Cleaning a 686

[pikemaster11]

I just bought a 686-6 plus with a 3 inch barrel. This is my first revolver and I was wondering about using non-chlorinated brake spray to help clean and degrease the revolver. I use it on my glock and kahr because I had read it was safe for plastics and have had no problems.

If it is safe, I was also wondering about where to lubricate on the gun. I watched a video where a guy cocked the hammer and put a small drop down in the internals. Is that okay? Is there a lube chart anywhere?

Is gun oil or grease better? Thank you for your time.

 

[sodacan]

If you use the brake spray, it will increase the stopping power of the revolver.

 

[CPO15]

Smarter people than I will be along shortly; never read a recommendation for grease, use oil sparingly. It seems that, when cleaning a revolver, less may be better. I, however, scrub the snot out of mine.

 

[sourdough44]

Is this gun new? No need to reinvent everything. For the most part a rod with some patches & Hoppes #9 & 'gun oil' is all you need. I also think a 'lightly oiled cloth' is essential too.

When it comes to a used gun with 'unknown history' I carefully remove the side-plate & ensure the internals are clean & lightly lubed. There are instructional videos on utube.

 

[tfparatech]

Never use grease. Oil very sparingly (one drop) down the cocked hammer, but not every time you clean. Maybe once or twice a year. One drop (then wipe) on the ejector rod and one drop where the yoke interfaces the frame. Again, for all these, not every time you clean. Maybe once or twice a year. If you shoot 4000 to 6000 rounds a year maybe do this three times a year. Oh - and small drops, no large blobs of gunky stuff, use something that will migrate. Hope this helps

 

[What the]

PikeMaster11 welcome to the forum.
LOL....Sodacan some say it does while others say it doesn't, hmm, who to believe

I've always thought any brake cleaner would be harmful (melt) plastic. As for lubing, anything that moves needs lubrication especially since you stripped off any oil that was there.

Watching a video on you tube may not be a bad idea. Or if your familiar with the inner workings of your revolver you can take the side plate off and use that brake cleaner then relube anything that moves.

Or Google Ed's Red and clean and relube at the same time! Many people here use it and there are many different recipies to suit your needs. By the way nice revolver!!

 

[M3Stuart]

Just my 2 cents; I wouldn't use brake cleaner on mine. There are a ton of threads about what you SHOULD use...and I doubt brake cleaner is recommended on any of them.

 

[Road Rat]

If you use the brake spray, it will increase the stopping power of the revolver.

Thank you for the witty repartee........

I surely hope your input does not totally confuse any folks here who are new to handguns!

 

[pikemaster11]

Any thoughts on the nonchlorinated brake spray?

 

[rwsmith]

cleaning the S&W model 686

There is a video on you tube called 'cleaning the S&W 686' That is the most thorough I've seen. He even shows how removing one screw can take the cylinder/crane off. I just cleaned my 686 the first time and have problems with lead staining. He demonstrated a few product that will really help. I was ready to go buy a bronze 'toothbrush' to work on it but he shows how to avoid that. I had a model 10 that was a snap to clean up with the powders I use but when I shot the 686 with various factory ammunition for a few hours I'd never seen such a dirty, gunked-up mess.

 

[R*E]

Get yourself a brass brush, works great for cleaning around the forcing cone and the burn marks on the cylinder face. I wish I knew about it before wasting money looking for a better cleaning solvent.

 

[shawn mccarver]

I just bought a 686-6 plus with a 3 inch barrel. This is my first revolver and I was wondering about using non-chlorinated brake spray to help clean and degrease the revolver. I use it on my glock and kahr because I had read it was safe for plastics and have had no problems.

If it is safe, I was also wondering about where to lubricate on the gun. I watched a video where a guy cocked the hammer and put a small drop down in the internals. Is that okay? Is there a lube chart anywhere?

Is gun oil or grease better? Thank you for your time.

