SHOCKED AT PAUL HARREL CLEANING VIDEO!!

Don't see anything wrong with it-been using soap and water (actually dawn dishwashing detergent) and a toothbrush to clean all sorts of guns for years. Don't leave them in the sun to dry though. Last thing I do is pout boiling water from the tea kettle over them for a final rinse. They come out clean and lube free. Carefully relube and store. I was taught the boiling water method years ago in chemestry class as a way to completely clean lab equipment-had a "urethrea" moment realizing that it would work with guns as well and for the past 40 or so years have been happily cleaning guns that way. That is the absolutely best way to clean out a gummed up S&W revolver . Take the side plate off, loosen the built up crud with your solvent of choice and toothbrush, rinse it all off with boiling water and you are left with a totally clean and dry inside which you are not free to properly lube.

Caj, he is not using boiling water nor is he removing the Side Plate for the gun to dry. Yes - if you do what you are doing I suppose it's OK, however simply leaving a J frame on a picnic table for an hour isn't gonna cut it!
 
In my younger days I use to wear an ankle rig to carry my M60. One day I exited the car and unbeknownst to me there was a very very deep pothole filled with water (it was dark). My gun took a bath! I completely disassembled my gun when I got home, cleaned and lubed it and that was the last time I used an ankle holster. :o Yes - there was water inside.
 
Paul is a good shot, according to his trophies. Hickok is a good shot and was involved in shooting sports. For some reason this makes them an expert on any gun related matters? We now have NFL & NBA stars dappling in politics. Does that make them experts on world problems? No it doesn't and Harrel has segment on how to spot phony experts. I know how and most on videos aren't experts.
 
This is where military semiauto pistols really shine. I had some Egyptian 9mm shells that I suspected were corrosive. In this day and age that's the stuff I wanted to shoot for practice. I have several 9mm handguns so I decided to take one that would be easy to field strip. So I took out my chromed Browning High Power and went to the range to shoot it for the first time. With the simple field stripping I was able to flood the barrel and slide with hot water to make sure all of the corrosive elements were flushed out. When I saw what came out on the cleaning patch I figured after all this the gun was cleaner than when I bought it.
 
I could see his method being used on an emergency basis in the field - but certainly not as a regime for routine cleanings when better methods are readily available. As a guy who is usually cautious and measured, I don't understand where his ideology is here.

I'm going to guess he's had good results or he wouldn't be still be doing it.
 
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This is where military semiauto pistols really shine. I had some Egyptian 9mm shells that I suspected were corrosive. In this day and age that's the stuff I wanted to shoot for practice. I have several 9mm handguns so I decided to take one that would be easy to field strip. So I took out my chromed Browning High Power and went to the range to shoot it for the first time. With the simple field stripping I was able to flood the barrel and slide with hot water to make sure all of the corrosive elements were flushed out. When I saw what came out on the cleaning patch I figured after all this the gun was cleaner than when I bought it.

I just gave away several hundred rounds of that Egyptian 9mm.
I bought it with those Helwan 9mm pistols. That ammo is dirtiest stuff I've ever fired. I think they used camel chips instead of powder in them. I was going to sell it but decided it would be bad PR. Not sure if giving it away was good PR.
 
While I personally wouldn't clean my firearms that way unless I had absolutely no other option, it's important to note that water itself doesn't readily cause rust, it's the oxygen in the water, ergo so long as the water evaporates or is dried off before too long, it won't result in any rust.

Folks often take for granted just how often steel tools are exposed to moisture without rusting to any serious degree. For example, consider the steel parts on the underside of your automobile, think of how often you drive in the rain or through puddles, yet when you get beneath the vehicle to replace a part, how rusted is it, really? Yeah, there will be some surface rust after awhile, but it's hardly disintegrating. It's because that metal typically gets very hot, ergo the moisture evaporates, hardly ever sitting undisturbed on the surface of the metal, save for maybe in the Winter.

Based on my observations, rust is typically more often caused by sweat than ambient moisture in the air or little drops of water on the surface of the metal. Sweat is salty and acidic by nature, which speeds up corrosion dramatically.
Practically everyone knows this, but people have a tendency to be vain, thinking there's no way that their sweat could possibly be that corrosive, so they choose to blame water for surface rust on their firearm regardless of the fact that it's obviously the result of being pressed up against their sweaty skin or at least a holster which has been soaking up their sweat all day.

Another good example is cutlery, most of which is made of steel nowadays, and therefore spends a fair amount of time exposed to moisture, cutting through meat or vegetables, soaking in a sink, drying in the dish rack, etc. However, dispite the regular exposure to the acids/salts in the food it is used to prepare and the water it is often in direct physical contact with, it doesn't rust out. Furthermore, said cutlery is typically bare metal, no bluing, no coating, no Ferritic Nitrocarburizing like on your firearms, just bare metal.

Oh, and for the record, I'm by no means a fanboy of Paul Harrel, in fact I've actually been quite critical of some of his testing methods as well as the conclusions he has reached or the opinions he has stated.
Do I watch his videos? Yes, but much like everything else I watch on YouTube, it's primarily for the sake of entertainment rather than education.
 
When I was on the boats I had a very wet boat if there was any seas at all. When running outside my gun, a 4" 686, would get completely soaked with salt water. On those days when I got back to the dock I'd take the fresh water hose and wash it down real good. Unfortunately it wasn't hot water. I didn't take the side plate off every day. I would dry it off and squirt some WD inside and wipe the outside down with an oil cloth. It was fuzzy inside one time when I did open her up. Looked good from the outside though. I eventually sold that gun and started carrying my 669. I just didn't want to have to take the side plate off every day it got soaked because it happened just too commonly. The 669 was way easier to de-salt and maintain. I did miss a drop of salt water one that left a little spot of rust pit inside the barrel hood. Oh well!

But hot soapy water followed by a near boiling rinse and shake dry should work fine, followed by proper lube.
 
If the parts......

...are thoroughly dried and lubed there should be no problems. He didn't show how long he left the parts in the sun but he thought it was enough to dry them. He did say there were several ways to accomplish different parts.

That was much different than I expected but it explained a method of cleaning I'm not familiar with but I may use in the future for particular guns and reasons. As it stands that's not they way I clean my guns. He also clearly said this was A way he learned and didn't recommend it unless you feel it is proper for you.

I prefer his shooting/testing videos but I consider him to be a good source of info.
 
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Didn't take mine in the shower, but hot, running water was the best way to clean my M14's trigger housing group. Dad, (RIP), gave me that piece of advice. That's what he did with his M1 when he was in basic training.
 
Usually Paul explains why he is doing certain things and doesn't automatically recommend something. I'm going to watch the video.
Correct. Paul goes out of his way to make sure you understand he is talking about what he does and that it is not a suggestion or recommendation for others. One of his fanboys dissed me one time for mildly questioning one of his "suggestions"... only to be told that Paul does not make suggestions. He only tells you what he thinks or does. :confused:

If you pay close enough attention, it turns out that is true. :)
 
Correct. Paul goes out of his way to make sure you understand he is talking about what he does and that it is not a suggestion or recommendation for others. One of his fanboys dissed me one time for mildly questioning one of his "suggestions"... only to be told that Paul does not make suggestions. He only tells you what he thinks or does. :confused:

If you pay close enough attention, it turns out that is true. :)

I did mention that very phrase in my original post. That said, one of the problems with Youtube "celebrities" is that people who are not knowledgeable or savvy tend to emulate them. I'd hate to see a newbie ruin his Revolver because water was left in there to turn into rust!
 
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