Hope this isn't the wrong forum to ask, but I was just wondering what method & products some of you folks use to clean all the factory goop, (grease, metal particles), etc. from your new guns. Particularly the internals?

Do you guys flush the internals out with Gun Scrubber, Brake / Carb Cleaner or the like?

Thanks,
YB

My M&Ps didn't come with much on them except lubricant. So, I just did a field strip and clean like I would after any shooting outing.

I cleaned them all with WD-40 when I got them home. I treated my M&P 45 with Frog Lube and used Slip 2000 on my others. All of them are working great.

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Freedom isn't free.

Brake cleaner for the slide, & barrel. 1/3 the price of a similar gun spray. GARY

+1 on the Frog Lube.


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Be careful with brake cleaner. Some of them can be harmful to the polymer frame. Stick to gun cleaners and you won't have this issue.

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Freedom isn't free.

So I don't 'waste' a lot of cleaner doing a Flush, I start with running dry Q-Tips in all the grooves and crevasses. But then, I do this with post-range cleaning as well.

Starting with dry Q-Tips also keeps the residual powder and such (in this case, packing lube) from turning into 'mud' when I spray on the CLP.

First thing I did with mine was put it in the dish washer, (not kidding)

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I am the Majority
How about u

I run a couple of small cleaning squares through it a swell before applying CLP.

I know some folks do it, but water just scares me.

YB

Best of luck with the rust that has formed under your sights, especially under the rear sight and in the roll pins.

I spray them down with WD40, rag, old tooth brush, compressed air.

MPro7 and RemOil works for me. Sometimes I'll add a little Wilson grease where the trigger bar and striker block meet.

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Centennial Every Day

Shooter's Choice Bore cleaner cut 50/50 with Kroil on the slide, them wiped dry. I just wiped off the trigger mechanism the best I could with a dry rag.

I use the same Shooter's Choice/Kroil mix to clean off the carbon after shooting and to clean the bore. A couple of drops of oil where Smith recommends and I'm done. These have to be the easiest guns I own to clean.

Field strip, run some patches over the large area, second set of patches with some CLP and reasonable. Maybe 3 minutes worth of time

I specifically said brake cleaner on the slide. But I did use brake cleaner on my entire Glock & had no problems. In that case I use the older brake cleaner that's harmful to the atmosphere. It's not flammable, or harsh on plastic. The newer "atmosphere safe" brake cleaner is highly flammable, & much harder on plastic. Spraying oil on grease does not clean anything. GARY

Anybody here disassemble the pisol to clean out the firing pin/striker channel?

The only pistol I've gone that far on was my 1911. Have not needed to do that with my Shield, XDM, Rugers, or Glocks.

I haven't either, but I have read different opinions, some predicting dire consequences if you don't. To me, this should be done at the factory anyway.

Field strip, a little Hoppe's, a few clean patches, some grease and good to go.

On my Rock Island 1911, I did a detailed stripped (down to the bare frame) to get all the preservative off (there was a lot!). That was more to see the guts of a 1911 than anything else. Haven't done it since.

As far as the striker assembly goes, I do take them out when cleaning, but only because it's easy. A quick wipe of the pin and back in it goes.

I clean mine far more often than they need but I enjoy it as well as the lingering aroma of #9 and a Rocky Patel.

Mine too. I sell guns at a LGS, & I've never seen a new gun as gooped up as a Rock Island. But I've also never seen a rusty Rock Island. However, I have seen plenty of rusty brand new Kimbers on our shelves. Since it's all metal, I took it apart, & drowned it in brake cleaner. Then a lube job with Tetra gun grease. Excellent gun. GARY

Cleaned it once. See no reason to do it again except maybe after each 1000 rounds or more.

Run it under hot water. It worked on the trigger housing group of my old M-14 in boot camp, it'll work on your piece too. Of course you'll have to take extra time drying it, compressed air expedites the process. After that, a little Ballistol does the trick.

I'm sometimes a bit aghast at the maintenance practices of some owners (and LE issued users).

It's often little wonder why some owners/users end up complaining about functioning issues (caused by improper maintenance practices), "defective" parts, rusty pins, uneven finishes, an unexpectedly early replacement interval needed for springs, etc.

