mr_magicfingers Posted March 16, 2014 Report Share Posted March 16, 2014 I've never quite understood how people can buy something expensive and then do absolutely nothing to maintain it. Seeing a piece of mechanical craftsmanship left to become dirty, dusty and full of years of neglect just makes me twitch. Mind you, it does mean I can buy these things more cheaply and then spend the time returning them to their former glory and care for them properly. Bought a lovely little Beretta S56E on Friday that looked like it had never been cleaned. Spent 4 hours today dismantling it, cleaning it, getting all the years of dirt and crud out of every nook and cranny then lubed it and put it back together. Looks a treat now I might be just a little ocd about cleaning it but that's better than the previous owner I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
browning123 Posted March 16, 2014 Report Share Posted March 16, 2014 I've never quite understood how people can buy something expensive and then do absolutely nothing to maintain it. Seeing a piece of mechanical craftsmanship left to become dirty, dusty and full of years of neglect just makes me twitch. Mind you, it does mean I can buy these things more cheaply and then spend the time returning them to their former glory and care for them properly. Bought a lovely little Beretta S56E on Friday that looked like it had never been cleaned. Spent 4 hours today dismantling it, cleaning it, getting all the years of dirt and crud out of every nook and cranny then lubed it and put it back together. Looks a treat now I might be just a little ocd about cleaning it but that's better than the previous owner I think. Have you got a picture? Refurbing shotguns has been my hobby for years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davyo Posted March 16, 2014 Report Share Posted March 16, 2014 (edited) Clean my guns as soon as I get home regardless of amoung of carts put through.I do the basic stuff,but dont strip anything I dont understand.Guns are serviced annually by smithy.It needs to function right not just look clean.At the end of the day its something that goes bang inches from you face. Edited March 16, 2014 by Davyo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danoi99 Posted March 16, 2014 Report Share Posted March 16, 2014 I went out to do some roost shooting the other week. Saw hardly anything in the air, was about to go and 1 fat pigeon came right overhead.................kaboom!! Went home, one shot fired...................Full strip down and clean. Takes 10 mins, all part of owning a gun, and it got me out of doing the washing up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rec-baller Posted March 16, 2014 Report Share Posted March 16, 2014 (edited) Went out with a mate of mine , he had taken His CZ 452 HMR, when he took it out of the bag it was a disgrace !!, I have never seen a more badly maintained rifle, it was going rusty all over the action and barrel, he must have used it in the wet and just put it away, when I commented on the condition he just laughed and said it was just a work tool, then when it failed to fire he had to spend 15 mins stripping the bolt down !. When i got my 452 out of my bag it was clean and shiny, he said mine was too clean and I looked after my toys too much,, but if know who's I rather buy if it ever came up for sale -- MINE! , Shaun Edited March 16, 2014 by rec-baller Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozzy518 Posted March 16, 2014 Report Share Posted March 16, 2014 I'm the same with all my guns. They come out the cabinet, get used or even get wet, the get a thorough clean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bullet boy Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 My guns are like new and always after a while bring them out and put a cloth over them and give them a clean. I can't for the life of me understand people who mistreat their guns.Yes they are working tools but when you spend a lot of money on kit you'd expect to look after it!I do anyway!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shootgun Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 Clean my guns as soon as I get home regardless of amoung of carts put through.I do the basic stuff,but dont strip anything I dont understand.Guns are serviced annually by smithy.It needs to function right not just look clean.At the end of the day its something that goes bang inches from you face. +1 And if i'm not shooting for more than 2-3 weeks, i still give them a clean.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr_magicfingers Posted March 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 (edited) Good to know it's not just me then I didn't take it down to it's little bits and pieces, don't know enough about that. What I did was Forend: unscrew the metal section, take that out, use napier gun cleaner to liberally spray all over it, use some scotchbrite to scrub off the rust spots and clean thoroughly then napier cleaner thoroughly round the springs and 'swivel pieces', blow out with air line then spray with more napier, wipe thoroughly to remove excess and put back onto forend wood. Action: Took the action out of the stock, never done that before. It was filthy everywhere. Got an old toothbrush head and my electric toothbrush, about 50 or so cotton buds and went to work with liberal amounts of napier cleaner, followed by scotchbrite and cleaner for about an 2 hours. Without actually disassembling the action, which I'm not skilled to do, that's about as clean as it was getting. Out to the workshop and sprayed it heavily with electrical contact cleaner and then used an air compressor to blow it all off and dry. Then a liberal spray of napier cleaner, again sprayed off with a compressor, which left a very thin coating of napier cleaner/lube on the action. Back indoors, a few very small drops of gun oil on the moving parts of the action, wiped off after and we're almost done. A cotton bud with a small amount of gun grease on it was used to wipe over the bearing parts of the face and moving parts in the section where the barrels go and it was back into the stock. Barrels: remove the ejectors that were very sticky, use scotchbrite and napier cleaner to clean the ejectors which were covered in sticky