Parkerized 1911 a real pain to clean because of the finish?

[ku4hx]

How clean is clean? How easy is easy? Properly functioning guns don't need to be spotless such that they pass a "white glove" inspection or an operating room readiness test. They need to be without any "stuff" that impedes their proper function. For me that's grit, accumulated deposits of powder residue and excessive amounts of lead or gilding metal bore fouling. What they don't need to be is rendered completely void of all evidence of having been fired which often means the gun has to be completely dismantled to get to the smaller pieces and parts.

If anybody wants their gun to be perfectly clean, then more power to them. I'd rather be shooting more and cleaning less. "Clean" to me means the gun is "functionally clean": sooty gunk removed, bore clear of residue and fouling, properly lubed and the whole thing wiped down with a slightly oily rag or a silicone cloth. Parkerized guns lend themselves to that sort of protocol very well.

 

[Drail]

Carb cleaner is formulated to dissolve dried lacquer deposits in a carburetor, not carbon. If your carburetor is full of carbon then there is a serious problem with your engine. If there is dried lacquer in your gun then I don't know what to tell you. A powder solvent will work much better. Straight CLP has been keeping my guns spotless, lubed and rust free for many years.

 

[jdh]

JTQ,

Perhaps it is an outdated old habit formed by having to pass the anal compulsive armorer's white glove inspections to be able to turn them back in after an FTX or trip to the range. Mine passed first try 95% of the time while others were doing it 3, 4, 5 times to get theirs clean enough to be accepted.

 

[Greg528iT]

My guns won't pass a white glove test. I wipe the exterior down with oil. The glove won't be sooty, but will be oily.

 

[jdh]

"Carb cleaner is formulated to dissolve dried lacquer deposits in a carburetor, not carbon."

True BUT it also contains compounds in the formulation to attack the built up carbon deposits on the valves. Before you say if you have carbon deposits on you intake valves there is a problem with your engine I suggest you research EGR amongst other things.

 

[Fremmer]

Heck, if using CLP you can skip the oil and just slather on the CLP. My parkerized Walter seems to like it.

 

[Fishslayer]

I never degrease my cast iron fry pan and I never degrease my pistols. They get wiped down and are clean, and they get extra oil, but they're never degreased.

My cast iron pans don't have to deal with abrasive grit & carbon between sliding parts.

I scrub the pah-zizzle out of the interior of the slide & bearing surfaces and use aerosol cleaner to blast out the crud.

But yeah, extra oil on the exterior of the Park'd pistol. Actually the exterior usually just gets an oily wipedown. A lot of the younger guys gripe that the Park'd finish on RIA 1911a is ugly. I tell 'em it's what a 1911 is supposed to look like.

Q tips? Yikes! I use pipe cleaners. They were good enough when I was in the Navy so they're good enough now.

 

[JTQ]

Fishslayer wrote,
My cast iron pans don't have to deal with abrasive grit & carbon between sliding parts.

I scrub the pah-zizzle out of the interior of the slide & bearing surfaces and use aerosol cleaner to blast out the crud.

And there are any number of CLP products that will remove all the "abrasive grit & carbon between sliding parts" without stripping all the lubricant off.

Did you read the link from bigfatdave

http://xavierthoughts.blogspot.com/2...-vs-tales.html

Did you use a degreaser on it?

For the best performance of your parkerized finish avoid the degreasers.

 

[jdh]

Since a blog was used to justify opinions this is from WIKI:
"As for all electrochemical conversion coatings, the Parkerized surface must be completely covered with a light coating of oil to maximize corrosion and wear resistance, primarily through reducing wetting action and galvanic action. A heavy oil coating is unnecessary and undesirable for achieving a positive grip on Parkerized metal parts."