Thread: Cleaning Firearms ..... What Are You Using ?

Originally Posted by EMC45

Kroil cuts through carbon like nothing I have ever seen. It also loosens lead and copper deposits like a champ. MPro7 cuts through the carbon crud very well too. To clarify I use CLP to lube my guns. Frame rails usually get a little grease and if it rotates against something it gets CLP. I do however put a couple drops of Kroil in the yoke on a revolver to slick up the cylinder and have been known to hit the moving parts of a K or J frame internals with it sometimes.

Next on the testing block will be trans fluid and Molybdenum grease. Car care products for the guns. I have heard for years that they all work great. We shall see. I have enough CLP and Kroil and gun grease (RIG, Tetra, etc.) to last a lifetime, however I would like to know that the auto stuff works too. I have heard that it does and very well too.

I missed the whole point and jist of this completely. I actually thought people were using this to clean rust from their weapons . Sorry for the misunderstanding. Just goes to show you that you can read something into a sentence that isn't even there! Just the old SgtMaj coming out in me. I was supposed to retire that deity along time ago!

Odd that the inside of my Kroil cans rust ???

Originally Posted by kelbro

Odd that the inside of my Kroil cans rust ???

Kroil is a penetrating oil, not a lubricating oil. Like WD40 and others, its main ingredients is petroleum distillates (mineral spirits, naptha, etc.), which 'strips' most of the oils, along with 'gunk'. The oils are the rust preventative.

Originally Posted by AcesandEights

Kroil is a penetrating oil, not a lubricating oil. Like WD40 and others, its main ingredients is petroleum distillates (mineral spirits, naptha, etc.), which 'strips' most of the oils, along with 'gunk'. The oils are the rust preventative.

Thanks for that. Good to know if considering to use it on a firearm.

Originally Posted by EMC45

Kroil cuts through carbon like nothing I have ever seen. It also loosens lead and copper deposits like a champ. MPro7 cuts through the carbon crud very well too. To clarify I use CLP to lube my guns. Frame rails usually get a little grease and if it rotates against something it gets CLP. I do however put a couple drops of Kroil in the yoke on a revolver to slick up the cylinder and have been known to hit the moving parts of a K or J frame internals with it sometimes.

Next on the testing block will be trans fluid and Molybdenum grease. Car care products for the guns. I have heard for years that they all work great. We shall see. I have enough CLP and Kroil and gun grease (RIG, Tetra, etc.) to last a lifetime, however I would like to know that the auto stuff works too. I have heard that it does and very well too.

Yes, using Kroil as the solvent for cleaning is the cats meow. On the automotive stuff, I've used Slick 50 for bolts and slides and it works very well. I added a quart of it to my Suburban when I got it and kept maybe a half pint for this purpose...a little goes a LONG ways. Works great on my 1911 slides, AR bolt, and 10/22 bolt (I applied it with a old toothbrush). I've since gotten away from it with Frog Lube and the Seal 1 that I just got in. Time to go to the range...

I still use Hoppe's No. 9 and my old cleaning set I got when I was working as a firearms instructor.

Most of the following is a C&P from here:

In storage:

field strip and lube about once a year; sometimes a detail strip every 3-5 years.


In regular use or carry:

brush it off and check lube every week or less.
field strip every month or less.
detail strip every 6-12 months (or ASAP if the firearm gets wet from any liquid or heavy condensation).


After firing:

at least a field strip every day until the first patch of the day comes out clean.


I used to use Hoppe's #9 and light gun or motor oil (or 3-in-1).
Since 1970 it was Hoppe's #9 and CLP. RIG for storage.
Since about 1992 to now: Almost exclusively Ballistol for cleaning, lube, and long-term storage. Occasionally, not often, Hoppe's #9 (mostly for copper fouling and nostalgia?) is still used right before the Ballistol. For semi-automatics, the Ballistol is sometimes replaced with Mobile 1 0W-20.

For heavy bearing surfaces like bolt action camming surfaces I use a light to medium grease, such as slick 50, with moly-d added.
For very sandy and dusty areas I use a dry lube, like Dri-Slide.

I never use any metal brushes; mostly just nylon for outer surfaces. Always a pull-through rod like Otis'; except a brass rod for rifle chamber cleaning and anywhere else a pull-through won't work.

I find bore snakes are also handy once the brush is removed. I use them to be sure excess lube and daily "carry lint" is removed from the barrel. Easy to wash whenever they need it.

Originally Posted by EMC45

I'm telling ya guys.... get some Kroil.

but use it away from fire and in open air. It will clean or loosen anything, but it is volatile and stinky (and probably bad for your lungs and skin).