Cleaning pistols

[stickman]

When you use something like brake cleaner it strips off all the oil from the metal leaving it exposed to the air which will oxidize it. And its not the water itself that causes rust, its the oxygen in the water that causes it.

Antisieze is a horrible lubricant, the gold stuff on glocks is antisieze but its only there for assembly/packaging purposes. Anytime you get a new gun you need to strip it down and clean/lube it. Usually the stuff they apply at the factory is for preservation.

Yes, the point was that even when using something other than water on a metal part, rust will still occur (sometimes quite quickly) and that using simple green with water isn't necessarily going to speed up the oxidation given given the process SVTNate gave for cleaning.

As for the antisieze on Glocks, interestingly enough the manual with my Glock specifically says not to wipe it off. As for antiseize being a horrible lubricant, I wouldn't put it in an engine, however for the purposes of a slide it will provide something a bit thicker than thin oil to be displaced by the action of the slide and prevent metal to metal contact. It's not that there is exactly and oil pump in the gun pressurizing oil between the two parts. I am not sure how much of a difference having anti-seize on the slide makes, but it should not hurt anything by having it on there.

Brian

[PistolKidd]

I've used simple green, but honestly, I hate dunking my gun in anything.. hooking up the compressor and getting it going is too much trouble.. i'd rather just wipe a few little areas and be done with it..

besides, simple green and aluminum dont mix.. keep it away from your Sig frames and your AR's... the two dont play well together.. purportedly, if you google it and read up, you'll see the damage and why the military(airforce?) officially stopped using it for cleaning airplanes..

as for amsoil or redline.. yea yea.. im sure those would work too.. synthetic stuff is good.. i still use CLP but i have in the past, used mobil 1 (red cap!) as a lubricant.. i shoot my pistols often enough, that it doenst matter what i use as it gets burned off anyways.. one lube for the next isnt gonna matter.. so long as its lubed at the exact moment im shooting, i dont care really.. im shooting close to 800 rounds a week.. and i've been doing this for the last 6 months or so..

i use to worry about cleaning..but not anymore.. on a service grade pistol..it really doenst matter too much...

[rorschach]

I used anti seize on 2 ar builds, specifically the buffer tube threads.

Anti-seize should never be used inside an engine, but it works excellent on exhaust manifold bolts. Also works good on muffler clamps, header flanges, and brake adjuster wheels.

I like brakeclean, but like stick and josh previously stated, it will rust within hours so you gotta wipe it with oil immediately. And you must protect any plastic or rubber parts. It will melt plastic, and make rubber swell up.

Gasoline works pretty good too, we use it all the time at dad's truck repair shop-I have used it to clean rifle parts as well as greasy wheel bearings. For 3.25 a gallon or so, its still a pretty good price for a cleaner.

[Josh]

As for the antisieze on Glocks, interestingly enough the manual with my Glock specifically says not to wipe it off. As for antiseize being a horrible lubricant, I wouldn't put it in an engine, however for the purposes of a slide it will provide something a bit thicker than thin oil to be displaced by the action of the slide and prevent metal to metal contact. It's not that there is exactly and oil pump in the gun pressurizing oil between the two parts. I am not sure how much of a difference having anti-seize on the slide makes, but it should not hurt anything by having it on there.

Brian

Its not going to hurt the gun, but there are so many other better options out there. I use it all the time on threaded parts because thats what its designed for. But the threaded parts are not constantly moving.

Also its a glock, you could probably just hock up a lugie into it every few mags and that would work.

[SVTNate]

Stickman,

I'm a car guy and a clean freak. My cleaning method is not only the most thorough, but Simple Green is far cheaper than MPro7

I don't strip the USP slide, because it's a PITA. Glocks and 1911's are easy. I just rinse with very hot water and use the air compressor extensively, and have never had a problem.

You really need an eye for detail, though. Someone who is just going to quickly spray off the water from visible areas is just asking for rust. I spend almost as much time drying each part as I do cleaning them. Also, my guns are all pretty corrosion resistant... no blued guns.

[DrjonesUSA]

For an average field strip after a range trip, it takes me about 20-30 minutes per pistol.

Yeah, I'm meticulous and take my time.

I use Eezox, which is an excellent CLP, so it's a one-step product.

I don't think there is any need for separate chemicals on a pistol. Clearly you don't need copper remover, but I think that even separate powder remover (Hoppe's 9) and a separate oil is just useless when a quality CLP (particularly Eezox) works so darned well.

I've been using Eezox for several years on all my guns and they all look and function flawlessly.

[elsolo]

I only bother cleaning a pistol every third match or ~1000 rounds.

Field strip and remove grips, push a hoppes soaked patch through the bore. Wipe down the barrel, inside the sldie and where I can reach in the frame. Then hose out the frame and slide with brake cleaner. Push a second Hoppes soaked patch through the bore and get what dissolved in the last five minutes. Add some oil to the frame, some Slide-Glide to the frame rails and barrel lugs and reassemble.

Maybe 10 minutes total.

[rips31]

depends what's on tv when i am cleaning. usually 30-45min, incl taking the mags apart.

[DrjonesUSA]

depends what's on tv when i am cleaning. usually 30-45min, incl taking the mags apart.

You don't take the mags apart every time you clean your guns, do you?

[rips31]

You don't take the mags apart every time you clean your guns, do you?

only when i run wolf ammo. that stuff is damn durrty. otherwise, when i run gold dot, prob 1x/mo. either way, don't take long to clean the spring and body.

[elsolo]

You don't take the mags apart every time you clean your guns, do you?

I do that much more frequently. Before most matches and sometimes in the middle of a match. They get dumped in the dirt on every stage.

[C.G.]

Dang it, you gotta clean them, too? I just recently found out you gotta clean your ARs!

[stickman]

Its not going to hurt the gun, but there are so many other better options out there. I use it all the time on threaded parts because thats what its designed for. But the threaded parts are not constantly moving.

Also its a glock, you could probably just hock up a lugie into it every few mags and that would work.

I'm thinking a milk lugie would be perfect. One for each side.

Brian

[PistolKidd]

I only bother cleaning a pistol every third match or ~1000 rounds.

Field strip and remove grips, push a hoppes soaked patch through the bore. Wipe down the barrel, inside the sldie and where I can reach in the frame. Then hose out the frame and slide with brake cleaner. Push a second Hoppes soaked patch through the bore and get what dissolved in the last five minutes. Add some oil to the frame, some Slide-Glide to the frame rails and barrel lugs and reassemble.

Maybe 10 minutes total.

+1

im with you on this one... except ill wipe down the gun every range trip.. maybe break it open and wipe the ramp down and barrel down.. add some oil.. done.. no hoppes, no patches.. just a rag and whatever crud i can quickly wipe away..

im definitely moving away from the 'general' cleaning routine, as it seems to make zero difference in the reliability and accuracy of my Sig..

if it's not effecting anything, why bother wasting the time..