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

For decades I used Hoppe's No. 9 solvent for bore cleaning, and Hoppe's Gun Oil to lube. The usual brass bore brush, cleaning rods, cotton patches. I watched Hickock 45s youtube vid on cleaning and started toothbrushing the receivers of semi autos, leaving them dry, the way he showed. I like that.

The bore snake came along and I love those. Kind of a lazy man's way of doing it. Today I cleaned 4 semi-autos that needed it. I used Break Free CLP to clean and Miltec to lube. The CLP is a first for me, but I've read so many guys use it, that I figured why not.

So what is your solvent and lube of choice ?

Way back I used the brass bore brushes and cotton patches to clean the bores. I would plug the barrel at the chamber, fill the bore with Sweets 7.62 Solvent, let sit for a bit and then pour it out to clean the copper fouling out. Keep in mind this is going back 30 years but I see they still sell Sweets.

The FN FAL rifle got a thorough cleaning of the gas return tube, gas regulator plug, gas tappet rod and spring. Those were lightly oiled for storage but swabbed dry before use to try and keep the carbon build up down. The breach block carrier, breach block and internal rails got looked after too. Lot of extra work compared to a bolt action rifle.

Those were the days, miss they sometimes.

Bob

I use the Hoppes No. 9 solvent and lubricant because it is available almost anywhere and it works for me. There are probably better products out there but I'm okay with the Hoppes products.
I have used Break Free and didn't care for it. I tried a sample of Miltec and liked it. I might buy some if it was on the shelf when I need more cleaning supplies. Honestly, I don't get out to the range much anymore.

I have a couple of bore snakes. I couldn't believe how nice a barrel looked after using the Bore Snake for the first time on a Auto 5 that hadn't been shot in @ 20 years.

I still keep a bottle of No. 9 around because I LOVE the smell of it! :) ((Almost as much as I love No. 7...OLD No. 7, that is :p))

As a gunsmith, when I'm getting ready to work on a gun that requires a detail strip, I use Simple Green. It is safe on all finishes and cleans everything off. However, with it cleaning everything off, everything is also lubricating oils. So, the need to properly lube after reassembly is vital.

For non-detail stripped guns, I use (exclusively) Pro-Shot products, out of Taylorville, Il. Back in the early '90's I use to shoot competitively with John Dameron Sr., which was the founder of Pro-Shot. He has since passed away, however, John Jr. has kept the company alive.

Lube wise. For oils, I use Pro-Shot clp OR (don't laugh, I've been doing this awhile) 30 weight motor oil.

For AR's and other high temp bolts, I use (again, don't laugh) high temp wheel bearing grease. Any grease that has molybdenum disulfide (Moly D) is great stuff!


Edit: I should add. When I use Simple Green, after cleaning with a brush and rinsing with water, I heat the parts to 150 - 175 F for about 15-30 mins. This allows for the water to evaporate, in places I can't get to. I have a cerakote oven, but a kitchen oven works too.

Being Old School, there is nothing as addicting as Hoppe's No 9 gun owners perfume. I'm a fan of G96 as it will stop rust and it smells good too. The G96 is my reach for lubricants for most everything.

As to new products, I rate SEAL-1 Plus, over Frog Lube. I notice that I have to use a lot less solvent to remove jacketing or leading than I used to. When applied properly, stuff just doesn't stick. The last couple years I've been doing a lot more shooting in a dry desert environment and have been very pleased with Gunzilla for it's non-ionic formula in a dusty place.

I guess I'm old school too.
I've been using Hoppes solvent and oil, brass brushes, patches and an old toothbrush since I was a kid.
Gotta love the smell. You could walk into a room blindfolded where someone is cleaning and know what is going on.
My philosophy is why change...it works.

Pete <:-}

Sweets 7.62 for cleaning and then the frog lube. I will have to follow Mikes lead and try the Seal 1. I have used Simple Green it cuts thru carbon like nobody's business.

To Bob:FN's are built like tanks, used to have three of them. They and the M 14 are the last of the true battle rifles IMO.