black gunk, same with the ejector springs and pins, then about 50 cotton buds soaked in napier cleaner to clean the goo out of the ejector spring holes and all the other crevices around the chambers. The scotchbrite and more napier to thoroughly scrub the barrels and remove the rust and crud from them. Then I cleaned the barrels as normal, repeated 4 times. I still think there's more to come but there's only so much you can do at one sitting. Put it all back together and it feels just so much better, along with looking better too. Much happier shooting it now. I didn't think to take before and after pics of it, but I'll take a photo later today and post it up. If there's anything I've missed or should have done differently, please chime in. I'm a novice with shotguns so sat down with youtube for an hour or two and watched everything I could but didn't find anything about cleaning the inside of the action, just a page on another site about spraying with carb cleaner and using an air compressor to blow it all off before lubing. Seems to have got the dirt and grit out anyway, which has to be better for it. I'll get it serviced at some point but it should be good for a while now. Edited March 17, 2014 by mr_magicfingers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamster Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 (edited) I think I can explain the rationale behind the other camp, I am awake roughly 16 hours a day, at least 80% of that is spent at work so even the thought of shooting let alone cleaning guns is a pipe dream. So we are left with approximately 32 potential hours per week to clean guns. Now being a family man I'd have to divide that time between shopping, shaving, bathing, getting dressed, eating, socialising, watching TV, going out, driving, repairing stuff, cutting the grass, cooking, shooting, plucking, paying bills, writing stuff, walking towards and away from stuff, reading, loading & unloading the washing machine, getting haircut, etc etc. So what I do is buy guns made from metal that's been blued to make them resistant to rust and if I can help it shotguns that have chromed barrel interiors which make them much less prone to corrosion. This way I can just shoot them and once in a while when I have time or if they get wet they get cleaned, otherwise a quick outer wipe with an oily rag and in the cabinet. Edited March 17, 2014 by Hamster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiffy Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 (edited) my guns are looked after, i wont say i clean every time particularly my clay gun but pretty close and they always get rubbed over with an old towel and an oily rag before going in a gun sock and being put away. but they are a tool, particulrarly my semi auto which i used for fowling it gets caked in mud, the metal works stripped, cleaned and oiled every outing if i fire a shot or not but the synthetic stock.. not so much theres a layer of mud on it all winter but as soon as fowling season was over it got a damn good cleaning and was as good as new or rather the stock was even with my care the rusting it just hates the sea air and salty mud so it will be going on holidays soon to get cerakoted Edited March 17, 2014 by kiffy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
team tractor Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 Always give mine a wipe over with an oily cloth . Never put them away if their wet or dam/ condensation . I clean the 12 g barrel 99% of the time tho . Mine are tools so the occasional dent on the wood work happens but I try my hardest not too. I'm a joiner by trade and wouldn't use a rusty chisel or hammer as you'd have an accident and it's the same with guns Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 I don't worry too much about cosmetics but I do about function so my guns get abused in the field but cosseted at home. I tend not to pay gunsmiths unless I need specialist services like choke boring or barrel threading because I don't have the tooling. Not bothered about re-sale value that much because if I loose money I either bought the wrong gun or got my full use from it. I think many fail to maintain fully because they are scared of tinkering or lack the aptitude. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandalf Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 I don't worry too much about cosmetics but I do about function so my guns get abused in the field but cosseted at home. I tend not to pay gunsmiths unless I need specialist services like choke boring or barrel threading because I don't have the tooling. Not bothered about re-sale value that much because if I loose money I either bought the wrong gun or got my full use from it. I think many fail to maintain fully because they are scared of tinkering or lack the aptitude. +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DUNKS Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 I recently bought a 130 year old 12 bore boxlock. Probably been owned by many people who fortunately had the right attitude towards cleaning. It's like new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 I recently bought a 130 year old 12 bore boxlock. Probably been owned by many people who fortunately had the right attitude towards cleaning. It's like new. Also made before the times of the "disposable" mentality, it was a bigger investment than today but they bought things in those days with full expectations that the item might outlast their offspring let alone themselves. I remember my old boss of 84 years young, every time I told him I was finished on a job he used to ask "will it outlast you?" if I hesitated or he got the wrong look in my eyes he would simply say "Do it again then" without waiting my reply which had to be proud and instantly delivered with confidence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDAV Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 (edited) Seems some folk don't look after their tools at all! Edited March 17, 2014 by HDAV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cookoff013 Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 i cleaned my mates gun as a favor, BIG mistake. i had to scrub the bore for ages. he just didnt bother cleaning it at all. his attitude was