How to clean blued revolver?

413Maxwedge

413Maxwedge

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I'm sure it's a stupid question but I've never had a blued revolver before. On my stainless guns I can easily clean the carbon off the cylinder with a Magic Eraser, but I assume that's terrible for blueing. I'm buying a blued Model 10 and want to keep it clean while preserving the finish.
 
I own blue almost exclusively- trying to keep it spotless if you actually shoot and carry it is senseless futility. I knock enough crud out of the critical areas to keep it running and ignore the rest. You could spend a lot of time to make noncritical to function areas like the cylinder flutes perfectly clean, then they are just going to get cruddy again inside 50 rounds fired.

Most of the time finish is worn more from overly aggressive white glove inspection clean efforts than anything else.
 
413Maxwedge said:
I'm sure it's a stupid question but I've never had a blued revolver before. On my stainless guns I can easily clean the carbon off the cylinder with a Magic Eraser, but I assume that's terrible for blueing. I'm buying a blued Model 10 and want to keep it clean while preserving the finish.
Click to expand...

I don’t know where you live or if the model 10 is vintage, but I use Renaissance Wax on my guns. Many of my guns are vintage and their finish is extremely important to me, but I use it on shooters too. It helps with fingerprints, which you may not care about, but it also makes cleaning the gun easier after shooting. I use gun oil too where needed.
Larry
 
SWFan27 said:
I am about to get a new blued S&W Model 19 Classic four inch barrel revolver. All my others are stainless. I am interested in cleaning tips as well.
Click to expand...

I hope this thread gets more attention because I was warned about acetone and front sight inserts.
That reminds me of the $$$ I saved last year!

Paying my membership fee 🔫
Happy Thanksgiving
 
One thing I’ve learned over the years is to wipe guns off right after shooting, while everything is still warm. That removes a lot of fouling. Back at home, pretty simple really: Hoppes, nylon toothbrush where needed, sparing use of a bronze brush (cylinder face mainly), bronze bore brush followed by patches. I have found that stainless chamber brushes are effective. Just don’t use them to clean the bore. Wipe everything off with a silicone rag and then back in the safe. Once a year or so I’ll remove the grips, side plate, and internals for a really thorough going over. If you’re reloading, jacketed or tech-coated bullets keep fouling to a minimum.
 
413Maxwedge said:
I'm sure it's a stupid question but I've never had a blued revolver before. On my stainless guns I can easily clean the carbon off the cylinder with a Magic Eraser, but I assume that's terrible for blueing. I'm buying a blued Model 10 and want to keep it clean while preserving the finish.
Click to expand...


As best as I can understand and the way I do it:
Get:
A can of Ballistol.
A bore snake for your caliber
Cleaning kit including nylon brush
Hoppes No 9 bore cleaner


Dip a brass brush in bore cleaner and brush out the barrel and cylinder chambers with the brush.
Let it sit a while while you spray down the gun with Ballistol.

Get the nylon brush in the corners of the frame and nooks and crannies.

Give the gun a good wipe down.
Pull snake through the chambers and barrel a couple of times.

Finally if you want spotless chambers and barrel, push a white patch through with a jag until it stays white (although I have never done this).

Sound about right?

I’ve also used CLP and that other “poison” that works great but probably not good for you.
I’m going with Ballistol
 
Avoid abrasives like polishing pastes, lead away cloth, steel or stainless steel brushes. For pre-2000 S&W's, any solvent for firearms is ok to use, for those made in 2000 or later, avoid solvents that contain ammonia. For corrosion protection, oils designed for firearms are fine as is abrasive free wax like Renaissance Wax.
 
If you shoot the gun regularly, forget about removing the "burn" marks on the cylinder front. Just clean with your normal solvent and a brush or patch to remove any residue. The burn marks would just show up after every shooting, and if you try to clean them off from a blued gun you will eventually be down to bare metal.
 
I don't know why, but some posters use the descriptive "brass" when they actually mean bronze when referring to a bore brush. Bronze and brass are not the same. Bronze is what you want to use.

A brass brush will leave brass streaks all over a blued firearm.

As to the OPs request, it has been pretty well covered, but I like to use a cotton bore mop to wet the bore and chambers. Follow this with a bronze bore brush, and finally cotton patches on a properly sized jag.

Best of luck!
 
Just a word of caution...Hoppe's No. 9 is an excellent bore solvent that will remove most fouling- even on the front of the cylinder. However, it is not a lubricant and protectant like Ballistol, Break-Free, One Step, or other true CLPs. I have actually had Hoppe's No. 9 lock up my revolver cylinders and pistol slides when I left it on the gun for a lengthy period of time. I read that the formula was changed a few years back and it will turn sticky when it dries. An application of CLP fixed that issue. The bluing on guns is actually pretty tough, but it can be affected by some chemicals. As long as you stay with brand name firearm cleaning supplies and tools, you should be fine. I usually follow up with an application of Renaissance Wax, especially if the gun is going to reside in the safe for a while. Enjoy!
 
