Wonder what solvent is safe for the external surfaces of my blued Smiths. I need something that will clean the stuff off that blasts from the cylinder and discolors the surrounding surface. A good oil wipe down does not take it off. Is Hoppes okay? Will it do the job. I have not kept Hoppes around because the odor upsets my stomach but need something obviously. Thanks.

I put mine in the dishwasher on "Pots and Pans" setting. Be sure to use Jet Dry or you'll have water spots.

Just kidding. I've been using Hoppes for almost 40 years.

I've been using Hoppe's #9 since the early 70's.
I wouldn't use anything else.

It will not hurt the bluing of a SW revolver.

If the smell of Hoppe's #9 bothers you, maybe BreakFree
might be a better choice?

..

My shop wouldn't smell normal without the smell of Hoppe's!

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Support your Police, & NRA

I use Break Free on my blued guns. Works very well.

Guns don't feel clean to me without the smell of Hoppes. if it bother you, try M-Pro 7. If you mean the front of the cylinder, you're not gonna get that clean on a blued gun. Only think that works for me is a lead away cloth, but you can't use that on blue gun.

Hoppes No. 9 and Kroil are my go to cleaners for blued guns. Kroil is great on .22 LR guns as it creeps under any lead in the tight .23 bores and pops it out.

Mix some Kroil into your Hoppes and it works even better.

I use hopped #9 to clean them.

Then dry/remove as much of it as possible with a clean dry rag

Then swab "visible" surface areas with an alcohol soaked dry rag

Then wax those "visible" surface areas with renaissance wax

The alcohol thing is because the wax dont like to mix with the hoppes and is counter-productive

Nothing wrong with Hoppes - still use it from time to time, but my MAIN STAY has been RIG #2 OIL (NOT the Universal Grease) made by Birchwood - Casey. Cleans, lube's and inhibits rust in 1 step, and there's no need to make sure all the solvent is off before lubricating. Been using it a LOOOONNNNG time with excellent results and no disappointments.

When I get a used gun, or a friend brings over a real filthy gun I'll strip it and let the parts soak in Hoppes for a while, go at them with a nylon brush, dry them and then apply Rig #2 Oil, (NOT on Nickeled parts).

For routine cleaning, lube & rust inhibiting I sometimes use Rem Oil. The beauty of the Rem oil is it is CLEAR and will not discolor Ivory Grips where other yellowish or brownish lube's and solvents will.

Chief38

Love the smell of Hoppes. Smells like home to me. Since I can't eat bacon much anymore, it's the next best thing.

I have a related question. On my 19-4, each of the cylinder flutes has a place where the finish is dulled. Not worn, just sort of matte instead of high polish. I don't think it's something on the surface, because it doesn't rub off dry or with oil or Hoppes or other gentle solvents. Could this have been caused by gas blowback? What can I do about it? Would Renaissance wax or something similar help?

Assuming that it was NOT a poor polishing job when the gun was built and it did not always have those dull spots, I would say it's more than likely just your plain ordinary carbon / lead build up.

1) Try some Hoppes on an old tooth brush, followed up with a cotton twill patch with more Hoppes on it. Use your thumb and work it in the same direction as the flutes.
2) If that won't take it off, you can use a SMALL amount of Flitz on a cotton patch, working GENTLY in the same direction as the flutes run. NICE AND SLOW, NICE AND GENTLE!!! Even the really mild Flitz will remove bluing if you work it long & hard enough.

Chief38

Hoppes # 9.

This. I use Mpro7 and it works well without the smell. I've had good success with both their cleaner and oil. A lead cloth or an abrasive technique is all I've seen that can totally remove lead rings. That's fine on stainless (the abrasive is still not advised) but not on bluing.

Ultrasound will work quite well on it, but that's a whole level of equipment above Hoppes/MPro. The cavitation of ultrasound is about as fine a cleaning as you can get in the tiny pits in the metal that are holding that gunk on there, and even it's not 100%.

Had this conversation with a very knowledgeable guy years ago who said "son, clean it till you get to the stain and then be proud it doesn't live in a drawer and never gets fired." My OCD nature doesn't like that answer even now, but it's probably the right one.

