Revolver maintenance- what do you do

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Maddawg46

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Do you take your revolver completely apart and clean and lube the whole thin? I have never disassembled my revolvers. Took a Rossi apart to lube it, but I did not remove any of the internal parts.
I would be afraid that I would not get it back together. LOL
 
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As routine matinentance, no, I don't pull the plate. After shooting, the bore and charge holes are cleaned and swabbed with Hoppes and CLP. Whole revolver then gets wiped down with a light CLP coating, with a drop here and there on critical points.

I pull the plate if there's work to do -- inspect action, stone a burr, change a spring, etc.

All new to me (new or not) revolvers get taken apart first order of business for inspection and cleaning. Once detail stripped and cleaned, I don't pull the plate purely for cleaning but every couple of years or more.
 
The farthest I've had to go was to unscrew the cylinder post and clean it because it was gummy and the cylinder wouldn't spin freely. It was a 586.

I have a new to me model 10 that I need to do it to. The 586 post was reverse threaded, something I'd never seen before. I don't know about the M10's threads.
 
I don't tear one down unless there's a problem. That being said, I've bought a few through the years I have needed to disassemble. While they are apart, they get a good cleaning/lube.
 
Standard cleaning instructions...

Clean the gun as per instructions, no disassembly required unless gunk has gotten inside the works of a gun, then I take it to a gunsmith. I may remove the crane/cylinder, but only if there is a good reason.
 
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As brother James Gardner said, James Lewis Yo gets away fumb dat wheelbarrow SUH! Ya knows ya doesnt know nuthing bout machinery!
The only way I would consider getting in the guts is if I dropped the gun in a creek.
 
All depends

Cleaning after firing should include the cylinder face, around the forcing cone,and frame corners just above the forcing cone and at lower part of cylinder-So much for a complex description-look at the open-cleared revolver and determine where gunk has collected-use a brass or plastic brush. Clean all moving parts and use light lube-do not disassemble.

Exception: I got into quick sand while hunting bobcats-sunk up to my waste-Luckily I'd unloaded my holstered pistol. The silty-watery mud got into every part of the pistol- Back at the car I dried the gun off-wiped it down- then used oil off of the dip stick to coat it-(19 years old-I didn't prepare for this) when home I took the gun completely apart sans taping out pins-soaked in solvent rinsed repeat-used brass wool, a lot of patches-finally got it to operate without any grit sensation.

Bottom line : normal firing-30 min max to clean, get into something bad- hours. Wipe down and clean periodically after carrying. Keep bore and cylinder chambers clean-clear.
 
I like to "pull data plate" and lube it all with moly then I don't do it again for a while. I put some moly on the trigger sear and cylinder turning spur and lever.

If it has metal to metal contact I need to lube it.
 
I'll also pull the side plate, clean and inspect any new to me revolver.
After that, just routine cleaning from there on unless I need to open it up again for some reason.
 
Since I no longer buy newly manufactured S&W Revolvers they are all used and most have been shot by the previous owner. The first thing I'll do is to completely disassemble the gun, clean, de-burr anything that needs it, tune (if needed), lube and reassemble.

For guns that get shot every week or a few times a month, I will usually just do a normal cleaning and light coat of oil. Once in a while (AS NEEDED) I'll disassemble the gun again to clean and re-lube, but that only is necessary after many thousands of rounds.

The one thing I like to do is remove the cylinder to clean it. I find that by removing it I can clean it easier and put less strain on the yoke. I also find it a lot less awkward with the cylinder removed.
 
Every few range sessions I'll pull off the stocks, yoke & cylinder and douse & scrub & douse some more with Hoppes. Then a thorough hosing & dooshing with no residue electronic cleaner. Let it dry & then hose it down & swab it out with whatever sort of oil is laying around. If it's stainless I might give it a rubdown with Mothers & Mas polish.

I don't really see a need to do a complete teardown with the modern cleaners & lubricants we have these days.
 
I'll do a complete clean & lube on all my guns about once a year just to insure the innards are properly re-lubed to avoid lube hardening and rust from higher humidity. As a rule, I don't after shooting them which, I try to do weekly but, I do clean everything that is accessable without removing the side plate.
 
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