One good tip for revolvers

C

CigarGuy

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I admit, I have NO intuitive skills when it comes to cleaning. I've learned most everything from you guys in previous threads, but I thought I'd change it up a little....
What ONE tip could you share that you wish you would have known all along or learned the hard way?
 
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I'm like you CigarGuy, I've learned a lot on here and still learning. The one tip (literally) that I learned early on is that there IS a correct screwdriver for the screw you're about to try to loosen. Best to find the right tool before you bugger the thing.
tcc
 
I assume when you refer to "screws/screwdriver", you are referring to taking off the wheel? I figured I SHOULD be doing that, but even if I knew how to do it, knowing me, I wouldn't be able to put it back together!
Yes. I'm that inept!
 
Prepare your workspace with a large table and clean light colored matt or towel,
Working over white tile is better than dark shag carpet as well,
This way when that little spring loaded pin goes BOING accross the room you have a chance of finding it .
Also have a container with a tight fitting lid to put the parts in as they are removed ,
If you anticipate those parts will make a mad dash for freedom you can prevent that from happening by keeping them contained with a lid firmly attached until ready.
 
If you are talking about cleaning tips, mine would be to use Winchester's Break Free CLP. I discovered CLP late in life after using all sorts of different things to clean my guns. CLP basically does it all. Swab some through a dirty barrel and let it sit a while. Run a bronze brush through it several times and then clean with dry patches. Repeat. Give it a good coat of CLP after it's clean, including all moving parts, and you're done.
 
c good said:
Don't use "lead away" type of cloth on a blued revolver. :(
Click to expand...
Shoot! I forgot about that stupid lead away cloth when I cleaned today! Probably good because one of them was a blued. How 'bout nickel? That was the other one I cleaned. No Hoppes #9 on the blued OR nickel, correct?
 
My tip: Don't be in a hurry. You can get most parts just as clean after you've swabbed once or twice by taking a 30 minute break as you can by working on it for those 30 minutes. A good brush, a good swabbing, a cup of coffee while watching the babes on Fox News, and then go back to work.
 
bottom line the BEST tip is "less is better..." we've seen more harm and damage done to revolvers from over cleaning and taking the gun apart everytime to clean...totally un needed..if it ain't broke ,don't take it apart, you're gonna slip with the screw driver ( or use the wrong sized one), booger the screws , scratch the gun and on and on...........
simple soaking in kerosene and a swabbing out, dry it off and oil it , and you are good to go..........
 
CigarGuy said:
Shoot! I forgot about that stupid lead away cloth when I cleaned today! Probably good because one of them was a blued. How 'bout nickel? That was the other one I cleaned. No Hoppes #9 on the blued OR nickel, correct?
Click to expand...

Hoppes 9 is OK on blued revolvers for removing powder residue. Just don't let it sit long before wiping off. Definitely NO Hoppes on Nickel. I've had good luck cleaning Nickel with Flitz metal polish. I always finish with a coat of Corrosion X for storage.

I don't know about lead away cloth for nickel. Probably not, but hopefully someone else can chime in on this. c good
 
Bronze Wool.

For stainless steel revolvers the best thing since mother's milk is fine bronze wool. Unlike all metal polishes, you can rub the stainless as hard and long as you like without changing the factory finish. That's important to me because in my view collectable stainless revolvers take a big hit in value if you polish them. However, it could be the forum's polishers who shine their stainless revolvers to look like nickel are smarter than me. I also like to clean both blued and stainless .22 forcing cones by wrapping a tuft of bronze wool around a short stub of sharpened pencil. The taper mates quite well with a .22 forcing cone. A small grove cut down the length of the pencil taper keeps the bronze wool rotating with the pencil. For bigger forcing cones a bit of solid copper dish pad like the Chore Boy brand wrapped around an oversize bore brush cleans well. I insert the rod through the barrel then screw the brush on inside the frame window, pull it back into the forcing cone and turn it. For the used blues revolvers I buy that weren't loved by their prior owners, Chore Boy removes rust more aggressively than fine bronze at the price of thinning their bluing faster.

I've used Hoppie's #9 on blued guns for decades. It was a lot more effective removing lead fouling before they removed the benzene after benzene was found to cause cancer. The modern benzene free Hoppie's #9 isn't effective enough to justify smelling up the room so I've come to prefer less odorous solvents. My current favorite is M-Pro 7, but many others work as well.