Ballistol.....

I've been out of the gunsmith business for at least 35 years. I still have a large econo size bottle of #9 in the garage.... Everything else is gone.

Most of the lubricating we did was with wd40 in the gal can... a light mist and then blow it all off until it felt and looked dry. At -40c, when you have a polar bear coming at you, the last thing you want is a firing mechanism slowed down by gelled lube. At the range in more hospitable climates, Birchwood Casey Barricade was our goto, with a bit of Hoppes gun oil where good old oil was the right thing to use.

I seem to recall we had some more serious stuff for fouled barrels, plugged the barrel at one end, filled it full and let it sit for 24+ hours before brass brushing the daylights out of it using good Parker Hale coated cleaning rods. Looks like you can't get them anymore... Dewey coated rods look similar. I am however happy to see Parker Hale style cleaning jags are still made... they were the best in my book!

My *other* favorite scent from those days were Dykem steel blue layout dye... It's probably a *safer* formula now, not the toxic goodness of the olden days......<sigh>

Regards

Kaptain "The 17 ACKLEY HORNET was my favorite wildcat after the .35 Whelen" Zero

I use #9 and Eezox.

When you go to the range and you don't inhale the hoppes afterwards your adventure is incomplete.

Firearms have been a part of our life since the beginning, with an emphasis on keeping them clean & ready for service. Not having a shop or garage makes for some creativity . My current system consists of a cleaning cart & tool box. We have been shooting twice a week since a year ago, last June; preparing the son.

There are so many competitive lubricants on the market, that I like to try them all. Hoppe's stays in the rotation, lubricant & bore cleaner. A window cleaner , such as Windex,( the ammonia content needed) used in the barrel for high carbon cleaning on dirty military ammo, followed by a boiling water rinse. I use Sweet's , but currently out, I'll get some next month.

I have not bought swabs in over 25 years,,, all old t-shirts are re-purposed to swabs, while watching a good movie.

If you can get your hands on a Marsh Fountain Brush for final lubrication, they are worth their weight in gold.


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Nice rig Hirlau. I have a similar set up going. Not a cart, but similar products and methods. I use old tshirts for patches as well. I have the awesome Marsh ink brush too. Those things are the best! I use a one piece coated rod to clean the long guns. I use MPro7 foaming cleaner and Kroil mostly. I have given up on Hoppes #9 over the years. Kroil works better. The formula changed in Hoppes as well back a while ago. It smells slightly different. I like CLP for lube. No Frog Lube or other gimmicky junk. CLP worked for all the machine guns in Battalion and it should work fine for my guns as well. I will here soon start to experiment with ATF for lube and Moly sulfide grease for frame rails. I want to try it for myself. I stay away from WD-40. I have seen too many guns (specially colder climates) where it turns to a shellac like consistency and is hard to remove.
For anyone that has never tried Kroil go get ya a can. You will be amazed! It is sold through Kano Labs here in TN. As a cleaner it is amazing. A few drops on the yoke/crane of a revolver will be magic. I use it inside Smith revolvers on the rebounding block and trigger/hammer mechanism.

For my semi-auto handguns it's pretty simple: Safety glasses, spray brake cleaner (cheapest I can find like O'Reilly brand), & CLP.

For my rifles, it gets a bit more intensive. #9 is old faithful, Gunzilla (stuff creeps like Kroil & that's good!), and Frog Lube. A little tub of that stuff goes a LONG ways.

I'll look into the Seal 1.

Edit: A Seal 1 Complete Gun Care Kit is on it's way...

#9 of course. It works for me, and like other said - you know you are cleaning guns by the smell.

Hoppes No. 9 for cleaning CLP for preserving. I used buckets of CLP when I was in the Marine Corps and I would use it on a slightly bigger gun than my Ruger 357 mag.

Hah... that reminded me of my old Ruger 357 SA that I worked up a metallic silhouette load for way back then. 200grain round nose Hornady rifle bullets, no idea what the powder was, but on the chrono it clocked 1350fps and it knocked those rams down with authority.

