Cleaning BP revolvers

[Afy]

I know the normal routine of Windex, Hot soapy water etc.

However a thread on cleaning brass got me thinking, has anyone tried ultrasonic cleaning for their cap and ball revlolvers? If so.. what has been your experience.

 

[Oyeboten]

So far, all my Shooting with Cap and Ball Revolvers has been with home-made Grease-Wafers between Powder and Ball, and, clean up has been very easy, with plain Dishwashing Soap in Hot Water...using a few daubs of twisted Paper Towel and a Dowel Rod for shoving them through the Bore.

Got a Bore Brush recently for the Cylinder Bores, so, twisting that in there, under Water, also.

All in all, fast-enough and easy...


If immersing the semi-demounted Frame in an Ultrasonic Vat...I'd imagine one would best remove the Wooden Stocks.

Since I do not immerse the whole Frame, I have been leaving the Stocks on.

 

[FenderTK421]

I tear mine down and clean them in hot, soapy water; just like dishes. Then (w/ any wood removed prior to the washing) the parts get put in the oven at about 120 for 20-30 minutes. After that I clean and lube the cylinders and bore like a regular firearm. Put them back together and give them a light sheen of oil. I don't know how effective ultrasonic would be; but I would go one step further and disassemble the weapon and put the individual parts in the tank. Pyrodex has proven relatively clean. Real black powder, however; is very dirty and works it's way throughout the gun very quickly. After 3 cylinders in my Remington 1858 New Army clone, the action is very gummy. After about 5 it is nearly inoperable. Curious what they did to remedy this back 'in the day'. My step dad told me that soldiers would actually dump the contents of their canteens over the actions to free them up.

 

[sltm1]

I use an ultrasonic to clean out the nipples while I hand clean the rest of the gun. For what it does, if I didn't already own one, I wouldn't buy one to clean just the nipples. All my other small parts I do by hand so I can inspect them for wear

 

[oldpuppymax]

Hoppe's 9 and a whole lot of cleaning patches always work for me. I've also taken to using a Winchester product called Break Free Powder Blast. It doesn't take the place of much of the work, but as an aerosol spray, it lets you get some of the tight spots where patches and rags just won't reach.

 

[Afy]

I do use Swiss BP, which is real BP, as well as French PNF. It comes off fairly easy... was just wondering about the Ultasonic stuff, because I have one.
Anyhow will try it the next time I shoot BP, and lets see how it goes.