So THAT'S why it was so cheap

[amazingflapjack]

It can be cleaned thoroughly by inserting the tube of a can of brake parts cleaner everywhere it will go around the hammer and trigger, cocked and un-cocked, with the grips off. Then allow to dry and lightly lube. Does a great job without dismantling the revolver.

 

[shouldazagged]

Call me a sentimental old fool, but I don't like stuff that will dissolve me before it eats the Loctite or can trigger cardiac arrest, and I'm not sure I trust my skills with a soldering iron. I'd let a good smith work on it. Worth it if you got it really cheap.

 

[gwpercle]

I would just shoot it "as is" and if something needs to come apart take it to the gunsmith. If he breaks something it will be on him to fix it. Flapjacks cleaning method works well, I don't like taking things apart cause it's to easy to bugger something up and use the "spray all the gunk out" method. Carb/brake cleaner is much cheaper from auto parts store also.
Gary

 

[semperfi71]

I have heard that placing a firearm in the freezer...which has too tight a fit from epoxied bedding...can release the bedding/epoxy fit (via shrinkage) and allow one to separate the stock from the action.

I am not a gunsmith. I do not think trying the freezer method could harm the handgun and it might free the screws.

If not it looks like a planned heat method might work.

 

[BJoe]

Some great ideas here. Thanks. I actually bent a Midway screwdriver trying to turn, I always keep at least 2 for the popular size and managed to do this without 'buggering' up the head.

Next is heat. Then freezer. At this point it is a battle.

 

[Darrell41653]

A solvent called MEK will cut Loctite easily. Found in paint stores only and very flammable. Vapors are strong and l would suggest using it outdoors. Remove grips first

Agreed. I have used this stuff to remove red loctite from bolts before.
I ride and tinker with dirt bikes, and I have seen the red stuff used on bolts it shouldnt have.

I had my local ACE Hardware order a can
. I occasionally have had to soak and let it sit overnight, but it does work.

 

[DWalt]

Either MEK or its close chemical cousin Acetone should attack the Loctite. Contrary to popular opinion, neither solvent is that toxic to your health. Acetone is more volatile and more flammable than MEK, but both are flammable, so work outside and not near open flames. It is best to not expose your skin to either solvent very much, as they will dissolve fats in your skin and cause dermatitis.

I have cleaned many guns and parts using MEK prior to hot bluing instead of boiling in a silicated detergent solution, and it works very well for that purpose, as MEK and Acetone are peerless degreasers. I think that using heat is the best approach to removing Loctite-ed screws.

Spray carb cleaner is very good for de-gunking guns, and it's the only thing I use. I suppose spray brake cleaner would also work, but I have not used it. They are probably close to being the same thing.

 

[LeMans]

BJoe,

I could be mistaken, but I seem to remember that someone took an electric soldering iron and engaged the tip to screws that had been treated with locktite thereby causing the threads to be heated hot enough to essentially remove them. You might want to look into this if it is important for you to remove them.

terry

Wasn't me but that is exactly the way I do it when I have to remove small screws that are loctited in place...

 

[Warren Sear]

I definitely would not put the whole gun in the oven at 500 degrees. That would flock it up way more than a little red loctite on the threads.

 

[Cpo1944]

If everything is working well , why mess with it ???
If it aint broke?????

 

[slfree]

Times change. When I was 16 I worked is a shop that had a contract for Heater assemblies" for Jeeps and Tanks. I am part of the reason some of you froze in your vehicles. Their main business was making cables. There was a big work area staffed with 20 or so cute young women that spent all day cleaning the ends of these cables with MEK. I had to stay out as the fumes were overwhelming. No gloves no masks a couple of fans for ventilation. I hope those girls were paid better than me.

 

[Retired W4]

I'm guessing they didn't have MSDS back then. If you read it you will be hesitant in using the stuff.

 

[kaaskop49]

Shouldazagged and I are on the same page (again!). Take it to a competent 'smith and let him take it apart and check inside. No telling what else was done not immediately apparent. As I've posted before, too many folks fancy they're 'smiths and cut springs, remove case-hardening from triggers and hammers (Gotta make it smooth!!)... let me stop.

 

[sac-gunslinger]

MEK (methyl-ethyl-ketone) is an industrial solvent that is highly toxic and absorbed through your skin. I worked on aircraft for years and, all of a sudden in the 80's, we started getting warnings about its use. Avoid breathing, avoide getting it on your skin. Avoid it altogether except as a last resort.

For heat use a commercial heat gun (sort of like your wife's hair blower but on steroids). These are usually 1500 watts or higher. Set the Model 27 on a stand and the heat gun on a stand so you are not trying to hold a revolver that will get very hot. This will loosen even Black Loctite. Be sure to have heavy insulating gloves on when you handle the parts.

 

[Stephanie B]

MEK was used back in the day to clean ink-jet can labellers. It was pretty nasty stuff. We wore organic solvent-proof respirators (special cartridges, a dust mask will not do) and rubber gloves. I wore thin nitrile gloves under the heavier rubber ones. We had a special 55-gal drum for disposing of the used solvent.

If you're going to mess with MEK, do it outdoors, wear nitrile gloves and don't breathe the fumes.

 

[mc5aw]

I guess using MEK heated up to 500* is not an option ...

Faced with using toxic death or heat 2+ times greater than the boiling point of water, my choice would be to leave it alone unless there was a compelling reason to get those screws out.

 

[sw282]

l am an industrial painter painter by trade. l have been using MEK since the late 60s. lts great stuff. lt can also be harmful.
Like other tools. Dont breathe it. Dont stick your finger in light sockets or peer down the barrel of a loaded gun

 

[murphydog]

Some great ideas here. Thanks. I actually bent a Midway screwdriver trying to turn, I always keep at least 2 for the popular size and managed to do this without 'buggering' up the head.

Next is heat. Then freezer. At this point it is a battle.

You didn't mention if the gun works normally? I see the sideplate as an access point for the internals 'if' something is wrong, not removed for routine inspection when there is no problem. Kind of like pulling the cylinder heads off a 98% (barely used) car just to see the barely worn piston rings. In any case, good luck in your efforts.

 

[WardenRoss]

I can visualize what happened...

Guy at gun range shooting his Model 27 and a screw gets loose and falls out.

Brother-n-law beside him finds the screw and says "Hey! I can fix that! Don't worry, won't ever happen again!"

 

[CAV]

I am part of the reason some of you froze in your vehicles.

SO YOU'RE THE ONE!!

There were more that a few nights that I'd have given up an appendage for a heat gun or a warm soldering iron. A metal combat vehicle with a broken heater might as well be an icebox!