Then.... my buddy from the gunshop, who was heading home, offered to set up the silhouettes again just before leaving. I went through almost 100 rounds of that ammo, wondering why I could get the ram to rock back and forth, but never fall over any more. To make matters worse, I had put Pachmayr grips on that Ruger and it blistered my hand something fierce. It was only when I went up to the targets to put them away, that I saw that Phil had propped the ram up with a stick.:mad:

Ah the good old days.....

Now, I don't even own a 22cal rifle.

Regards

Christian

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Originally Posted by EMC45

Nice rig Hirlau. I have a similar set up going. Not a cart, but similar products and methods. I use old tshirts for patches as well. I have the awesome Marsh ink brush too. Those things are the best! I use a one piece coated rod to clean the long guns. I use MPro7 foaming cleaner and Kroil mostly. I have given up on Hoppes #9 over the years. Kroil works better. The formula changed in Hoppes as well back a while ago. It smells slightly different. I like CLP for lube. No Frog Lube or other gimmicky junk. CLP worked for all the machine guns in Battalion and it should work fine for my guns as well. I will here soon start to experiment with ATF for lube and Moly sulfide grease for frame rails. I want to try it for myself. I stay away from WD-40. I have seen too many guns (specially colder climates) where it turns to a shellac like consistency and is hard to remove.
For anyone that has never tried Kroil go get ya a can. You will be amazed! It is sold through Kano Labs here in TN. As a cleaner it is amazing. A few drops on the yoke/crane of a revolver will be magic. I use it inside Smith revolvers on the rebounding block and trigger/hammer mechanism.

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I use the WD-40 to flush out the bore & any use of it on the bolt is for scrubbing with a brush,,, then it is removed & a lubricant is applied to the surface.

Yepp..... in the cold, remove *any* lubricant in the important bits.... It may wear slightly more, but you're not going to fire that many shots at -40... 30+ years ago, most lubricants would gel or just get sticky, if not outright freeze up.

I also thought something was odd about Birchwood Casey Barricade... it *looked* like the stuff we used to use... but the name seemed odd (I just skimmed through the listings at Brownells where we used to order most of our stuff from). Then I went on Birchwood Casey's site as it was bugging me and ahah... I found it in a company reply..... Barricade was formerly called SHEATH which was the name of it when I used it. There are many newer protectants and lubes out there with new and improved properties, but back in the early 80s, Sheath was pretty darn good.

Yes Yes Yes!!! Love the artillery.

CLP is all I use to lubricate my weapons. Hoppes No.9 to clean the bores. I used to use LSA until I discovered CLP. I will sometimes coat the outside of my weapons with Frog Lube (Love the peppermint smell).

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Originally Posted by razorjoe

Hoppes No. 9 for cleaning CLP for preserving. I used buckets of CLP when I was in the Marine Corps and I would use it on a slightly bigger gun than my Ruger 357 mag.

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Hoppe No. 9, used to buy quart bottles by the case from Bowers, back in the day, still have a couple bottes of the old yellow label.

I kept a 10-inch glass pasta jar with a wired glass lid and rubber gasket filled with No. 9. It holds, a 6-inch bull barreled, K frames, over the forcing cone, with the cylinder in the solution or a couple slides and barrel assemblies. Let them soak overnight and the lead & carbon will fall off. Just kept topping off the jar.

An assortment of different width, wooden handle cheap Boar paint brushes, and Artist brushes work well for oiling hard to reach spots, in place of a Shaving Brush used in the video below, as does a syringe with a long needle or squeeze bottle and plastic straw for.

A No. 9, soaked flannel patch and a Dewey rod and jig, plug the ends with foam earplug and let it soak, followed by, patches of Kroil, Sweets, Ballistol or Simple Green, then patches of No. 9, and dry.

The Dewey rods and jags, are worth the price, and will last a lifetime. Do not use a 3-piece rod or a steel rod, buy a good coated rod.

