Cleaner recommendations for old grease

[Dago Red]

Hey guys, cleaning so,e old revolvers for a friend, strip down to get it all. And I mean OLD.

Now, I usually use one shot, as a spray it works good. I hate CLP am not sure why everyone thinks it?s great but maybe I?ve missed something. Maybe I stills have some somewhere even.

Over the years I?ve gathered a bunch of things. I really like blue wonder for barrels and the fact it?s a hoop and doesn?t evaporate I think helps. Usually I will use the blue winder for fouling and follow with the one shot. One shot for outsides, slide rails and so on. Not dealing w a lot of copper but I have 762 if needed. I have some slip 725 as well but seldom use it.

I?m wondering, is there something else good I should try? Stick with my combo? I?m thinking something that can be scrubbed on and then let it work, like the blue wonder. Maybe I?ve already got the winning combo?

A lot of people I know have never heard of the BW. It?s pretty awesome if you haven?t tried it. I?m just open to improving my methods. Short of buying a sonic cleaner. Can?t justify it since almost everything the last few years is the shotguns

Thanks
Red

[jarhead714]

Get ahold of some avgas maybe?

[Dvrjon]

For really old grease? Brake Cleaner (non-chlorine).

Remove wood, plastics, cover paint areas.

Don't screw up.

Liberally re-oil everything because all lubrication will be gone with the grease.

[CSACANNONEER]

25 years ago, I bought a handheld steam cleaner to cut through cosmoline. I'm sure your old grease isn't any harder to remove than cosmoline.

[ar15barrels]

Hey guys, cleaning so,e old revolvers for a friend, strip down to get it all. And I mean OLD.

Diesel fuel, kerosene, white spirit, stoddard solvent or real paint thinner will all work.
You can't buy real paint thinner in most parts of CA anymore but they are still pumping diesel fuel at many gas stations cheaper than you can buy any of the other solvents.

[geedavell]

Kroil

[Rickrock1]

As AR mentioned diesel fuel.

LetsGoBrandon!

[bruce381]

Diesel fuel, kerosene, white spirit, stoddard solvent or real paint thinner will all work.
You can't buy real paint thinner in most parts of CA anymore but they are still pumping diesel fuel at many gas stations cheaper than you can buy any of the other solvents.

good thoughts or go to home depot and get a quart of mineral spirts take off wood and plastic soak for a few hours and clean.

[bruce381]

Diesel fuel, kerosene, white spirit, stoddard solvent or real paint thinner will all work.
You can't buy real paint thinner in most parts of CA anymore but they are still pumping diesel fuel at many gas stations cheaper than you can buy any of the other solvents.

or get a quart of mineral spirts which is stoddard solvent and soak a few hours take off wood and plastic put back into can and re use the clean stuff.

[bruce381]

Diesel fuel, kerosene, white spirit, stoddard solvent or real paint thinner will all work.
You can't buy real paint thinner in most parts of CA anymore but they are still pumping diesel fuel at many gas stations cheaper than you can buy any of the other solvents.

and or go to home depot and buy a quart of mineral spirts works great

[ar15barrels]

good thoughts or go to home depot and get a quart of mineral spirts take off wood and plastic soak for a few hours and clean.

CA mineral spirits is nowhere as effective as non-CA mineral spirits.
I believe that CA mineral spirits is water based now.
Same for the paint thinner.

I buy my mineral spirits and paint thinners out of state now.

[smoothy8500]

Kerosene always worked pretty well for me as a solvent. Although in California it's probably now made with water as Randall AR15Barrels mentions.....

[ar15barrels]

Kerosene always worked pretty well for me as a solvent. Although in California it's probably now made with water as Randall AR15Barrels mentions.....

The kerosene alternatives are nothing like good old oily kerosene.

[Dago Red]

Seriously, even our thinner and mineral spirits are frickin different?! Such BS. I have a couple cans though, one of each. They’re OLD, at least 15 years, so I’ll see if they are good or Water based. I have some acetone too, does that do any good?

Diesel is probably easiest and cheapest. I’m not sure if the others need that much, I haven’t taken them apart yet, doing one at a time. I’m sure just the stuff I have will work but I figure this is a good opportunity to test methods and see which I like best.

I’ve been reluctant on any of the strong degreaser, due to the whole “oiling it really well” because I’m not sure I’d it’s a oil it all wipe it off, or does a spray and dry lube, like the one shot, work well enough. I guess if I just do synthetic motor oil and wipe it off is it enough?

I run synthetic 5w-20 in my suburban, is that fine? I’ve got quarts of it because damn thing leaks

Thanks guys.
Red

[ar15barrels]

Seriously, even our thinner and mineral spirits are frickin different?! Such BS. I have a couple cans though, one of each. They?re OLD, at least 15 years, so I?ll see if they are good or Water based. I have some acetone too, does that do any good?

Diesel is probably easiest and cheapest. I?m not sure if the others need that much, I haven?t taken them apart yet, doing one at a time. I?m sure just the stuff I have will work but I figure this is a good opportunity to test methods and see which I like best.

I?ve been reluctant on any of the strong degreaser, due to the whole ?oiling it really well? because I?m not sure I?d it?s a oil it all wipe it off, or does a spray and dry lube, like the one shot, work well enough. I guess if I just do synthetic motor oil and wipe it off is it enough?

I run synthetic 5w-20 in my suburban, is that fine? I?ve got quarts of it because damn thing leaks

Thanks guys.
Red

If they are 15 years old, they are the old style real-deal stuff.

The law went into effect around 2013.
After that, paint thinners and solvents all had to go to a low VOC formula which precludes the use of all the old style solvents like mineral or white spirits that were in all the various thinners and paints before 2013.

Acetone cuts grease too but it just evaporates so fast that it's not as useful.
If you put parts in a ziploc bag or screw-top jar with acetone and seal the container to stop evaporation, it works good.

I recently got an ultrasonic cleaner.
The problem is that you use water-based cleaners so you have to get ALL that water out afterwards and re-oil the gun.
Doing it right requres full disassembly to get all the springs and detents out of their holes and dry the trapped water out.
Compressed air and WD-40 works fine to protect everything and then wipe off the excess with an oily rag.