Maintenance question

[Kurt kaBOOM]

Good morning,
How often do you take the side plate off our revolvers for cleaning and lubing? Or do you? What do you do once the plate Is off? Any other periodic maintainence other then cleaning bore ans cylinder?
Thanks! Kurt

 

[arjay]

Never,unless the gun isn't working.Hose it out with an aerosol type solvent from the hammer and trigger until it runs clear then blow the rest out with compressed air.

 

[Arik]

No reason to take it off unless you're shooting thousands of rounds a year or something broke

 

[jack the toad]

Whether new or used and after initial inspection, never.
Unless for mods/repair or exposure to the elements, etc.

 

[bigwheelzip]

A drop of oil every few outings in the hand opening in the blast shield.

 

[chief38]

For revolvers that get shot every few weeks I usually remove the Side-plate, clean and lube every year or so. For revolvers that only get shot occasionally, I'd say once every 4 years or when needed. As long as one knows what he is doing and uses the proper tools, no harm is done to the forearm and in fact cleaning and lubing is a good thing. For someone who has no idea of what they are doing, they can take a perfectly good revolver and screw it up.

I suppose one has to start somewhere, so if you do have the interest, mechanical ability, skill and tools to do so, start with your least valuable Revolver. The great thing about Smiths is that they are all pretty much the same, so once you master one, the next one should be real easy.

 

[Old cop]

I've been carrying/shooting revolvers since 1968 and have never removed the sideplate. That said I am not mechanically inclined and would probably screw something up. All my guns run fine and if something goes wrong off it goes to a qualified gunsmith.

 

[flintsghost]

As an armorer I disassemble and do a full clean, lube, and function check everything on revolvers that are carried and used or fired during a 12 month period, once per year. On guns that are seldom used or fired, if at all, I do a service every 4 or 5 years as oil does dry out and congeal, becoming hard with no lubricating qualities. One can't tell that till it's taken apart. On investment pieces that have never been fired and are possibly still in their original boxes I do nothing.

 

[Tom S.]

I'll preface this by saying I've become an semi automatic carrier and my revolvers are only used for target. Having gotten that out of the way, after I've finished smoothing out the action, I've never had to remove a side plate. This may soon change however as I recently obtained an ultrasonic cleaner, and if I decide to try using it on one of the revolvers, the side plate will be removed for drying and re-lubrication.

If I carried one daily, or shot it extensively, the recommended yearly removal makes sense.

 

[petepeterson]

Only once- when it went swimming with me by accident!

 

[murphydog]

As noted above, it depends on your mechanical inclinations and whether your revolver is exposed to extreme environments (like dunking). From previous threads I would guess the split is about 80-90% no to 10-20% yes. I fall into the "would probably mess something up if I did it" camp .

 

[chief38]

Here is a HINT that I extend to people with less mechanical ability, lack of proper tools and/or lack of desire to either fully disassemble a Smith Revolver or pay a GS to do so.

If you start this when the gun is fairly new, it works just fine. It requires the use of a very very thin all in one cleaner, lube and rust preventative such as Rig #2 Oil or Remoil. Both are perfect for what I am about to suggest because they mostly evaporate relatively quickly leaving behind a protective layer and or are thin enough to migrate throughout the Revolvers mechanism. While this procedure is probably not as efficient as a complete breakdown of said Revolver, it sure beats the heck out of doing nothing!

The Rig#2 Oil or Remoil can be sprayed into the gun from the spaces of the Hammer, Trigger, Hand, under the Thumb Piece, etc. After doing so, operate the mechanism (with snap-caps) numerous times to get the product to coat all parts and then shake out. If you have clean-dry air from a can or compressor, blow the gun off gently and set aside for a day. Wipe off outside and inside of Chamber Charge Holes and you should be good to go for another year. NOTE: I would NOT do this procedure with a thicker oil or product since you are relying on the "thinness" of the Rig#2 and Remoil to let the excess flow back out through the cracks and crevices. You also want to spray and fill up the Ejector Rod opening in the Cylinder, work it a few times and dump onto a rag. Do this several times until the oil comes out clear.