To me it's not rocket science. I have owned blued guns for 60 years and not fretted at all. Other than some muzzle wear from a leather holster all my guns look pristine.

After a visit to the range I wipe them down with a silicone cloth. That takes most of the carbon off. I "clean" them maybe once or twice a year, simply by using a pad soaked with Hoppes #9. If leaded I use a bronze brush and Hoppes again. I say that only in passing since the last time I had to clean leading was about 50 years ago. I have since learned how to cast my own and have not leaded a barrel since.

Of course, a drop or 2 of gun oil on moving parts, particularly on a semi.
 
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You've got some pretty good advice here. Everyone has their own technique. The thing to remember is that generally stainless steel will not rust, while blued guns will. So, unlike a SS gun, you need some type of rust-preventative. That can take many forms, and everyone seems to have their favorite. After fifty-years of owning and shooting many different blued firearms (including dozens of antiques), my technique is to run a patch, soaked in Hoppes #9, down the bore/chambers and anywhere powder residue might be immediately after firing. If that means at the range, then so be it. I'm not going to clean the guy there, but while the steel is warm, I want to get that solvent on there and let it soak. After a good soak (at least half an hour), I will run a bronze brush down the barrel several times, and same for the cylinder chambers. Depending on how dirty it is, I will run another soaked patch thru barrel/chambers again and let it soak. I will take a toothbrush, dipped in the Hoppes, and scrub all the nooks and crannies along with the front of the cylinder. I will take a patch, again soaked in the Hoppes, and wipe all the powder residue off the gun, and give the whole gun a wipedown with it. I will run a clean patch on a jag down the barrel and chambers several times to remove all the loosened fouling. I follow that with a good gun oil (I use CLP, but several others work just as well) on a clean patch to lightly oil the barrel/chambers. I will then wipe the gunk off all the other areas, removing all the loosened gunk. I will follow that with a patch with a several drops of the gun oil all over the exterior of the gun. you don't want it to drip, but you want to cover everything because this is the protection that bluing needs. Finally, using a clean cloth (even a paper towel), I will wipe and wipe the surfaces to remove most of the oil. A microscopic film is all that is needed and you really can't wipe it all off, so I rub it until I'm not getting off any more oil. That's it.
 
Find some old school 100% cotton baby diapers . Wash and dry and do NOT use a fabric softener . You won't find anything softer and more absorbent . I use them for my final wipe down before putting away . No fingerprints remain .
 
I use this for everything. Furniture, clothes... I always have a can on-hand.

That, Hoppe's for the bore, and then Minwax.
 

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I clean every gun exactly the same way. Use brass bore brushes dipped in Hoppes #9 on the cylinder and barrel of a revolver, many times to scrub it. Then patches soaked in Hoppes until the patches come out without any black residue. Then a toothbrush dipped in Hoppes to scrub the outside of the barrel and the area around the cylinder. Finally spray the entire revolver with Gun Scrubber to remove the Hoppes. I wear rubber gloves to keep chemicals off my hands. I change paper towels under the gun when it is sprayed with gun scrubber. The wood or rubber grips are removed during cleaning.
 
I didn't shoot the guns in my collection, but here's the drill for every one that came into the collection:

Remove the lead, and any and everything else from the bores (barrel and cylinder). (See the "lead in barrel" thread in the Notable Thread Index in the early hand ejector section.)

Disassemble the gun---every piece except for the barrels.

Soak everything in mineral spirits for 2-3 days----longer if I had other chores.

Scrub the living bejesus out of every piece---AND the screw holes, rinse all with clean mineral spirits, and blow dry with (DRY) high pressure air (125 psi line pressure).

Hose everything down with CorrosionX, and let it sit for 2-3 days---or longer.

Blow off all the CorrosionX that'll come off.

Reassemble the gun, wipe down the exterior with Hoppes #9, dry and polish (because blue guns with oil stains are UGLY!!!!)----- and put it on the shelf in the display case.

There were guns in there for over 30 years with no further attention other than a semi-annual dusting with a vacuum brush (because the display case wasn't air tight) (The CorrosionX gets the credit for that.)

Shooters got cleaned asap after use---because I'm a neat freak!

As an aside, a bronze bristle "tooth-brush" (from Birchwood Casey) and Hoppes deals with deposits on the cylinder face, and the aft end of the barrel quite nicely.---and doesn't bother the bluing.

Ralph Tremaine
 
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