AR cleaning.

[ERdept]

I know there are several threads on cleaning, so I don't need a referral to them.

Just asking your opinions on how you clean your AR's.

I feel it's sooo easy to just bore snake it, and do a field strip and clean.

But do you ever run a real rod, patch, and brush through yours?

[God Bless The Mauser]

I used to use a cleaning rod but I got a Gunslick pull through cleaning kit and I love it. For solvent I use CLP or Hoppes.

[Jonathan Doe]

I clean my AR's just like I clean my bolt guns.

[Timmay]

I use a power washer...

[Vtec44]

Bore snake with Hoppes #9
Disassemble and clean bolt carrier group / bolt (including extractor)
Lube bcg/bolt with thin layer of lithium grease (excluding bolt face)
Clean buffer tube & spring.
Clean and oil fire control group.
Clean and oil all outside metal surface.

[Jicko]

Dewey Rod, Jag

Bore guide

KG 1, 2, 3, 4, 12....

Dewey AR Chamber kit

JB bore paste, sweets, CLP, MPro7, Hoppes, etc...

[damndave]

tipton cleaning rod/jag

m pro-7, hoppes solvent, oil

i only use a bore snake for quickie jobs at the range

[oldschool88]

Is it true that you aren't supposed to use hoppes in a chrome lined barrel? I usually use CLP.

[God Bless The Mauser]

Is it true that you aren't supposed to use hoppes in a chrome lined barrel? I usually use CLP.

I've never heard that but my barrel is stainless so it doesn't matter to me. I would think that chrome should stand up to it though.

[oldschool88]

It was supposed to be something with the ammonia being harmful to the chrome.

[Ravenslair]

Shoot, shoot some more, shoot even more. After many sessions and hundreds or thousands of rounds, field strip and wipe down internals and external with CLP. Run a few patches of CLP down the pipe. Run a few dry patches down the pipe. Re-assemble and start all over again.

[Darklyte27]

Bootcamp style, with all the yelling and screaming.

[SanSacto]

I have been doing a lot of reasearch on cleaning AR-15s the last few days, because I have my first upper on the way! In no way am I speaking from experience here, I am just trying to relay some of the things I have learned. I am going to buy a carbon fiber cleaning rod instead of using the three piece rods. I am going to stay away from the bore snakes because although they clean the bore good, the actual bore snake itself is hard to clean. So I am going to use a one piece cleaning rod. There are also AR-15 breech rod guide available, so that no damage is caused by the cleaning rod. Also I guess there are special AR-15 bore brushes available. Obviously push from breech to the muzzle, never vice-versa. Now there is a lot of debate over which solvent(s) are best to clean and lubricate an AR-15. Anyways I have heard that Break Free CLP, which is a cleaner/lubricant/protectant, is one of the most common solvents. However I want to use solvents that do an individual job the right way. So I am going to go with M-Pro 7 Gun Cleaner. This cleaner strips the metal from all substances, and it cleans carbon, lead and some copper out of the bore. To get the rest of the copper out of the bore I am going to use Wipe-Out foaming bore cleaner, which is a solvent made specifically to tackle copper build up. Now the AR-15 should be clean at this point, but it needs lubricant. I have heard good things about Militec-1, which offers lubricant in grease and oil form. I am planning on using the Militec-1 oil as a lubricant/preservative all over the gun, except on the metal bearing parts. I will use the Militec-1 on those parts, which include the bolt and carrier. If this process sounds confusing, I understand. I am still trying to find out if this is a good method to cleaning and lubricating my new AR-15.

[LazyAndy]

When it comes to cleaning guns, I am lazy. Therefore, I prefer cleaning to an extent that is "good enough" instead of spending hours getting the rifle all pretty for a white glove inspection. The first thing I do is to separate the rifle into its upper and lower halves. The lower generally doesn't get dirty, so I just wipe off the hammer with an oil soaked cloth and consider the lower done. Then once I remove the bcg and charging handle, I spray it all down with brake cleaner. This flushes out the crud without me having to try to get it off with painstaking minutes/hours with q tips and rags. I then attach the chamber brush and clean out the chamber lugs and flush the chamber with brake cleaner again to clear out any residue. Then I clean the bore using a rod and patches/brush/jags until the patch comes out light gray. I then move on to the bolt carrier group. Using a dremel, I remove whatever caked carbon is on the tail of the bolt. From there, I scrub the bolt face using a tooth brush and spray again with brake cleaner. At this point, I consider the gun to be "good enough" clean.
Relubrication is just as easy. I just hose down the BCG, charging handle, and interior of the upper with CLP and run an oily patch through the bore followed by a dry one. Finally, I put a drop of oil on the front sight detent and reassemble. The rifle is now clean and lubed. I put it away for the day and wipe off the excess lube the next morning.

[NSR500]

I usually clean my guns after every range trip, but for my LWRC piston gun I'm trying not to clean it until it starts to affect performance. I want to see just how dirty it can go beyond a DI setup.