anyone steam clean their firearms?

[Henry47]

or even use a ultrasonic machine?

I would think that would get rid of all the oils/dirt/grime pretty easiy

[Johnny Diablo]

I'l take the bait. Sounds like a real bad idea.

[Ruiner]

or even use a ultrasonic machine?

I would think that would get rid of all the oils/dirt/grime pretty easiy

I use a steamer to get rid of cosmoline, etc on surplus parts, but not on anything else. I have no experience with ultrasonic cleaners.

[DB2]

Uh, no. Although I typically don't clean my guns.

[Henry47]

I'l take the bait. Sounds like a real bad idea.

why?

[bruss01]

A lot of people will shriek "ohe noes! Water warps wood and rusts steel! Never use water to clean a gun! ohe noes!"

These same people neglect the fact that prior to this century, boats were made of wood, and later steel. Locomotives were made of steel. And in the era of black powder and later corrosive primers, firearms of all sorts were routinely cleaned with water to dissolve the corrosive combustion by-products. Yes water CAN rust steel and WILL if proper care is not taken. So take proper care, duh.

I personally cleaned an SKS stock by stripping it with easy-off oven cleaner and running it through the dishwasher. This is an easy way to ruin a gun stock, in the same way that starting a car and running it down the street is a good way to wreck it... as in, if you don't know what you're doing or fail to exercise reasonable care, it is likely to end badly.

In my case, this gunstock was soaked with cosmoline. By that I do not mean it was simply COATED with cosmoline. It had sat, covered in cosmo, through untold blistering summers and frigid winters. During the multiple heating/cooling cycles, air was forced out of the natural wood during heating, and cooling, the contracting air inside the wood sucked cosmoline inside the grain of the wood. The only way to address this is to reverse the process. Wipe down the exterior of the stock, wrap it in paper towels, and put it in the oven on low heat, around 180-200 degrees. Air inside the stock expands, pushing the cosmoline out. Remove the stock from the oven when it quits sweating QUICKLY remove all surface cosmoline and allow the stock to rest at room temp for a couple days. That allows the air inside the stock to replenish. Repeat the process. Now you need to remove all the old grease from the immediate surface so the new finish will adhere properly. The stock is stripped using easy off oven cleaner (tung oil is just hardened grease like you would have inside an oven) and then put the stock in the dishwasher. As the dishwasher heats up, any last remaining cosmo is forced to the surface. There should be little detergent in the water, just enough to cut the grease a bit. Now here is the important part. When the wash cycle finishes, REMOVE THE STOCK IMMEDIATELY. You do not want a dry cycle. You do not let it sit there for 15 minutes or half an hour like an ignoramus. here's why. You just heated your stock. The air inside expanded pushing the cosmoline and any water out of the stock. If you remove and wipe down right away (as in immediately, not "in a minute"), the water will never penetrate the stock enough to warp it. If you let it sit, however, it will suck water deep inside the wood. Various fibers in the wood will expand or contract differently - result = warping. You then let the stock sit and surface dry slowly for several days. Do not try to accelerate the process, a cool and reasonably dry area will suffice. Following this process my stock turned out perfectly. I have a beautiful nice finish on it, and no rusting or warping. Of course I am not an ignoramus, I thought this through. If you have problems following directions, are easily distracted, or tend to wander off in the middle of things, then you will probably ruin your gun attempting to do what I did. This requires attention, thought, intelligence and follow-through. Previous generations had no problems coming up with these requisites, however they seem to be in shorter supply these days. As always, YMMV.

BTW- everyone I have questioned regarding the "dishwasher method" who said they had a problem, violated one or more of the stipulations I listed. Gee, they did it wrong and bad result, go figure.

ETA - It should go without saying that you remove ALL metal from the stock before attempting this. However, THESE DAYS, never assume anything from one's audience. Hardware is always removed before beginning a refinishing attempt. Sigh.

[bruss01]

Uh, no. Although I typically don't clean my guns.

Really? So you pay someone to do it for you? Nice to have that kind of money.

