Initial Cleaning & Maintenance Recommendations

[rawfuls]

So, as some of you may know, I have a Wingmaster 870 with my name written on it ready for pickup next Thursday.

It's a used 870, and it does look pretty used.
With that being said, I'll be going to the range on the 30th with some friends and would love to have a performing firearm, and not have to rent out due to failures/filthy gun.

I've never cleaned a gun before.
I see lots of threads on initial strip + relubrication, which seems a good idea... but how do I do this?
Any recommendations to a cleaning kit, supplies to purchase, lube, etc?

Should I take it to the range on the 30th and just shoot it, and see what needs to be done?

[L84CABO]

Congrats on the new to you gun!

Google "Remington 870 owners manual" and I bet you'll find a copy of it on line. Check Remington's site directly if you need to but I'm betting Google will get you there. This is as good of place as any to start (ie reading the manual).

Next is this...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWOhN4ZoAqo

Now I haven't watched this video myself but I'm familiar with the reviewer and his stuff is usually pretty good. If you search on YouTube for "Remington 870 cleaning," I suspect you will find a bunch more. The interwebz is your friend for gun stuff.

For a cleaning kit you can walk into just about any gun store and find a basic shotgun cleaning kit. Amazon too, of course. Here's a simple basic kit...

http://www.amazon.com/Kleenbore-Gun-Care-Accessories-Included/dp/B0014VQ72E/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1432187725&sr=8-2&keywords=shotgun+cleaning+kit

You need the 12 Gauge kit (defined by the size of the brush that comes with it).

And yea, given that the gun is used, I would go through it and clean it before you first take it out. Give the components a good look make sure nothing is cracked/broken.

And perhaps I'm stating the obvious but make absolutely sure the gun is unloaded before you start tearing it down.

Let us know where you have questions.

[bigbearbear]

I recommend the following:
- 12 gauge bore brush. Don't buy anything fancy, just a cheap bronze brush will do.
- Cleaning rod.
- 0000 Steel wool.
- Painter's rag from places like Home Depot and Lowes.
- CLP of your choice. I use SEAL 1 myself. Get both the liquid and paste type.

Keep the choke in the barrel when you clean it, DO NOT remove it when cleaning or you'll damage the threads.

Wrap the 0000 steel wool around the bore brush and use it to clean your barrel. It will do a much better job than any fancy bore brush you can buy, and the bore brush will last basically forever because the steel wool is the material scraping off the gunk and build up.

Concentrate on the chamber of the shotgun, make it smooth and shiny.

And don't worry about the steel wool, it will not damage the barrel in anyway. It is way too soft compared to the metal of the barrel.

Use the painter's rag in place of pre-cut patches. You can cut them into any size you need. I use them to wipe down my shotgun bolt carrier and clean up the receiver. I also cut a small strip, put some CLP on it and push it through the barrel to coat it.

Once the barrel is clean, remove the choke and clean it. I put a layer of paste type CLP on the inside of the choke with a small brush and leave it there before putting it back. I've found that if I do this, the amount of carbon and plastic build up is a lot less. This makes the choke easier to clean.

OPTIONAL: Anti-seize paste. If you find that your removable choke keeps coming loose after shooting, and you'll prefer not to have to re-tighten it constantly, apply a layer of anti-seize around the thread of your choke and then screw it in. It sounds little odd but the anti-seize will actually let you tighten the choke tighter, making it much less likely to come loose during shooting. I use this one sometimes:

http://www.amazon.com/Permatex-77124-Nickel-Anti-Seize-Lubricant/dp/B0002UENJ2/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1432251910&sr=8-8&keywords=anti-sieze

[rawfuls]

Thank you both for the detailed posts!
Just what I needed!

I think I'll go ahead and order a kit online...
How's this guy look?

http://www.amazon.com/Hoppes-Universal-Gun-Cleaning-Accessory/dp/B001HBHNM4/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1432362825&sr=8-5&keywords=shotgun+cleaning+kit+12+gauge

vs.

http://www.amazon.com/Kleenbore-Gun-Care-Accessories-Included/dp/B0014VQ72E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1432362825&sr=8-1&keywords=shotgun+cleaning+kit+12+gauge

I like having a case so I can store it all in one package and drop it under the bed next to the 870 case as well.