Plenty of people overdo it. You need a cleaning rod with bristle brush (brass), a toothbrush (not the one you or your wife uses to brush your teeth ), cleaning patches, some Hoppes No 9 solvent and some Break Free CLP.

Use the bristle brush moistened with Hoppes and run the brush in the barrel and each charge hole. While the solvent is "working," use the toothbrush moistened in solvent to lightly scrub the exterior surfaces of the revolver. Then, use a shop rag to wipe off the exterior surfaces of the revolver. Make sure the area under the ejector star and the face of the cylinder are free of debris.

Now, go back and dry out the barrel and charge holes using a dry patch affixed to the cleaning rod with a jag. Then, using a patch, apply a very light coat of Break Free CLP to the barrel and charge holes. Use that same oily patch to apply a light coat of oil to the exterior surfaces.

Do not worry about the black rings on the end of the cylinder. It is all but impossible to clean them off with traditional methods, and it is not necessary.

You are now ready to go and the total time spent cleaning is 5 to 6 minutes.

 

[5Wire]

If you use the brake spray, it will increase the stopping power of the revolver.

All I can say is, Groan..

 

[rwsmith]

wasting money on stuff

Get yourself a brass brush, works great for cleaning around the forcing cone and the burn marks on the cylinder face. I wish I knew about it before wasting money looking for a better cleaning solvent.

LOL. My wife searched and found some 25-year-old 'at ease' scouring cleaner from Shaklee products and I got some on a cloth with my finger (it looks like rouge), dampened it like the instructions say and the burn marks I had been scrubbing for days came right off in about 10 seconds. That Hoppe's Quick Clean cloth the guy shows in the video didn't do beans to help the burned in places (though it did help in all over clean-up)! I'll bet for a 686 most any chrome cleaner/polisher would help though I didn't need to try it, thanks to my resourceful wife. I do agree that a bronze brush would be really good around the forcing cone. I don't think Shaklee makes 'at ease' any more but they do have a product called 'scour off' that cleans burned on stuff,copper and removes rust so I suppose it would be ok on stainless steel.

 

[BobR1]

I shoot quite a bit.
For normal after Match cleaning I will remove the front side plate screw. This one retains the Cylinder. You can now swing the cylinder open, and slide if off to the front.
I clean everything up, oil it and put it back together.

About once a year I will pull the side plate, take it all apart, and give it a good cleaning inside, and re-oil it.
If I were to make a guess, I would say 80% of the revolvers owned by folks on this site never have the side plate removed.

My advice skip the Brake Cleaner. Just take the cylinder out and clean everything you can get to with it removed. Lightly oil and reassemble.

Check the side plate screws, and the strain screw on the front of the grip and make sure they are tight. While the grips are off is a good time to wipe down the frame under the grips with oil. That should do it.

Bob

 

[mauiblue]

I like to use Flitz polish for all exterior surfaces and Breakfree CLP on internal surfaces. Bore brush, cleaning rod, and patches are the rest of the items I use. I use all items until all is spotless.

Sent from my DROID RAZR MAXX using Tapatalk 2

 

[Wheel Fan]

Congrats on your new 686. I also have the 686-6 3" too. I only use gun cleaning products and keep it simple. Gun solvent to clean, gun oil to lubricate. Since I have more than one gun, I got a gun cleaning kit that cleans most calibers from .22 through 12 ga. for $16. I did cut a scrap of a plastic green scrubber pad for cleaning the front of the cylinder. Firing .38s through your 686 can leave burn rings over time so keep the chambers clean. My rule of thumb is take 5-10 minutes to clean the gun after every visit to the range. A little dab of gun oil as well. Wipe off fingerprints before it's put away and you'll be fine. Enjoy your new gun.

