Cleaning your Guns

[old'un]

Might sting when you wee

cheeky boy

[roadkill]

i go ott with cleaning, guns ten years old now and still looks as good as new

[JohnfromUK]

Another vote for Youngs 303 ........ but it isn't the stuff it used to be. Apparently one of the original ingredients (phenol?) is no longer allowed, so it isn't as good as it was. But since cartridges are generally cleaner - maybe this isn't such a problem?

 

It takes about a whole loo roll to get a gun really clean, but I don't believe it is necessary for it to be that clean. IF you are looking for near perfect cleanliness, you will also need to keep your brushes free of sooty residue - and that's even harder to do!

 

I won't have WD40 on my guns - it is not a cleaner, or lubricant - and can leave a residue as the solvent part evaporates. It was made as a water dispersant - which it does. The only reason it cleans at all is that it is mainly a solvent (a bit like white spirit I believe) used to hold the water dispersant in solution.

[guzzicat]

Following a post on here I made up my own gun CLEANING, oil,equal parts Acetone, power steering oil & Kerosene, far better than commercial products & cheap.

[Wingman]

Following a post on here I made up my own gun CLEANING, oil,equal parts Acetone, power steering oil & Kerosene, far better than commercial products & cheap.

Where do you get kerosene from?

[ips]

One of the sites I sometimes work on (car manufacturer plant) doesn't allow wd40 on site. On pain of death if you so much as accidentally leave a tin in your van. Something to do with a reaction in the painting process.

Not relevent to the topic I know just a little aside. 😁

[Uilleachan]

WD is great for a wipe over on the outside of an action as a temporary measure, say; getting back to the car with a wet gun ahead of a few hours drive, but it evaporates away quite quickly, and so of limited use for protecting bluing etc. as it would need to be applied every couple of days at room temperature and even cooler conditions.

 

It also works as a cleaner of waxes and greases, so not a good idea on mechanical parts as it'll thin out and remove heavier oil and grease, fine if the plan is to remove old soot contaminated oil and grease from the action, but not a good idea if it isn't.

 

So, provided one is aware of the limitations of WD40, it still has valid gun care uses.

 

3:1 is fine too, but again it evaporates over time, all be it over the course of a few months, as do all lubricating oils of a similar viscosity and why the general advice is to give the bluing a wipe over every couple of months when sat unused in the cabinet.

 

For cleaning I'm doing as the OP is, but perhaps not so attentive. After every use, regardless of number of shots, it's a squirt and a pul through with a bore snake, after 8 slabs or so I spend a bit of time doing as he describes.

 

I'm using legia at the moment, christmas present and when it's done I'll go back to 3:1 or basic gun oil.

[KB1]

I can't believe myself, I come on here harping on about how clean I keep my guns, and tonight I've had to give myself a kick up the harse…….. I have a couple of SA's (Browning Phoenix & Maxus) and they've been sitting in the cabinet unused for a couple of years, as the O/U's have been my preference. I have numerous silica bags in my cabinet, which I believed would take care of any unwanted moisture…….

 

Anyway, as the Mrs was feely a bit horny, and I hadn't yet fully re-charged after knocking out a quick selfie I thought I'd better find myself something to be busy with……. so, out came the old SA's for a clean. When I took off the barrel on the Phoenix and looked down it, I was horrified!!!!! caked in what looked like black soot Took off the Maxus barrel, and exactly the same…….

 

It took some vigorous cleaning with the rod to get them back to normal.

 

I won't do that again!!!!!!! 'Leave the guns too long without a clean, that is'