I've had no problem with any solvent on nickeled revolvers but have always wiped cleaning solvents off nickeled revolvers promptly and oiled them with an oil like Hoppie's clear gun oil. Formerly I used WD-40 on nickeled revolvers as a substitute for solvents like Hoppie's #9 that contain ammonia. There's a persistent belief that ammonia will attack a nickeled S&W's copper under plating but S&W never under plated with copper and some forum experts have posted that ammonia does not react with nickel. Now I've reversed my thinking and believe there is more risk in using any penetrating oil like WD-40 because it is designed to creep into any gaps in the nickel and might lift off the nickel. Most old nickeled guns have lost a flake or two. Anyway, I'm sticking to my policy of not leaving any solvent on my nickeled revolvers for long.

Sorry for rattling on so long. I think my one best tip is to clean stainless with fine bronze wool.
 
Bronze Wool can be wrapped around a bronze brush for lead removel from the barrel, ala CHORE BOY.
It may be it's even better, as you can get more brush wraps per piece.

Removable Magnetic Advertising Signs, like on a businesses truck door can make a good
MAGNETIC BENCH MAT, to catch those loose and errant parts.

People using BORE SNAKES should consider using RIFLE ONES for cleaning PISTOLS,
for a dollar or two more you get several times the cleaning length.

RUSTY'S RAGS (for gun wipe down) are Great! (silicone impregnated sheepskin)
available on-line and I believe at MidwayUSA too now.

If you do LOTS of CLEANING, you can make your own batch of ED'S RED cleaning solvent.

Good old 3 IN 1 OIL is still a very good LUBRICATING OIL.

Use D-LEAD PRODUCTS for cleaning to cut your LEAD LEVEL EXPOSURE, Soap for your hands,
Towel Wipes for your bench and shooting bench areas.

Use RIG UNIVERASAL GUN GREASE if you plan to clean and store for a long period.
Don't forget to write a reminder note to remove the grease before shooting the firearm!!!!!

REMEMBER "YOU CAN CLEAN YOUR FIREARM TO DEATH"!!!!
 
A stubborn exceptionally tightly-fitted side plate can be more easily reinstalled if you freeze it. I spray it with oil to resist any possibility of rust from condensation upon thawing, wrap it in a paper towel and place it in the freezer for a half hour or so. Freezing it shrinks it in size a couple thousandths of an inch (old machinists' trick), just enough to more easily slip into place on the gun frame.
 
Didn't learn this one the hard way but:

- If you are going to unscrew the extractor rod on your S&W revolver cylinder, it will be left hand threads (clockwise to remove) unless the revolver is very old. And make sure you put some fired casings in the cylinder before you start turning.
 
KEN L said:
Which babes?? :D
Click to expand...

Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade, obviously :D

Cleaner: M-pro 7
Copper: KG-12

Tip: (stainless) - soak the forcing cone & top strap area and cylinder face w/ cleaner for a while before hitting it w/ a small piece of lead remover cloth over a nylon devil's tail pick, comes right off no scrubbing.

Dave
 
daveomatic said:
Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade, obviously :D

Cleaner: M-pro 7
Copper: KG-12

Tip: (stainless) - soak the forcing cone & top strap area and cylinder face w/ cleaner for a while before hitting it w/ a small piece of lead remover cloth over a nylon devil's tail pick, comes right off no scrubbing.

Dave
Click to expand...

Ok. Following my premise that I am an idiot when it comes to this stuff, with no intuitive reasoning........
When you say "soak" you mean, like, "hosing it down" with the MPro 7 you mention? Not actually sitting it in a pool of the stuff to "soak"?
 
jepp2 said:
Didn't learn this one the hard way but:

- If you are going to unscrew the extractor rod on your S&W revolver cylinder, it will be left hand threads (clockwise to remove) unless the revolver is very old. And make sure you put some fired casings in the cylinder before you start turning.
Click to expand...

What is the purpose for the fired casings in the cylinder?
 
To support the extractor star and prevent it from trying to turn. Another good practice is to always clean under the extractor with a toothbrush or something similar, unburned powder or crud can wreak havoc with the function of the gun.
 
