Cleaning question for the SD9VE

This isn't a question about how to clean the gun as I have already researched that via youtube and other outlets.

My question and/or statement is this... I was cleaning my gun just last night (after putting another 200 plus rounds through it the day before) and as always I am careful to not "over lube" it with oil. However, as I was rubbing oil on the metal parts within the handle, some excess oil dripped down from my fingers into the trigger area... I didn't really squeeze the container any harder than normal but for some reason, a lot came out and was literally dripping out through the actual trigger its self.

I tried to take some q-tips and an old cotton t-shirt to clean as much as possible but obviously I couldn't get it all. I went ahead and wiped it down and cleaned the rest of the gun as usual but once I re-assembled it and pulled the slide back I noticed it made a different noise. Almost a little louder of a "click" sound when I would pull the slide to engage the firing system.

Once the trigger was ready to go bang, everything else sounded normal and it felt normal dry firing it (which I don't do a lot) but once I would dry fire it and pull the slide back again, I would notice the louder than normal click. Everything is in the proper place but was wondering what in the world it could be?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts or information... this is my first striker-fired polymer pistol.

No worries. I've have lots of striker fired guns. Best advice I can give is shoot the living **** out of it. It will be fine. These guns aren't finicky like 1911's. if you think you have too much lube, clean it like a dish using dawn. Let dry, little lube and you are good to go. Don't worry about it. Just shoot and enjoy!
 
No worries. I've have lots of striker fired guns. Best advice I can give is shoot the living **** out of it. It will be fine. These guns aren't finicky like 1911's. if you think you have too much lube, clean it like a dish using dawn. Let dry, little lube and you are good to go. Don't worry about it. Just shoot and enjoy!

have you done this with the Dawn? i ask because i seen some videos of people using a ultra sonic machine. on youtube. with water in it.
 
OK, thanks. Last time I cleaned it - which was also the first time - I removed the slide and took out the recoil spring and barrel. I cleaned the barrel and slide really well, but the spring can't be cleaned with just a brush or cloth. Should I soak this part in solvent? What about the handle? It has a number of parts that can't be directly accessed without disassembly. Should it be soaked in something?

The spring and recoil rod are NOT a set of parts that operate with fine tolerances or cannot stand a little wear from rubbing together. A little powder residue will always get in there, but won't cause any meaningful harm. You can blow it out with canned air, or use a little extra oil and let it drain, but it is not worth a lot of time! The guide rod and captured recoil spring should be replaced every 3000-5000 rounds anyway -- and the old one thrown away (see other threads on where to get replacement springs/rods, e.g., from S&W, Galloway, or use a Glock G19 spring/rod).

And I would not recommend soaking the frame (with all of the internal parts) in oil or solvent. Clean what you can reach with a tip of a rag, Q tips, or pipe cleaners -- but I would not recommend immersing the frame in oil, solvent, or water (or ultra sonic cleaning fluid). All of that will just leave fluid/solvent/oil in places where it will attract dirt or powder, which will turn into gunk. In addition, you may notice there is a piece of white cotton in the trigger return spring -- it is there to dampen high-speed vibrations that can lead to a broken spring during firing -- and that piece of cotton should be kept dry.

To reinforce the advice in virtually every post or video on cleaning -- the bore needs to be cleaned periodically, and key points where metal slides against metal (like the slide rails, the outside front of the barrel, the barrel hood) need to be cleaned and lightly oiled periodically.

Some folks advocate using grease instead of oil -- I used Mobil 28 aircraft grease -- but that is another topic.

There are probably 25 or 30 major types of lubricant you can use; virtually all of them work fine. The only advice I offer there is just don't spend too much for some super-duper special stuff that costs $30 for an eyedropper's worth, and don't use WD-40 (its really a water displacer, and contains very little actual lubricant in it).
 
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WD40

<snip>

And don't use WD-40 (its really a water displacer, and contains very little actual lubricant in it).

Very good comment. I was at General Dynamics Astronautics in San Diego when WD-40 came to be. GD bought it in barrels to use on the spot weld joints of the Atlas. The stainless steel balloon, which was the inflated body of the missile, would rust where it had been spot or roll welded. Even more serious in the upper stage Centaur.

WD-40 wasn't the 40th try, it was just a good name. I am pretty sure that WD-40 is over 90% kerosene and or naptha.

Anyone wonder why the company, which was across the street from GD Astro, was "Rocket Chemical Company"?

One more memory. In those days we bought new homes before they were built and they had no lawn or fences. The neighbors got together and built redwood fences. I did a simple test . . . I sprayed some ordinary nails, driven into a fence post, with WD-40. A week later they were rusted.
 
I'm with (a bit) more lube is better, than not enough lube.

Not saying that a gun needs dunked in a vat of oil, but running a too-dry gun can also be just as harmful in that depending on the type of gun, the oil is it's blood in order to run properly and keeping the metals/polymers from rubbing against each other, much like the oils needed in a vehicle's engine.

Here's a little video that might help:
gunsovertexasradio.com/2014/12/15/myth-lubrication-according-larry-vickers

While this video is extreme to lubing, it raises more of a point, that it can't harm. This is also done on poly and metal guns only.
What all that lube will do, is collect dust/dirt and other gritty things that you don't want, which is more inline with lubing a gun, but if you notice that you used a little extra oil on some parts, it can't hurt the gun.

Where you definitely don't want to use lots of lube is in the firing pin channel, as it could delay or slow down the pin trying to move quickly and the gun could give a light primer strike trying to displace all the extra oil.

Also, where you DO NOT want extra oiling/lubing is in older guns that have wooden stocks/hand grips, etc. All that oil can roll away from the part and ruin the wood from the absorbshion if it doesn't have wood protection. Just think of Grandpa's old lever action.

Just follow the manufacturer's lubing recommendations and find a lube that works for you and you'll be fine--even if you add a few extra drops of oil.

Also, the colder the temperatures, the lighter the lubes need to be for weapon(s) to function. If at gun range, just add a few extra drops as gun heats up during rounds, to help keep friction down.

I use Mobil1 10w30 year round in my firearms(Missouri), but if temps are sub freezing for long periods of time(Alaska, Minnesota, etc) I'd drop down to a Mobil1 0-20.

So far, I've never experienced a misfire from this oil, and I run my AR15's quite WET, while my other guns only get moderate drops of oil.
 
Where you definitely don't want to use lots of lube is in the firing pin channel, as it could delay or slow down the pin trying to move quickly and the gun could give a light primer strike trying to displace all the extra oil.

Also, where you DO NOT want extra oiling/lubing is in older guns that have wooden stocks/hand grips, etc. All that oil can roll away from the part and ruin the wood from the absorbshion if it doesn't have wood protection. Just think of Grandpa's old lever action.

Also, the colder the temperatures, the lighter the lubes need to be for weapon(s) to function. If at gun range, just add a few extra drops as gun heats up during rounds, to help keep friction down.

All of these ^^^ are good statements!

Cleaner or lubricant can get into the striker channel when you clean the slide, so it pays to be careful (the striker can be removed and the channel cleaned periodically, but the trick is to leave virtually no oil in there).

As for cold weather, one of the reasons I use Mobil 28 aircraft grease is that it is designed to function on aircraft external parts while the plane is at altitude -- where it is very cold -- so it won't stiffen or get hard, slowing down the slide's recoil. It is a good item to try if you experience balky functioning on cold days or live in the frozen north. It works fine in warm weather, too; its overall operating range is -65ºF to 350ºF! Not that I want to hijack the thread into a discussion of the best lubricant!
 
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