Or you just shoot them until they malfunction or lose all semblance of accuracy, then sell or trade them off?

Seriously, now I'm curious.

[kermit315]

I have thought about getting an ultrasonic type cleaner, or a garage parts cleaner. Truthfully, I want the parts cleaner for car parts, but would clean guns in it also, using the right solvents.

[aermotor]

I love rust.

[Grumpyoldretiredcop]

Steam cleaning would probably work to some extent, provided that you dried and lubricated parts immediately. The probability of condensation in inaccessible areas might be an issue.

I've used ultrasonic cleaners. You don't have to use water, just about any fluid would work. Many times, firearms need not be fully disassembled. That being said, I used standard solvents until someone recommended using water and Simple Green. Works very well, far less messy than most solvents. Blowing out excess cleaning mix with compressed air, then dipping or spraying oil or your favorite lube followed by blowing out the excess, again with compressed air, eliminates corrosion issues.

I've done the dishwasher thing with black powder revolvers (wood removed) but it's not safe (because the wife didn't like it very much).

[zinfull]

I got an ultrasonic cleaner for pistols. Works great. 12 min wash, 1 min water rinse, blow excess water off and then 10 min lube bath. Remove shake off excess and let rest. Then add any extra grease or lub where it is needed. I can clean a lot of guns in a very short time. Just do not use it on tupperware. I have been told it will whiten up glock frames.

jerry

[aermotor]

Seriously though guys, they are firearms, not collectors cars or something... to each his own I guess.

[DB2]

Really? So you pay someone to do it for you? Nice to have that kind of money.

Or you just shoot them until they malfunction or lose all semblance of accuracy, then sell or trade them off?

Seriously, now I'm curious.

Since you seem to have taken my response so serious, and come across demanding I guess I'll answer.

If they shoot corrosive. Those get cleaned.
If they are blued, I wipe them down with oil occasionally. I clean them when the bores start to look crappy.

If there AK's. I don't bother. Just wipe them down, shoot some oil in.

AR's get wiped down. Clean them if there are any issues.

Ever heard of a gun being ruined by cleaning it to much? Well I have a Garand that is living proof. I did say I typically don't clean them. Not I won't clean a gun even if my life depended on it.

[bruss01]

Steam cleaning would probably work to some extent, provided that you dried and lubricated parts immediately. The probability of condensation in inaccessible areas might be an issue.

Exactly. Getting steel wet, no problem. Leaving steel wet, problem. Compressed air is terrific for nooks and crannies. Blow driers (yes the kind for hair) do a pretty good job too.

I've done the dishwasher thing with black powder revolvers (wood removed) but it's not safe (because the wife didn't like it very much).

Yeah, I pretty much try to accomplish all gun projects when the wife is away for the day. Even though the end state is the same either way, I can't bear all the harping about the smell, etc. Do it when she is away, clean up after yourself and air out the house, and no one's the wiser. It's kindest for all concerned. And yes I do go through the house like CSI and clean up all my own evidence.

[bruss01]

Since you seem to have taken my response so serious, and come across demanding I guess I'll answer.

If they shoot corrosive. Those get cleaned.
If they are blued, I wipe them down with oil occasionally. I clean them when the bores start to look crappy.

If there AK's. I don't bother. Just wipe them down, shoot some oil in.

AR's get wiped down. Clean them if there are any issues.

Ever heard of a gun being ruined by cleaning it to much? Well I have a Garand that is living proof. I did say I typically don't clean them. Not I won't clean a gun even if my life depended on it.

Thanks for the response. It's interesting to me to see what other people do and why.

I've never seen a gun ruined by cleaning too much. I HAVE seen guns ruined by being cleaned improperly. Back in the day I'm sure that running a ramrod down the muzzle loaded with grit and grime grinding away the muzzle was considered "properly". It isn't nowadays. At least for anyone who takes the maintenance of their firearms seriously.

I'm assuming that the "I'll clean it when it malfunctions" is reserved for guns you shoot for fun at the range, and not with guns you depend on in defensive situations to save your life... or does it? Just curious.