the bore snake is as good as it gets. couldnt remove the chokes until it had soaked for a while, amazing they came out. full of carbon. the only gun i have that gets used alot, is the benelli pump. but usually cleaned within 2 days. usually a day later. if it gets wet, i do it asap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lloydi73 Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 (edited) I'm a newbie, only been shooting since last November, but I take the barrells off, phosphur bronze brush the inside, spray cleaner down the barrells, wipe them out with a clean cloth and kitchen towel wipe the action. I also take the chokes out and wipe them down thorougly then lightly oil them when putting back to make sure they easily go in and out. Put it all back togetehr again and use a light duster to wipe the barrells and stocks downexternally and place back in the cabinet for the next week. I do this everytime I use the guns and like Danobi says above, only takes 10 mins! End of every month I attach the cleaning rod to a cordless drill and use that down the barrells on all 3 of my guns.......They all look great...... Hamster, I'm a new father too, well, she's almost 2 now and go out tow ork from 06:30 to 19:00, but the weekend when i go shooting, I clean as soon as I get in and it's a;; done in 10 mins and out of the way to get on with the household chores...lol.... Can I just ask though, I have the proper gun oil aswell, are you supposed to spray this on the outer side of the barrells and action, or just the inside? I only do the inide and wipe all outside down with a dry clean cloth. Edited March 17, 2014 by lloydi73 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
browning123 Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 I'm a newbie, only been shooting since last November, but I take the barrells off, phosphur bronze brush the inside, spray cleaner down the barrells, wipe them out with a clean cloth and kitchen towel wipe the action. I also take the chokes out and wipe them down thorougly then lightly oil them when putting back to make sure they easily go in and out. Put it all back togetehr again and use a light duster to wipe the barrells and stocks downexternally and place back in the cabinet for the next week. I do this everytime I use the guns and like Danobi says above, only takes 10 mins! End of every month I attach the cleaning rod to a cordless drill and use that down the barrells on all 3 of my guns.......They all look great...... Hamster, I'm a new father too, well, she's almost 2 now and go out tow ork from 06:30 to 19:00, but the weekend when i go shooting, I clean as soon as I get in and it's a;; done in 10 mins and out of the way to get on with the household chores...lol.... Can I just ask though, I have the proper gun oil aswell, are you supposed to spray this on the outer side of the barrells and action, or just the inside? I only do the inide and wipe all outside down with a dry clean cloth. Its depends on what make & type of spray oil you are using, you do need to wipe the outside with an oily cloth which will remove finger prints etc. the acid from your fingers can cause rust on the outside of the barrels if not removed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dashman1 Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 More time practicing less time admiring is the way forward most good shots will tell you this atb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tx4cabbie Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 Agree with all of you, clean every time it's shot, because I want it to work and be safe, but also, it's a reasonably large amount paid out and I don't want to be wasting it, I learnt to shoot on my mate's 686 when I was 15, and now I'm 37 he still shoots that same 686, as he looks after it. My 682 has had more than 20k carts through it in the 7 yrs I've had it, but still looks newish, I paid 1550 New and would get more than that selling second hand (thanks to recession/exchange rate), so in the cabinet is two mortgage payments, if ever we had dire need. The lad I take shooting has had his 682 for 4 yrs, and has lost it for 6 mths so the rust in the action could be sorted, and I've had to sand rust off his gun's ejectors before, he figures he has no major exes but little time, if Gun dies, he'll get another. No so simple when you've mortgage and bills. Agree with all of you, clean every time it's shot, because I want it to work and be safe, but also, it's a reasonably large amount paid out and I don't want to be wasting it, I learnt to shoot on my mate's 686 when I was 15, and now I'm 37 he still shoots that same 686, as he looks after it. My 682 has had more than 20k carts through it in the 7 yrs I've had it, but still looks newish, I paid 1550 New and would get more than that selling second hand (thanks to recession/exchange rate), so in the cabinet is two mortgage payments, if ever we had dire need. The lad I take shooting has had his 682 for 4 yrs, and has lost it for 6 mths so the rust in the action could be sorted, and I've had to sand rust off his gun's ejectors before, he figures he has no major exes but little time, if Gun dies, he'll get another. No so simple when you've mortgage and bills. Oops, pressed button twice on stupid phone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snipers eye Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 i have my .22 for 4 years,still looks like new,my hmr and 22 get cleaned every week used or not Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr_magicfingers Posted March 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 ok, some pictures. The only one I took before was of the action when it came out of the stock. You can see how dirty it is, the rest was worst, at least this is hidden away in the stock itself. The ejectors were probably the worst, barely sliding in what looked like black mud, most of the time they just stuck. I took the after ones having put it back together again, but it should give you an idea of the difference. Does anyone know how to find out how old it is? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 Count the rings in the stock! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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