Bearing in mind that even though I'm a certified M&P pistol armorer, I don't "routinely" strip the frame and slide of a new M&P prior to shooting it. I field-strip it.

I look for any obvious signs of damage or debris (metal shavings) during an initial basic field-strip cleaning. If everything appears normal, I lubricate the appropriate points and reassemble the gun.

I disassemble the mags and inspect them, looking for proper installation & orientation of parts. I wipe them clean and dry (if shipping oil is present) and reassemble them. (Last I heard, the 9/.40 mags come from overseas, meaning Mec-Gar, and the .45 mags are made in the US.)

Now, since I'm a M&P pistol armorer, I might remove the slide end cap and striker assembly, if I see any obvious oil oozing within the visible portion of the striker channel in the assembled slide. I don't remove the rear sight & striker safety plunger assembly (spring and spring plate), nor the extractor, though. Not unless I see or have reason to suspect an actual problem.

I don't routinely "strip" the frame of a new pistol, either.

I never put one in a dish washer. Really guys, do you really want to rinse off gun oils, solvents, CLP's, fouling or whatever else in your wife's dishwasher, and risk the possibility of remaining traces of those products subsequently contaminating dishes, pots & utensils?? Not to mention leaving moisture in springs, coil pins, springs, etc?

I don't run a frame under hot water, either. Why intentionally saturate the fiber insert in the trigger spring with water? Not a particularly good idea to trap moisture within and against a critical spring. Not a good idea to trap moisture underneath the sear (in the sear spring), nor in and around the other springs in the sear housing block (thumb safety plunger, magazine safety lever dog-leg spring, or on the front SHB pin). FWIW, if an armorer becomes aware of a gun being submerged in water, then a detailed disassembly can be done, to look for & remove contamination & debris, including trapped water/moisture.

I don't care to use aerosol cleaners, myself. Not anymore. Let alone automotive products not intended for use on firearms. I've seen condensation and moisture get trapped inside small areas, and then there's the risk of damaging plastics if the product isn't specifically made for intended use on plastics in firearms. Read labels. (Talk about feeling stupid ... but when I was younger and still used an aerosol cleaner, I was outside spraying a slide while not wearing safety glasses and got hit in an eye with back spray.)

I'll sometimes use an air compressor at my agency armory bench area, but mostly while servicing guns which have seen a lot of use and are being serviced or repaired. (Having a moisture trap is a very good idea, so you aren't spraying condensation into nooks, crannies, crevices, etc). Eye protection should be worn.

I've said it before and I'll repeat it again, as an armorer for a variety of firearms commonly seen in LE use, the significant majority of "problems" I've had to correct over the years have been caused by the "cleaning", "lubrication" & "maintenance" practices of owners and issued users. It's actually kind of refreshing to come across an actual "gun" problem now and again.

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Ret LE Firearms inst & armorer

Fastbolt, I agree with you, cant believe some of these responses, when all you need is something like kroil and q tips or a cotton rag and some oil. I would never put a gun in a dishwasher or wash with water, except bore of blackpowder gun.

Keep that striker channel clean and DONT oil it!

4 decades of shooting regularly - I've never done it with any pistol I own - and I've never had a problem.


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You haven't shot striker fired pistols for 40 years...

No, nor did I say I have.


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Hoppes #9, CLP, and wipe the lower with a little Ballistol. Clean the striker channel every 1000 to 1500 rounds for piece of mind. Leave it dry, no oil.

Firearms in dishwashers.....now that's funny right there. I don't care who you are!! LOL!

NC

I got my Gen2 G19 in '89 and haven't needed to clean the Striker channel once.
Is 26yrs Good enough?
Of course, I never let much oil/cleaner get into the channel, either.

Of course. I think Ive had to clean mine in the past as I shoot a lot and previously was using too much oil. Not directly in that area but it got in there and gummed up the works.

Now im less liberal with my oil and it hasn't been a problem.

I just mentioned this in the first place as a caution I learned from experience and if you get a particularly greasy/oily gun from the factory it may need to be cleaned.

Is it their cleaning practices or lack of cleaning you are referring to?

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Freedom isn't free.

Unfortunately, it's been a bit of both. Just when it seems there's a streak going involving one end of the spectrum, it changes and seems to run in the other direction.

