Hot water and soap OK for gun cleaning?

[chicharrones]

It's best to remove any excess water that doesn't evaporate with compressed air then spray liberally with WD-40 removing that excess with compressed air.

When using soap and water, that's what works for me in my BP gun. I do follow up with a wipe down of real oil though.

 

[Sky]

I'd be cautious about using WD-40 on any quality firearm. It will displace moisture but over time will build up a gummy residue especially in the lock work. Several years ago I paid a nice sum to have a gunsmith disassemble and clean the crap out of a nice Colt Python that I sprayed with WD-40. WD-40 is not meant to be used on firearms. It's best used for drying out electrical components or removing tar.

Forget this,it's been proven false SOOOO many times if properly used. Too many folks tend to blame a product(even gunsmiths) when poor cleaning habits are the real culprit. Do not over use and you wont have any problems with WD-40. It's effectiveness at freventing rust is stellar.

Had a starter that was sticking on a 180 HP Lycoming. All I had at the time was some WD-40 as I was at a rather small airshow. The way the starter worked was when it was initiated a spline spun up and slid forward to engage the teeth of the hub thusly turning the engine over for the start. I sprayed the starter down and the spline and sure enough it started to engage after about a half of can of WD-40 flushed the spline shaft clean. The starter stopped working within 3 days but this time I was at my hanger. I did a varsol wash under PSI and the amount of black crud and gum I got out of the starter housing amazed me. I used LPS 2 on the starter and never had another problem. Talking to my mechanic friends and relating the story is where I first found out that WD-40 is a penetrant and a water displacement product; the number 40 is because it was the 40th formula they tried..

We have guys who have used it for years as a protectant and lube and it works for them under their conditions. All the actual test I have seen preformed WD-40 either fails first or hangs in there with some of the specialty products as far a a rust barrier or protector. It is great for displacing water and getting pesky adhesive stickers off but I do not use it as a lube. We all use ( my friends and people at the range many of us go to) Breakfree CLP

Breakfree CLP works for many people under well defined conditions; works for most of the Military applications and can be purchased at Walmart for the cheap. Do a search here at THR and you will find several threads on what guys/gals use for BP and their centerfire weapons.

A test with metal plates and salt water; do you perspire?

http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=3&f=7&t=485547

WD-40 did very well as a protectorate in the following study/test but again depends on who is running the test. I have witnessed WD-40 be the first to rust (after the control) so go figure?? It just depends??

http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=3&f=7&t=502758&page=1

 

[dmazur]

Hoppes solvent active ingredient is basically, ammonia right?

From the Hoppe's No. 9 Bore Cleaner MSDS -

SECTION 3 ‐ COMPOSITION / INFORMATION ON INGREDIENTS
ID INGREDIENT..........CAS NUMBER EINECS EU CLASSIFICATION % WT
1 Ethanol.................0000064‐17‐5 200‐578‐6 H255.................15 ‐ 40
2 Kerosine (Petroleum) 0008008‐20‐6 232‐366‐4 H304................15 ‐ 40
3 Oleic Acid..............0000112‐80‐1 204‐007‐1.........................15 ‐ 40
4 Amyl Acetate.........0000628‐63‐7 211‐047‐3 H226..................5 ‐ 10
5 Ammonium Hydroxide 0001336‐21‐6 215‐647‐6 H314, H400........1 ‐ 5

MSDS for all Hoppe products -

http://www.hoppes.com/au_msds.html

Ammonium hydroxide is an ingredient. I wouldn't say it was the only active ingredient, however.

The dominant use of oleic acid is as its sodium salt, which a major component of many kinds of soap.

From Wikipedia -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oleic_acid

(When I read your question, I wondered, "What the heck is in that stuff that I've been using for 30 years?" What ever did we do before the Internet? )

 

[jimmyraythomason]

As good as hot soapy water is at cleaning grease and crud,be sure to use a good solvent for the barrel (already pointed out but I'm adding a ditto) to remove the copper and lead fouling that HSW won't get.

 

[One_Jackal]

When leaving boot camp the DI's will frequently become nice. At that point they start sharing secrets to passing inspections and dealing with military life. One of the things the DI mentioned was taking your M-16A1 rifle into the shower before inspections. Washing weapons has worked in the military for a lot of years.

I just put a few drops of dawn on a toothbrush and get busy cleaning my weapon.

 

[RJTravel]

I am among those who think WD-40 is unacceptable. Even more, in my own experience it is perhaps the worst storage preservative one could imagine. My 30/06 was stored for 2 decades after liberally applying WD. When I wanted to place it back in use the WD had turned into a shellac-like glue. I couldn't move anything whatsoever. It took some costly smithing to make it usable. Today I won't let WD-40 in the same room with my firearms. I would avoid it like the plague.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

Here is something to try, the next time anyone coma across a gummed up gun be it from over oiling or neglect or for whatever reason. Before taking it to a gunshop and paying a smith big bucks to clean it up do yourself a favor. Spray it down with WD-40 and let it sit for a few minutes. The WD-40 will dissolve the gum and wash out any "shellac". Then just do a detailed strip and clean and lube with your favorite product. BTW,this thread is about cleaning with hot soapy water and there is nothing better than WD-40 after a water bath.

 

[WardenWolf]

I prefer Breakfree CLP. It doesn't dry out and leave a gummy surface, and it cuts crud much more effectively.

 

[JackBurtonJr]

A trick I learned a long time ago is to fiieldstrip the handgun and put the parts in a lightweight container with a gallon of very hot water and a quarter cup of dishwashing liquid. Set it on top of the washing machine when a load of clothes are being washed and leave it there thru the whole wash. The constant shaking of the washer loosens up the crud to the point that any left behind is easily removed with a toothbrush. It does get water in all the deep recesses of the handgun so be sure to dry it completely afterwards. As someone noted earlier, this will remove any oil and grease from the parts.

 

[Sky]

Here is something to try, the next time anyone coma across a gummed up gun be it from over oiling or neglect or for whatever reason. Before taking it to a gunshop and paying a smith big bucks to clean it up do yourself a favor. Spray it down with WD-40 and let it sit for a few minutes. The WD-40 will dissolve the gum and wash out any "shellac". Then just do a detailed strip and clean and lube with your favorite product. BTW,this thread is about cleaning with hot soapy water and there is nothing better than WD-40 after a water bath.

Jimmy is probably right I have seen badly stained carpet cleaned with WD-40!!!! I would try the above before I ever took a gun to a someone to clean for me. I suppose it is the penetrant part of the equation that removes the gum-up. Again without going into a long detailed account of reasons hot water and Dawn works great...If no air-compressor the I would really consider how to get the hidden parts dry and lubed before I went with that method. I have a turkey pan I place some of the parts in and either use water and Dawn, Windex, or other products and a brush; quick and works for me but usually this method is reserved for weapons that are shooting corrosive ammo....otherwise breakfree CLP is used for everything. A friend has a rental gun range and his weapons never get cleaned unless there is a problem with them. All he uses is Breakfree CLP and those weapons ( some of which are fired 100s if not 1000s of rounds weekly) are lucky to see a couple of squirts of CLP a month.

I use a foaming bore cleaner once in a while depending on ammo and round count in a particular weapon.

 

[LT.Diver]

Clean your guns? Hmm..I'll have to try that one of these years. I just shoot them until they're too fouled to function. Then I spray with a little WD-40, wipe off the crud and shoot some more. It's probably bad for them. So far it's only worked for 40 or so years.