There's a difference between a Functional clean and a Cosmetic clean

[SmithNut]

After shooting, all my guns get the bore cleaned and the gun wiped down. Good enough? Well yes, if you don't want it to rust sitting in the safe or leaving finger prints on it after handling. This is what I call a Functional clean.

However - if you want to really enjoy a gun, to show it off, or to just take pics for your gun library, nothing works as well as what I refer to as a full Cosmetic clean.

I got tired of looking at the guns that have been shot over the past couple years, seeing the front of the cylinder with burn rings, or "crud" on the frame above the forcing cone or on the recoil shield.

So, after procrastinating for too long, and worrying about the fall-out from the wife for permeating the house with the smell of Hoppe's (you know what I am talking about - it's powerful!), I packed everything up and drove over the mountains to my daughters place - she has a detached garage - set up shop and spent the day yesterday making amends to my guns and myself over leaving them needing the full Cosmetic treatment....

Lots of work, spending roughly 25-30 minutes on each one, but now I can fully enjoy looking at them when pulling them out of the safe (at least the revolvers, autos are next ).

Am I the only one that thinks this way??????

 

[Rustyt1953]

Very nice. Cleaning them in the manner you described is very therapeutic. It is soothing and serene. It is almost Zen like. You get to spend time admiring and appreciating the engineering brilliance and machining craftsmanship that produced each one.

I, on the other hand, have become lazy...

 

[444 Magnum]

I, on the other hand, have become lazy...

Good one Rusty!

When I was at Upshur, there was a shower head that was completely stopped up except for one hole. The water came shooting out like a jet. Hot water out of that thing would clean an M16 barrel instantly. A lot of guys used it when the swamp course (Quigley IIRC) was followed immediately by inspection.

Only draw back was that it completely soaked the trigger housing!

 

[LVSteve]

Just how do you get burn rings off the front of the cylinder? I have one revolver where they have proved super stubborn.

 

[SmithNut]

Just how do you get burn rings off the front of the cylinder? I have one revolver where they have proved super stubborn.

Depending on stainless, nickel or blue.
I don't have any nickel guns at the moment but they take some real care and elbow grease and Lead Free cloth (lightly).
For blue and stainless, all the cylinders get taken out and submerged in a plastic coffee can full of Hoppes for as long as you can give them, since I was on a mission to get all these done yesterday I gave them 25-30 minutes each.
Once that's done using a brass brush will take most of it off, and judicial use of Lead Free cloth will help. You can scrub the heck out of a stainless cylinder, but on a blue cylinder I only lightly use Lead Free on the cylinder between brass brushing. After brushing you might need to soak a bit more and repeat the brushing..... it's work but very rewarding.
For the top strap above and around the forcing cone, brushing with Hoppes and use of Lead Free cloth (in strips) works as well.
Of course a brass brush for the barrel and cotton swabs is mandatory.

Soaking in Hoppes gets stuff everywhere so a compressor and nozzle helps.

(edit - Of course the ultimate way to keep them from getting burn rings is to simply not shoot them...what's the fun with that?....
believe me I have many that just don't get shot for whatever reason like rarity/duplicates/age/value, etc. )

 

[SmithNut]

Very nice. Cleaning them in the manner you described is very therapeutic. It is soothing and serene. It is almost Zen like. You get to spend time admiring and appreciating the engineering brilliance and machining craftsmanship that produced each one.

I, on the other hand, have become lazy...

Interesting, but I don't see any plastic revolvers in that washing machine....

 

[arjay]

One reason I love the 1911, though I hate chasing brass, is it's so much easier to clean than a revolver lol

 

[MRB1]

I do the deep cleaning every year, shot or not. One item I overlooked for years was the lubrication of the guts. It was surprising how dry the innards were after a few years of neglect.

 

[SmithNut]

One reason I love the 1911, though I hate chasing brass, is it's so much easier to clean than a revolver lol

Agreed, but then again I'd rather look at a fine revolver than most any version of the old slab-side 1911....

Don't get me wrong, one of the autos I'm going to clean is my parkerized 70 Series Gold Cup.. (don't worry, I didn't butcher a nice Gold Cup, this one came into the shop I worked at many moons ago, it was really challenged finish wise, so I had it park'd and installed a full-length guide rod, it is a fantastic shooter... )

 

[Pisgah]

>>Am I the only one that thinks this way??????

Not at all. I have known many folks who suffer from OCD ...

 

[SmithNut]

>>Am I the only one that thinks this way??????

Not at all. I have known many folks who suffer from OCD ...

Don't worry, I can stop anytime I want....