 

[HitTheTarget]

Cleaning advice-for what it is worth

I've searched books, on-line videos, spoken with more experienced shooters, and tried a few products in my search for the "perfect" way to clean a revolver. To save you some trouble:
-There are almost as many gun cleaning products on the market as there are "cold remedies" at your local CVS/Walgreens
-There is no one perfect solution-if there was we would all use it and life would be simpler
-Everyone has their own favorite products and system-it is unusual to get two sources to totally agree
-I've tried the standard cleaning rod (muzzle to breech) approach and the potentially more expensive Otis system which allows breech to muzzle cleaning. Many people say that all things being equal, cleaning breech to muzzle is better. Some people love the Bore Snake, others say it is not needed for cleaning a handgun. For me the Otis system works fine and I have more peace of mind cleaning breech to muzzle. If you are careful and use a muzzle guard-optional with some shooters- cleaning muzzle to breech is OK and has been the standard for years
-I was using Breakfree CLP and then the product Otis has in its kit. Both worked fine
-I heard about Ballistol, watched Hickok45's You Tube Video (about 19 minutes long), and have become a Ballistol user. Some people are bothered by the smell. Since I clean the revolver at a local outdoor range right after shooting, this is a moot point. The smell is tolerable when I use Ballistol indoors
-Probably the most complete description of how to clean a revolver, at least what I've found, is in Gun Digest Book of the Revolver by Grant Cunningham. He likes the CLP products for the cleaning part and recommends a separate gun oil. He is also a fan of "Ed's Red" and has the recipe for mixing it in the book. The Hickok45 video is fine using Ballistol as a cleaner and a lubricant. I find Ballistol works best (as per Hickok45) if you can apply it, go do something else, and come back to the gun a few minutes later
-You can find reviews of the various products both on-line and at sites like Amazon.com-again no clear one best product
-Bottom line: try a few products and see what seems to work for you. It is easy to get carried away-which you can tell I'm guilty of. My favorite line (and not a direct quote) was "don't go too overboard cleaning the gun, it will get dirty again as soon you shoot it the next time". That said I try to get the revolver (bore and chambers) very clean and be sure the other parts are wiped down and free of any deposits (carbon, lead, etc)
Hope this helps and good luck in your search

 

[fyimo]

Gun solvent works great on cleaning stainless revolvers and a little gun oil keeps them running as they should. Flitz or Mothers Mag cleaner will touch up any rubs and make them look like new. If you like the dull exterior a scotch bright pad will make them look original and dull.

 

[BobR1]

I like the Brass Military style pistol rods offered by Midway. They work great to clean the cylinder. I use mine muzzle to breach, but a Bore Snake, or Otis Flexible Rod would no doubt be great choices also. NOTE: Use Short Pistol Brushes for the Bore. Rifle length Brushes are more agressive for cylinder cleaning. The Big Shotgun size Patches are handy for Revolver Cleaning with a Jag or for hand held wiping.

For solvents I have used everything over the years also. The go to product for years has been #9 for most of us. For us Old Guys #9 would be a nice after shave.

I have been using Ed's Red for the last 3 or 4 years with great results. No need to be frugal with it either.

ED's RED FORMULA
Mix In a 1 Gallon Gas Can:

1 Quart Dextron III Automatic Transmission Fluid
1 Quart Scent Free K1 Kerosene
1 Quart Mineral Spirits
1 Quart Acetone (Optional will evaporate out of mix over time)(makes the mix more agressive and faster acting)

This Gun Cleaning Product is a modern available material version of Hatchers Frankford Arsenal NO 18 Solvent. Some of the original mix like Sperm Whale Oil are not available today.

GUN OIL FORMULA

1 Quart Dextron III Automatic Transmission Fluid
1 Quart 0W-20 Mobile 1 Synthetic Motor Oil

This is supposed to be the Lucas Gun Oil Formula. I have several Lucas Gun oil bottles, I keep refilling them from my 1 Gallon Can.

If you do enough Gun Cleaning to warrany the quantity the above Home Brew products work great, and when you figure the cost by the OZ of commercial products, the above Home Brew Formulas are dirt cheap. I also use the products for other things around the farm besides gun care, like lubing up my Hi Lift Jack, Hinges, etc. I keep a Clear Ketchup/Mustard size squeeze bottle of each on the counter in the shop for general purpose use.

Bob