After reading about all the dry guns, I think I'll check mine out and lube it. I've never had the side plates off though. Are there any nasty surprises?

Just the safety bar you need to have in the right place to get the side plate back on. Not a biggie, take your time and you'll get it.

I assume you know not to pry the sideplate. Two methods that will work just fine. The easiest is to just dry fire the gun with the cylinder out. You've got to hold back the cylinder release to do that. If you fire it a dozen times or so, the plate will just walk its way up and out without damage. Stop when it gets up a bit.

I've had some bad luck with new guns from S&W and some older ones, too. Somebody thought it looked like a good idea to pour in a quart of 10w-40 down the hammer, up the trigger, or into the slot the hand uses. Or their momma gave them a spray can of wonderlube. The alternate is S&W had somebody with a shovel who made sure the lock works was full of grit and metal shavings. None of which belongs inside my gun.

I would suggest you select the aerosol lube of your choice, with me just using WD40 because they have it on sale around here. With everything off the gun, I spray it down. You don't need to remove the trigger or rebound slide, but a good flushing can be helpful. Work the trigger while you do it. Then with a clean towel or rag, dry the interior. I want grease on my hammer and trigger pin. I generally use CLP for the rest of the parts. I put it on with a camel hair brush (the only known use for a camel, except its really squirrel.) I paint the interior to spread the lubricant around. You don't need a lot of it to have an adequate film.

Some may be good. More isn't better. A brush and a toothpick will movet he oil and the small smear of grease to where you need them.

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Dick Burg