accuracy.

Keep them free of the crusty and gummy stuff and keep them properly lubricated. Other than that, a slight amount of sooty residue is just not a concern. Kind of like bugguts on my truck windshield, I just look past it.
 
Thanks to all for your comments and suggestions.

beatledog7-

When I said "saturated" that was probably over stated. I clean the slide after every range trip usually firing 100-200 rounds and detail clean every 500 rounds. I like clean guns. I place the slide on the top and brush the solvent on the under side of the slide and let it work for a few minutes. Invariably some solvent comes in contact with the sights.

ku4hx-

I've considered trying masking tape, but assume the solvent would not allow it to stay on for any length of time.I always remove my CTC lasers before doing any cleaning.

I thought about the finger cots or just cutting the fingers off rubber gloves and slipping them over the sights. I'm going to try it and see how the rubber stands up to solvents/degreasers. Great idea I think.

certaindeaf-

I only use brake cleaner on steel pistols and try to keep it off any painted on sights.

JTQ-

I like to remove all the old grease before applying new grease after cleaning. This improves adhension and some greases/lubricate may adversly react to each other if mixed.

johnBT-

I wear rubber gloves to hold the slide while spraying Gun Scrubber. I place my thumbe or index finger over the inserts, but it is difficult to seal off the inserts completely

powder-

+1

ku4hx-

In my youth I too wanted everything "white glove" clean and spent a lot of time trying to accomplish just that. Unfortunetly, I'm now 76 years old and never outgrew that compulsion. I spent 4 years at a military university and 4 years in the Air Force and that didn't help. Fortunately, I'm old now and retired and have a lot of time to waste.
 
I like to remove all the old grease before applying new grease after cleaning. This improves adhension and some greases/lubricate may adversly react to each other if mixed.
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Have you determined if any of your lubes react adversely with the harsh solvents you're using to clean your pistol?

"These harsh cleaning chemicals are damaging my sights". It's like the old joke, "Doctor, it hurts when I do this." Doctor's response, "Stop doing that."

There are many non-toxic CLP products on the market that not only do an excellent job of cleaning, lubing, and protecting your pistol, but will also not damage you or your pistols sights. There are so many of these great products available I see no reason to continue using harsh chemicals to clean your guns.

Try some Frog Lube, Weapon Shield, SLIP 2000, Ballistol, Gunzilla, etc., the list is almost endless. No problems with mixing of different chemicals since you're using one product to do it all.
 
lostbird said:
In my youth I too wanted everything "white glove" clean and spent a lot of time trying to accomplish just that. Unfortunetly, I'm now 76 years old and never outgrew that compulsion. I spent 4 years at a military university and 4 years in the Air Force and that didn't help. Fortunately, I'm old now and retired and have a lot of time to waste.
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I'm former military too and have disassembled and reassembled my share GI guns of various calibers. I'll be 67 my next birthday, but I see things a bit differently. Being retired now I find 24 hours in a day is just not enough time to do all the nothing I want to do. But the way I see it, as the clock winds down, I'm letting go of those things that don't directly enhance enjoyment. And cleaning guns is just not my idea of enjoyment ... shooting them is. I've been a handloaded and boolit caster for over 40 years and those activities are fun to me. But cleaning guns is like latrine duty, I'd just as soon skip it but when I gotta do it I don't spend a whole lot of time bent over the bowl. Get the crud and gummy stuff off, declare victory and set up for my next range session.
 
Any normal gun cleaning solvent will not hurt quality night sights from Meprolight or Trijacon.

The Tritium vials and white rings are set in epoxy inside the sight, and it is impervious to just about anything.

I'd worry about soaking them in a acetone tank for three days.

But other then that, Forgadaboutit.

rc
 
JTQ said:
I always wonder about the big fascination with gun scrubber/brake cleaner for use on guns.

You want lube on your guns, why take it all off?
Click to expand...

Oil & grease can grab onto abrasive residues. You don't really want that stuff in there.

I don't generally hose down the outsides with aerosol cleaners. After getting the insides clean & lubed the outsides usually just get a nice wipedown with CLP. If it's blue & gonna be in the safe awhile I'll wipe it down with CorrosionX.
 
Rc nailed it...again.

Been solvent soaking/brake cleaning my duty Glock Trijicons for years with no problems.
 
Unless you're just too lazy to use it, Simple Green will clean the slide just fine and won't ruin the painted-on white circles. Meprolight doesn't use painted-on white circles, so solvents don't dissolve their circles.

I ignore the white dots/circles, anyhow.
 
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