While 'aggressive' or 'creative' over-cleaning & improper cleaning has caused a lot of preventable problems, the obvious lack of any cleaning & lubrication can raise its head now and again.

Getting new academy graduates can result in getting some guys & gals who were forced to present white-glove clean weapons for academy inspections, but apparently not clean lubricated weapons.

It's sometimes puzzling, and a bit dismaying, that some folks seem to think that good cleaning, lubrication and periodic maintenance practices are somehow instinctive, or that they're somehow genetically predisposed to know how to do it because of their gender.

Others seem to assume that if you've managed to learn to clean and lubricate one type of firearm, that you're automatically good-to-go for all the rest of them using the same methods.

Then, there's that segment of owners/users who apparently think that cleaning their weapons is akin to washing their cars, and everything has to be heavily hosed down with whatever liquid product is within reach in a bottle, without actually asking what's in it ... or, if there's more than one bottle on the table at the cleaning station (a bore cleaner/solvent and an oil/CLP), which product is which.

It's not unusual for someone to seem surprised when I tell them that it doesn't take tablespoons of CLP's to clean a single handgun, or that you don't "oil" a revolver the same way you have to lubricate a semiauto pistol.

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Ret LE Firearms inst & armorer

I noticed no grease on my 40C, just a little lube. I took a dry toothbrush to the inside, of the frame & the slide. I put a little BreakFree CLP on the toothbrush & scrubbed slightly, I ran a couple of cleaning patches with a few drops of the CLP through barrel, wiped everything down & since I also use CLP as a lubricant I used a very small amount on the 5 lubrication points found in the owner's manual, put it all back together & racked the slide a dozen times. The next day I went shooting at the range & put 150 rounds though it with absolutely no problems. When I got home I used a clean toothbrush & some cleaning patches through the barrel with a few drops of CLP on it & added a very small amount of CLP on the 5 lube points. Over 1000 rounds through it with not a one problem.

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Former USN, Retired US Army

Brother this thought is pervasive throughout the gun world in the US. For some reason, men in the US think they were born gun experts.

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Freedom isn't free.

Some of us were, Rastoff, lol.

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Former USN, Retired US Army

Well, being gifted with great hand/eye coordination, dexterity, balance, graceful movement and a requisite amount of needed strength are all things that can really help when it comes to shooting ... but ...

Knowing how to actually maintain something, according to how the engineers think it needs to be maintained in order to operate and function as designed? That can be another thing, entirely.

Then, there's the seemingly predominantly male trait of never picking up an owner manual except to move it out of the way.

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Ret LE Firearms inst & armorer

I've been using Hoppe's #9 on all my guns since the late 80's but lately I wanted to try something new so I ran over to my local Academy store & grabbed a bottle of M-Pro-7 foam gun cleaner and I tell ya, I like this stuff... I like it better than Hoppe's and it comes out as a foam that after you let sit for a few turns thin & gets in all the little hard to reach areas and trigger action. Let sit for a few minutes & start scrubbin' with a toothbrush & wipe off with a clean rag, no stink as the stuff is odorless. For the barrel I squirt it in , let it work and then use a bore brush, wipe dry a couple times with a clean patch, then run a oiled patch down the barrel and set aside. Hard to reach areas I use the wife's Q-tips.. I make sure everything is bone dry before applying the Rem oil only on where the manual states and just one drop...
For years I've been using Rem-oil on all my firearms and will continue to do so.

Ballistol is great stuff. Discovered it a Sig Academy training. Aerosol brake cleaner is good stuff too. Cruel, but fair. Kroil is good stuff, water is not. I'd prefer to completely disassemble a gun and rub each part with a t-shirt than subject it to a dishwasher. Jeeeez.

Now, I've considered dropping the entire gun into the ultrasonic cleaner, but the only chemistry I have for that is citric acid based--and there's no need to go that way for dirty gun parts, IMO. Utrasonic with any water-based bath is goofy to me, for the gun itself.

I find the exotic (i.e., ridiculously expensive) 'cleaners' are just that--expensive products that because of their ridiculous prices convince folks magic is happening. Kroil, Hoppe's and Ballistol are all products that, for me, can't be improved upon regardless of price. An old t-shirt beats almost anything, actually, even brake cleaner.