Learning to clean

[fallout1]

Searched a bit but was wondering if there are any good guides on proper cleaning/maintenance techniques for pistols out there. e.g. what to get for a first timer, tips, advice, etc.

Thank you

[Cool Custard]

YouTube helped me out a lot for most of my cleaning stuff!

[anti]

Don't over-think it and feel that you have to spend a ton of money on snake oils; it's essentially just cleaning and oiling metal. All you need is Breakfree CLP for smokeless guns. I recommend the aerosol can since it's a lot quicker to spray all the parts down. I also recommend wearing latex gloves to keep your hands clean and more importantly to keep oily fingerprints off of your gun. I usually don't wear gloves but I definitely should.

- Field strip

- Soak all parts in CLP for a few minutes

- Brush, wipe clean with paper towels, brush and patch bore until clean

- Oil ALL metal parts inside and out lightly and reassemble. Grease is better than oil for areas like slide rails and bolt carrier rails where metal to metal friction is the greatest.

- Give one final wipe down with a light film of oil - heavier coat of oil for long-term storage. You can always wipe off excess oil before using your gun; it's better than possible rust.

And instead of buying patches of every size, for every caliber you own, just buy the big bag of 12 gauge patches and cut them to size when you need to; it's a little extra work but it saves money. You can find the dimensions of certain caliber patches you need online.

[Chaos47]

Go to the dollar store and get:
1 soft bristle toothbrush (as plain as possible head)
Q-tips
Longer Wood handle Q-tips (Optional but I love them!)

Towel or disposable plastic tablecloth (to work on and cover your table) trashbags work too and are handy to throw all the patches and q-tips away in

Go to Walmart and get:
a pack of the bulk patches (cut to size)
Optionally a bore snake
Cleaner of your choice
Oil of your choice

Personally I use CLP for everything except the bore
Hoppe's Elite Bore cleaner to remove copper / lead fouling
For key oiling points I use Hoppe's Elite oil (probably going to move to motor oil when my bottle runs out)
Everyone is going to have their own opinion on these things

Your pistol probably already came with a bore brush and a rod. Otherwise pick those up too.

Google and youtube, your pistol to find videos on disassembly and key oil points.

Generally what I do is: (everyone does it differnt)
Spray the borecleaner in the barrel and put it aside to soak
Spray the toothbrush with clp and go to town on anything dirty
Use patches to take the majority of the CLP off, just leaving a thin sheen coat.
Bore brush and patch or snake the barrel.
Apply oil to key spots.
assemble the slide, barrel and recoil spring and drop one drip of oil on each frame/slide rail. Let gravity move that drop down to cover the rails. Assemble the pistol and rack it a couple times to spread the oil around.
Wipe off excess oil that comes out

For more specific tips we need to know what firearm you have.

[Jimmybacon43]

What kind of gun do you have? Youtube has some surprisingly good cleaning videos out there.

[kalapa]

Isopropyl alcohol and some q-tips to get off all the gunpowder residue.

5W-30 motor oil to lube the slide and frame rails. You'll be able to see any other wear spots. Those are the places that need the oil.

[cwr56]

Isopropyl alcohol and some q-tips to get off all the gunpowder residue.

5W-30 motor oil to lube the slide and frame rails. You'll be able to see any other wear spots. Those are the places that need the oil.

No.

[Blackrain7557]

Don't over-think it and feel that you have to spend a ton of money on snake oils; it's essentially just cleaning and oiling metal. All you need is Breakfree CLP for smokeless guns. I recommend the aerosol can since it's a lot quicker to spray all the parts down. I also recommend wearing latex gloves to keep your hands clean and more importantly to keep oily fingerprints off of your gun. I usually don't wear gloves but I definitely should.

- Field strip

- Soak all parts in CLP for a few minutes

- Brush, wipe clean with paper towels, brush and patch bore until clean

- Oil ALL metal parts inside and out lightly and reassemble. Grease is better than oil for areas like slide rails and bolt carrier rails where metal to metal friction is the greatest.

- Give one final wipe down with a light film of oil - heavier coat of oil for long-term storage. You can always wipe off excess oil before using your gun; it's better than possible rust.

And instead of buying patches of every size, for every caliber you own, just buy the big bag of 12 gauge patches and cut them to size when you need to; it's a little extra work but it saves money. You can find the dimensions of certain caliber patches you need online.

This is what I do, talked to my LGS about cleaning products, recommended the CLP (Safariland Brand) as I didn't have a decent cleaning product. Works great, deals with all the residue in both my Kimber and XD-9.

Bore snakes are great for cleaning your barrel quickly.

[Dont_Shoot_im_Chinese]

Depends on the firearm you are working on and what kind of steel/plating. But generally I like hoppes #9 to clean, old 100% cotton t-shirts for patches, and oil with balistol. I also use lube depending for which part of the handgun/rifle I'm working on.

[franklyfresh]

Your handgun manual and youtube will cover all the basics. From there you will start to specify your products/tools to suit your cleaning habits and methods.

This is everything I use to clean my semi-auto handguns:

100% cotton patches, q-tips, microfiber cloths, silicon injected cloth, nylon brush, compressed air, boresnake viper, gunslick CF cleaning rod

M-pro 7 LPX gun oil, M-pro 7 gun cleaner, Slip2000 EWG

[_TomT_]

I feel that out of the firearms that I own:

Glocks are the easiest to clean: run some Ballistol on rails, area around the plunger, area above the barrel and drench the barrel. Then I just take a dry paper towel to the reciever.

My CZ and 1911 are a pain in the a to clean which is probably why I shoot both of these a lot less than my Glock.

[John Joseph]

The short answer:
Go to the manufacturer's website and ask for instructions and what they recommend for the model pistol you're shooting.
What you'd do to clean a revolver is different than what you do to a semi-automatic which is different than what you do to a black powder pistol.

Commonly all handguns will likely require a caliber specific cleaning rod with a brush, a patch loop or jag, solvent, oil, grease, and a rag.

[steel30]

You should learn to field strip your weapon for sure but probably isn't required after EVERY range day, depending on how many rounds fired. I know for some handguns a simple barrel swab and wipe down and you are GTG.

[fallout1]

Springfield XD9--thanks!

What kind of gun do you have? Youtube has some surprisingly good cleaning videos out there.

[fallout1]

Thanks all--these are great tips, much appreciated.