Specifically re Hoppes, I find that Mpro works better on some things, less well on others, but overall I very much recommend Mpro if Hoppes bothers you. I have both but esp. for external cleaning the Mpro and a toothbrush is very tough to beat IMO.

Both it and Hoppes will remove oils from the gun over time (that's their job) so a wipe down with an oil cloth or silicone cloth is advised, but don't think either will flash rust a gun or anything. Never had a lick of trouble with either.

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Chuck M

I used Hoppes for years, but just didn't find that it cleaned as well as other products. Not sure why my experience is so much different than others.

I initially coat areas of carbon/lead/powder residue with Ed's red when I return home. On stainless steel you can see the action better. But it melts off most of the carbon deposits on the sides of the cylinder with repeated application. It should work just as well on blue.

Just a thought. On a handgun you intend to fire at some regular interval, trying to remove all the evidence of previous firings may not be the best thing to do. A hot blue finish can be removed if you clean too vigorously. So there is a downside to thorough frequent cleanings. Consider the evidence of firing to be a sign of healthy use.

I have always used Breakfree CLP. A trick that helps A LOT is to swab some CLP onto the fouled areas (cylinder and forcing cone) AS SOON as you get done finishing your last string of shooting and the gun is still HOT. All my competition guns would get mopped in CLP, bagged up and then taken home and the fouling would just about wipe off with a rag. The longer that crud sits on the metal the harder it will be to get off.

I can't believe nobody has mentioned Shooter's Choice gun cleaner yet. I started using it many years ago. I can't say I actually "like" the smell, but I seem to tolerate it better than Hoppe's #9. Seems to work about the same as Hoppe's for me.

One thing I have learned over the years, especially shooting a lot of blued .22LR revolvers, is that both Hoppe's and Shooter's Choice work much better if you leave it soak on the face of the cylinder and up under the top strap overnight. In fact, I put my revolvers upside-down in a padded vise, and use an eyedropper to put a "puddle" of solvent up under the barrel extension. It sits there most of the night, and when I hit it with a brush the next morning, the fouling usually breaks down really fast.

I also remove my cylinders when cleaning, since it only takes one screw to do that, and I sit the cylinder upright on my workbench and really soak the face of the cylinder with solvent too. The carbon "stain" rings remain, but all the built-up fouling comes right off after an overnight soak.

Lou

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NRA Certified Instructor & RSO

I agree with all of the forum members who recommend Hoppe's #9. It works great. Hoppe's does have an "Elite" product line (Copper Terminator, Gun Cleaner, Gun Oil) which has no ammonia in it and the label says "scent free". My gunsmith first recommended it to me for cleaning all of my nickel plated Smith's. The ammonia in #9 will damage the finish. S&W Customer Service also recommends it.

I strip the gun down and let the barreled frame and cylinder soak in Hoppes for a couple days. Mainly because the gun is cleaned every 1500-2k rounds. Hoppes eats everything off with no harm to the finish.

I don't think there are any normal gun cleaning solvents or elixirs that are bad for a blued S&W. Some smell more than others though.

I mostly use Ballistol these days. It has a strange smell, but it's not as strong a smell as Hoppe's or other 'nitro solvents'. Ballistol works well. So does Break Free. If the fouling is tough, let it soak a while.

MPro7 is a great cleaner, has no smell. It removes all traces of oil and has zero rust preventative abilities. So I oil everything it touches.

As for the front of the cylinder, get a bronze toothbrush (I have also used worn out bore brushes). Then wet the front of the cylinder with your choice of cleaner and brush it. A lot. The bronze bristles won't hurt the bluing (at least not so far for me). I don't scrub real hard. More like using a shoe brush.

Kroil for most everything works for me.
As stated it even works under/into leading.

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-jwk-
US Army '72-'95

I noticed in one of the gun mags recently that you can buy one of those little "pine tree" smellerizers with the Hoppes scent.

I use brake parts cleaner and Hoppes.All my guns are blue and pretty !!