The guys who I know with "two left thumbs" (not mechanical) or who have no desire for a complete teardown tell me this works fantastic! Again - do not use a chemical that is harmful when left on metal or other materials for any length of time. Not that I am a salesman for Rig #2 (I have NOTHING at all to do with the Company) but is it a great product and will cause NO harm to metal, wood, plastic or Polymers.

This procedure, while secondary to a PROPER teardown, works quite well and will keep your sealed revolver humming along.

 

[Targets Guy]

I've done it once with a K-38 I bought on-line and it was misfiring. It was also very dirty externally so I didn't have much confidence about its condition inside the side plate. I watch the AGI videos and followed them to the letter. It was very dirty inside. Cleaned all and oiled and sealed the revolver back up. That was three years ago and all is well still. Later discovered the misfiring was due to a loose strain screw.

 

[gnystrom]

I have pulled the sideplate on every new S&W revolver I have bought in the last five years just to clean out the crud and or metal shavings from the factory. Re-lube and good for years.

 

[chief38]

I have pulled the sideplate on every new S&W revolver I have bought in the last five years just to clean out the crud and or metal shavings from the factory. Re-lube and good for years.

I agree with you 100%, but we must remember there are many here who are not confident or willing to do this. This is why I usually mention the procedure I posted above to people who aren't. While I also agree it is not as thorough as a complete tear-down, lube and inspection, many are better off not attempting this and it's pretty hard to screw that up.

 

[Muley Gil]

I have taken several revolvers apart and found enough dirt inside to plant 'maters. I have also done action jobs on a number of M686s and I do believe that the last step before the sideplate was snugged down was to add a teaspoon full of stainless metal shavings!

 

[S&WIowegan]

I'm not a gunsmith nor do I play one on TV but I recently stayed in a Holiday Inn. Therefore, I'm qualified to answer your question.

I'm a regular shooter of revolvers in USPSA, IDPA, ICORE and steel shooting. I handload most of my ammo and use clean-burning powder and coated or jacketed bullets which minimizes crud accumulation. I regularly clean the cylinder and breech face after a match. I almost never take a sideplate off after the action is tuned to my likes.

I always take the sideplate off NIB Smiths to clean out metal debris and burrs followed by lubing. I also take sideplates off revolvers I buy which are well-used. I have found more than one with rust in the action which was otherwise clean. I guess the previous owner sprayed brake cleaner in the action as a cleaner and never lubed it after.

Every day carry revolvers should get an internal cleaning once a year unless you've proved to yourself it's not necessary.

In summary, leave sideplate alone unless you've got a good reason to take it off.

 

[Gunna1day]

I will be getting a well used S&W 617 soon. Not sure yet whether or not I want to tackle removing the sideplate. Can I use something like carb cleaner sprayed through hammer and trigger spaces to flush out any built up grud ?. Followed by a lube like wd40? Cheers.

 

[chief38]

I will be getting a well used S&W 617 soon. Not sure yet whether or not I want to tackle removing the sideplate. Can I use something like carb cleaner sprayed through hammer and trigger spaces to flush out any built up grud ?. Followed by a lube like wd40? Cheers.

DO NOT USE ANY CAUSTIC CHEMICAL on a gun that can not be quickly and thoroughly removed. Without removing the Side-plate, ONLY "SAFE CHEMICALS" that will not gum up, attract dust, won't cause adverse reactions with materials, leather, ammo, etc. should ever be sprayed into the gun. This is why I have specified RIG #2 and Remoil....... they are not harmful or detrimental if a small amount remains inside the gun. Carb Cleaner? Who knows?? I know it's suppose to be used in an open environment that allows QUICK evaporation and do not know what happens when it sits there in a liquid state for an extended period. I'd vote NOT to use it for this purpose. YMMV.

 

[stu1ritter]

Gunna1day, WD40 is not a lube but rather a Water Displacement (40th try to figure the darn thing out) solvent. If you can find chief38's suggested products down under, I'd stick with them.

Stu