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CigarGuy said:
Ok. Following my premise that I am an idiot when it comes to this stuff, with no intuitive reasoning........
When you say "soak" you mean, like, "hosing it down" with the MPro 7 you mention? Not actually sitting it in a pool of the stuff to "soak"?
Click to expand...

What I do is usually just daub it w/ a Q-tip to moisten the whole area, first thing when I start cleaning, then move on to cleaning the bore and cylinder. I hit it w/ the same Q-tip a couple times more while doing that, then if its still damp when I'm ready I pat it dry w/ a piece of patch, and then hit it w/ the l-r cloth. It's like soaking a dishpan w/ baked on crud, it just softens it up so it comes right off without having to scrub the heck out of it. I've used hoppes 9, KG-1 carbon remover and M-pro 7 to do it, doesn't seem to make much of a difference for this particular operation, long as it softens up the stuff.

That same l-r patch, finger-spun on a nylon jag from inside the frame window also cleans up the inside of the forcing cone pretty easily too if it's not too leaded, then running it over the pick gets the remaining stubborn bits afterwords ...

Since I found M-pro 7 after getting a nickel gun, I rarely use hoppes any more as the m-pro is no-stink, non-toxic (relatively), and non-carcinogenic, as well as safe for all finishes and wood, and it works IMO better than hoppes to boot.

Of course, that particular discovery was right after I bought an econo-quart of hoppes 9 heh heh..

Dave
 
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What? :eek: You mean I'm supposed to actually CLEAN my guns? :eek: Jessss kiddin... All good tips on cleaning! Especially dant's tip on "less is better", at least in my camp...

Blessings,
Hog
 
Lead removal cloth is safe and effective on nickel guns. I purchased a used 27-2 4" at a recent gun show that appeared to never have had the front of the cylinder cleaned-ever!
I spent alot of time and used alot of cloth but it lookes like it has never been shot-ever!
Bob
 
CigarGuy said:
I assume when you refer to "screws/screwdriver", you are referring to taking off the wheel?
Click to expand...

The wheel? Do you mean the cylinder? You need the right screwdriver to adjust the sights, remove the grips, take off the sideplate.

First things first. If you are not a mechanically inclined person, buy a good manual on taking your gun apart. Even if you are mechanically inclined, buy a good manual. If you run across something that you don't understand, look it up on the internet.



I will generally detail strip a gun when I buy it to make sure that everything is where it is supposed to be. At that time, I clean and oil it. I use way too much oil but my guns are out fighting in the desert, they are sitting in my closet.

One thing that I have discovered is that S&W revolvers are far more complex inside than Dan Wesson revolvers so I really don't like taking them apart.

My assorted semi-autos get cleaned when they start malfunctioning which means rarely.

It used to be that when I needed to do a detail cleaning, I'd fill a plastic container with VARSOL, remove the grips and then drop the gun into the VARSOL, put the lid on the container and let it soak overnight. Sadly, VARSOL is no longer available.

I have used carburetor cleaner to spray out guns.
 
My list of essentials for any home gunsmith

1. A spray can of carburetor cleaner - works wonders in blasting out crud.
2. A magnetic-bottom parts tray
3. A Dremel tool and accessories - the most useful tool I own.
4. A good screwdriver set of different blade sizes
5. A plastic-faced hammer
6. Surgical hemostats in several sizes
7. A set of GOOD jeweler's files
8. Brass cleaning brushes in all bore sizes (pull, never push), ditto jag tips, preferably brass ones.
9. A flexible-shaft pistol cleaning rod (great for cleaning rifle chambers too)
10. A 6" or 8" dial caliper
11. A roll of Bounty paper towels
 
My tip - go to the hardware store and buy a cheap half inch width nylon bristle paint brush. Should cost you a 89cents or so. When you get it home take the scissors to it and cut off approximately half of the length of the bristles. What you then have is a dandy cleaning brush for getting into those little crevices and nooks and crannies (what the heck is a crannie?) and won't scratch you pretty firearm. I like CLP Breakfree. Apply it pretty liberally. Let it soak a bit. Brush with your nifty little cleaning brush to get the hard to get to spots. Wipe 'er dry.

rolomac
 
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