It sounds like pump shotguns are pretty robust and stupid easy to maintain & shoot... hopefully that's so when I break it down next week!

[L84CABO]

Thank you both for the detailed posts!
Just what I needed!

I think I'll go ahead and order a kit online...
How's this guy look?

http://www.amazon.com/Hoppes-Universal-Gun-Cleaning-Accessory/dp/B001HBHNM4/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1432362825&sr=8-5&keywords=shotgun+cleaning+kit+12+gauge

vs.

http://www.amazon.com/Kleenbore-Gun-Care-Accessories-Included/dp/B0014VQ72E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1432362825&sr=8-1&keywords=shotgun+cleaning+kit+12+gauge

I like having a case so I can store it all in one package and drop it under the bed next to the 870 case as well.

It sounds like pump shotguns are pretty robust and stupid easy to maintain & shoot... hopefully that's so when I break it down next week!

Either of those kits will work...mostly. The first one seems like pretty good value. You get a lot for $20 ish. But note that this kit does not appear as if it comes with any solvent or oil so you will need to buy those separately. You can buy an all in one CLP like this...

http://www.amazon.com/Break-Free-Cleaner-Lubricant-Preservative-Squeeze/dp/B0050GW7KU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1432400749&sr=8-1&keywords=clp

Or you can buy solvent and oil separately. Like these...

(FYI, I like their gel cause it doesn't move around as much but regular solvent is fine too)

http://www.amazon.com/M-Pro-Bore-Cleaning-Ounce-Bottle/dp/B00162LT5Q/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1432400854&sr=8-7&keywords=mpro+7

Oil...

http://www.amazon.com/M-Pro-Gun-Oil-Ounce-Bottle/dp/B0031D0G4I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1432400978&sr=8-1&keywords=mpro+7

A lot of folks use Hoppe 9 solvent too...

http://www.amazon.com/Hoppes-Cleaning-Solvent-1-Pint-Bottle/dp/B000JMLUC6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1432401025&sr=8-1&keywords=hoppe+9

There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of options for solvents and oils. People sometimes get pretty particular about the products they use on their guns but the reality is that just about any of them will work. You need a solvent and an oil (or an all in one). You can even use motor oil if you need to. The links I've provided you are for decent stuff and will do the job.

Just a general note about solvents. It's solvent so you want to be careful what you get it on. Meaning if you're cleaning your gun on your wife's nice kitchen table, you probably want to put something down to protect it. And as a general rule, I try to keep solvent limited to metal parts. Keep it away from night sights and similar, wood stocks, etc., if you can. Some of them...like the Hoppe's can be kinda stinky too. Some of us, however, love the smell.

[bigbearbear]

If you're looking for solvent, don't buy anything fancy. I use WD40 myself, it is a pretty good solvent, cheap and available anywhere. Just don't rely on it as a lube and you'll be fine.

[rawfuls]

Thanks y'all for your comments & tips!

I'm going to go ahead and try out the Kleenbore Kit:

http://www.amazon.com/Kleenbore-Gun-Care-Accessories-Included/dp/B0014VQ72E/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1432187725&sr=8-2&keywords=shotgun+cleaning+kit

I'm going to see how it is to clean the shotgun is first, how many patches, etc etc.
After the first initial cleaning, I'm going to go price the steel wool & cleaning patches and see if it's cheaper to go the painters rags & steel wool instead of new bronze brushes and patches.

Either way, the Kleenbore has the Break Free CLP already included, too; though it's only a 2oz can, I can see how much of it I actually use, etc.

I'm getting excited!
Only 4 more days left in jail, but 5 days until I can clean, and 6 until I shoot!

[ysr_racer]

Don't overthink cleaning a shotgun. Clean it every thousand rounds or so, wipe down the outside after every use.