I cut my patches to size, from thin muslin. It has a bit of tooth to the weave, scrubs well, and is absorbent, follow with patches cut from thin flannel, and oil. A yard of muslin from a fabric store, cut into strips will yield a boat load of patch material. A rotary cutter and straight edge will make quick work of cutting. Cut into 4 inch strips, then to size with cutter or pair of scissors. Store the strips folded in plastic shoe boxes. Or cut to size.

For a quick clean, Boar Snakes work well, also, but a good rod and tight oiled patch will tell you of, any issues in a barrel, you can’t feel the boar with a boar snake.

Brake Cleaner, from Sam’s or Costco or Simple Green to degrease small parts and assemblies, after a toothbrush scrubbing and followed by No. 9 and any good lube. And a Can of compressed air, the pressure is just right for blowing out firearms, (3 pack at Costco).

I too, like Moly grease and Mobil One Synthetic motor oil to lube.

I don’t put a lot of faith in any Wonder Oil, though they all work. Regular maintenance, just like your razors is the key.

Here is a good video on Cleaning the AR. (Cleaning The AR 15" Seminar by Roger Ayscue at Hyatt Guns).

This video combined with an AR schematic will really help you understand the proper dis-assembly, cleaning, and re-assembly procedure and full of great info and tips.

Guns are bad and you all should be ashamed for owning them. The government will protect us and there is no need for anybody to own a gun.

Now to the original question... If I actually owned any of those evil implements of destruction, here's what I would do:

For semi-auto pistols, side by side shotguns, over-under shotguns semi-auto shotguns, and semi auto rifles, I prefer Hoppes or Breakfree CLP for cleaning with a Boresnake or bronze brushes. The EDC needs a little more frequent attention. I live in the desert so some sort of Dri-lube is a must.

For single-action revolvers, double action revolvers, lever action rifles, bolt action rifles, falling block rifles, and single shot 1000yd target rifles, they get Hoppes first and then whichever lead/copper remover is required to get them back where they need to be according to the Hawkeye Borescope. Ballistol is most often used to finish.

The smokepoles have their own unique cleaning regimen.

The full-autos like to be run wet and there has been a lot of experimentation there.

The suppressors go into the US cleaner with a 50/50 simple green mix.

If I was ever to purchase any of those noisy things, that is how I would take care of them.

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

I'm sure I will, there's just a few things on the Buy List in front of it. :rofl2:

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Originally Posted by EMC45

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

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Good stuff.

I always keep a quart of Kroil around, stuff will get into anything. I was turned onto the stuff when a 55gal drum came into the power plant under construction that I was a receiving manager at, somewhere around 1999-2000. I filled a quart squirt bottle full of it and took it home & fell in love with the stuff. I've also used it honing on a Charnley Forest stone...

The only thing negative I have to say about Kroil is- It creeps so well that if you get some in screw holes it will back the screws out. I kept having to tighten up screws on numerous firearms of mine (Ruger SBH, Marlin 1894, Remington Model 11 etc) and I came to the conclusion that is was the Kroil that was creeping all in the threads. The recoil and mechanical nature of the firearms was working it all loose.

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Originally Posted by EMC45

The only thing negative I have to say about Kroil is- It creeps so well that if you get some in screw holes it will back the screws out. I kept having to tighten up screws on numerous firearms of mine (Ruger SBH, Marlin 1894, Remington Model 11 etc) and I came to the conclusion that is was the Kroil that was creeping all in the threads. The recoil and mechanical nature of the firearms was working it all loose.

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Glad you posted this. I checked out amazon reviews of the stuff and it is apparently the cat's whiskers for removing stuck nuts/bolts. Even rusted stuck. I'm going to get some for that purpose, but doubt I'll lube my firearms with it. Got what I need for that. :)

Why on earth would you use this on your weapons? I can understand rusty bolts and things like that but weapons? If your weapons are that rusty, you shouldn't have weapons!!!

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.

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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.

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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 ???

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Originally Posted by kelbro

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

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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.

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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.

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

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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.

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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.

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Originally Posted by EMC45

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

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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). :nono: