Rem 1100 Clean-up

[Fleetman]

A friend of my wife asked if I would look at his 12 ga 1100; said it will only work as a single-shot (and his note says you have to "manipulate" the shell into the chamber and then release the bolt. His note also mentions the bolt will not open fully sometimes. Anyway, it was WAY overdue for a cleaning.....

 

[Virginian]

No kidding. Needs a new link, too. Are you planning to tell him he can get by with just a bit less lube ?

 

[Fleetman]

Oh yeah! I suspect maybe he was trying oil to free it up not realizing it was gumming up even more. I have a small medicine container filled with flakes of gunpowder that came from the receiver.

 

[entropy]

I've done many like that......actually that's a LOT cleaner than most of the one's I've done.....

 

[Fleetman]

I doubt it would get much dirtier and still fire. A lot of what you see has been wiped off by my hands, jeans, and work bench.

I too have cleaned many and this one was bad!

 

[scratcherky]

Looks like a lot of Red Dot powder was shot thru that gun.

 

[Fleetman]

That or Unique if he has other barrels

 

[Armored farmer]

Wd40 is an enemy of 1100s.

 

[Fleetman]

Yessir and a whole lots of others

 

[Virginian]

WD-40 is a thin petroleum product, and like most if will gum up if put on heavy and left. If the excess is wiped off, it works fine. I used it for 25 years with zero issues. It is not the best lube, so I switched. Poor maintenance practices are the enemy of any semi auto. WD- 40 gets far too much blame.

 

[Hookeye]

I always thought it was for water displacement, not a lubricant.
FWIW it does float Jeep crud off your hands pretty well.

 

[scratcherky]

WD-40 is not a petroleum product.

 

[Virginian]

Okay, what is it ? Pretty sure it contains petroleum distillates. It was designed as a water displacing product, but people have been using it to lubricate everything for decades. It is not the best lube, but it does work passably well. A gun is a very easy application for a lube in any event. My 1963 Model 1100 with over 115,000 rounds through it, that saw little else for 25 years, is still going strong with no ill effects, and only one (1) broken part in all that time. (extractor in 1982)

 

[scratcherky]

I stand corrected. Here is what I found.
WD-40's main ingredients, according to its U.S. Material Safety Data Sheet* information, are:

• 
  
  · 51% Stoddard solvent (i.e., mineral spirits: primarily hexane, somewhat similar to kerosene)
  · 25% Liquefied petroleum gas (presumably as a propellant; carbon dioxide is now used instead to reduce WD-40's considerable flammability)
  · 15+% Mineral oil (light lubricating oil)
  · 10-% Inert ingredients
  

The German version of the mandatory EU safety sheet lists the following safety-relevant ingredients:
· 60–80% Heavy Naphtha (petroleum product), hydrogen treated
· 1–5% Carbon dioxide

 

[Virginian]

Excellent work.

 

[Armored farmer]

My 1963 Model 1100 with over 115,000 rounds through it, that saw little else for 25 years, is still going strong with no ill effects,

It sounds like you are beginning to get that gun broken in.

I know from personal experience that an 1100 + wd40 (aerosol)+ cold weather = a slow action.

 

[Virginian]

I have used WD-40 down to 0 degrees F, and if you use it like I do, spray and wipe off, it was fine. However as stated earlier, WD-40 is not the best lubricant. Most synthetic light lubricants used in SMALL quantities will work fine in the cold.

 

[Clark]

I went to a gunshow at Monroe WA Jan 12, 2013 and saw a Rem 1100 12 ga marked for $150.
I offered $120 and he took it.
When I got it home it was full of dirt.
It was made in 1963. There was a name under the butt.

I did not take the trigger group apart. I just rubbed on it with a toothbrush and motor oil.

No I haven't shot it. I have lots of guns I bought in 1995 that I have not test fired yet.