Cleaning an AR w/ brake cleaner?

[Hiaboo]

I'm wondering if I could hose down my AR w/ non-chlorinated brake cleaner and wipe it down then hose it w/ more cleaner and blow it all off with a compressor and wash everything in CLP and brush it thru a few times then blow off the excesss CLP?

Think of any harm done? I do this w/ my mosins, never had any issues but 100$ rifle vs. a 1,000 rifle. so..?

Thanks.

 

[Rubber_Duck]

Hmm, I've wondered the same thing, brake parts cleaner is very potent and I currently use odorless mineral spirits to clean the tough stuff but would like something more efeective, but I feel the same about using harsh chemicals on an expensive rifle.

 

[lipadj46]

It should be fine on the steel and aluminum watch the plastic though some brake cleaners will eat right through plastic. Why do you need such a strong solvent? I've never needed anything more than WD-40 and Hoppes or CLP is usually just fine. If you are worried about copper get a copper cleaner.

 

[61chalk]

Give it try then let us know! I've used carb cleaner on mine...the thing about brake cleaner is that a friend of mine spent time in his garage with brake cleaner on his corvette....he got a drug test, an it
came up with just enough trace of meth, that he was in jeapody of loosing his job!!! Somehow, the doc or whoever asked if he had been around break cleaner, an gave him a name to look at on the can....that was it, but couldn't tell you what it was,,,they re-tested an he was ok...

 

[briansmithwins]

It would work but is overkill for routine cleaning. Why not just use CLP?

The only time I use brake clean is for degreasing parts. BSW

 

[kanook]

blow it all off with a compressor

compressed air has moisture. I would avoid this step and just wipe down.

 

[Hiaboo]

I just went ahead and did it, and it turned out fine..

I wanted something to really wipe out the gunk, it was pretty dirty, I havent cleaned it in a while, my bad.

Seems fine so far..

 

[possum]

when we come out of the field, and our rifles and machine guns are real dirty for whatever reason we use brake cleanner, it is the same thing as gun scrubber but a heck of alot cheaper. as well after completion of a training course, i use break cleaner to get all the gunk out, like in the trigger mech, and hard to reach areas etc. no issues ever and i have been doing it for a good while. i agree you don't need to do it all the time, but ever few months of regular use, or a weekend/week of training/ hard use it is good to do it.

i also do it if i was getting rained on while training, spray out as much as i can, wipe it down, and and then lube with my normal high temp lithium grease.

 

[Horsemany]

Some AR's like DPMS are Teflon coated over the anodized aluminum parts. Teflon coating is basically paint. I believe brake cleaner will eat Teflon coating. I'd stay away from it personally. There are plenty of other spray cleaners one could use to flood areas and not be so caustic. Aerosol BF CLP, G96 Gun Treatment, etc. will work just fine.

 

[OcelotZ3]

The military has ok'ed Dextron transmission fluid for cleaning and synthetic oil (like Mobil1) for lubrication. I've used this a few times on my AR and they seem to work.

 

[Defense Minister]

I have used brake cleaner on several of my guns with no ill effects. However, I only use it when the firearm needs more than just the routine cleaning. When using brake cleaner, I would advise wearing safety glasses, or, better yet, goggles.

 

[taliv]

i don't clean my guns much anymore, but i use brake cleaner when i do

 

[Zach S]

i don't clean my guns much anymore, but i use brake cleaner when i do

Same here. Shoot, oil, repeat. I have a Kimber polymer that have over 10k through it and I've only cleaned it about half a dozen times. My 9mm AR has several thousand through it, and its rarely cleaned. I dont think I've actually cleaned my rimfire AR yet. It needs some oil on the bolt every few hundred rounds, but for the most part I just wipe off the chamber adapter off when I lube the bolt, and put a thin coat of CLP on it (its got stuck before).

So, when I clean, brake cleaner and compressed air are normally required.

When using brake cleaner, I would advise wearing safety glasses, or, better yet, goggles

And as my little brother recently learned, point the straw AWAY from you when putting it in the nozzle...