Can parts be soaked in Hoppes too long?

[nogoodnamesleft]

Well, long story short, I completely disassembled my M&P .45 for a number of reasons. A) I was tired of it being a mystery & B) I wanted to clean the ever lovin' snot out of it.

Sooooooooooo when assembling the gun, I broke the loop on the trigger spring (but no worries, there's another on the way from Brownwells .... dontcha love it when shipping costs more than the part?) ...

So here's my question, I've got ever metallic part soaking in a cup of Hoppe's at the moment, and was going to wait until my new trigger spring arrived before giving them a final scrub down and assembly.

Tl;Dr - Can I safely soak metallic parts in Hoppe's for several days with no ill effects?

Thanks in advance, folks. In the future I'll be a bit more careful about assembly.

Cheers,
Nogoodnamesleft

 

[Bicky Robby]

I have never soaked anything in Hoppes that long, a couple of hours for heavily soiled parts.

Check their web site to if any warnings exist for over soaking. At least the gun will smell good after re-assembly.

 

[ronnie gore]

soak

as long as none of the parts are plated, hoppe's will disolve nickle and copper plating, i don't know about m&ps but glock's firing pin block and the firing pin is plated.

 

[Dragon88]

It shouldn't harm anything, but there's no need to soak your parts that long. Surely after even ten minutes and a wipe down the parts were completely clean. What are you trying to accomplish by completely disassembling the gun when it was fully functional, and soaking your parts for days?

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 

[one eye joe]

as long as none of the parts are plated, hoppe's will disolve nickle and copper plating, i don't know about m&ps but glock's firing pin block and the firing pin is plated.

As ronnie stated, Hoppe's will destroy nickel and copper plating. Other gun parts, including blued parts, can be left in the solution for months at a time in perfect safety.........

 

[nogoodnamesleft]

It shouldn't harm anything, but there's no need to soak your parts that long. Surely after even ten minutes and a wipe down the parts were completely clean. What are you trying to accomplish by completely disassembling the gun when it was fully functional, and soaking your parts for days?

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Well, although the gun was fully functional and always gets a bore snake and a silicone wipe after EVERY use, I like to tinker with things and really understand how they operate. After all, a gun is just a machine like anything else, so the better understanding I have of how these different machines operate, the better consumer and better shooter I will be (IMO) ...

Some guys tear down the motors of their '68 Super Sports every winter ..... I like to take down electronics and firearms.

The only reason I'm considering soaking the parts that long is that I could just wait until the part arrives before I lay everything out and assemble. I'm not under the impression that days of soaking lead to cleaner parts, I just am trying not to 'move a box twice' as we used to say in the warehouse.

I just like to know how things work, thats all ..... lots of hard work and engineering went into these hobbies of ours, I can't take the attitude of 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it' .... I prefer 'knowledge is power'.

Put it this way, the more I understand how a particular firearm works, the better I can communicate with the guys at my LGS, forum members, other enthusiast, and not be that guy who needs help with 'that thing that goes on that one part and makes the one part do the thing' ....

But with all that said, I think I'll go wipe down some parts and just wait patiently until the mailman arrives.

Best,

Nogoodnamesleft

 

[Kelly Green]

I posted this some time back on the S&W forum. The original was posted on another forum.

The question was if Hoppe’s #9 is safe to use as a cleaning solvent for the AR platform?

For a definitive answer I called Hoppe’s (Subsidiary of Bushnell). This is what their response was:

"Hoppe’s #9 is a safe solvent for all guns. However, prolonged contact with nickel, chrome or aluminum is not recommended with any Hoppe’s solvents. In addition chrome or aluminum should not be soaked or submerged in any Hoppe’s solvent. The reason is that the slightest scratch or nick in the plating, the solvents will penetrate the flaw and dissolve the underlying copper substrate & cause the chrome/nickel plating to chip & peel further. Therefore, when using on plated or lined items keep the solvent to a minimum. Hoppe’s #9 does contain a water based Ammonia, however it is diluted."

 

[nogoodnamesleft]

Thanks guys!!!

 

[nogoodnamesleft]

WHEW!!! ... Well, I gotta say ... that was the first time I've ever totally dissembled and RE-assebled a M&P and all I can say is I've got more respect for Randy Lee than ever, lol.

I see what I did to break to trigger spring (just hammering the pin in and not 'feeling' it more with just my hands or guiding it with the take down tool) .....

The spring in the sear housing about gave me a grey hair, but was able to compress the spring with a blade while using a cut hex bit as a guide until I got everything lined up and ready to go.

Getting the sear housing seated with the trigger assembly (forgive my lack of technical part terms) was a bit tricky, but all in all, I feel I've a better understanding of how this firearm works, a better understanding of striker fire weapons, how the Apex DCAEK Kit functions, and now feel fairly confident installing an DCAEK on my own.

Please forgive my noob excitement, but I just love learning something new and look forward to getting more and more into working on my own guns.

Thanks for listening, and thank all of you guys for the advice!

Best,

nogoodnamesleft

PS ..... would you folks make some recomendations as to what kind of punches, hammers, work mats, etc I should look into? Keep in mind I did all this on my coffee table with a headlamp on, my takedown tool, a towel to work on ,my 16oz Estwing, and youtube.

PSS .... I would bet $1usd I've got the cleanest M&P on ANY side of the the mississippi!!!

 

[mcracco]

Conrats on finishing the job and having a working gun with no left over parts!

As for tools, Grace makes nice stuff. Search MidwayUSA tools section. I'm sure Brownells carries the line too.