I clear my pistol daily. After clearing, I wipe it with an old oily rag.

I use the same load for everything (hand loading is great: who can afford to shoot if you're paying retail?) so I know what it's supposed to look like. I routinely look at the round I've cleared. If it's banged up (maybe once a month) it goes in an empty mag.

My drill is to load from the magazine, then top off the mag.